‘Classical music heritage remains India’s biggest contribution to mankind’

Academician stresses the importance of preserving and perpetuating this heritage

Kiran Seth, FOUNDER, SPIC MACAY at a talk hosted by Aurodhan in Puducherry on January 27, 2021

Kiran Seth, academician and SPIC MACAY founder, has stressed the importance of preserving and perpetuating the classical music heritage which, in opening up a near-yogic path to connect with the inner self, remains India’s biggest contribution to mankind.

In an interactive discussion on the theme, “Save the tiger and maybe also the Rudra Veena” hosted by Aurodhan, Mr. Seth pointed out that while the West had given society so much in the outward tangible domain — cell phones, internet, cars, planes, air-conditioners, etc., — that made lives easier, India’s gift to humankind was in the intangible domain that contributed to making our lives fuller and more meaningful.

While not downplaying the importance of either one over the other, Mr. Seth said both traditions engaged in different paths in their pursuit of truth, the East in an experiential manner and the West through an experimental method. However, because its results take time to show, belief in the experiential processes that allowed access to an inner domain which is deep, abstract, subtle and mystical, suffered in an age ruled by instant gratification, he felt.

Mr. Seth recalled that when Ustad Asad Ali Khan passed away a few years ago, “it suddenly struck me that future generations would not possibly hear the

Rudra Veena played in the majestic ‘ Khandarvani ’ style, that he had mastered”. The Rudra Veena and many other instruments, and art forms in the country are fast disappearing, and very little was being done about this.

Juxtaposing the scant attention paid to the prospect of a treasure chest of heritage disappearing with the great efforts that have gone into saving the tiger for posterity when the magnificent beast was in danger of extinction, Mr. Seth said, “If anything can positively affect even a very small group of people intensely in the present, it has relevance and requires support. Each of our art forms represents a philosophy of life and when one is lost, we lose one road to the top of the inner mountain.”

“India’s biggest contribution to humankind is that it has developed different forms of ‘

Yog ’, different methods of connecting with the inner self. The knowledge and wisdom of these techniques is slowly getting lost. They are either mutating into something with a totally different world view to ensure their survival or are dying a slow death, like the

Rudra Veena,” he said .

Later during an interaction with the audience, Mr. Seth explained the efforts of SPIC MACAY to propagate cultural heritage and pass on the torch to a newer generation. The “Workshop Demonstration” (WMD) model, where a young artist travelled to remote schools to speak and perform art, was one of the most successful outreach modes of SPIC MACAY, he said.

The SPIC MACAY is also in the process of setting up a chapter in Puducherry, he said.