Padma Vibhushan Pt. Birju Maharaj and Saswati Sen, Kathak Performance

Everything in the universe has rhythm and everything dances  and dance  is the hidden language of the soul . Pandit Birju maharaj has made these words come true.

Pt. Birju Maharaj gave his first performance at the age of seven. He gave Kathak Dance a new dimension by developing his own unique style and popularised this classical dance of North India all over the world and is a familiar face of Indian Kathak dance. He has performed in almost all the countries. He is a wonderful singer with a strong grip over, Thumri, Dadra, Bhajan and Ghazals.

A Well-known exponent of Kathak, recipient  of Sangeet Natak Academy Award, Padma Vibhushan,  Kalidas Samman, Soviet Land Nehru Award, SNA Award, Sangam Kala Award. He belongs to an illustrious family of dance masters of the Lucknow Gharana. His two uncles Shambu and Lacchu Maharaj, and his father Acchan Maharaj were all well-known Kathak dancers. Apart from Kathak, he is also an accomplished vocalist.

He took Kathak to new heights by choreographing new Kathak dance dramas. He is also the founder of Kalashram. Pandit Birju Maharaj is not only a Kathak dancer but also a sensitive poet and captivating orator. He composed many dance dramas like 'Gobardhan Leela', 'Makhan Chori', 'Malti-Madhav', 'Kumar Samvav', 'Phag Bahar' etc. He also composed two classical dance sequences for Satyajit Ray's film 'Shatranj Ke Khiladi'. He has a special flair for playing percussion instruments like Tabla, Pakhawaj, Dholak, Naal and string instruments like Israj, Violin, Swar-Mandal, Sitar etc.

His talent, dedication, innovation, training, repertoire and performances have earned him the status of a living legend in India  and his soulful performances give the audience something that they can treasure and keep for their life time.

Pt. Ritesh & Rajnish Misra, Classical Vocal, 16th to 23rd April

‘Mishra Bandhu’ Ritesh and Rajnish  Misra , are one of the leading upcoming vocalists  in the country today .Duet singing in the Indian Classical Music is considered a very difficult art, for it requires not only individual competence but, great amount of self-control to improvise and harmonize at the same time. The maestros due Ritesh-Rajnish Mishra have put in every thing to achieve such excellence under the guidance of the ever great, Padma Vibhushan  Pt. Rajan Misra (Father) and Pt. Sajan Misra (Uncle) of the Banaras Gharana,

The Artist brothers  have been learning music since their birth with sounds of Tanpura, Sarangi, Tabla and voices of forefathers vibrating in their home and surroundings.  Skilled with rich knowledge of Indian Ragas the duos render Khayal, Tappa, Tarana Bhajans and other classical forms, casting a spell on the audience.

They have performed at most prestigious concerts all over the world in countries like Canada,   United States of America, that included Lincoln Centre In New York , the Royal Albert Hall and the   Queen Elizabeth Hall in  London ,  Germany , Italy , France , Spain , Dubai etc.

On the 15 of April, they performed at the young maestro’s festival in Delhi where they were facilitated by the Chief Minister Mrs Sheila Dixit.

Their work with famous composer Michol Nymen has been released as an album (SANGAM) selling worldwide. They have sung 3rd track “Mahadeva” in the album called ‘Rise’ that has been nominated for the prestigious ‘Grammy Awards’. They have given background score to the audio book by Penguine & ANB publisher.

They are ‘A’ grade vocalists of All India Radio and Television. They have been awarded the prestigious ‘Yuva Ratna Award’ for the year 1999. They have also received the prestigious “Bhavishya Jyoti Award” for the year 2007. They have received the prestigious “ Sangeet Natak Akademi’s Ustad Bismillah Khan Award” for the year 2008. They have recently been conferred with "Sangeet Samriddhi Samman".

They are accompanied by Shubh Maharaj on the tabla and Sumit Mishra on harmonium.

Pt Ronu Majumdar, Flute Performance from 7th April to 11th April

Pt Ronu Majumdar grew up in Varanasi where he was originally taught flute by his father Dr. Bhanu Majumdar and then Pt. Vijay Raghav Rao.

In 1996, Ronuji received a Grammy nomination for his work on the album Tabula Rasa with Bela Fleck, the American banjo virtuoso.

Sahara India Pariwar felicitated him with life-time achievement award on occasion of Jyoti Diwas 2001.

He Received the prestigious “National Kumar Gandharva Award for 2005-06”for Classical Music by the Madhya Pradesh Government.

Pt. Ronuji's grand guru is the legendary Pt. Ravi Shankar. Ronuji has recorded on the groundbreaking Private Music {BMG} album titled “Passages” with Pt. Ravi Shankar and Philip Glass. He also performed on Pt. Ravi Shankar's 1997 release “Chants of India” on Angel {EMI} and toured with him in 1988.

He is a featured artist on Trilok Gurtu's Universal Records CD “Remembrance” with Shankar Mahadevan, Shobha Gurtu, Zakir Hussain and Sultan Khan.

He has toured extensively in Europe, the USA, Canada, Japan, Singapore, Thailand, Australia, New Zealand and the Middle East. He has performed numerous times at the world’s most prestigious venues such as The Kremlin, Moscow, The Palace of Beaux Arts, Brussels and so on. His name has been associated with international maestros like Pandit Ravi Shankar, George Harrison, ace guitarist Rye Cooder and several others.

He had the honor of being the first flautist to give a concert in New Zealand’s town hall situated in Auckland.

He has also recorded with legends like Beatles' George Harrison, Ry Cooder, Zakir Hussain etc. He enjoyed a close association with R. D. Burman, the illustrious music director.

He has also recorded with Zakir Hussain and Ustad Sultan Khan on the 1994 Merchant Ivory film “In Custody”. In 2002, Ronu joined Michael Stipe of REM, Robbie Williams.

Classical Vocal, Sulochana Brahaspati

Sulochana Brahaspati is one of the most well known, and the only woman exponent of the Rampur Gharana of Hindustani Shastriya Sangeet. She received training in vocal music from Pandit Bholanath Bhatt of Allahabad and Ustad Mushtaq Hussain Khan of Rampur. Later she received further training from her illustrious husband, the late Acharya K.C.D.Brahaspati.

Sulochana Brahaspati’s performances are distinguished by the richness of her voice and the intricacies of her taans. The Alap and Dhrupad Ang are pronounced in her music. Her rendering of Dhrupad, Khayal, Thumari, Dadra and Tappa singing is steeped in tradition and shows sparkles of a great maestro.

Over the last four decades she has made her presence felt all over the world with performances in Russia, Hungary, Mongolia, Nepal, Germany, UK, France, Holland, Italy, Czech Republic and other European countries. For several years she collaborated with French musicians to create a magical fusion of Indian classical and French music.

Sulochana Brahaspati has been honoured with countless awards:

• The Dagar Samman in 2007
• The Tansen Samman in 2006
• The National Sangeet Natak Academy Award by the President of India in 1994
• The Uttar Pradesh Sangeet Natak Academy Award in 1984, to name a few.

She also represented India at the Millennium Celebrations held in Paris at the turn of the century.

Her book entitled “Khusro, Tansen Tatha Anya Kalakar” awarded the ‘Best Book of the Year’ by The Authors’ Guild of India.

Sulochna Brahaspati stands forth today as one of the foremost classical vocalist in the country today. She is accompanied by Sri Bharat Bhushan on the Sarangi and  Sri Jai Shankar on the Tabla.

The Achivements of SPIC MACAY, Uttarakhand 2011 -12

With the active support of the Chairperson, all members of the State Advisory Board  our well wishers and our volunteers, the  SPIC MACAY movement succeeded in conducting nearly 300 programs in various regions of Uttarakhand. These included programs of classical music and dance, folk art forms, Heritage walks, and screening of Heritage films.

It is with a great sense of pride and honor that we inform that the 19^th Rajiv Gandhi National Sadbhavana Award has been conferred on SPIC MACAY. The award was instituted by Indian National Congress to commemorate the ever lasting contribution made by the former Prime Minister, (Late) Shri Rajiv Gandhi to promote peace and communal harmony amongst youth.

The award which was presented by Dr. Manmohan Singh, Prime Minister of India, to Dr. Kiran Seth in August 2011 carries a citation and a cash award of Rs 5 lacs. It is indeed a priviledge and a humbling experience to join such illustrious luminaries as Mother Teresa, Ustad Bismillah Khan, Lata Mangeshkar, and many others who have received the award in the past.

The report:-

1.  With the grant of Rs 50,000, kindly provided by H.E. the Governor of Uttarakhand, Mrs. Margaret Alva, a projector along with speakers and a laptop was bought.  This helped us in screening 55 heritage films  in various schools and colleges These included films made by famous directors like, Satyajit Ray, Charlie Chaplin, Akira Kurusawa and Shyam Benegal

2.  H.E. had emphasised on involving youth in the restoration of archaeological treasures.  Keeping that in mind, heritage walks were conducted for various schools with the help of the Archaeological Survey of India, at the,Jhanda Sahib,of Sri Guru RamRai Darbar Khalanga Park and the historical Nala Pani forest.

3.  With the kind support of Education Secretary Mrs. Manisha Panwar, 32 concerts were held in government schools of the State. Official letters from the Department of Education to these institutions were of great assistance in organizing these programs.

4.  Ms Beena Bhatt, Director Culture, helped in getting the grant of Rs.5 lakhs that was sent to the central office of SPIC MACAY at Delhi. The department of culture also sponsored the Folk group from Hanol that performed in institutions in and around Dehradun. We thank the department for its support and hope to spread the folk culture of Garhwal in urban Uttarakhand as well as in the rest of the country.

 5.  Chairman of Unison Education Society, Mr.Amit Agarwal’s unconditional patronage to the movement is worth mentioning.  With his support 15 programs were held in the society’s institutions.  He helped in sponsoring a SPIC MACAY event in the lawns of MAHAR Hospitality Academy which was attended by students from 16 institutions. We hope to make this into a regular event on the lines of Music in the Park series and get legendary artistes to perform for the students and citizens of the Doon Valley.

6.  Mr.Arun Dhand, Director, Petroleum University, prepared an approach note for creating a structured SPIC MACAY Chapter on the campus of each College/school of Uttarakhand.

7.  Prof Girijesh Pant, Vice Chancellor, Doon University, responded to the approach note by starting a SPIC MACAY Chapter, which conducted five concerts and a heritage film festival at the Doon University. The University also provided hospitality to the artistes.

8.  Mrs Ranjana Chopra, Joint Director, LBSNAA, continued her unstinted support to SPIC MACAY, and conducted 9 programs at the Academy. The academy paid for the fare and air travel of the artistes which was of immense help to the Dehradun Chapter.

9.  As the DM of Pauri , Mr Dilip Jawalkar, helped in the hospitality of artistes visiting Pauri by providing accommodation at the Circuit House. He coordinated with local schools as well as with the DM of Chamoli who assisted in increasing our reach in the region.

10.  Ms.Chhaya Khanna, head of CBSE schools sent a letter to all CBSE schools of Dehradun, directing them to have SPIC MACAY programs as a regular part of their school curriculum. 22 programs were held in CBSE schools in the region.

11.  Mr.David Hilton, head of ICSE schools sent a similar letter to all the council schools of Dehradun, He invited SPIC MACAY to give a presentation at the Principals' meeting held in Carman School, Premnagar in September. Following this, there was an increase in SPIC MACAY activities in the schools and a total of 79 programs were held in the council schools in Dehradun.

12.  Mr. J. M. Rawat, Asst. Commissioner Kendriya Vidyalaya  Sangathan, appointed a DO for all the Kendriya Vidyalaya’s of the district who helped in conducting concerts by 13 artistes in 18 Kendriya Vidyalayas in Uttarakhand. We were invited to do a presentation at the Regional Principals meet of the Kendriya Vidyalayas on 31st of July, which was attended by 53 Principals of the region.

13.  With the support of Dr.Chakravorty, Senior Professor from IIT Roorkee,  19 programs of 9 artistes were held at the IIT and  surrounding schools and colleges. 

14.  Mr. Satish Sharma, Editor and proprietor, Garhwal Post, gave generous support to the movement all the year round through his newspaper, Garhwal Post. He publicized and covered all the programs conducted by SPIC MACAY and provided stationary and complimentary space for posters.

15.  Mr Ajit Singh continued to support the artistes by providing instruments whenever required, displaying posters and at times sponsoring advertisements of SPIC MACAY events. Several artistes make it a point to pay their respects to Ajit ji and visit him at the Partap music house.

16.  Mrs. Priya Chaturvedi, Director, Department of Music, The Doon School, helped reinforce activities of SPIC MACAY in The Doon School.  

17.  Mr.Hemant Kochar, Director of Madhuban Group, provided hospitality and complimentary stay for some of the artists. He supported the Concert by Ustaad Shujaat Khan that was held at the Mahar Academy in November and was attended by over a thousand students from various colleges.

18.  We were happy to include the ITBP Training Academy as a part of SPIC MACAY program venues. With the help of DIG Sanjay Singhal 6 programs were held at the ITBP training centres at Dehradun, Mussoorie, Gauchar and Joshimath. Excellent accommodation and facilities were provided to the artistes.

19.  Training institutions like the ONGC Acedamy, Indian Military Academy, Indian Institute of Remote Sensing, Indira Gandhi National Forest Academy supported SPIC MACAY by having regular programs and providing artistes hospitality.

20.  In Kumaon, 29 programs were conducted in 12 institutions. Regions like Rudrapur, Almora, Ghorakhaal, Peorah, Majkhali and Ranikhet were covered.

21. 26 volunteers from Uttrakhand attended the SPIC MACAY National Convention at the Ravenshaw University, Cuttack and 6 students attended the Gurukul Scholarship under great Gurus in the field of Clasical music, dance and social work.

In the last year we have set up our own blog, facebook page. This has allowed us seemless communication among members, better accessibility and platforms for wide publicity.

This report is incomplete without a special mention of the volunteers. As you all are aware that SPIC MACAY is a voluntary organization, it would not have been possible for the Uttarakhand chapter to organize so many programs without the untiring efforts of our numerous volunteers.  

Travelling the length and breadth of the state, escorting great artists to the humblest of venues, keeping late hours and giving their most valuable commodity, their time - they are the backbone and support of the SPIC MACAY movement in our State.

These young and (not so young!)  men and women, labour not for self , but for an idea -  that a nation's  cultural heritage is worth saving,  and that the custodians of its heritage are its future guardians.