There are four big shows this weekend at the Sundaram Finance Mylapore Festival.
T G Raju and his troupe of folk dancers from Thanjavur will perform in Sannidhi Square ( eastern side of Sri Kapali Temple) on Saturday at about 5.30 p.m. and later that evening young dancer and teacher Vijay Madhavan will present a dance production on the main stage.
Thence, is a show you should not miss – more so if you love vintage film music. For, the Anantara group of four will roll the top old hits of our films, songs which have been on our lips and in our minds for ages.
The shows are free to all and all you need to do is pick up a blue chair and find a place close to the stage!
The two big shows on Sunday are of classical dance and music.
Over 30 students of the Chennai-based dance acharyas, The Dhananjayans are all set to present a Melange of Indian dances, which gives the audience a treat of the sounds, steps and moves of the regions of India.
The mélange will run for about 50minutes on the man stage.
The final show is a special Carnatic Music Concert by the popular young singers, the Trichur Brothers who have been impacting on the kutcheri circuit positively.
Over 255 women and a few men too have signed for the weekend Kolam Contests – the Saturday one starts at 4 pm and the Sunday at 3.30 pm – these kolams will be on display on North Mada Street for an hour after the contest. 30 of them stand to win prizes.
Another big game/s which will draw people are the Dayakattam and Pallankuzhi contests over 150 people are expected to take part – you too can walk ( but do check the basic rules!).
If photography is a passion, drop by at a show of the best of Sukumar’s pictures of the London Olympics being held at Bharatiya Vidya Bhavan – a sideshow of the Fest.
The dances inside the temple look great and the setting is divine if the dance itself is good. The weekend dances are by groups and a special surprise is on Saturday evening when two if India’s best dancers – Surupa Sen and Bijayini Satpathy from Nrityagram will perform Odissi at the mantapam inside, a recital sponsored by Vijaykumar Reddy, head of the temple trust.
The Mylapore Quiz, Sunday, 2.45 pm at Lady Sivaswamy School hosted by Vijay of QFI is for the quizzers, the two Heritage Walks, one by V. Sriram and the other by Chithra Madhavan, both early on Sunday morning and the two Talks at Dr Vatsala’s house on Sundareswaar Street, one by Rukmani Ramani and the other by Suresh Balakrishnan are niche events that should appeal to a set of people interested in history and heritage.
The weekend at the Fest is always a bustling one. Even the elai sapad had to be closed for bookings since 27 people signed up in 3 days.
You can get all info on the Fest at www.mylaporefestival.com
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