OdishaPlus Bureau
First of a kind series bringing arts and culture to the youth through online digital platform
To help alleviate the mental stress of young people during the COVID-19 pandemic, SPIC MACAY is organizing a week long online series of programmes called SPIC MACAY Anubhav. SPIC MACAY Anubhav will enable the youth to experience and indulge in mystical and diverse aspects of Indian art, culture and heritage in an ashram like atmosphere at home , thereby aiding in easing the mental stress, during the challenging times of the Covid-19 pandemic. The Day one of the event concluded with interactions and recitals by classical music maestros Vidwan T. N. Krishnan and Sangeet Martand Pandit Jasraj. Vidwan T.N.Krishna played some of his well-known Carnatic music pieces . He also shared an insight into his musical journey expanding through 80 years and how at the age of 3, he started his journey of playing violin, with his father being a mentor and guide.
Pt Jasraj blessed the students and audience in a recorded conversation. The concert related enthralled the students as they listened to Raag Jog, and got a glimpse of Pandit jis sonorous voice which spans the musical octaves . He concluded with a rendition of his famous bandish Mata Kalika and bhajan Om Namo Bhagavate Vasudevaya. The Day 2 of SPIC MACAY’S Anubhav series marked the beginning of five-day classical dance, music and craft workshops by eminent Gurus, for selected students. From 2nd to 6th June there will be daily interactive live sessions and workshops with eminent Gurus of various art forms. An enlightening session was held with the Brahmakumaris at 4 am in the morning where Sh. B.K Suryaji Bhai talked about our values and culture laying emphasis on the fact of changing ourselves first to bring about a positive yet productive change in our lives.
This was followed by a Hath Yoga Swami Devanand ji from Bihar school of Yoga where self awareness of mind and body was emphasized upon to students. Post this, participants experienced a session of Naad Yoga by the master of Dhrupad, Ustad Wasifuddin Dagar from 6 – 7 am. The Yoga series was followed by live interaction with eminent artists like Vid. Saroja Vaidyanathan (Padma Bhushan, Bharatanatyam), Vid. T. V. Gopalakrishnan (Padma Bhushan, Carnatic Vocal), Vid. Aruna Mohanty (Padma Shri, Odissi), Vid. Vanashree and Guru Jayarama Rao (Padma Shri, Kuchipudi), Vid. Bharati Shivaji (Padma Shri, Mohiniyattam), Vid. Kshetrimayum Thouranishabi Devi (Padma Shri Manipuri), Pt. Umakant Gundecha (Padma Shri, Dhrupad), Pt. Rajendra Gangani (Kathak), Pt. Jatin Goswami (Sattriya), Vid. Kalamandalam Ramachandran Unnithan (Kathakali).
This was followed by 20 workshops covering art forms of classical music , dance, painting and crafts like Bharatnatyam, Odissi Kathak, Kuchipudi, Sattriya, Manipuri, Mohiniyattam, Hindustani Sangeet, Carnatic Sangeet, Kalighat Painting , Mural Painting, Calligraphy, Chittra Painting Kangra Painting, Gond Painting. Each workshop has student joining via video conference and around 5,000 live views on YouTube.
The workshops were followed by an afternoon session with Vidushi Parvathy Baul (Baul Sangeet), eminent Baul folk singer, musician and storyteller. Baul is a powerful musical form that has been recognised as a “Masterpiece of the Oral and Intangible Heritage of Humanity” by UNESCO, and dates back to the early 8th C. AD. Vidushi Parvathy Baul, discussed the philosophies of Baul music transcending above all communication and explained the deep philosophies related to music and life and about endless suffering of birth and dying, the eternal cycle.
The soulful folk music was followed by Vidushi Teejan Bai’s Pandavani( Padma Vibhushan Awardee). She is the very first female exponent of Pandavani, the Indian folk music performed predominantly in Chhattisgarh, Vidushi Teejan Bai has been enacting tales from the Mahabharata for audiences across the world. After the story telling session of Pandwani, the students had a personal break and were guided to follow a holistic nutrition and early dinner.
The evening concert series began with a live interaction between the ‘Paganini’ of Indian Classical Music Dr. L. Subramaniam and SPIC MACAY volunteers. It was a candid conversation in which he recalled the influence of his father V. Lakshminarayana Iyer and about his father’s significant contribution to give the Indian Violin a recognition as Solo instrument. He talked about his memories performing as Trio with his brothers, as well as of an incident when he performed in Paris. The day was concluded by an interaction and the melodious classical recital of Hindustani Vocal by the brother duo Pt. Rajan and Sajan Mishra( Padma Bhushan Awardee), who represent the Benaras Gharana of Indian Classical Music.
During the current COVID-19 crisis, SPIC MACAY is organizing this special series with an effort to connect the youth with the living legends of classical music, dance, and other folk art forms. The inaugural session was addressed by Prime Minister Mr. Narendra Modi along with other dignitaries Union Ministers Ravi Shankar Prasad, Prahlad Singh Patel, Shripad Yesso Naik. This special series of ‘SPIC MACAY Anubhav’ is being conducted online from June 1st to 7th and streamed live on our YouTube channel https://www.youtube.com/user/spicmacay.