Madras Day events in Mylapore: Walks, shows, films

Mylapore will play host to lots of events in connection with the annual Madras Day/Week celebrations.

There will be walking tours, exhibitions, projects and contests, docu-films and talks.

The Namma Mylapore group has organised tours through Mylapore. One will be on August 18, 7 am from Luz Church led by Dr. Chitra Madhavan. The group has organised a few other tours too.

On Aug.18 evening. Dr Chithra will give a talk on ‘ LesserĀ  Known Temples of Chennai’ at Tattvaloka, the host at its premises on Eldams Road.

Bicycle enthusiasts have organised a cycling tour of Mylapore and Triplicane on Aug.19, Sunday starting at Gandhi statue at 5 am.

On Sunday, Nizhal, which has organised many tree walks has one at Queen Mary’s College campus and it is in Tamil. 7.30 am onwards. The walk is repeated later in the week.

On the same day, Studio Palazzao on Seethammal Road, Alwarpet will open at 11 am an exhibition on ‘Wildlife around Chennai.’ Besides this it will host talks/slide shows and discussions through the week. Madras Naturalists Society is the collaborator. Local schools can visit the exhibition.

On August 21, from 9 am onwards at Srinivasa Sastri Hall, 18 city schools will present audio-visual presentations on Old Madras Houses as part of a contest.

On August 22, C. P. Art Centre’s gallery will exhibit photos and prints related to ‘Old Madras’, from personal collections. The show is open through the day.

On August 25 morning, V. Sriram leads a tour by van exploring Alwarpet and its history. This is a paid tour and registration is a must.

That day, at 2 pm, there is a Madras Quiz in Tamil for Tamil medium city school teams at P S School. The quiz is conducted by R. Revathi.

That evening at C P Art Centre, G Venkataraman, Head, Dept, of History, Madras University talk on ‘Madras as a centre of trade and commerce on the Coromandel Coast’.

Elsewhere that evening, at Park Sheraton Hotel, Mohan V Raman talks on the ‘Tamil Forms of Sivaji Ganesan’, a tribute to 100 years of Indian Cinema. Hosted by Madras Musings.

On August 26, Sunday Kalaa Manjari After School Activity Centre and Bambaram Toy Library conduct a map workshop followed by a competition for children of 12 years and above. This is a learning session on how to construct and read maps followed by a walk in a neighborhood and a presentation contest. Open to first 25 registrations only. Register at 99623 87624.

That Sunday, from 4 to 6 pm, documentary films on Madras-based themes will be screened at Arkay Centre, Luz ( opp. Viveks store, next to Bombay Halwa House). Open to all.

That evening, journalist Geeta Doctor will be in conversation with Chef Willi and restauranteur Vipin Sachdev at the Burgundy Restaurant in MRC Nagar.

Alwarpet’s secrets

The Heritage Tour of Alwarpet will be led by writer-historian V. Sriram.

Here is a preview of this Tour –

The tour traces the transformation of what was a 19th century village into a 20th century district in a thriving metropolis.

It looks at the dim days of the East India Company when public figures such as Moubray and D’Monte owned most of the area.

It then traces the powerful lawyers who built enormous bungalows for themselves. ‘The Hindu’ newspaper family has had a long presence here.

There have been film studios, actors and actresses, scheming Maharanis and poets who committed suicide. Somewhere in the midst of all this was the old Court House and its terrifying gallows…

The tour is on 25th August. Prior registration and payment mandatory. Book via email at editor@madrasmusings.com

<< Detailed info on Mylapore and city events for Madras Week are available at www.themadrasday.in >>