SPIC MACAY, JAMALPUR

Shatrunjay Krishna’96

 

“Ms Kala Ramnath’s programme was so good. Why, pray, can’t we have more such events regularly? “

“Bhaiya, what instruments can we learn?”

“Bhaiya, I am interested in joining SPICMACAY. How can we do so ?”

“What will we have to do after joining SPICMACAY?”

“I am so eager , can I come to Gymkhana for more information?”

­ These and lot many more sentences kept pouring in from different directions as we were completely swept off our feet by the response we got from school children of Notre Dame Academy. We had gone there to publicise Ronu Majumdar’s flute recital. We needed one or two volunteers for the programme to co-ordinate between us and NDA for this programme.

 

It was then that we realised we’re  grossly underestimating Indian music’s capability to knock at even a child’s hearts. And  stir something deep within. Majority of the children there had listened to Ms. Ramnath when she came to Jamalpur under the “Fest Series” of SPICMACAY activities in February. For many of them it was their first experience of listening to a classical recital for half an hour. Perhaps easy-to-hum  popular tunes can catch your fancy same as body rocking aerobics gives you a refreshing feeling. But once you listen to classical music for, say, more than fifteen minutes it permeates to the inner layers of one’s spirits and starts dissolving the inside junk  just as effectively as Yoga. SPICMACAY has taken up this job of arranging India’s tryst with something which is their very own – classical music, rich cultural heritage of the country. Trying to hold a mirror before ourselves long enough for us to see our true self. To discover for yourself  the vibrations that can provide you serenity in the noisiest of surroundings.

 

Activities of SPICMACAY Jamalpur chapter :-

 

Homefront: At SPICMACAY Jamalpur we plan to do so much but have to give in to the demands of other constraints, never without a fight. We have managed to keep the torch burning at Gymkhana.

 

Fest Series: Ms. Kala Ramnath , the renowned violinist, came, played and literally conquered us all. The programme at NDA was a huge hit. The children grew so ecstatic that they asked her to play more and more. The programme stretched far beyond the stipulated duration. If listening to Ms. Ramnath was a  musical feast to one’s ear meeting and  talking to her was invigorating and blissful self renewal. At Gymkhana she chatted with us and after such a short time of a few hours seemed like someone amongst us. Ustad Akram Khan accompanied her on tabla. A master tabla player and an equally marvellous human being, he shared with us anecdotes of his foreign visits.

 

Winter Convention, Jalandhar : Sh. Vinod Kumar’94  and Sh. Prashant Kumar Singh ’96 represented Jamalpur at this alternate winter convention. Harballabh Sangeet and Vichtra Veena  recitals were highlights of this convention. Vinod and Prashant made a lot of friends there from different parts of India. Gymkhana telephone keeps on ringing since then.

 

State Convention, Patna , April: Sh. Abhishek Raghuvanshi ’96 and Sh. Shatrunjay Krishna ’96 represented Jamalpur. A need was felt for more closer co-operation within the chapters. Co-ordination with Bhagalpur chapter was suggested to help solve lack of man power and other problems of Jamalpur.

 

National Convention, Hyderabad, May: A team of four had been invited. 1994 batch passing out coincided with the convention’s time. Obviously, we stayed back to give our seniors a tearful adieu.

 

East Zone Convention, Jamshedpur, July: A team of four went there to participate. The venue was a remote rural hamlet some fifteen kilometres away from Jamshedpur. A workshop in gardening had also been arranged there. That worked, for some of us got seeds of affection for the place that its people firmly sowed in their hearts. We all got quite moved to see the scenic beauty around as well as the beauty of such human interaction as a SPICMACAY convention evokes.

 

The Lec-dem series has just begun and we hope that Jamalpur again becomes abuzz with musical notes of the great maestros of this land.                                                                                                                                       

                       

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