Students Promote Indian Classical Music Through SPICMACAY

There’s a special kind of magic in classical music, said Harsha Nagarajan '08. It can change your mood, change your energy-level, and in Nagarajan’s case, it can change your life.

“Indian classical music—it is just so beautiful,” he said. Thick with tonal variations and thumps of percussion, it sails with the timbre of stringed instruments and flutes. It plays in his mind, in his tapping toes, in his nodding head.  

“I, myself, am a musician, too,” he said, a trained vocalist in South Indian Classical Carnatic music of 20 years.

It’s a fitting assertion for this graduate student and officer in Texas A&M’s chapter of SPICMACAY—Society for Promotion of Indian Classical Music and Culture Amongst Youth. Among his duties is organizing several Indian classical music and dance concerts on campus, made possible in part through funding from The Association. 

Performers are flown in from around the world because the concerts provide more than entertainment, he said. The Indian classical music has been scientifically studied for its therapeutic benefits. The music’s sophisticated system keeps listeners engaged and learning. Dance is involved, as well, he said—colorful explosions of twirls, feet stomps and arm movement.

“It suits the soul,” Nagarajan said. “It makes the soul happy, and when the soul is happy, we’re more efficient and maintain better relationships.”

Some of the music’s benefits can come through online listening, as well. A two-hour concert is posted online at tx.ag/spicmacay. The group’s YouTube channel, at tx.ag/YouTubeSPICMACAY, has several videos as well. Dates for future concerts can be found at spicmacay.tamu.edu.

“We really appreciate The Association so much,” he said. “Thank you.”