Peeking into the SPICMACAY invite
SPICMACAY - Society for Promotion of Indian Classical Music And Culture Amongst Youth - organized its 8th International Convention at Visvesvaraya National Institute of Technology (VNIT), Nagpur from May 29 to June 4, 2023. This annual gathering brought together youth from across India and abroad, culminating in a week-long celebration of Indian culture. Around 1,500 culturally inclined delegates, along with our professor, Raghavan sir, we had the opportunity to attend the event.
During the convention, we had the opportunity to attend concerts by leading exponents of Indian classical music, both Carnatic and Hindustani, as well as classical dance performances, folk performances, theater performances, talks by eminent writers, a cinema screening with a discussion, yoga sessions, heritage walks, workshops, and various other activities.
We began our journey to Nagpur early in the morning on the 28th of May. We reached there around dinner time the same day and had gotten our accommodation at the VNIT campus.
Inauguration:
The following day, the inauguration took place with a melodious Mangal Dhwani performed by the Subhani Couple. The atmosphere was filled with positivity and enthusiasm, attendees from different states shared their opinions and interests in Indian culture and various other topics with each other. Seeing each other in their traditional way of clothing filled me with a sense of admiration for the rich cultural heritage and diversity that exists within our country. It was truly fascinating to witness the vibrant colors, intricate designs, and unique styles of attire that each region represented. An interesting rule was a stringent prohibition of use of mobile phones and other digital gadgets and ban on entry and exit of any relatives of the delegates. However, in later days we came to know that the enforcement of the provision was ‘not’ stringent but it’s obeyance, as it aimed and also we did, helped the delegates precisely focus on the experience in the convention so as to get its utmost benefit.
Throughout the week, we immersed ourselves in a unique ashram-like atmosphere, experiencing the rich cultural heritage of India. Our schedule helped us detox our minds, bodies, and souls. The schedule wasn’t normal to any average delegate.
Yoga sessions and a typical day:
We woke up at half past 3, for our Hatha Yog session at 4 every morning! It was conducted by Swami Tyagraj ji and his disciples Shri Rashmi Ranjan and Shri Dyvaipayan from the Bihar School of Yog. During the yoga sessions, we were taught various asanas and pranayamas. It helped us to get boosted up for the events ahead and kept us oriented for the day.In the beginning we meditated for 5–7 minutes and chanted mṛtyuṃjaya mantra, gāyatrī mantra and śrī durgā stuti. Swamiji told us that the mṛtyuṃjaya mantra invokes a certain psychic health shield around us and provides us ‘su svāsthya’ (good health). Similarly gāyatrī maṃtra helps bridge intelligence, imagination and intuition, and śrī durgā stuti would help protect ourselves from evils of the world, he iterated. After that we relaxed in śavāsana pose for three minutes. Later we practiced the method of getting-up from sleep and its reverse order - sūrya namaskāra, halāsana, vṛkṣāsana, and pavanamuktāsana (part 1, 2 and 3). At the end we practiced prāṇāyāma, specifically nāḍī śodha and brāhmī. Siṃhaghārjanāsana was another important breathing yoga practice. The session would end with a bhajan usually that of Lord Krishna or Lord Hanuman. On the last day, after we had a little experience in yoga, he taught us the concepts of the practices we had performed for the previous five days. There are many types of yoga like haṭha yoga, nāda yoga, rāja yoga, kriyā yoga, karma yoga, bhakti yoga, and jñānā yoga.
Yoga should be performed in three dimensions — physical, mental or intellectual, and breath. After the practice of every pose, one should spend little time observing the body, breath and state of mind which was indirectly a relaxation. On the last day Swamiji formulated for us a Yoga Capsule which included a list of yogic practices like mantra, āsana and prāṇāyāma for a student which consumed a minimal amount of time and provided appropriate benefits.
After an amazing session with Yog, we would have a shramdan for about fifteen minutes where we were given the task of cleaning the campus by picking up garbage on the way to the hostel. After shramdan, we would freshen up and have an amazing holistic breakfast to gear up for our workshop intensives.
Rajrajeshwar’s Intensive:
For my intensive, I had selected Dhrupad, a genre within Hindustani classical music. I didn’t have any specific reason to choose this as all the art forms offered as intensives were fairly new to me, just as this one. Dhrupad, derived from the Sanskrit words — dhruva (permanent, immovable) and pad (verse) — is considered the oldest known vocal style associated with Hindustani classical music. It is usually performed by a solo singer or a small group of singers, accompanied by the pakhawaj rather than the tabla.
My Guru for the Dhrupad intensive was Ustad Faiyaz Wasifuddin Dagar Ji, a Padma Shri awardee and a descendant of Saint Haridas. Under his guidance, I learned two songs in Dhrupad, focusing on the raag Brindavani Sarang. One of the most valuable lessons I gained from him was the virtue of patience. To truly enjoy Dhrupad, one must be patient from the outset, as it begins at a slow pace and gradually gains momentum. It was an exceptional learning experience, and Ustad Wasifuddin Ji expressed his enjoyment in teaching us Dhrupad, as we exceeded his expectations.
Shwetta’s Intensive:
I participated in the Bharatnatyam intensive. For my intensive workshop, I was blessed to be taught by Guru Meenakshi Chithranjan ji who founded Kaladiksha, an institution promoting Bharatanatyam and striving to preserve the Pandanallur tradition. She holds the highest artist grade at the Doordarshan. She taught us two dance items one was pushpanjali and the other was thillana.
Pushpanjali is an invocatory item where a dancer offers prayers to lord Ganesha to remove obstacles and ensure the success of the performance. We learned it in Raag Arabhi in Adi taal. Thillana is a dance of joy and gay abandon comprising beautiful neck moments, intricate patterns of nritta, and uplifting music that gives scope for twists, jumps, and quick turns done as a finale to the Bharatanatyam recital. We learned the Thillana composition in Raag Sankarabharanam in Adi taal.
If not for our Guruma it wouldn’t have been possible to learn such a complicated piece in four days and perform it. As it is rightly said “ Guru bina na gati , na vidya”. I didn’t get to perform on the last day due to an injury caused while practicing and hence I anchored the event. I made great friends who came from all across the country from different backgrounds and the memories I made with them will forever be cherished. I am grateful to our Guruma who enhanced confidence within us.
Samarth’s Intensive:
My intensive was in Hindustani Vocals by Dr. Prabha Atre — a Padma Vibhushan awardee who also excelled as a brilliant thinker, researcher, academician, reformer, author, composer and a great guru. She was trained in the traditional guru-shishya parampara for 6 six years and later had practiced music on her own, as she had mentioned in one of her casual talks during the session. During the intensive, she along with her two very senior disciples Dr. Chetana Pathak and Dr. Ashvini Modak, taught us Rāga Yaman. In this raag we learnt “āroha”, “avaroha”, “Bandish” (mana sumirā śrī gaṇeśha), “taan” and “tarānā”. Additionally, we also learnt a song “jagata jananī bhavatāriṇī” which is in Raag Bhairavī. On the last day of the convention, we performed the same on the stage. In the intensive classes, Dr. Atre very kindly and patiently answered every question in a simplified manner. She gave us short-brakes for every 30 minutes of practice during the classes. On the last day, we had a short casual discussion with her where she talked about her past life, journey in the music career and other education fields (B.Sc and LLB), etc. She also motivated each one of us to have a goal and never get defeated and stay strong until we reach it.
At noon, we used to get our lunch after toiling sweat in the workshop. After lunch, everyone used to gather for a common yog nidra session for about forty-five minutes. The yog nidra session helped us to get unwind from the stress and relax our muscles. If we make it a habit, it would regulate our circadian cycle and help us deal with insomnia better.
Soon after Yog Nidra concerts of various artists would start, which would go up to five in the evening. Since the provisions in ancient yogic scripts define the time of dinner to be before sūryāsta (sunset), we were provided with a holistic dinner. The concerts of various artists were scheduled for over 3 hours at night. Before we slept, we were provided with a ‘Light Nutrition’ at night.
During concerts, we were blessed to witness some of the most accomplished and acclaimed artists and gurus, most of whom were civilian awardees, from close proximity. Each performance by these great artists was truly marvelous, magical, and exceptional. Their experience, views and insights were nectar to our ears. On one occasion, a teacher from another school asked Ustad Wasifuddin Ji why classical music, such as Dhrupad, is not as popular among the youth compared to other genres. In response, he exclaimed that classical musicians are not driven by fame or monetary gains and that they carry forward this art because they find intrinsic value in it. He further expressed that while popular music might stay in our minds for weeks or even months, in his words “राग की छीट एक बार किसी के मन पर पड़ जाए तो वह बहुत देर तक बना रहता है।” when the essence of a raag touches someone’s soul, it remains etched in their hearts for an extended period.
Rajrajeshwar’s admirations:
Carnatic Violin: Vidwan Lalgudi GJR Krishnan’s Carnatic Violin performance was absolutely a masterpiece. In Carnatic music, the emphasis is primarily on vocal music, with most compositions originally intended to be sung. Lalgudi Krishnan Ji performed compositions by Saint Thyagaraja in the raga Kiranavali, as well as compositions by Patnam Subramania Iyer. The highlight of his performance was a captivating composition of Shyama Shastri in the raga Kalyani, followed by a mesmerizing percussion dialogue between the mridangam and ghatam artists, B. Harikumar and T.N. Radhakrishnan, respectively. The coordination and mutual understanding among these three artists were beyond words. Their energy and joy during the performance were truly immeasurable.
Odissi Dance: Vidushi Sujata Mohapatra’s Odissi dance performance was a breathtaking spectacle. Odissi is a major ancient Indian classical dance form that originated in the temples of Odisha. Through her dance, Vidushi Sujata portrayed a scene from the Ramayana called ‘Sita-Haran’ expressing the religious and spiritual ideas associated with Vaishnavism. Her portrayal of characters such as Shri Ram, Maa Sita , Jatayu, and Ravana was executed with sheer brilliance. Transitioning seamlessly between characters, she captivated the audience. The cameraman faced challenges in capturing her expressions as he had to choose between focusing on her eyes or her continuously moving feet. Such was the artistry of her performance.
Shwetta’s admirations:
Among all the performances two were unforgettable. The first was by Margi Madhu Chakyar Ji on the third day of the convention. Margi Madhu ji is a renowned Koodiyattam artist from Kerala. He has trained many students in Koodiyattam and has established Margi Theatre and Research Centre. He has been awarded many National and International awards, author of 5 books, magazines, and newsletters, recorded on Doordarshan many times, and HOD of theater and arts at the Sri Sankaracharya University of Sanskrit in Kerala. He is a great artist who is preserving and promoting this traditional art form.
In his performance, He performed on Ascharya Choodamani’s Ashoka Vanikankam sequence where the focus was on Shringara rasa. In this act, the main character was Ravana, who thinks of Sita’s beauty after abducting her. He thinks of her beauty in five segments where her hair comes first. Ravana compares it with a peacock’s feather and then the story revolves around the proud peacock feather who once witnessed Seeta’s hair. On boasting his beauty to Sita’s hair, Sita’s hair doesn’t pay attention to his blowing trumpet. Due to this, the peacock’s feather decides to go to Satyaloka to ask Lord Brahma for a judgment to decide who is more beautiful, where some mesmerizing dialogue in which Sita’s hair wins the argument. Later after thinking about Sita’s beauty Ravana gets afflicted with Kama’s arrows, gentle breeze, and moonlight which feels like a burn to him, to which he decides to have a conversation with the moon. He asks the moon how it is to be separated from his loved one, since he is the husband of the night. Ravana adds that he was merely the smear of Rishi Attri’s eyes, and that he couldn’t defeat him by his light and that it was the power of Sita, whom he had dragged and separated from her husband. Then Ravana elaborately explains how Sita lived with Rama in the forest in all the hardships of nature, wild winds, hot sun, and rains. And then again he thinks of Sita’s beauty. I experienced that Koodiyattam is the theater of imagination which depends on the audience’s imagination to understand the performer’s imagination.I have become a fan of Koodiyattam ever since.
The second performance was by Vid. A Kanyakumari ji which I liked the most. It was on the last day of the overnight concert. It was my first ever experience hearing a live Carnatic violin performance. She dedicated her life to music as a soloist, teacher, innovator, and organizer. She is truly an inspiration. Her calm and divine appearance is stunning.
She began with some amazing compositions, one of them was a praise to Lord Ganesha in Raag Hansdhwani. She played the patriotic song ‘Hum ko man ki shakti dena’ and ‘Vande Mataram’. It was so good that the audience started to sing along. She also played some of my favorite bhajans like Raghupati raghav raja Ram and Payoji Maine Ram Ratan. I enjoyed every bit of her performance. Listening to her was like sitting at the Lord’s adobe.
One of my favorite discussions was ‘The Making of Mahatma’ with Actor Shri. Rajit Kapoor ji. The film discussed was directed by Shri Shyama Benegal ji. In the film, Rajat Ji played the character of the Mahatma. The film captures M.K. Gandhi’s struggles, growth, and profound philosophies, shedding light on the events and people that shaped his ideology of nonviolence and civil disobedience. Through its powerful storytelling and exceptional performances, the film offers a profound and inspiring cinematic experience, compelling viewers to witness the profound personal and ideological transformation of one of the greatest leaders in history. It is a must-watch for anyone seeking to understand the life and principles of Mahatma Gandhi and to be inspired by his unwavering commitment to justice, peace, and equality. Listening to the ‘Behind the Scenes’ of the movie, really inspired me and gave insights into the hard work that every department had to put in to make a successful movie.
Samarth’s admirations:
Coincidentally and as per the schedule Carnatic Vocals by Vidushi Aruna Sairam and Odissi Dance by Vidushi Sujata Mohapatra were performed on the same day, on 02nd June, 2023 (Friday). Both were equally excellent in their own unique ways. Odissi Dance was started with a shloka ‘śāntākāraṁ bhujagaśayanaṁ’, worshiping Lord Puri Jagannath and Mother Earth (Bhu-Sparsha). Vid. Sujata Mohapatra performed in a way where one can easily identify the shloka just by observing her steps. Her steps clearly deciphered each Sanskrit word in the shloka. The second dance piece was by the male disciple.
Third dance-piece was again by Vid. Sujata Mohapatra where she danced for a part of Ramayana where Sita likes a deer and asks lord Rama to bring the deer to her, followed by Lakshman’s Lakshman Rekha and the subsequent abduction of Sita by Ravana. The piece ended with Jatayu, the mighty bird which tries to rescue Sita but fails. When the third piece was started, the position of holding a bow and an arrow (depicting Lord Rama) made us speechless. I still remember the words of Prof. Raghavan sir who said that even ‘real’ Rama would have not held the bow and the arrow like her, which was actually a possibility of thought for me too. The geometric shape of her bow-and-arrow action was, for me at-least , precise, accurate and errorless. But the delightful step of her in the same piece was her expression when Sita rejects initially to cross Lakshmana Rekha to give Bhiksha to Ravana, disguised as a sage and subsequent event of her abduction. I had previously watched Ramayan only in T.V serials and in cartoons and read and heard in puranas, but after Vidushi Sujata Mohapatra’s performance I was mesmerized. My imagination of ‘real’ Sita was now Vidushi Sujata Mohapatra. At the end of her performance I shed a tear for the first time which hasn’t happened to me during any concert.
However, my overwhelming desire for Odissi Dance and a benchmark that this would be the best performance, for me, in the convention was normalized by the performance of Vidushi Aruna Sairam who is regarded as the Music Ambassador of India. Although I do not have a great music-technicality for making a comparison of Aruna Sairam’s with that of others, her brilliance in music, philosophical history, western music knowledge, mythological history and her intelligence in attracting the audience made me experience the greatest performance that day.
She started her concert with a Devi Saraswathi song composed by Mysuru Vasudevachar.
The second song was kṛṣṇā nī begāne bāro (Kannada) written by Vyasatirtha. I remembered my mother, as she used to sing the song during normal bhajans and in devotional celebrations.
The third song was from Raag Kadanakuthoohalam which was one of the sweetest to hear.
The fourth song was again in Kannada, enagu āne ranga nināgu āne. The importance of this piece was elaborated by her very well. Purandaradasa, who wrote the song asks the God, here Vishnu (Ranga), that his responsibility was to only meditate about Ranga and similarly the God’s responsibility was to protect people from evils and distractions. By this, the audience not only enjoyed the music but also understood it even though many didn’t know the Kannada language.
Her fifth piece was an abhanga from Pandit Bhimsen Joshi where she told that she used to listen to it during her learning times.
The sixth was a different but unique one where she elaborated the similarity of the raaga between a script of Adi Shankaracharya for Goddess Meenakshi and a medieval French song which described a Mother. The song was śabadā brahmamahi mahāmapayī mināmbike by Adi Shankaracharya.
The seventh song was a Tamil Folklore, Maadu Mekum Kanne where Yashodha requests her son, Krishna not to enter forests as demons would be present there, but Krishna tells her not to be worried as he would defeat them easily”.
The last one was Kalinga Narthana Thillana written by Oothukadu Venkata Subbaiyer, where the script describes the dance of Lord Krishna, a five year old boy dancing on the snake Kalinga on the banks of Yamuna river. Vid. Aruna Sairam’s performance easily cinematized the context as if Krishna is dancing on Kalinga and the snake retrieving at the end. The eight pieces by Aruna Sairam made everyone stunned in the auditorium. We even got her blessings, autograph and a picture with her.
The last day, our return and returns:
On our day of return we visited Deekshabhoomi, Nagpur where Dr. B. R. Ambedkar along with more than a lakh followers renounced Hinduism and converted to Buddhism on the fourteenth of October, nineteen fifty six, the largest religious conversion of the world. Thereafter, we visited Burdi, Nagpur, a great marketplace to enjoy the attire and cuisine of Maharashtra. We visited the locally originated but world famous Haldiram’s and purchased sweets. Our return journey was from Nagpur Jn. to Chennai Egmore in Ajmer-Rameshwaram Humsafar Express. The return journey was delighted by the dinner, specially prepared by Shewtta’s Maasi, to whom we are very much thankful for providing Puri, Aloo sabji, Puran Poli, Pulav and Buttermilk.
In the end, it was a wonderful experience. It taught us that one can live without or with minimum interaction with technology in this fast-paced digital world. We believe everyone should get such experience at least once in their lifetime. We had witnessed the beauty and diversity of Indian art forms during the span of that week. Our stay in VNIT would have been hard without our Raghavan sir’s knowledge in demographics and sense of humor. His ability to identify the state (or locality sometimes) just by observing one’s face, uttered words and their respective slangs left us in awe. The convention also blessed us with the opportunity to interact with a variety of delegates coming from Jammu and Kashmir, Haryana, Uttarakhand, NCT Delhi, Uttar Pradesh, Madhya Pradesh, Gujarat, Bihar, Assam, Manipur, Odisha, West Bengal, Maharashtra, Karnataka, Telangana, Andhra Pradesh, Kerala and Tamil Nadu. We were extremely curious and equally happy when we interacted with delegates from Kupwara, Jammu and Kashmir. We would not hesitate to applaud the sense of humor of Raghavan sir which made each and every moment of the seven days lively.
We loved the campus of VNIT, the host of the event. The lush green campus made everything more beautiful. We would recommend everyone to seize such opportunities in the future and make a beautiful impact on themselves.
We would forever cherish all the beautiful memories, discussions, laughter, and knowledge we shared.
Written by Rajrajeshwar Gupta (EC22B1121), Shwetta Khadse (ME22B2040) and Samarth Desai (CS20B1022) who attended the convention along with professor in charge for cultural affairs Raghavan Santhanam sir.
