Top Artists Huddle in Hyderabad for Cultural Convention

Hyderabad: India’s greatest living artists are performing in Hyderabad this week but not at any festival or auditorium. Instead, they’ve gathered at IIT Hyderabad for Spic Macay’s 10th International Convention, a week-long cultural event with over 1,500 students.

From Padma Bhushan recipients and folk painters to heritage scholars and spiritual mentors, the event claims to be a full-scale transmission of India’s intangible heritage through silence, discipline, and one-to-one learning that begins at 3.30 am each day.

The convention was formally inaugurated on Monday by Governor Jishnu Dev Varma, who described the gathering as a movement rooted in philosophical traditions that once made the nation.

Addressing a packed auditorium, he called SPIC MACAY the collective soul of the country expressed through its classical arts and ancient wisdom. “Dharma is how we think, religion is how we worship,” he said.

A native of Tripura, he expressed joy at the inclusion of Hojagiri, a folk dance from his home state, in the programme. “Hindustani music once flourished in Tripura under the Maharajas. Today, it is revived through SPIC MACAY,” he said.

The day began with a screening of Gandhi, followed by an interactive session with SPIC MACAY founder Dr Kiran Seth, who called upon students to seek strength through simplicity. He reminded them that freedom was a by-product of Gandhi’s inner journey, not the other way around. “We don’t fight people, we fight the evil within them,” he said. The orientation session that followed focused on conserving water, voluntary service, and quietude.

The evening opened with a Nadaswaram recital by Sheikh Mahboob Subhani and Kaleeshabi Mahaboob, both recipients of Padma Shri. After the formal inauguration, Kuchipudi dancers Raja and Radha Reddy, who are Padma Bhushan awardees, presented an excerpt from Bhama Kalapam, followed by a Hindustani violin performance by Padma Bhushan award recipient Dr N Rajam.

The coming days will feature early morning yoga and meditation guided by mentors such as Swami Thyagarajananda, Ustad Wasifuddin Dagar, and the Brahma Kumaris. Intensive workshops in traditional arts and crafts will run in the mornings, followed by afternoons filled with cinema, talks, and folk performances.

Artistes scheduled to perform include Begum Parween Sultana, Pandit Hariprasad Chaurasia, Vidushi Ashwini Bhide Deshpande, Ustad Shahid Parvez Khan, and Pt Venkatesh Kumar, among many others. The event will conclude on June 1 with curated heritage walks across Hyderabad.