The fest will include live performances by Indian classical music maestros — flautists Pandit Hariprasad Chaursia and Ronu Majumdar, singer Shubha Mudgal, violinist Dr N Rajam, among others.

The venues for the festival will be the Indian Institute of Technology, National Institute of Industrial Engineering in Powai, University Institute of Chemical Technology at Matunga, Anjuman Islam at CST, Indira Gandhi Institute of Development Research at Goregaon and Institute of Technology and Management at Khargar.

SPIC MACAY, which has been active in Mumbai for the past 20 years, was formed in 1977 to promote awareness of the rich Indian cultural tapestry amongst the youth, to preserve the dynamic vitality of the youth, to focus on a solid value-based education system and to fight ‘deculturalisation’.

Harish Taneja, coordinator, Mumbai chapter SPIC MACAY, said, “There is need to incorporate certain elements of the traditional system of education into the lives of today’s youth. We believe that classical music is a medium that can help us achieve this.”

SPIC MACAY covers over 1500 schools and colleges in the country and has over 200 centres in India and abroad.

Priyadarshan Sahasrabuddhe, an IITian who has been associated with SPIC MACAY for the past five years, said, “Being an avid music student myself, I have a one to one interaction with my guru. Most students today are unaware of this traditional concept of learning from the guru. Organising such concerts in schools is an effective way to reach out to the students and encourage them to study classical music.”

The festival is organised from January to April and essentially focuses on Indian classical music and dance.

Another programme, Viraasat, is held between July and November and it concentrates on yoga, meditation, theatre and other cultural art forms.