GEC Thrissur                           Chapter

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             The Society for the Promotion of Indian Classical Music And Culture Amongst Youth,GEC chapter. The Society for the Promotion of Indian Classical Music And Culture Amongst Youth, often known by its initials (SPIC MACAY), is a voluntary youth movement which promotes Indian classical music, Indian classical dance, and other aspects of Indian culture; it is also a movement with chapters in over 200 towns and cities all over the world.SPIC MACAY was established by Dr. Kiran Seth in 1977 at IIT Delhi. It seeks to foster the exchange of traditional Indian values and to generate awareness of the cultural traditions and heritage of India. In order to achieve its goals, SPICMACAY organizes concerts, lectures, demonstrations, informal discussions, and seminars. These are hosted by local chapters of the organization. Today, SPIC MACAY has some 500 chapters across the world and holds around 6,000 events annually mostly in educational institutions, Lecture demonstrations are crucial components of our programmes of Indian Classical Music and Dance. They aim to create an audience that can appreciate our classical heritage. These programmes are more informal than that of concerts and facilitate a closer interaction between the students and the artists. Here the artists demonstrate the art forms with the help of explanations, thereby, making their art form easily comprehensible. The rapport thus created helps the student develop a wholesome understanding of not only the art form but also the artist as a practitioner of a certain way of life. LEC-DEMs are conducted at regular intervals at schools and colleges.

There was an active SPICMACAY GEC Thrissur chapter in 1980’s. Some how the chapter was idle for many years and was rejuvenated back to its current status on 13th February 2012 with an inaugural concert by eminent flautist Ronu Majumdar. The  SPICMACAY chapter is currently Co-ordinated by Dr. M. S. Sinith, Assistant Professor, Dept. of Electronics and Communication Engineering. 

Performance by Ronu Majumdar

Kumaresh on stage

On 19th March 2013,a violin lecture demonstration by eminent violinist by Mr.Kumaresh that drew wide attention from all the corners of Thrissur.A kathakali demonstration was also staged during the same week,by Mr.Peeshapilly Rajeev.

Student interaction
The programmes organised by the chapter in the next academic year began with a Lecture Demonstration on Kathak and Dhrupad(Hindustani vocal) on 26th July 2013,in the chemical department seminar hall.The audience got a rare opportunity to meet and listen to the world renowned Dhrupad artist Vidushi Alaka Nandy,who despite her age,indeed captured everyone’s heart with her beautiful voice.Kathak was demonstrated by Vidushi Sushmitha Banerjee provided a wholesome understanding of the art form.
The next programme was a karnatic violin lecture demonstration by the Mozart of Indian music, Padmabhushan T.N.Krishnan on 21 st January 2014,Tuesday.
The chapter,besides lecture demonstrations,also organises flute classes on a weekly basis for flute enthusiasts. 

Sushmita Banerjee-kathak and Alaka Nandi-Hindustani

Pabdmabhooshan T N Krishnan- Violin

Snaps from the workshop on Hindustani Classical Music by Amjad Ali Khan 

The main event conducted during 2021 is a Hindustani Music Workshop by Amjad Ali Khan conducted for the students and faculty of GEC Thrissur. The online workshop was a great success with many students and faculty from various disciplines attending the session. The inauguration was done by our beloved Principal on 18th of Jan 2021 and the five day workshop was completed on 22nd Jan 2021 with a velidatory function at 8:00 PM. All the sessions were conducted through online platforms.