SPIC MACAY needs no introduction to classical music lovers in the country. In their bid to bring Indian classical music and dance and heritage to the youngsters in India and across the world, they occupy a unique position. SPIC MACAY is holding its 5th International Convention with round-the-clock events and the venue is IIT Delhi off Hauz Khas Metro Station. Not only classical music and dance, the schedule includes yoga, meditation, discussions, and workshops on classical art forms such as Pata Chitra from Bengal or Block Print from Rajasthan.

Given the opportunity, we would have loved to attend every session but life takes over. Nonetheless, we wriggled out before time from work last evening, braved the oppressive heat and office traffic, and were fortunate to reach punctually for the Mohan Veena recital by the maestro Pt. Vishwa Mohan Bhatt. We have heard him before and were fortunate to hear his performance again. He was accompanied by his son Salil Bhatt. Pandit Ram Kumar Mishra and his son accompanied the maestro on tabla. The recital started with classical ragas and the strings of the veena silenced any hum in the huge auditorium. It was a scathing day outside and the melodious recital calmed the frenzied nerves. The cherry on the icing came at the end when Panditji played three popular numbers that are very close to our hearts. “Vande Mataram“, “Vaishnava Jana To” and “Raghupati Raghav” closed the first part this evening. You can listen to select moments of the concert here.

The concluding performance was by a grand dame of Hindustan vocals – Parveen Sultana. She started with Khayals in raga Yog and Hanswadhani and moved on to a Meera Bhajan. She concluded with the Durga stotra “Bhawani Dayani“. Her notes danced high and low almost tangibly in the audio and we enjoyed the performance with not only aural but visual senses.  Her performance was intercepted by little details she shared about the movement of the notes for budding musicians. The concert established, once again, the importance of dedicated practice or sadhana and the authority that comes with age and experience. And such command is not easily shaken.

An interesting event established the mark of a maestro during the concert. Smitten by Parveen Sultana’s renditions, the audience was breaking into applause almost involuntarily. When an announcer from the stage instructed the audience not to clap, Sultana intervened. She said the applause was not bothering her. On the contrary, the audience should be allowed to express their spontaneous display of happiness even during her rendition. That’s a master we say. True to her art and her audience.

SPIC MACAY has brought a host of such masters to encourage classical music listeners and their concerts are mostly free of cost. We have been following them for a while and recently heard the legendary Girija Devi sing at the memorial SPIC MACAY organised for the recently departed vocalist Kishori Amonkar.

We are humbled by SPIC MACAY’s dedication to the cause.  There is no other way we can put this. SPIC MACAY brings us experiences for a lifetime, no less. If you want to be a part of SPIC MACAY’s extravaganza during the ongoing event, you can check their program schedule on Delhi-Fun-Dos.com.