Chennai Sangamam is Back

It's good to hear The Chennai Sangamam, a street festival of Tamil Nadu's traditional folk arts held during Pongal, the harvest festival, in Chennai, has returned after an eleven-year absence; the government of Tamil Nadu (headed by Chief Minister MK Stalin) has decided to conduct the festival since the change in government after ten years and a covid period.

(All images are from 2009 festival)

The Chennai Sangamam 2023 begins on January 13th and runs through January 17th, and it was organized by MP Kanimozhi - who was even the festival's organizer at the time - along with Chennai Corporation. Apart from celebrating Pongal in a high mood, the main goal of this festival is to take our classic art, music, and dance to every corner of the city and show it to people who were unfamiliar with it. 

I wished the Chennai Sangamam could have continued despite the change of government since holding the festival is a worthy cause that not only promotes art but also helps village artists, the majority of whom come from impoverished backgrounds. The inaugural Sangamam took place in 2007, but I only saw it in 2009 at Palavakkam Beach Premises in Chennai, and it was a colorful spectacle of stage performances by rural artists. 

I think this should not be limited to Chennai alone but should be extended to other places to educate others about our unique art forms in Tamil Nadu. I am only familiar with a few of Tamil Nadu's many dance and music genres, including Mayilattam (peacock dance), Karakattam (in the worship of the rain goddess), Oyilattam (grace dance), Puliyattam (tiger dance), Poikkaal Kuthirai Aattam (dummy horse dance), and others. 

Karakattam is familiar to most, as they take first place in festivals and cultural programs. Karagam translates as "decorated vessel." As a result, one must perform dance movements in the direction of music while placing the vessel on the head without allowing it to fall. Until that day, I had only seen this style of dancing in movies, and the one that remains with me the most is Karakattakkaran (Karagam dancer), a popular Tamil film. 

I hope that the Chennai Sangamam will continue for the next three years or until a new government is formed in the upcoming elections, while I wish that any government that form has the responsibility to hold festivals to emphasize and protect our ancient traditional art in any form. I am sure it was a colorful event that will brighten up the city as we celebrate the harvest festival, Pongal, and thank nature and farmers for the source of life and food. 

Sunset around Auroville

During a recent trip to Auroville, near Pondicherry, I captured some beautiful sky shots of the setting sun as we drove to the Panchamukha Anjaneya temple after checking into the guesthouse. The road took us through the countryside before connecting with the highway; I always enjoy photographing palm trees in the foreground of a sinking sun or twilight hours because they add a contrasting feel to the scene.

When I used to take the ECR (once in a while) and back from Mamallapuram, the sun would set against the coastline, playing hide and seek through the rows of palm trees, and the crimson sun would gleam like a rare red stone. Capturing it was difficult, as we kept moving until we stopped at a clearing of trees. It has become my favorite sight to watch the sunset through palm trees. 

By the time we moved around, the sun had already set, leaving a beautiful sky, and on the highway, we saw some stunning cloud formations in addition to the sunset.

The sun may set, but it leaves behind the hope that it will return with the silent phrase: "tomorrow never dies." Don't let your hopes die. I hope the new year brings all sorts of energies, equalization, and hopes to a high level. I wish you all a Happy New Year! 2022 went like a flash (I'm not sure about others),  but I didn't think 2023 wasn't the same.

Shadow

No light, no shadow 

The light glowed over the years

Shadow lives a veil.

RGB Monday

Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year 2023 

My colorful Christmas decorations from our previous home on the backstreet, where we resided between 2015 and 2018. This year, I didn't decorate my Christmas tree, and I have no idea where it is, even though I wasn't in the mood to do so and partially because it's not easy to keep my nephew Kavin away. I abandon the notion of a Christmas tree. It will also take a search operation to locate the Christmas tree that has been with me for the past 11 years.

This is the scene for this year's Christmas, with a star tied to the balcony and lights strung across it.

Auro Guest House, Auroville

(At the petrol station)

The first thing we did when we arrived in Pondicherry was fill up our car's diesel tank because everyone knows that the price of petrol and diesel in Pondicherry is less than in Tamil Nadu, and this time per liter was 6 rupees lesser. We generally talk about Pondicherry as having Auroville as a part of it, but mostly it is located in the Villupuram district of Tamil Nadu and a little piece under Pondicherry, a union territory in India. 

Auro GP Guest House

My brother had not confirmed any lodgings until we arrived but was sure to obtain some rooms in one of the many cottages and homestays in Auroville, but I continued to look for a wheelchair-accessible place while traveling. I discovered Auro GP Guest House, which is located next to Auroville Center Parking and meets our budget and requirements. Despite its location on the main road, the guest house is calm once you enter, and there isn't much traffic on the road. 

The guest house features a long corridor with five to six rooms on each side and another five to six rooms on the first floor; the ground-floor rooms are step-friendly for wheelchair access. My nephew Kavin thoroughly enjoyed his stay; he became excited seeing the long corridor as he only started to walk; he continued to stroll up and down freely and noisily because there was no one on the ground floor. The staff is also friendly.

After checking in, we drove to a temple that my parents had wanted to see for a long time, and conveniently, the temple (Panchamukha Sri Anjaneya Temple) is only six kilometers from where we stay, on the outskirts of the Pondicherry-Tindivanam Highway. From there, we drove into the city to check out the beach and to get dinner for us, but sadly, all of the roads leading to the famous Promenade Beach were closed, just as they were last year when I visited in February. We could have (parked the car and gone in) if it hadn't been so late, but it was already dark, so we moved back to our room.

Our room

The rain began as soon as we entered the guest house and lasted until a few hours before we checked out the following morning. We couldn't think of going anywhere, and there was a constant pitter-patter of rain all night, which I had recently experienced. We reserved two rooms for us: one for my brother, sister-in-law, and nephew and another for me, mom, and dad; both rooms have the essentials, such as air conditioning, television, and intercom; and the rooms are neat and, most importantly, not difficult to mention.

When I returned to Auroville for the second time in 2009, knowing about its concept of a universal township that belongs to no one but all, I wanted to stay or live in a peaceful place where consciousness is practiced beyond all beliefs and partitions. I know it's practically impossible (for me) to dream of living there, but at least lodging in the vicinity of places that adopt peace and are environmentally green and clean inspires me to come again.

If I had planned ahead, I would have explored more of its surroundings and attempted to see Matrimandir; only after I returned home did I learn that there is an experimental house built with earthen materials in what appears to be the backyard of where we stayed. Auroville continuously hosts a variety of artworks and workshops to promote organic living and the value of preserving nature and the environment. I also recall reading articles about Auroville's use of raw materials in the construction and development of forests.

And what appeared to be another face of Auroville is Cafe. There are numerous cafes strewn throughout Auroville, and the youngsters were gleaming like stars over there; I shot a lot of sign boards along the way to share with Signs2.