From correspondents in Delhi, India, 07:41 PM IST

In its 31st year now, SPIC MACAY is beginning its Virasat 2008 series in Delhi and all over the country in 300 towns. The series will start in September and will continue up to December 2008. This year it is also a celebration of the 80th year of Smt. Girija Devi and 70th year of Pt. Hariprasad Chaurasia. Virasat 2008 will be inaugurated by former Prime Minister Sh. I.K. Gujral and Dr. Karan Singh.

The Inauguration of Delhi Virasat will be on 2nd September with recitals by Smt. Girija Devi (Padmabhusan) and Pt. Hariprasad Chaurasia (Padmavibhusan) at the Vice Regal Lodge, Delhi University at 6 p.m.. Some of the artistes who will participate in this series are Pt. Birju Maharaj, Pt. Shiv Kumar Sharma, Shri T.N. Seshagopalan, Smt. Allarmel Valli, Pt. Vishwamohan Bhatt, Smt. Shovana Narayan, Pt. Rajan and Sajan Mishra , Smt. Teejan Bai and others.

Virasat 2008 will comprise of various aspects of our rich heritage like Classical Music and Dance, Theatre by Shri Habib Tanvir , Film Classics of directors like Satyajit Ray, Akira Kurosawa, Charlie Chaplin among others. There will be Folk Forms from North East, Sufi Qawwali, Biraha Geet by Shri Ram Kailas , Prahlad Natak by Shri Krishan Chandra Sahu, Yoga and Meditation, Talks by eminent personalities like Smt. Anjolie Ela Menon, Shri Namwar Singh, Shri Raghu Rai, Shri Dadi Pudumjee, Heritage Walks to historical sites, Foreign Groups , Intensives and Holisitic Food. Crafts Workshops will also be held in various educational institutes by Ms.Sentila Yanger (Naga Weaving), Smt. Shanti Devi (Madhubani), Smt. Karuna Chitrakar (Patwa Painting), Shri Anis Siddiqui (Calligraphy). All the programmes in this series will be held in schools and colleges. In Virasat series SPIC MACAY plans to conduct over 1000 programmes in India and abroad.

This event is dedicated to Guru Ammannur Madhav Chakyar and Pt. Kishan Maharaj and is a humble effort to create awareness of our composite heritage amongst the youth.

Source: Press Release Distribution via India PRwire