What is SPIC MACAY?

Our Founder Dr. Kiran Seth

Movement: 

SPIC MACAY (Society for the Promotion of Indian Classical Music And Culture Amongst Youth) is a voluntary movement founded in 1977 by Dr Kiran Seth, a Professor at IIT-Delhi who was awarded the ‘Padma Shri’ for his contribution to the arts in 2009.SPICMACAY’s intention is to enrich the quality of formal education by increasing awareness about different aspects of Indian heritage and inspiring the young mind to imbibe the values embedded in it. It seeks to inspire youth through experiencing the mysticism embodied in the rich and heterogeneous cultural tapestry of Indian and World Heritage, with a hope that the beauty, grace, values and wisdom embodied in these arts will influence their way of life and thinking and inspire one to become a better human being. For this, the most accomplished artistes of the country render programmes of Indian classical music and dance, folk, poetry, theatre, traditional paintings, crafts & yog primarily in schools and colleges. In 2011, SPIC MACAY was awarded the Rajiv Gandhi Sadbhavana award in recognition of its contribution to youth development.

In 2011-12, 4600+ programmes were organised in more than 1500 institutions in 300 towns in India and 50 towns abroad impacting more than 2 million students. All these programmes were organised by thousands of volunteers – largely students, teachers, housewives, retired people, professionals, young and old. SPIC MACAY celebrates Nishkaam Seva - the spirit of volunteerism – of giving selflessly without expectation, a value that is intrinsic to our culture and important to nurture in today's world.

SPIC MACAY is an affirmation of:-

• a priceless cultural heritage. SPIC MACAY seeks to conserve and promote an awareness of the rich and heterogeneous cultural tapestry amongst the youth of our country through focus on classical arts, with their attendant legends and philosophy and to facilitate an awareness of their deeper and subtler values.
• the pulsating and dynamic vitality of young people. The movement incorporates this vitality to cajole them into being custodian of what is actually their birthright, namely their heritage, roots and identity. It seeks to provoke thought and a genuine spirit of enquiry in the young.
• a solid value-based education, which involves the absorption of aesthetics and spirituality in an increasingly technical, mundane and competitive world. Thus its work is educational in spirit and character and locates itself largely in educational institutions.
• the effectiveness of voluntary work in inculcating a spirit of service. This is, in fact, the hidden agenda of this movement. Volunteers come from all walks of life with varied aspirations and skills. They give some of their time to a cause for the larger good and outside of their immediate self interest. The emphasis is on participation without hierarchy or formalism.
• the need for a more inspired and holistic perspective in a world bombarded by too much information. A unique feature of the heritage of India is its in-built characteristic of introspection and a philosophy that transcends mere intellectualism.
• all that is beautiful, lofty and wholesome, of the sensitive, kind and gentle human being who is inspired and in turn inspires.

SPIC MACAY introduced of the lec-dem (lecture-demonstration) format to present Indian classical art forms in a comprehensive manner in front of today’s youth, which has given them an understanding of the basics of the classical art forms, and done away with the misconception that classical arts are difficult to understand. To give our artistes a chance to undertake an inward journey and reach depths of performance (taking us along too), we endeavour to organise performances in an ambience conducive for touching the highest heights, both by the artists and the rasikas.

SPICMACAY is a non-profit, voluntary, non-political and participatory student movement registered under the Societies Registration Act, 1860 and gets the benefit of Section 80(G) tax exemption under the IT Act 1961. People from all walks of life are welcome to join and contribute with their ideas, time, finance or any other resources. The movement has a central executive body in New Delhi and organises its programmes through a worldwide network of schools, colleges and educational institutions. Apart from many well-wishers (corporates, individuals, charitable trusts, etc), SPIC MACAY is supported nationally by the Ministry of Culture, Ministry of Youth Affairs and Sports, and the HRD Ministry. Internationally, SPIC MACAY is recognised and supported by Rikskonsertene (Norway) and Goethe Institute (Germany) which enable conducting of 300+ concerts by Indian artistes in Scandinavia and Germany, and 200+ concerts by international classical artistes across India.