| Kiran Seth | |
|---|---|
| Born | April 27, 1949 |
| Nationality | Indian |
| Education | Ph.D. |
| Alma mater | IIT Kharagpur, Columbia University |
| Occupation | Associate Professor |
| Employer | IIT Delhi |
| Known for | SPIC MACAY |
Kiran Seth (born 1949) is an Indian academic, who is Associate professor in the department of Mechanical Engineering at the Indian Institute of Technology Delhi, and is most known as the founder of SPIC MACAY (1977), a non-profit organization which promotes Indian classical music, Indian classical dance, and other aspects Indian culture, amongst youth the world over; through its 250 chapters and through conventions, baithaks, camps, lectures and musical fests.[1][2][3][4]
In 2009, he was awarded the Padma Shri by the Government of India for his contribution to the Arts.
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Born on 27 April 1949 Seth's father, Prof. Bhojraj Seth, was a mathematician and the first professor at the IIT Kharagpur, established in 1951, while his mother Bhagawathi was a housewife, and whose singing bhajans was the only musical influence he had as a child.[1] Seth secured AIR (All India Rank) 28 in the prestigious Joint Entrance Examination. Seth was one of the toppers of Mechanical Engineering (B.Tech) from IIT Kharagpur in the year 1970, after which he did his Masters and Ph.D. from Columbia University in New York.
He started his career working as a Member of the Technical Staff (MTS) at Bell Laboratories, New Jersey in 1974, a job he gave to return to India in 1976 to teach and do research work at IIT Delhi, where he has been working ever since. it was at IIT Delhi that he founded SPIC MACAY in 1977.[5][6]
He has been member of several committees and boards, including, Central Advisory Board of Education, General Council of the Indian Council for Cultural Relations (ICCR), Executive Board of the Sangeet Natak Akademi, and Advisory Board (Education) of the Kendriya Vidyalaya Sangathan.
Seth is credited with setting up the Society for the Promotion of Indian Classical Music and Culture amongst Youth (SPIC MACAY) in 1977, a society that has done phenomenal amount of work in the area of promoting classical music and culture amongst school and colleges in India and more recently in different parts of the world.
This is the biggest, non profit, voluntary, cultural, youth movement in independent India. Its contribution to Indian classical music & dance is unparalleled. Generations of Indians are today aware of Indian classical music and in a position to appreciate it, thanks to the efforts of Professor Seth. Today the movement conducts thousands of concerts, lec-dems, talks, yoga workshops, classic film shows, theater shows and handicraft fairs all over in schools and colleges so that the young person is inspired and awakened.[7]