Winners of the Tee show

We invited artist and theatreperson Pravin to judge the 50 plus entries for the Madras Tee Design Contest.
Pravin was locked up in his Adyar studio burning the midnight oil to prepare for his first art exhibition in Bengaluru ( you must have read about his works showing sleeping Madras dogs lying near still Madras cattamarans with jet black Madras crows hovering over the two.)
Pravin took time but signed off before moving on.

We should have the designs submitted by the top winner and the two who get special mention posted on the web site soon. Perhaps, post 5 other designs that were short listed.

The plan is to invite the winner to use his design or a bettered one for the Tee for 2012.

We still have a few Chennai Tees of previous avatars on sale. We shouldnt have ordered for XXL in this age of fitness!

Will to do the Villu-paatu

I spoke about collaborations that make Madras Day in my weekly Jottings column last week. And referred to the Yellow Buss - Besant Theosophical Society school in the Adyar area,

This morning we were invited to sit through the first big rehearsal of the BTS group - 20 kids in uniform, two music teachers and gurus and colleagues of the students. This was to be their first go at the villu, their first before jaded mikes and an audience of 27.

They did reasonably well - telling the story of this city the way they perceived it with a dash about Annie Besant, the banyan tree inside TS and all.

This is a wonderful collaboration and we hope to invite the group to the Multi Media Contest finale in Luz on Aug 23.
If time permits they may take this show around.
My colleague Revathi intends to collect the copy of the lyrics and have it posted here so that future groups can partake of this production.

Its the Act . . .

So I am wondering if a Anna Hazare-kind of campaign can be driven to get a Heritage Act for our state.
Because this is perhaps the most important element of this year's Madras Day celebration.

The campaign will be launched at the press conference on Friday afternoon.
There is an appeal to the Chief Minister and we are hoping to have at least 1000 signatories in the week that follows.

Volunteers plan to set up a table in some public spaces across the city.
And we hope to launch a e-petition too so that you can sign from home.

If you have ideas on how you can help drive this campaign, do let us know.

Madras through the eyes of children

Walking with a camera on the road is fun.
The kids in your home always grab your camera to capture some unusual sights without waiting to compose, look at angles and aperture. They are instant captures.
When I thought of a photowalk exclusively for kids last year through YOCee, I wasn't sure if the kids would walk at least half a kilometer. But what we saw and experienced was completely different. They walked two kilometers just enjoying and shooting the scenes. They forgot to break for their snacks and water!
This encouraged us to continue the photowalks this year too.

N. Ramaswamy, who is a regular walker at the Chennai Photowalks was game to accompany the kids last year for the Madras Day and extended his support this year too.
The five kids who walked along north Madras roads from Royapuram Railway station to Srinivasa Ramanujan museum on Somu Chetty 4th lane had real fun. The fire temple and the cycle rickshaws and a Goshala, a home for cows . . . they saw a "different city" in their words.
For the larger group on Sunday's walks, there were two big attractions in the walk along Greenways Road. The Brodies Castle and the Krishnamurti Foundation of India (KFI) - Vasant Vihar.
The kids looked at the board 'P.S. Kumarasamy Raja Salai' and the 'Greenways Road' on the name boards of the shops. Puzzled.
Dr. Aravind, the outreach programme coordinator at the KFI took time off to guide the group inside the campus. He spoke about the flora and fauna of the campus, helped them identify the trees and the insects, bugs and butterflies!
The best pictures will be on display soon. Do keep visiting the Madras Day website for daily updates.

Technology institutes host walks inside their campuses

Two major technology institutions are throwing open their campuses for a walk inside.

The Alumni Association of the College of Engineering Guindy is conducting a walk on Aug. 20, 2011.
David Michaelangelo says that the walk covers the sights and stories surrounding the the primary seat of Technical education in Tamil Nadu.
They invite the public who know the present Anna University to explore their institution which was started in 1794.

Prof. Ajit Kumar Kolar, Chairman, Centre for Continuing Education, IIT Madras called us end of August last year and was disappointed that his institution couldn't take part in the city's celebration. He made it up this year
He hosts a guided visit to the IITM Heritage Centre within the campus which depicts the early history through 600 photographs arranged on 80 panels and a nature walk inside the campus led by their Nature Club 'Prakrithi'.

These academic institutions add pride to the city. Who wouldn't want to go to these campuses? Here is a chance during the Madras Week. Do explore if you find time.