Catch ‘em young is mantra: Dr Kiran Seth

By PRABEER SIKDAR

DEHRADUN, 19 April, 2009:

Dr Kiran Seth, an IIT Kharagpur product, who also has a Doctorate from the Columbia University, New York, is an unassuming man – but a man who knows his priorities.

On the concluding day of Spic Macay’s three-day state convention at IGNFA Auditorium, here, there were many artistes who even remained unaware that it was in 1979 that he had laid the foundation for the greatest Indian cultural movement. (May be his khadi clothes failed to attract anybody’s attention!)

After the convention formally got over in the afternoon, Seth was found removing scraps of paper from the auditorium. He also requested students not to leave any mess behind.In the list of 44 Padma Shri awardees felicitated by the President of India, recently, which also included Dr Kiran Seth, the spotlight was ironically hogged by the likes of Akshay Kumar and Aishwarya Rai Bacchan.

Spread over 300 cities in India, and 50 International cities in countries like US, Canada, Norway, UK, etc., Spic Macay has been exposing Indian culture including its music, art forms, yoga, meditation, songs, etc., to the Indian Gen-Next since 1979.

After ensuring that the last piece of waste was removed from IGNFA Auditorium, Seth talked to Garhwal Post about Spic Macay and what it means for Indian culture.

Some excerpts:

How did you get the idea for a movement like Spic Macay?

I was completely hooked on the Beatles and Mary Hopkins stuff while I was studying at IIT Kharagpur (1965-1970). But, there was one Lee Sen, a staff member at IIT Kharagpur, who slowly took me closer to Indian classical music. Every year, Sen would organise a Classical Programme in the campus called Green Amateur’s Night.

But it was not that I listened to it very intently, as then I preferred to while away my time playing cards with my friends in the back benches.

Later, when I went abroad for my PhD (Columbia University), I got a chance to attend a Dhrupad concert by Ustad Nasir Aminuddin Dagar and Ustad Zia Fariddudin Dagar at the Brooklyn Academy of Music, New York, in 1972. That one concert moved me as I can still vividly remember every detail of the event, the raga they sang…I was completely overawed, thinking if they could move me, then why not others.

So, after some time, I formed an Indian Club of Columbia University with some of my friends. We pooled money and started inviting Indian music maestros to Columbia University whenever they came to New York for their performances.Later, after finishing my PhD, when I joined IIT Delhi as an Asst Prof (in 1976), I had once casually asked my 50 students whether they had ever heard the name of Pt Nikhil Banerjee (Veena player). When they replied in the negative, I asked them whether they were interested in having a classical programme every year…The students later formed MEFORG (Mechanical Engineers Final Year Operations Research Group).

As a first, we invited the Dagar brothers in 1977… Later, under Spic Macay, the first official event was conducted in 1979…

So far, how many artistes have performed under the banner of Spic Macay? And in how many art genres?

We do not have any numbers. But all Indian classical stalwarts have at one point in time, performed for Spic Macay. Over the last decade, we are also trying to expose other international art/ music forms under the Best of World Culture Programme.

What is the best way to popularise Indian classical fare among youngsters?

Catch ‘em young—is the mantra to popularise India’s rich legacy. During my stay in West Bengal, one thing that attracted me was the initiative taken by parents in this regard. They are quite art conscious and introduce their children to Bengal’s artistic traditions like Rabindra Sangeet, etc., which sentiment is missing in other parts.

In this regard, I feel school principals like HM Rout (Principal of Meerut based Dewan Public School) where about 5000 students study, can play an important role. He actively holds Spic Macay programmes in the school four times on an average in a year.

Ironically, the same is not happening for other Indian children, who are not getting exposed to India’s traditional arts.

Unlike mainstream Bollywood music or films, why is it that Indian classical music has failed to become popular?

Communication of Indian classical music is quite slow. But the best way to take it to the masses lies in repetition, i.e., good things should be repeated again and again. What does an award mean to you?Awards are extraneous; therefore, I prefer getting them internally inside me. I have a Bharat Ratna inside me (laughs, before he heads to have dal/ rice).