SPICMACAY INTRODUCTION 1.

The Society for the Promotion of Indian Classical Music And Culture Amongst Youth (SPIC MACAY: http://spicmacay.com/), is a non-profit organization which promotes Indian classical music, Indian classical dance, and other aspects of Indian culture, established by Dr. Kiran Seth in 1977 at IIT Delhi. It seeks to foster the exchange of traditional Indian values and to generate awareness of the cultural traditions and heritage of India. In order to achieve its goals, SPIC MACAY organizes concerts, lectures, demonstrations, informal discussions, and seminars. These are hosted by local chapters of the organization. The movement caught the imagination of the young and began to grow geographically and numerically. While on the one hand, the idea had to be painstakingly introduced in minor doses, on the other, there was a clamoring for the programmes in schools and colleges. A combination of both has resulted in network of over 350 centers in India and 50 abroad. About 3,000 events are conducted yearly. 2. SPIC MACAY was registered under the Societies Registration Act of 1860 (in this matter 21 of 1860) being an Act for Registration of Literary, Scientific and Charitable Societies. The registration was done in 1980. The objectives for which the Society is established are: i. As a non-profit, voluntary, and participatory youth movement, dedicated to enriching education, by presenting a holistic vision of Indian culture, its priceless heritage of classical, folk and community tradition. To sensitize the youth to values enshrined in our tradition and culture which are generally accepted as those which enrich the quality of life. To offer youth the option of savoring the different and deeper aesthetics arising out of an appreciation of our cultural heterogeneity, by organizing classical music and dance programmes, folk arts and crafts of the vernacular culture, lecture demonstrations, talks and other related activities. To co-operate and collaborate with organizations, institutions and agencies for promotion of the objectives of the same. To promote and fund similar organizations. (and trusts etc.) with similar objectives. All the income, earnings, movable and immovable properties of the Society are solely utilized and applied towards the promotion of the aims and objectives of the Society only as set forth in the Memorandum of Association and no profit thereof is paid or transferred directly or indirectly by way of dividends, bonus, profits, or in any manner whatsoever to the present or past members of the Society or to any person claiming through any one or more of the present or past members. No member of the Society has any personal claims on any movable or immovable properties of the Society or makes any profit by virtue of his/her membership.

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Activities of SPIC MACAY since its inception, include performances in schools and colleges across the country, Conventions, the Scholarship Scheme, etc.

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All the activities of SPIC MACAY are achieved through the dedicated passion of volunteers, coordinating hundreds of centers throughout the country. In the last academic year over 8000+ activities were organized including performances of classical music, dance, folk, and theatre. Also several talks, heritage walks, screening of cinema classics, yoga and meditation, workshops and intensives were organized in educational institutions in different parts of the country.

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Since the past 35 years of its existence, SPIC MACAY has strived hard to sensitize the youth with the countrys rich and composite heritage. SPIC MACAY has centers in almost all the states of the country, including the Andaman and Nicobar Islands. There are about 350 centers in the country, covering all the states. SPIC MACAY has also crossed the borders and made has its presence felt in the foreign countries. There are 50 centers abroad in many renowned universities. Some of the special features which got added to the movement over a period of years are: i. Performances: Indian Classical Music and Dance are crucial components in the annual SPIC MACAY calendar, & add sparkle to it. Held all over India in the first half of the academic year, Lecture Demonstrations provide the stage for an informal interaction between the students and artistes, and help to create & fine-tune a future audience. Here the artistes demonstrate the art forms with the help of explanations, thereby, making their art form easily comprehensible. The rapport thus created helps the student develop a wholesome understanding of not only the art form but also the artiste as a practitioner of a certain way of life. The first lecture-demonstration series LEC-DEM79 was also conducted in 1979, when six great artistes, Pandit Birju Maharaj, Vidushi Sonal Mansingh, Ustad Amjad Ali Khan, Ustad Asad Ali Khan, Dagar Bandhu and Ustad Munnawar Ali Khan gave three presentations each at the Jawaharlal Nehru University (Godavari Hostel), Lady Irwin College and Miranda House respectively. ii. FESTS (The Festival): Fest concerts- held in the latter half of the academic year are formal presentations of classical music and dance. The aim of this series is to inspire the student community with the real thing which will be sustained as they attend more Lecture Demonstrations and baithaks. The FEST series also provides the students an opportunity to witness several young and upcoming artistes perform along with the senior artistes. This concept started in 1980 in Delhi and spread to other parts of the country in 1981. VIRASAT: A weeklong festival comprising performances and workshops in folk and classical arts, literature, crafts, talks, theatre, cinema and yoga held in different educational institutions. It aims at close interaction between students, artists and craftsmen. The Virasat was launched for the first time in Dehradun in 1995, comprising many aspects of our Heritage. FOLK ARTS AND CRAFTS: While the movement lays great stress on the classical forms, it simultaneously recognizes the multitude of folk arts and crafts of our country. Therefore, with a view to exposing students to these, SPIC MACAY encourages programme through individual events of Folk Fests and Craft Workshops. This was introduced in the year 1986. SCHOLARSHIP SCHEME: The Scholarship scheme, started in 1986, helps students to stay for a month with enlightened and evolved persons (Gurus), who can be from the field of literature, spirituality, yoga, traditional medicine, arts and social work. This time away from their normal routine while experiencing another way of life, focused on voluntary work, simplicity, and an inward journey, could start off a journey of discovery for the students. Scholarships are offered once a year in the month of May/June. SANDESH (THE SPIC MACAY NEWSLETTER): It is SPIC MACAYs bi-monthly newsletter started in 1994. It aims to provide good, solid reading based on information and inspiration. For hundreds of volunteers spread across the country

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Sandesh is an important tool of communication, which also provides a platform for a meaningful interaction among all the members. vii. CONVENTIONS: CONVENTIONS are held at a state level once or twice a year (over 1 3 days) and the National Convention is held once a year in the month of May/June (over 6 days), bringing together members of SPIC MACAY from all states at a common platform. It comprises organizational discussions to analyze the previous years performance and the plans going forward along with any key challenges. It also features talks, films, crafts, yoga, holistic food, classical and folk performances by maestros. The first National Convention was organized at Hyderabad in 1986. The first schools' convention was held at Delhi Public School, R.K Puram, New Delhi, in 1991. YOGA / HOLISTIC CAMPS: Yoga, as a form of inner growth and not merely as a physical exercise, is fostered in our Yoga camps, and conducted by authentic yogacharyas. Holistic Camps are live-in camps where students and others stay for about one week away from their hum-drum normal routine to experience another way of living focused on simplicity, good health and spiritual training. A typical day would include Yoga, meditation, shramdaan, health practices, simple wholesome food, talks, creative workshops, discussions and baithaks. Such an experience leaves one more centered and at peace with oneself and the world at large. These camps are held during the vacations. WORLD HERITAGE: Through this, SPIC MACAY aims to bring the best of world heritage to the youth in educational institutions in India. The performances organized in World Heritage by SPIC MACAY includes, Noh by Fusao Okomotod and Kabuki from Japan, Kung Chu Opera by Ke Jun from China, Western Classical Music from Norway, Italy, Switzerland and Germany. COLLABORATIONS: o o o o o 6. 2004 - Tie-up with Rikskonsertene for cultural co-operation with Norway. 2004 - SPIC MACAY takes a delegation of artistes to perform in Pakistan. 2008 - Cultural co-operation extended to Sweden, Denmark, Finland, Iceland. 2010 - Partnership with ICCR - The Heritage Series is born - exposing foreign students in India to our culture. 2010 Partnership with 2010 Commonwealth Games Organizing Committee to promote Delhi 2010.

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SPIC MACAY has also entered into the collaborations with educational institutional groups like the Kendriya Vidyalaya Sanghatan, Navodaya Vidyalaya Samiti, CBSE and DPS to propagate our cultural heritage in their constituent schools. SPIC MACAY has received several recognitions for its consistent efforts in spreading awareness about our heritage. o o o o o o o Padma Shri by the Government of India in 2009. Distinguished Alumnus Award by IIT Kharagpur in 2010. NDTV Indian of the Year under the Arts and Culture category in 2009. Sahitya Kala Parishad Award. Sanskriti Award in 1980. Harballabh Sangeet Sammelan Award. Keshav Kothari Smriti Award.

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Chand Khan Award. Rajiv Gandhi National Sadbhavana Award in 2011.

In addition to the above achievements SPIC MACAY is also on the boards of several distinguished committees. o o o o o Central Advisory Board of Education (CABE). General Council of the Indian Council for Cultural Relations (ICCR) Executive Board of the Sangeet Natak Akademi. Governing Body of FTII Executive Board of the National Culture Fund.

Usage of Funds 1. Scaling up operations: To achieve the target of reaching out to every child in India. a. Investment in technology: use of digital media & making operations more efficient. b. Achieving the target of reaching out to every child in India. c. Hiring of key operational staff to support the global network of volunteers. Create & help implement curriculum based Formative Assessment (FA) interventions mandated by the Central Board of Secondary Education (CBSE) in K12 schools across India. Operational expenses a. For maintain and stabilizing current scale of operations. b. Funding budgeted shortfalls/deficits.

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Fund Raising Volunteer: Akhil Kishore, akhil.kishore@gmail.com, +91 98180 88050