Hello!

If you can overlook the image of a Muni (demigod/warrior guardian/whatever) guzzling beer, you might want to come to Koyembedu tomorrow.
But first, a little background.

So, there’s a little thing Sharanya Manivannan and I are doing - trying to kick-start a poetry/performance/literature indie culture in Chennai.
And that’s why you should be in Koyembedu tomorrow - it is the fourth event - a poetry reading on the theme of blasphemy. RSVP here, or on my/Sharanya’s blog or to our e-mail addresses.

Hello,

Yes, I realise I haven’t kept up my end of the bargain and haven’t answered questions raised in this post. My defence: time. Or rather, the infinitesimally small amounts of it that I end up having. I intend to catch up with that this weekend.

So, anyway, to the point of the post.

Sharanya and Meena (and I) are organising a poetry event this Friday at Mocha. An open-mic session - which means we’ll keep the mic by the door. Errm…it means everyone’s invited and everyone can read out. Friday, 21st March is not only Good Friday, it’s the World Poetry Day. So the idea is to kill two birds with one metaphor. The idea is also to bring poetry to Madras city, and do it closer to the city than Thalankuppam was.

Head out to Sharanya’s blog for the details. But if you are click-lazy, here’s the short version.

What? Original + Translated poems, to celebrate World Poetry Day & Good Friday
Where? Mocha, upper-reaches.
When? Friday, 21st March, 10 AM
Why? Um, it sounded like a good idea?
Who? Sharanya Manivannan, Meena Kandaswamy and Chandrachoodan Gopalakrishnan

Well, to be honest, I got the `time’ part of it and the `death’ and `joy’ parts of it…but for the rest, I was mostly transfixed by the truly unique performance that was the Bangalore-based Attakalari Centre for Movement Arts’ Purushartha. Performed for the first time in India (after travelling all over the world), the group was on for one-night only at Music Academy on Wednesday and left the largely appreciative audience in considerable awe.

Attakalari works with “contemporary physical expressions and digital arts” and is a form influenced by Kalarippayattu, Yoga and Bharathanatyam among other Indian movement styles, as their brochure puts it. The performance itself, was of breathtaking snippets to the tune of, well, what someone described as “atonal” music, entwined with intangible rhythm patterns, that were there yet not quite, designed by Japanese sound performer Mitsuaki Matsumoto. To add the the already intriguing mix was Kunihiko Matsuo’s visuals and Naoki Hamanaka’s stage or rather light design, all directed and choreographed by Attakalari’s Jayachandran Palazhy (his gurus, the Dhananjayans’ were there to bless him)
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I recently caught a re-run of Evam’s Art. Its their first production, and supposedly their favorite. The story is pretty simple. Three friends, Mark, Sarge and Ivan, are there. Sarge blows an obnoxious sum of money on a piece of modern art. Like most commonfolk, Mark cannot appreciate the painting, and has issues with Sarge blowing money on it. In the middle of the conflict is Ivan who is getting married soon. The play is about how these three have their relationship defined by this painting.
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If you are anywhere near the Elliots beach, go visit the Chennai Sangamam. Actually, if you are not anywhere near Elliots beach, move your posteriors to somewhere near Elliots beach, and then visit the Chennai Sangamam. It’s only on for 2 more days.

I had a blast today, sampling Virudhunagar kotthu parotta and drinking Jil Jil Jigal Dhanda. But the real fun was when the music started. 2 hours of exhilarating street art, from Silambattam, Therukkoothu, and Singara Melam (Chendai Kottu) and even some Jazz Carnatic electronica from Susheela Raman.

The Therukkoothu from Thiruvannamalai was hilarious and took some earthy digs at contemporary society. It featured Lord Yama, a comical man who is about to be taken by aforementioned for a ride on a buffalo, and strangely enough, Veerapaandiya Kattabomman as well.

Let me present a sample dialogue from that street play.

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Last Friday I decided to watch ‘Moonshine and Skytoffee’ which was a part of the celebrating 100 years of Basheer festival. The festival for some reason which I am unaware of is called ‘Under the Mangoostan Tree’.

The play was in the museum theatre, Egmore, which has lovely acoustics and not to mention the charming Victorian architecture. The play was a mix of two stories by Basheer, one is Love Letters, and the other story’s name, I sadly do not remember.
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I have been thinking for a long time whether to invest my money on CAS - Conditional access system or DTH Direct to Home television . Been missing some nice cartoon channels for my son.

Very recently I had been to my native place (Thrissur, Kerala) and checked out the number of channels in the Television. Whooping 100 and odd channels, Including the pay channels at a price of about 150 INR (Indian National Rupee) per month. Where as we pay 100 INR with limited channels and excluding the PAY channels. (some channels purposefully blocked due to competition, some times)
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A Tamil play Kaalak Kanavu, that translates loosely as ‘A Dream of Time’ is being screened. If you’re interested in the women’s movement, feminism and modern history, you would want to go. The play is written by the well-known feminist and historian V.Geetha and directed by A. Mangai, who runs the feminist theatre initiative, Marappachi.

Date: 13th October 2007
Time: 4 p.m.
Venue: Queen Mary’s College
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Took me a while to get my thoughts in order about all the events I had attended/heard about, and give a precis of what exactly happened during Madras Week 2007. Most events were interesting, some were repeats, while a few were outstanding. Be warned, you’re in for a long post.

In the beginning, it was a gathering of a few like-minded friends who cared a great deal about the city. Then, it grew to a series of meetings. More came to know of what transpired during these sessions, and signaled their interest to join. In 2006, it exploded into existence as one of the most happening occasions - and now it is the premier event of Chennai, eclipsing all else in August to the point of exclusion, with more than 60 events happening all over the city, put together by a number of organizations and Chennai-lovers. Le Madras Week, 2007.
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After a handful of successful productions, ASAP, a Chennai based theatre group, brings you what promises to be a bundle of laughs.

‘Run for your wife’ is the story of a cab driver John Smith. And quite like what’s well known about sailors and ports, this driver has a wife on each of his shifts. Mary and Barbara. Life is smooth sailing in the back seat till John has an accident. On the road.
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