More details about mylapore festival...Times of india...chennai edition....today...page No.2.

Hi friends more details about mylapore festival..

From today, come, savour traditional Mylai flavours
TIMES NEWS NETWORK

Chennai: Want a traditional south Indian feast served on a banana leaf? Head to the Mylapore Festival, which aims to capture not just the sights and sounds of historic Mylapore but will try to serve the locale’s authentic tastes too.
“Visitors look for what is local and unique to a place. Which is why we are starting an experiment in hospitality this year by arranging ‘elai sappadu’ at a typical Mylapore house on Sunday,” says Vincent D’ Souza, director of the four-day arts and heritage festival to be on till January 8. The festival, which will kick off with a concert by students at Nageswara Rao Park at 6.30am on Thursday, will be held in venues around the Kapaleeswarar temple. The idea behind the festival is to imaginatively make use of the spaces to organise events connected to Mylapore’s heritage.
At the 10th edition of the festival, organisers will try to inspire residents to offer insights into their lives. Apart from the hospitality experiment, there will also be art and craft shows, competitions and the famous ‘kolam’ contest.
“We will webcast the kolam contest live on Sunday on our website mylaporefestival.com. There is a lot of interest in kolams in many parts of the
world,” says D’ Souza. Three visitors, who aim to capture the intricacies of kolam patterns traditionally created by women, are already here. Apart from French writer Chantel Jumel, academicians Deborah Keller from Texas and Sunita Watuk from New Jersey in the US are here to document kolams.
“We will sell books and stamps on kolams at the contest to be held on North Mada Street in the weekend. Also, the designs will be kept for one hour, turning the contest into an art exhibition,” says D’ Souza.
A production titled ‘Vanna Mayil’ will be premiered at the main stage in front of the 16 pillar mantapam or hall, opposite the Kapaleeswarar temple in the evenings. The programme, which will focus on lesser known communities of Mylapore, will have dance and creative choreography by artist Revathi Ramachandran.
There will also be puppet shows on Indian epics and mythological stories, apart from craft workshops and contests for children to be held at Nageswara Rao Park.
Not to be missed are the art and craft zones with various stalls on East Tank Street and Pitchu Pillai Street, and the ever-popular ‘Food Street’ on Sundareswarar Street. For details, call 98405 44629 or 2499 4599