Japanese cheesecakes with live music: The Great Madras Bake Sale is back in Chennai

Japanese cheesecakes with live music: The Great Madras Bake Sale is back in Chennai

This edition will feature 25 home bakers | Photo Credit: special arrangement Nothing short of a carnival: this is what entrepreneurs Maaria Tanveer, Cindana Manickavel and Priya Anup envision for The Great Madras Bake Sale’s much-awaited second edition. After the whopping success of its maiden effort in 2019, this bake sale, which spotlights promising home […]

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Chennai to host its first studio potters’ market

Chennai to host its first studio potters’ market

One of the pieces on display | Photo Credit: special arrangement A tree house hinged on the shell of a turtle? As bizarre as it sounds, this single piece of intricate art entirely done in ceramic, speaks volumes of the craftsmanship behind pottery as an art practice.  Sculptural and most often utilitarian, pottery across mediums […]

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My hopes for 2024: What Chennai personalities look forward to in the New Year

My hopes for 2024: What Chennai personalities look forward to in the New Year

Asal Kolaar, Rapper and musician With every year, I strive to be better. This was a year that I could see some growth in myself. My visibility increased twofold. My recent songs in the latter half of the year, ‘Naa Ready’ from Leo and ‘Kotha Raja’ from King of Kotha wrapped up the year on […]

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Tamil Nadu’s Kovilpatti, home to India’s traditional calendar art revolution

Tamil Nadu’s Kovilpatti, home to India’s traditional calendar art revolution

Vyjayanthimala clad in an incandescent green saree teases a glance as a fish bowl and its silvery-gold inhabitants in the background stand witness. This canvas is signed: M Ramalingam.  An archetype of 1980s Tamil cinema and its dramatic allure, this frame frozen in paint, speaks volumes: of a glorious time of hand-drawn skills that later […]

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Chennai hosts Madras Art Weekend with over 100 artists, public art and interactive shows

Chennai hosts Madras Art Weekend with over 100 artists, public art and interactive shows

A view of the Broadlands Hotel in Triplicane | Photo Credit: special arrangement Chennai is home to multiple art institutions, and a legacy that boasts of a regional Modernist movement that is unlike any in the country. Yet, conversation surrounding visual art is often restricted to the usual suspects: galleries, artists and patrons alike. Madras […]

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From Chennai to Paris through Virtual Reality: digital experiences take over Alliance Francaise of Madras

From Chennai to Paris through Virtual Reality: digital experiences take over Alliance Francaise of Madras

One of the AR artworks when viewed through the smartphone | Photo Credit: Gowri S Hanging from the ceiling at Alliance Francaise de Madras’ white cube gallery, are curtains of art that revel in motion. They invite the viewer to walk through a labyrinth of art enhanced by Augmented Reality (AR). As one goes forth […]

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Ever watched a play blindfolded? Chennai’s Evam experiments with sensory fantasy theatre

Ever watched a play blindfolded? Chennai’s Evam experiments with sensory fantasy theatre

Audience at the show | Photo Credit: special arrangement As soon as the blindfolds come on, a nebulous mass of anxiety and excitement parks itself in my head. Where do I go, what or whom do I hold on to, what if I fall on my face?…before the questions can multiply, an outstretched hand finds […]

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A play that you cannot see? Chennai’s Evam is back with fantasy theatre for a blindfolded audience

A play that you cannot see? Chennai’s Evam is back with fantasy theatre for a blindfolded audience

Audience at the tester show | Photo Credit: special arrangement Enter a room of endless possibilities filled with a blindfolded audience glued to their chairs, completely oblivious to what is going to hit them next. This is a room that fosters imagination, no, one that demands it. In this room, every other sense apart from […]

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Chennai welcomes migratory birds. Here is a guide to begin bird watching

Chennai welcomes migratory birds. Here is a guide to begin bird watching

P Harini’s tryst with birding began when the stress of the pandemic peaked and life seemed to get in the way of happiness. Her older sister P Sridevi, an avid bird watcher, told her to step out and give the activity a shot even though she was not terribly keen. “I didn’t really think it […]

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Chennai’s Airport mall ‘Aerohub’ is now officially open with a cinema hall and 24-hour food court

Chennai’s Airport mall ‘Aerohub’ is now officially open with a cinema hall and 24-hour food court

Aerohub at Meenambakkam | Photo Credit: Special Arrangement It is Mitali Krishna’s first time at Aerohub inside the Chennai airport. She has just returned from a short trip to Bangalore and is tugging her carry-on suitcase through the mall, not looking to buy anything in particular. “I was looking to take the metro back home […]

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