SPIC MACAY promotes J&K's rich cultural heritage among youth; leads a revolution [details]

Society for the Promotion of Indian Classical Music and Culture Amongst Youth (SPIC MACAY) is working tirelessly to promote the rich cultural heritage of Jammu and Kashmir amongst the youth in the valley. To further these efforts, a delegation of SPIC MACAY met J&K LG Manoj Sinha on last week and discussed several important aspects to preserve & promote the rich cultural heritage of J&K among the youth.

The meeting was held under the chairmanship of Dr Kiran Seth, founder of SPIC MACAY and Director NIT Srinagar Prof. (Dr.) Rakesh Sehgal. Dr Seth explained the activities and vision of the SPIC MACAY and discussed the various problems pertaining to the lack of cultural and heritage knowledge among the youth of India. LG Sinha's affirmative response assured of necessary assistance from the administration in fulfilling SPIC MACAY's vision.

"We wish to bring the beautiful composite heritage of this country to Jammu & Kashmir and we would also like the crafts and folk art forms of Jammu & Kashmir to inspire the students here & of different parts of our country. SPIC MACAY in it's 45 years has organized many activities in the UT (erstwhile a state) of Jammu & Kashmir. Last year in October (2021) we organised a flute concert under Music in the Park by living legend, Padma Vibhushan Pandit Hari Prasad Chaurasia at famous Chashm-e-Shahi under 'Azaadi ka Amrit Mahotsav' celebrations," Rashmi Malik, Chairperson - SPIC MACAY foundation, said.

SPIC MACAY's 45 years of legacy stands as proof in preserving the Indian cultural heritage and inspiring the youth in the process. PM Narendra Modi hailed the efforts of SPIC MACAY in his 2017 address at the the inaugural ceremony of International Convention at IIT-Delhi and said the organisation inspired millions of youth, who have been made aware of the Indian cultural heritage through SPIC MACAY.

SPIC MACAY is a non-profit, politically neutral, volunteer-run youth movement. It has around 2,000 volunteers, who have helped organise an average of 5,000 activities annually during pre-COVID, in more than 1,500 institutions across India and abroad, which influenced more than 3 million people.

"As the future generation of this country, we should be enthusiastic to learn and understand from this movement. It is the efforts of SPIC MACAY to inspire the young generation to become future global leaders by exposing them to the country's rich cultural heritage and by giving them an opportunity to take up a leadership role and serve the nation," Yashaswini Inala - student volunteer, 3rd Year Electrical Engineering, National Institute of Technology, Srinagar, said.

Preserving J&K's heritage for next generations

Now, SPIC MACAY aims to promote J&K's cultural heritage to every part of the country and beyond. In November 2021, Srinagar was designated as part of UNESCO Creative Cities Network (UCCN) and it entered the club of 295 Creative Cities Network across the world. After Mumbai, Chennai, Hyderabad, Varanasi and Jaipur, Srinagar is the sixth Indian city to achieve this distinction for different categories. Srinagar was designated the creative city in the field of Crafts and Folk Arts — only second city in India in this category after Jaipur. Srinagar may get enlisted as a Heritage City by the UNESCO in near future.

"It would be lovely if SPIC MACAY could take the beautiful intangible heritage of Kashmir and other parts of the country to all the schools and colleges in Jammu and Kashmir, which students are not getting in a sustained manner presently. This could lead to their development in a holistic manner," Padma Shree awardee Dr Kiran Seth, founder-SPIC MACAY and professor emeritus at IIT-Delhi, said.