SPIC MACAY NATIONAL SCHOOL INTENSIVE

Schedule for Webcast is as follows 

24-Dec-11

• Welcome Address, Orientation and Session on Christmas 1:30pm to 5pm
• Concerts: Pt. Vishwa Mohan Bhatt and Us. Abdul Rashid Khan 6 pm to 9:30 pm
25-Dec-11
• Intensives with Maestros 9 am to 12 pm
• Talk: Smt. Shanta Serbjeet Singh 1:30 pm to 2:30 pm
• Concerts: Sh. Venkatesh Kumar and Pt. Birju Maharaj 6 pm to 9:30 pm
26-Dec-11
• Intensives with Maestros 9 am to 12 pm
• Folk: Smt. Reshma Musale (Lavani) 1 pm to 2:30 pm
• Concerts: Pts. Rajan & Sajan Mishra and Sh. Kalamandalam Gopi 6 pm to 9:30 pm
27-Dec-11
• Intensives with Maestros 9 am to 12 pm
• Folk: Smt. Manjusha Patil-Kulkarni (Natya Sangeet) 1 pm to 3 pm
• Concerts: Dr. N Rajam and Sh. Uday Bhawalkar 6 pm to 9:30 pm
28-Dec-11
• Intensives with Maestros 9 am to 12 pm
• Talk: Sh. Dadi Pudumjee 1:30 pm to 3 pm
• Concerts: Vd. T.N. Seshagopalan and Sh. Bahauddin Dagar 6 pm to 9:30 pm
29-Dec-11
• Intensives with Maestros 8:30 am to 11:30 am
• Intensive presentations 11:30 pm to 1:30 pm
• Concerts: Prof T.N. Krishnan, Vid. Shruti Sadolikar, Pt. Hariprasad Chaurasia and Vid. Ashwini Bhide-Deshpande 3:30 pm to 9:30 pm

In The Hills of Garwhal - Mahua Shankar and Spicmacay Doon Team

We are happy to let you know that SPIC MACAY ,Dehradun conducted a very special concert tour by Mahua Shankar , who gave  nine Kathak recitals in different parts of Garhwal between the 9th and 13th of December.

Eight of the concerts were held in schools of Rural Garhwal where a SPIC MACAY concert took place for the very first time .

She reached out to thousands of fascinated students ranging from a Primary School in Gauchar to the trainees of ONGC at Dehradun . Seven  of the venues were Govt Schools /Institutions 

After several years  , SPIC MACAY held a concert at the very prestigious HNB Central Garhwal University at Srinagar. 

As you can see from the photographs , Mahua and her team performed close to Badrinath and Kedarnath ! 

Our volunteer Lalit Mohan who initiated , planned and followed up the entire tour called it ' Paharon ki god mein '!

A new and enthusiastic volunteer Parvez Ahmed ( based in Srinagar ) accompanied the artistes throughout the tour and we are hoping to do a similar circuit in Chakrata and Tehri early next year . 

Since April 2011 , SPIC MACAY has conducted 223 events in Uttrakhand ,reaching out to more than 1 lakh students .

With best wishes  for the season and the new year !

Mahua Shankar who will be visiting the valley on 9th December, 2011

Mahua is disciple of the legendary figure of Indian classical dance, Padma Vibhushan Pandit Birju Maharaj, Mahua started learning dance at the age of five. Her father, the late Shri Pradeep Shankar, and her mother, Smt. Rekha Shankar, were her first gurus. Mahua was also trained under guru Smt. Reba Vidhyarthi and Smt. Vaswati Mishra. Awarded with the “Shringar Mani” 2007 from Sur Shringar Samsad – Mumbai .Mahua Shankar has danced, to great acclaim, in several prestigious festivals. As a young dancer, she has also had the distinction of performing in Rashtrapati Bhavan, before the then President of India, Dr. A. P. J. Abdul Kalam. Have performed with Pandit Birju Maharaj in his major productions in many prestigious festivals and has travelled extensively in India and abroad. Has to her credit dance sequences in two major films, “Gaddar” with Sunny Deol and Amisha Patel and “Devdas” with Shah Rukh Khan, Aishwarya Rai and Madhuri Dixit.


Kathak is one of the classical dance styles of India. It is a characterized by fast footwork (tatkar), spins (chakkar) and expression (abhinaya). Kathak has a long history having been influenced first by the narratives by kathakas or ancient bards, and subsequently by temple dances, the bhakti movement, and then by the Mughal and later courts from the 16th century onwards.

Spicmacay Dehradun is going to host a concert of Ustaad Sthehujaat Khan and he will be accompanied on Tabla be Shri Arunangshu Chowdhury and Shri Shankar Debnath. The event will be hosted at Mahar Academy from 05:00 PM on 24th of November, 2011.

Here are a series of videos which speak lengths about his talent, and leave no words to be written on the post. Hope you enjoy them and wish to see him!

Shujaat Khan sings Amir Khusrau

Shujaat Khan Sings Lajo Lajo

Ghazal by Ustaad Shujaat Khan

To know more about the even details do visit our facebook page!

Purulia Chhau Dance

The Chhau dance of Purulia district is one of the most vibrant and colourful art forms. Emerging from martial practice, the Purulia Chhau is a vigorous form of dance drama that draws its themes from the two great Indian epics, The Ramayana and The Mahabharata.

Masks and elaborate headgear are the ornamental apparels of the Chhau dancers. The dance is believed to date back to over a century, though the specific date of its origin cannot be definitely ascertained. The accompanying musical instruments include the Dhol, Dhamsa and Shenai.




In a Chhau Dance the fight between good and evil always culminates in the triumph of good over destructive evil. The elaborate masks, the dazzling costumes, the rhythmic drum beatings and shenai, characterise the Chhau Dance.

A distinctive feature of this dance is the acrobatic use of the body and the intricately crafted masks worn by the dancers. Powerful movements, immense concentration and release of energy are the other features of this dance.

The masks help the dancers to portray different characters. There are masks depicting particular Gods and Goddesses, demons and monsters. There are also interesting masks for different animals like the lion, tiger, bear, monkey and so on. These finely-crafted masks are made by the painter artistes of the district. With the face covered by a mask, it is left to the dancers to emote using their bodies. Movements and postures therefore serve both to portray emotions and make the dance lively.

One of the most popular presentations of the Purulia Chhau Dance is Mahisasur Mardini. Oppressed by the tyranny of the Mahisasura, the Gods pray to Goddess Adyashakti Mahamaya who takes the form of Goddess Durga, Durgatinashini and after a fierce battle with Asura, finally slays him.

Chaturang Utsav

Classical Vocal by Kalapini Komkali

24th August 6:00 PM Concert , The Doon Girsl School

25th August 5:30 PM concert Bhatkhandy Music College

26th August 10:30 AM concert Brooklyn School

27th August 6:00 PM concert Welham Girls' School

28th August 10:30 AM concert The Heritage School

29th August 5:30 PM concert . Bhagwan Singh Inst of Bio Medical Sciences

30th August 5:30 PM HIMALAYAN INSTITUTE OF MEDICAL SCIENCE

31st August 11:30 AM TIMES WORLD SCHOOL , Nazibabad

31st August 7:30 PM GB PANT ENGINEERING COLLEGE , PAURI, GARHWAL

24th -28th August 2:30 - 4.40 PM Workshop , Welham Girls' School

Kalapini, daughter and disciple of Pandit Kumar Gandharva & Vidushi Smt. Vasundhara Komkali is a prominent name amongst practitioners of Indian Classical Music. She has inherited from her distinguished parents not only the techniques and grammar of her art but also a capacity for creativity and reflection. She combines special features like gunjan (continuum) and the playfulness of Vasundharaji with the aaghat (emphasis) and razor sharp precision of Kumarji.

Her musical lineage is most evident in the central emphasis on bandish (composition), its meaning or bhava, and in the studied restraint which does not allow the notes or laya (tempo) to overwhelm the lyric. Layakari (playfulness with tempo) is used sparingly to augment the meaning and rhythmic balance of the composition. The full melodic range and capability of the voice are hinted at but never allowed to dominate by sliding into vocal acrobatics.

.Kalapini lives in Dewas, centralIndia. She is an active trustee of the Kumar GandharvaSangeetAcademy, which has been formed to present and promote his work. She was honoured with the Kumar Gandharva Award by the prestigious Pujari Pratishthan of Pune. And she has received an award-scholarship from the Department of Culture, Government of India.

Commercial releases of her studio recordings include "Aarambha" and "Inheritance", released by HMV; and "Dharohar" released by Times Music. "Swar-Manjiri", a live concert recording was released recently by Virgin Records. Kalapini has also recorded for the sound tracks of the films "Paheli" and "Devi-Ahilya".

Kalaapini has traveled extensively through India and abroad. Her highly prestigious performances are:-SawaiGandharva festival, pune Days of Delhi-(India) in Moscow-Hall of international music.Ritburgh musium,ZurichAllarakha music academy,Basel, SwitzerlandHarballabh Sangeet Samaroha, -Jallandhar- (oldest music festival of India)

STUDENTS REPRESENT DEHRADUN AT SPIC MACAY NATIONAL CONVENTION AT IIT KANPUR

21 young volunteers represented Dehradun at the National Convention of SPIC
MACAY held at the IIT KANPUR between the 1st and 6th of June .

At a time when a bulk of the country’s students are enjoying their summer
vacations, over 1000 young delegates from all over India ,descended on a
soulful journey for five days and experienced a life-changing event. They
spent a week witnessing performances and attending workshops by maestros of
Indian classical music and dance, leading folk artists, talks by eminent
people from different fields, screening of classic films, craft workshops, yoga
. Spic Macay conducted its silver jubilee convention in the Golden Jubilee
year of IIT Kanpur.

The convention was inaugurated by Padma Bhushan Vidhushi Girija Devi followed
by Carnatic violin recital of Prof. T. N. Krishnan and vocal recital of Pt.
Rajan and Pt. Sajan Mishra. Other eminent artistes participating in the

convention included Pt. Vishwa Mohan Bhatt, Smt. N. Rajam, Ust Abdul Rashid

Khan, Pt. Ulhas Kashalkar, Sh. T.N. Seshagopalan, Ust Shahid Parvez . Besides
this there were intensive workshops by Gurus like Ust. Fariuddin Dagar,
Ust. Bahauddin Dagar, Smt. Karuna Chitrakar, Guru Mayadhar Raut and
Sh.Margi Madhu. Abdul Rashid Khan . Students learnt crafts from award
winning craftpersons of the country in the field of Artistic Weaving , Bagh
Block Print, Kutch Embroidery , Applique Embroidery , Mooj Grass Crafts,Lehriya
Klim Technique, Kashmir Paper Machie ,Madhubani Painting, Phulkari
Embroidery , Bamboo Crafts Agartala etc

The students accompanied by Mrs S Kalra and Mrs R Mahindroo were from Summer Valley School , SGRR , Brightlands School, St Josephs' Academy , Welham Girls' School , MKP PG College , ICAI , Welham
Boys' School , SGGR College of Pharmacy.

Said Tavishi Khanna of Les Roches Institute: 'The national convention
was, as always, a huge success--an eye-opening experience for the new
volunteers and a chance to re-live the legendary performances for the
older ones. SPIC MACAY makes us realise what are the things that truly
matter in life.'

“Today we are so linked up with the outward world through Internet,
television and the mobile phone. This week-long ‘Retreat’ provided an
opportunity to the young person to connect inwardly.” asserts its founder
Dr. Kiran Seth, Professor at IIT Delhi.

you can see more pictures at

http://www.flickr.com/photos/sreenivasan/sets/72157624186297132/

Odissi concerts of Arushi Mudgal

Dehradun chapter of Spic Macay organized a series of Odissi concerts of Arushi Mudgal between 25th and 27th of February at the Institute of Management Studies, Forest Research Academy , MKP Girls Inter College, Welham Girls' School , Himjyoti School and the LBS National Administrative Academy ( Mussoorie ) . The concerts were extremely well received and Arushi managed to captivate and fascinate the students with her simple, graceful dance style , besides communicating skillfully with a variety of students ranging from the IAS probationers to the junior students of a Government school .
Between the 29th of April and the 5th of March , Padma Bhushan Uma Sharma gave lec dems in different parts of Uttrakhand . For the first time SPIC MACAY ventured into Pauri Garhwal where Umaji performed at the Sanskriti Bhavan . Around 600 students from 4 different Goverment as well as Convent schools and colleges attended the concert . The District Magistrate assured SPIC MACAY that he would personally arrange the concerts at educational institutions at Pauri in future . The same evening The GB PANT ENGINEERING COLLEGE , PAURI had her perform for around 500 students . Umaji inaugurated the sub chapter at the college . A short film on SPIC MACAY ( made by the Dehradun chapter ) was shown .
In and around Dehradun, concerts were held at the Summer Valley School , Hope Town School - Selakui , Bhatkhande Music College , Rashtriya Indian Military Academy , St Joseph's Academy and the LBSNAA , Mussoorie . The concert at St Josephs was attended by more than 3000 students . Umaji had to perform in 2 shifts as the hall could not accomodate all students at one time . She was extremely accomodating and the students were spell bound by her 'abhinay ' !
Besides coverage in around 18 newspapers , the concert was covered by 4 television channels in Pauri and Dehradun .

Virasat 09 Forthcoming Artists

VIRASAT' 09