October 02, 2010

Namma Arcot Road launch

A hotel, a film academy, a school and a group of residents in the Arcot Road neighbourhood are attempting to do something that has not been done before.

To curate and present a bunch of events, once every month which will make this a ‘happening’ neighbourhood.

The Arcot Road area is quite a dull and drab place, especially for people who would like to enjoy a short and light event on a weekend evening.

There are discourses, bhajans and concerts. Nothing more.

Some residents may head to the Café Day coffee shop on the third floor of the Mega Mart store in Alwarthirunagar and gossip, others may head to the Durant Bar at Hotel Green Park and some others may head to Saravana Bhavan or Vasantha Veedu to enjoy a long dinner.

It is against this background that the neighbourhood group is coming together to launch a concept under the banner of ‘Namma Arcot Road’.

The group intends to host a variety of events - talks by interesting speakers, workshops for kids, shows by young musicians, heritage walks in the local area, screen docu-films and do whatever else they can handle with five pairs of hands.

Madras Day’ celebrations have certainly inspired this group.

The strong response to a package of events for kids and talks for adults at a local hotel motivated this group.

Their first efforts bore fruit.

They got people who are willing to provide their spaces to hold the events. They have people who are willing to give talks and hold events. And they also got people who promised much and then slipped away!

The ‘Namma Arcot Road’ project is being launched this weekend.

If it is to be successful it has to be a community effort.

Last weekend, two organisations in Adyar put their hands together to host a simple event - the screening of a fantastic wildlife film on India’s Tigers made by the famed Shekhar Dattatri. The response was very good. Adyarites do have lots to choose from.

If the Arcot Road community wants theirs to be a happening place, they have to set aside the TV remote and get off their sofa sets.

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