DOCU FILMS ON THE CITY

We launched this event for 'Madras Day 2006'.
Inviting film makers to produce docu-films on the city; its people, its institutions, its communities, its issues . . .
The idea is to generate more visual content on Madras that is Chennai.

This year, the contest attracted 11 entries. And we short listed 5 to be screened at an event we hosted at Srinivasa Shastri Hal in Luz on Sept.2.
We felt good when about 100 people turned up for the screening.

There was a film on the dhobis of Saidapet; another on the industrial estate of Ambattur, said to be the largest of the kind in Asia; a film on trans-genders and one on Madras Basha (language, or lingo, as some would put it!). And there was a film on the Buckingham Canal which runs from a point in Andhra Pradesh and ends at the Marakkanam Lake in the the Cheyyur area, south of Mammallapuram.

These were nice efforts but we found that they were sorely lacking in professional inputs.
Venkatesh Chakravarthy, who teaches cinema, who judged the films, said so.

We also screened a short film I had made with Mohan Das Vadakara during the last Corporation of Chennai elections. The film focuses on one woman contestant in the Mylapore area who was a local councillor. It records her campaign through an urban sum as well as a quiet colony of Pelathope, once famous for its lawyer residents.

We also screened Venkatesh's film - 'Chennai -The Split City' which looks at different sides of this city; the neglected north, the expanding IT corridor, the makeover of the East Coast Road, the shifting of the Kotwal Chawadi Market; the religious rituals and celebrations of yore which continue to be held in the heart of a metro, the vandalisation of the seashore by big time developers . . .

We welcome ideas from film makers who wish to make films on the city.
We would like to help them with books / resource materials / guides and specialists to enrich the script that ensures we have better-made docu-films.

Perhaps, some of us will be making Chennai-focussed films through this year and next so that we have a small body of new films to be shown next year.

A happy ending

Being part of Madras Week this year was fun. Although several plans were made during our (you can call us the ‘catalysts’) luncheon meeting at the Accord Metropolitan in May and some of them did not take off, we were all happy at the end of the week. For one, newspapers and media reserved quite a bit of space for covering events during the week, and, for another, many more people came forward this time voluntarily to support our effort.

One of the points we debated on was whether to have two or three speakers speaking on the same day at the same time at different venues. This year’s experience has shown that if you offer something worthwhile, there are people to come and listen or watch. For example, we had not bargained for many visitors at the Gallery Sri Parvati. And that is how it really turned out. But, although there were about 15-20 people in the hall, most of them were there because they were interested. Yes, one of the things that we need to do the next time around is to get more action in Tamil – more Tamil speakers, for instance.

Of course, quite a few did mention that they just couldn’t decide which venue to go to. That obviously cannot be helped, can it? One of the objectives is also to have smaller programmes in different neighbourhoods so that residents in these areas can participate in the celebrations of the founding of the city.

If you ask me, the heroes this year during Madras Week were the students, teachers and professors who not only managed to put together a variety of programmes at short notice, but also displayed a lot of enthusiasm showcasing what they had prepared.

Those who wish to possess something special can call the Mylapore Times office (24982244) and see whether the Madras Day T-shirts are still available. If you are lucky, you can grab last year and this year’s T-shirts for as little as Rs 180. So, go for it!

To all those who supported Madras Day and Madras Week, many, many thanks. Till next year, then!

Two names, two different cities

It was a cozy start to the evening at Gallery Sri Parvati, with about ten of us seated around Shreekumar Varma, listening to him talk about Madras and Chennai.

Incidentally, for those who might not know him too well, Shreekumar Varma is an Indian author, newspaper columnist and poet, known for the novels Lament of Mohini (Penguin, 2000), Devil's Garden: Tales Of Pappudom (Puffin, 2006) and the historical book for children, The Royal Rebel (Macmillan, 1997). He is the great grandson of the artist Raja Ravi Varma and grandson of Regent Maharani Sethu Lakshmi Bayi, the last ruling Maharani of Travancore. He was born at the Satelmond Palace, Poojapura, Thiruvananthapuram. His parents left Kerala and settled down in Madras when he was four. He studied in the Good Shepherd Convent, the Madras Christian College, from where he completed his M.A. and M. Phil in English Literature. Later, he taught briefly at the college. He also did a course in Journalism from the Bhavan's College of Journalism and Mass Communication. The British Council and The Madras Players staged Shreekumar’s two award-winning plays, The Dark Lord and Bow Of Rama, and also Platform. He has written columns for The New Indian Express, The Economic Times Madras Plus, Ritz, Fiji Times and Deccan Herald. He was awarded the Charles Wallace Fellowship for the year 2004, and was Writer-in-Residence at Stirling University, Scotland. Shreekumar’s new novel Maria's Room is on the Long List for the Man Asia Literary Prize. He is a full-time writer and a visiting lecturer at the Chennai Mathematical Institute.

Shreekumar began by describing how Nungambakkam High Road was in the 1960s and 70s – full of trees and open spaces, large garden houses, and eeriness at night. It was so silent at night that his dog’s bark could be heard near the Gemini flyover! It was Shreekumar’s father who established Hotel Ganpat, and that probably changed Nungambakkam forever. The Taj Coromandel came and things were never the same again. Shreekumar read out portions of his writings and others’ as well, including Colin Todhunter’s. All so varied and rich in prose that together they weaved a tapestry of the city that was. For Shreekumar, Madras is nostalgia, while Chennai is a happening city; both names, he says, conjures different images. They are to him not one and the same city.

Ten more people trooped in mid-way through his talk. There was a lot of interaction, and it was almost like a storyteller sitting by the fireside and engaging children with stories of yore. Lakshmy Venkataraman, who owns Gallery Sri Parvati (it was her childhood home), chipped in with a lot of interesting tidbits. On the whole, a worthwhile evening.

Rediscovering heritage along the Marina

Prema Kasturi, former head of the history department, WCC, deserves kudos for relentlessly following up with colleges and goading the professors she knows to get their students to contribute in some way towards remembering the city during Madras Week. One of the colleges that took the initiative, thanks to her persuasion, was Presidency College. And the credit here must go to Professor S. Amarnath, who has, along with his brother and sister, contributed a great deal in bringing Tamil culture alive, especially among children.

Prema has now forwarded me a report about how students of the college participated in the Madras Day celebrations. This is what it says: ‘As a part of the Madras Day Celebrations, a group of 20 post-graduate students from the Department of History, Presidency College, Chennai, undertook a train journey which started from Thiru Mayilai to Beach Station by MRTS on 22nd August, 2007. They were led by their professor, Dr. S. Amarnath, who explained the historical significance of this great city and enabled the students rediscover the heritage buildings along the Marina Beach. The students are currently doing a paper on Madras. The Students were not only thrilled to have an aerial view of these buildings but were also amazed to learn the facts. The stretch included Kapali Temple, Santhome Church, IG Office, QMC, Ice House, Presidency College, Chepauk, Madras University Buildings, Napier Bridge, Island Grounds, Rippon Building, General Hospital, Reserve Bank of Indian, Fort St. Gorge, The High Court, and the Harbour. It was a real eye opener for these young people who were exposed to the rich past of this city for the first time, since most of them are from various districts of Tamil Nadu. The journey concluded with the students being asked to carry forward the message, “Madras Nalla Madras.” They were enthused to sing “Happy Birthday to Madras”; they then distributed Parry chocolates (Thomas Parry remembered) and disbursed with sweet memories. Prof. B. Ramanathan, Head of the Department of History, Presidency College, exteneded his fullest support to make the event possible.’

Well done, Dr Amarnath! May the good work continue in the coming years as well.

Media creates the buzz

Newspapers, magazines, TV and radio zeroed in on the Madras Day events when the buzz got around.
'The Hindu' featured a column on the day's special events right through the week. Muthiah did his bit to talk to N. Ram about it and the focus improved the response of the public to the events.
The New Indian Express has been doing lots of small features.

I haven't had the time to look at the other newspapers and magazines.

The radio stations got into the act too.
Young Salim who is a media student at Anna University and works for the BBC for its collaboration with Radio One, the FM radio channel, was among the producers who kept the buzz going in the city.