*45-year-old Cultural association, which became stronger with time*
A delegation of SPIC MACAY, led by Dr Kiran Seth, Founder SPIC MACAY; Rashmi Malik, Chairperson SPIC MACAY Foundation; Rajiv Giri, National Coordinator, SPIC MACAY; Prof Rakesh Sehgal, Director – NIT and Prof Muzaffar Ahmed Bhat, Principal – Government Degree College, Anantnag, called on Lieutenant Governor Manoj Sinha at Raj Bhawan and briefed Lieutenant Governor about activities and Vision of SPIC MACAY. Serious discussions took place and proposals submitted to preserve & promote our rich cultural heritage amongst the youth in the valley. He assured of all possible assistance from the UT administration.
- Rich tradition and culture of Kashmir:
In November 2021, Srinagar was designated, as part of UNESCO Creative Cities Network (UCCN), and it entered the club of 295 Creative Cities Network across the world. The idea is to build cities that are resilient, sustainable and future-proof, thus supporting the UN’s 2030 agenda for sustainable development at the local level. After Mumbai, Chennai, Hyderabad, Varanasi and Jaipur, Srinagar is the sixth Indian city to achieve this distinction for different categories. UNESCO designates the creative cities in seven fields – Craft, Folk Art, Media Arts, Film Design, Gastronomy, Literature and Music. The Srinagar city has been designated the creative city in the field of Crafts and Folk Arts – only second city in India in this category after Jaipur. Srinagar has also qualified because of its crafts and folk art, which is an intrinsic part of its tradition and culture besides the breath taking natural beauty (natural heritage) of the city itself.
- SPIC MACAY in Valley:
“We wish to bring the beautiful composite heritage of this country to Jammu & Kashmir and we would also like the crafts and folk art forms of Jammu & Kashmir to inspire the students here & of different parts of our country. SPIC MACAY in its 45 years has organized many activities in the UT (erstwhile a state) of Jammu & Kashmir. Last year in October (2021), we organised a flute concert under Music in the Park by living legend, Padma Vibhushan Pandit Hari Prasad Chaurasia at famous Chashm-e-Shahi under ‘Azadi ka Amrit Mahotsav’ celebrations,” said Rashmi Malik, Chairperson – SPIC MACAY foundation. Prof (Dr) Rakesh Sehgal, Director NIT Srinagar said, “Dr Kiran Seth is an inspiration to all of us. We must pass on his message of volunteerism and enlightenment through culture, classical music and meditation. NIT Srinagar will always extend every possible help to the organisation to reach out to every student of the Kashmir valley.”
- A movement, which inspired generations:
“SPIC MACAY has played a very important role in nurturing Indian heritage through classical music, art, literature, folk culture. Millions of youth have been inspired and made aware of the culture of the country by the organization,” said Prime Minister Narendra Modi, in 2017, while addressing the inaugural ceremony of International Convention at IIT-Delhi. “As the future generation of this country, we should be enthusiastic to learn and understand from this movement. It is the efforts of SPIC MACAY to inspire the young generation to become future global leaders by exposing them to the country’s rich cultural heritage and by giving them an opportunity to take up a leadership role and serve the nation.” said Yashaswini Inala – student volunteer, 3rd Year Electrical Engineering, National Institute of Technology, Srinagar. A not for profit, non-political and volunteer run youth movement. With no fixed assets and only one full time accountant (to take care of financial regularities and to help in compliance), the movement runs on the shoulders of around 2,000 volunteers. The volunteers dedicate a little bit of their time consistently. Though some are more active than others but spirit of Nishkaam Sewa is practiced by each and all. SPIC MACAY successfully organises 5000 activities annually (average pre-COVID) in more than 1500 institutions, influencing three million people (directly and indirectly). It has chapters in 500 towns in India and around 50 cities abroad. It spread gradually and organically.
- Bright road ahead-an inner journey:
The city is famous for many performing arts and traditional music. Srinagar may get enlisted as the Heritage city by the UNESCO in near future, which it well deserves. “What is tangible can be seen by all. It takes an awakened eye to be conscious of the intangible aspect of our heritage. We present both tangible and intangible aspect of our heritage to the young minds through lecture demonstrations and intensives of classical music & dance by gurus (senior artists), workshop demonstration in rural areas, and screening of cinema classics, crafts workshops, talks by eminent people, theatre, puppetry, holistic food, Yoga/meditations and heritage/nature walks. I would like to say that the immediate impact of our intangible heritage is neither visible nor quantifiable but continuous exposure to the intangible heritage awakens the inner eye of wisdom for sure,” said Rajiv Giri, National coordinator, SPIC MACAY.
Vertical Eye in the logo of SPIC MACAY represents the inner eye of wisdom and enquiry. Opening of this inner eye opens the path of knowledge and one embarks on an inward journey (Antaryatra), within oneself. As a result, it allows one to look inwards and beyond what is merely visible. SPIC MACAY, through its activities is trying to give younger generation an opportunity to open their inner eye by experiencing the intangible aspects of the Indian heritage. “It has been wonderful meeting students and senior people in different parts of Kashmir. It would be lovely if SPIC MACAY could take the beautiful intangible heritage of Kashmir and other parts of the country to all the schools and colleges in Jammu and Kashmir, which students are not getting in a sustained manner presently. This could lead to their development in a holistic manner, said, Padma Shri Dr Kiran Seth, Founder-SPIC MACAY and Professor Emeritus at IIT-Delhi.
