#IdhuMadrasMachi: Youngsters reflect on Madras through poems, paintings and typography – Times of India

Chennai News

The pandemic might have stalled the Madras Week events in the real world, but this bunch of youngsters took the celebration to the virtual world. Thus was born ‘31 Days of Madras Inspired’, an online initiative by community organisation Nam Veedu Nam Oor Nam Kadhai. Youngsters, mostly college students, have been showcasing their artistic impression of the city through poetry, paintings and typography, among others, the whole of August.
For instance, final-year student Varsha Sriram’s typography on Madras is based on the alphabet. “A to Z gives a feeling of completeness and also emphasises that everything about the city is important. So far, I’ve completed my work till Q,” she says, adding, “This generation misses out on noticing a lot of things even if it’s right in front of our eyes. Today, the world is definitely going the digital way. So, I feel this is the best way to grab their attention. Like, I used J to depict the jalli pattern; it’s unique to the windows of old architectural structures in Madras.”
Another student, Akshaya Ramakrishnan’s paintings are about elements that connect Chennai and water. “The ocean, the 2015 flood, the water crisis — there are so many things that connect Chennai and water. A couple of my paintings show characters, like the one in which an old lady is bathing a child, and the one in which women are standing in a long queue with colourful buckets. All these are everyday scenes in the city. There are a few funny ones, too, like the one on TASMAC. Its caption reads, ‘thanni thotti thedi vantha’,” she says with a laugh.
Capturing the essence of Madras through poems are collegians Smruthi Badri and M Arivukkarasi. While Smruthi writes in English, Arivukkarasi pens in Tamil. “People, their moods, buildings — everything about an area is covered in eight to 10 lines of a poem,” says Smruthi. Arivukkarasi adds, “Most of my poems are based on photos of Chennai, taken by my friend GS Mohan. I’ve addressed a few social
issues, too, like the pollution at Ennore Port.”
Final-year B.Arch student Srishti P captures Madras through different hues each day. “I go live from my social media page every day, gather ideas from people and paint instantly using one colour. Initially, I chose colours that we could directly connect with the city. For instance, yellow — associated with autos, CSK, etc. Later, I started using colours that didn’t have a direct connection with the city. I wanted to show that the beauty of a city is not just in tangible things, but also in intangible things, like people’s emotions,” she says.
Conservation professional Prathyaksha Prasad has been focusing on elements of Madras that are part of our shared heritage. “One of the paintings is that of Madras checks. It’s a pattern that originated in Madras and went on to become famous globally. I feel it’s our shared responsibility to conserve heritage.”

Source: https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/chennai/idhumadrasmachi-youngsters-reflect-on-madras-through-poems-paintings-and-typography/articleshow/77792127.cms