Cultural extravaganza at IIT Bombay

Mumbai! No, I would rather like to call it Bombay!

So, it was 28th of May, 2015 when I finished my university exams and I already had a plan for the next week. I was super excited for this trip to attend the 3rd International Convention organized by SPIC MACAY at IIT Bombay in the last week of May to be continued till June first week.

With all sincerity from my heart I really want to thank Dr. Kiran Seth for establishing this wonderful organisation that promotes Indian art and culture among youth. Before I share my experience of being there and attending the convention, I want people to know what is it about. Ofcourse you can know about SPIC MACAY from anywhere but the idea behind such a convention is outstanding. The seven day convention was held at one of the most beautiful campus, with staying and food without any cost! We only had to get our train tickets done and rest all without any expense. The convention was designed to have a morning Yoga session, a three hour intensive/workshop in any art form in the morning, afternoon concerts, evening concerts and necessary breaks for food in between. In the seven day international convention, more than 1500 delegates from more that 15 countries and almost 100 artists joined the event to make it successful.

For a person like me, it was nothing less than a blessing to attend such a convention and live every moment of it. Yes, I lived every second of it! SPIC MACAY got the best of the artists and Gurus for us to perform and teach. Isn't it the rarest of occasion where you get to listen to the soulful tunes from Girija Devi singing Kajari and Thumri, watching Birju Maharaj bringing serenity with the expression of Rasas, looking at Akbar Padamsee with his timeless paintings, witnessing the magic of Shiv Kumar Sharma's stick in hands running over Santoor strings, Shahid Parvez bringing another world altogether with his fingers on Sitar, Sujata Mohapatra taking you to the trance with her delicate and beautiful moves of Odissi ...Yes, all this happened all seven days in IIT Bomaby and art lovers, I know, you are craving to attend something like this. There was a time in this event when I felt so much relieved after watching Malavika Sarukkai's Bharatnatyam and I just couldn't stop my tears flow endlessly. That was a moment of peace where one feels the presence of God and his grace in music and dance.

Praveen Kumat performing Bharatnatyam

Birju Maharaj performing Kathak

T.V. Shankaranarayanan performing Carnatic music 

Girija Devi performing Hindustani classical music

Ileana Citaristi performing Mayurbhanj Chhau

Malavika Sarukkai performing Bharatnatyam

Sujata Mohapatra performing Odissi

Dadi Pudumjee's artist with human sized puppet 

Shekhar Sen performing 'Kabeer'

Pandit Shiv Kumar Sharma with his Santoor

In the morning session of intensive, we had to choose any art form that we would want to learn and understand. With some kind suggestions of my teacher, I chose to learn Kudiyattam, which is the oldest style of Sanskrit theatre in India. Margi Madhu was our intensive guru and for the next five days he taught us the basics of and about Kudiyattam. Madhu sir is a great artist and above of all a wonderful person. Those sessions of Kudiyattam have really changed something in me as an audience and an art lover too, I feel enriched!

In between these sincere sessions, travelling in local for the first time, visiting Haji Ali Dargaah and Marine Drive, we did something adventurous that I would love to share! We were around 17 people from Bhopal including 15 students of MANIT. On a beautiful night, one of a student, also my school junior proposes the idea of climbing the hill at one side of the institute. Of course me and another girl denied 'who were not an engineering student' but they insisted we'll like it. The adventurous 'me' didn't want to miss that chance and believe me, there is nothing like climbing a hill at mid-night, reaching there up on the top and spending all night beneath the full moon and open sky! I could see half of the city, the lakes, the tall building that looked smaller to us. That feeling is of course out of my reach to express in words. Bombay was a painting from there. We saw the sun rising, heard birds singing and couldn't do much than just filling up the fresh air in our lungs. Smiles all the way, happiness inside, we returned back to our hostel.

Soon I returned home with this experience. That was joy!