It will be an explosion of India’s art and craft traditions at SPIC MACAY’s 2nd International Convention to be held from June 8-14, at IIT Madras ’s sylvan campus. While performances and exhibitions will form a major part of the meet, an interesting feature is the addition of what the organisation terms ‘workshop intensives.’ Chinmaya Raja, State co-ordinator of SPIC MACAY-TN and Convener of the convention, says, “The aim of these intensives is to offer participants the chance to experience the uniqueness of the guru-sishya tradition and gurukula vaasam.”
This year, about 1,500 short-listed students from countries such as Kenya, South Africa, Pakistan, England, France and Nigeria, will explore a variety of artistic disciplines such as Carnatic and Hindustani music, classical dance forms, Bhagavata mela and Therukoothu, Gandhiji’s teachings and Charkha spinning, puppetry, kolam making and choral music. Celebrated artists such as Anjolie Ela Menon, M. Vedavalli, Pandit Kaivalyakumar Gurav, Prof. C.V. Chandrashekar, Padma Subrahmanyam, the Dhananjayans, Pt. Vinayak Torvi, Melattur Natarajan and Warsi brothers ,will head the sessions from from June 9-13, 9 a.m. to 12 noon .
Fulfilling experience“If a student gets an opportunity to observe the ethos that exists in a completely different system of education other than a student’s own, that experience can be both inspiring and fulfilling,” say the organisers. A typical day during the intensives will include sharing of ideas and views with not only fellow delegates, but also the gurus, besides regular classes.
For the intensives, the participants have been divided into 41 groups of about 35 in each group. According to the subject chosen, they will be placed in a group. For example, those interested in Carnatic music may opt for sessions with vidushi Vedavalli or Trichur Ramachandran. So for five days, they interact with, and learn from them. On the afternoon of June 13, there will be a presentation of the workshop intensives. Here each group will be given five minutes to showcase what it has absorbed and learnt. It could be a song or a short choreography or a speech. The participants of the crafts intensives will get to display their creations.
Through these intensives, what SPIC MACAY hopes to do is bring students closer to a world of wisdom, inspiration, dreams, discovery and exploration. It also wants to bring them in contact with dedicated and acclaimed artists who have achieved a lot in their respective fields.
Says Chinmaya, “SPIC MACAY’s intention is to enrich the quality of formal education by increasing awareness about different aspects of Indian heritage and inspire the young mind to imbibe the values embedded in it.”
For more information, call 97890 59024 .
