Professional Documents
Culture Documents
06 Hindu Metro Plus
06 Hindu Metro Plus
0 Chennai ●
Thursday August 6, 2020
●
MP
metroplus.thehindu.com
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From sanitising cities to tackling This digital exhibit captures Venkat Prabhu’s cop
locusts, drones spring into action lockdown through art and poetry avatar in Lock Up
page 2 page 3 page 4
Dance in a virtual sangeet. Bless the couple through private online rooms. How virtual weddings
are becoming the go-to option for couples in this new normal
Knot online
:: Srinivasa Ramanujam
Ulageswari R is a dreamer.
She has always wanted to
have a lavish wedding, one
with thousands of friends
and family taking part in
elaborate ceremonies.
She was engaged to Siva
Things picked up in May.
“Couples started realising
they could not wait indefi
now Net result Ulageswari
and Sivallinathan;
(below) festivities
Right click
With weddings going online,
matchmaking too is fast
vallinathan A in February, nitely to get married; the during the TariniRashid
wedding bash SPECIAL catching up. Earlier in January,
and they were to be mar answer lay in hosting cele *
matrimony portal
ried on June 10. They had brations that were safe and ARRANGEMENT
Jeevansathi.com rolled out a
even booked Chennai's wastefree,” says Kanika, video calling feature. With the
popular multipurpose hall, whose company helped in having a big party,” recalls ongoing pandemic, this option
Kalaignar Arangam, as their putting together 14 virtual Tarini, who works in the became even more relevant.
wedding mandapam. weddings in June and about spirits industry. The biggest challenge for
But then, the pandemic 20 in July. That was not to be due to
e
couples was that they could not
and ensuing lockdown ar For this month, they the lockdown. But the vir meet up in person, and hence
in
rived. Ulageswari and fami have a lineup of almost one tual sangeet they put forth a the need to opt for such
ly had to rethink their op
tions. They decided to
virtual wedding a day. az week before their wedding
in June, more than compen
features. “During the COVID19
period, there has been a
retain the wedding date, Caught in the web sated for it. “I thought it whopping 200% increase in the
ag
but changed the venue to Families planning these would be just a virtual get number of connected calls. The
their residence on Chen weddings are increasingly together, but I was sur average call duration has
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nai’s East Coast Road. A leveraging technology. But prised to see that some increased to 3X compared to
friend was roped in to help that comes with its own friends had roped in DJ Jas the preCOVID19 period,”
with decorations in their challenges: couples began meet from Bangalore for it. states Rohan Mathur, Business
AL
large number of virtual meetups
dance, in person. But sever wedding. a solid hour.”
in this period to help accelerate
IG
at Matrimony.com either. Over
had created with the help of deliver the entire wedding virtual hub, the online ver All this might seem easy that role for six weddings create separate virtual remixes of ‘Channa Me 8 lakh members have shown
Chennaibased Wedding experience online. The cou sion of ‘shaadi ka ghar’,” for people clued in to tech now. She was the equiva rooms for diff erent sections reya’, not only got the cou interest in the ‘video call’
N
Wishlist. ple’s website becomes the she adds. In addition to nology, but not for those, lent of a person who wel of the guests, so that nobo ple dancing but also their feature by upgrading to the
“I have no regrets, and it watching a live webcast, for whom the word ‘online’ comes guests at the recep dy is lost. When you have 40plus friends from across latest version of the app, states
AR
was a beautiful fourhour guests can also attend on is still a bit foreign. That is tion, in a preCOVID 200 guests on a Zoom call, the globe who had joined its founder and CEO Murugavel
ceremony during which we line parties, share photos where the role of a usher, wedding. “I give guests a most of whom you don't them virtually. “It was as if Janakiraman. “A few lakh users
did not rush through ri with other invitees and par priced at ₹ 4,999 per wed sense of the fl ow of events, know, it becomes a little un we were all together. It was have already used the video call
e/
tuals. Nor did I have to keep take in prewedding func ding, comes into play. so that they know what to comfortable to talk to all,” crazy,” she exclaims. to connect to their matches and
smiling at random people tions like bachelor parties Tanvi Saraf of Wedding expect. Even as there is a says Tanvi. Chennaibased ‘Kalyana take the conversation forward.
.m
whose lowkey online wed *
SANKET PATEL PHOTOGRAPHY tual rooms, with people wedding industry as “revo allows matches to connect via
ding also cut her expendi they can converse with. “I lutionary”. Known for his video call without exchanging
s:
phone numbers.”
ture to onefi fth of her ori also help elders who might Tamil matrimonial ‘Kalya
Under their MatrimonyBazaar,
tp
ginal budget. not be too techsavvy but namalai’ on Sun TV — a
the company has also launched
Hers is the fi rst of ‘vir are very interested in show that introduces pros
‘home weddings’ that help
ht
Hrday Sunil and bassist Prash
A roasting weather
As Nirvana once put it, “Here we are now,
entertain us.” And entertain you, we will; this
It’s raining EPs anth Venkat also added to it:
the result sits at the cross
roads of bluesy and sunlit
breezy.
Poetry On A Bus seems to
weekend on our Instagram handle
@thehindumetroplus.
A long-drawn constant and some intriguing début have caught imaginations
● Friday, August 7, 7 pm: Catch standup releases have kept Chennai’s music circuit buzzing over even beyond the city circuit,
but it is not the only collabo
comedian Mervyn Rozario in a conversation
(re: roast) with us as he takes fan queries,
the past fortnight. We speak to the artistes behind it all ration in recent times to have
discusses his recent specials, his tryst with caused a stir.
marriage portals, his angst at Tamil TV serials
:: Meghna Majumdar Kevin Paul aka Mr Kev’s
and YouTube reviewers and more. lockdown album Quarantino
● Saturday, August 8, 6 pm: The name’s Bedroom pop gets its name is a gift that keeps on giving:
Bond, Ruskin Bond. As the popular children’s not from the cosy, lazy vibe of especially its most recent re
books’ author releases his fourth memoir the genre, but from the fact lease ‘Inbam Pongum Velai’.
(details on page 2), we bring you a Quiz on his that it is DIY. No studio re Made in collaboration with
impressive body of work. Sharpen your cordings, no elaborate collab ry good moment to lose your pace] before,” says Ashwin, a Chennai artiste Anand Kashi
memory and see us there! orations, just heartfelt music self in. Many instruments go student at KM Music Conser nath and featuring vocals by —
● Saturday, made by one artiste in his into creating each mood, vatory. His creations are the wait for it — Benny Dayal, the
August 8, 7 pm: own room, maybe with some which makes the fact that Al work of many minds, and he track is a quintessential love
Loved listening to help from friends. So “be vin did most of it himself is more than happy to give song at its core, with just a
melodies like droom pop” is how 19year more impressive. credit. touch of Mr Kev’s zany style.
‘Rasaali’ and old Ashwin Iyer describes his “It is an alternative, folk, “The main collabora Says Mr Kev, “The
‘Nallai Allai’? The maiden EP, the twotrack Poe- pop, R&B, progressive mix tor is Pratyush Tamil lyrics are by
voice behind these try On A Bus, that might just ture... All the elements that Shankar, who I al Anand; he and I
lull you to sleep for all the have inspired me, that I like so work with for also did the
hit numbers —
Sathyaprakash — right reasons. most when playing, I have put my band PA Sys
It is an
alternative, <
> backup vocals.
will be Live this On the other hand, Alvin into this,” says Alvin, “I began tems. Pratyush folk, pop, R&B, It is hard to say
Saturday evening, Presley’s fi rstever EP Fall To- working on it — mixing, mas usually writes exactly how
progressive
sharing his day follows a starkly diff erent tering, production, everyth the songs and many days it
mixture
journey into the vibe and line of emotion: he ing — in January, and was at it sings them... he took, because
Alvin Presley
world of music and dishing out some of his managed to wrangle in one till July. Only one of the songs, comes up with a there were many
popular songs. studio recording before the The look of a song Art for (above) Poetry On a Bus and Fall Today called ‘Falling Star’, was writ narrative, a story to tracks I worked on
● Sunday, August 9, 7 pm: In the face of lockdowns began. *
SHLOKA PANDEY AND SPECIAL ARRAGEMENT ten a couple of years ago.” tell, and I weave the simultaneously in my
technical glitches, we do not give up. For a début project, the In contrast, Ashwin’s Poe- music around it,” he says. 12 days of selfquarantine.”
YouTuber and roastmaster Gayathri Babu will fourtrack EP does a solid job gent by bursts of percussion — quickens and slackens multi try On A Bus was the work of The rainyday vibe, he says, Though the base was formed
be back with us this weekend for a Live on the of serving up a sound that is most noticeably in the fi rst ple times, almost by the mi a single, neat month. “Both came from an amalgamation then, improvements are a
art of comedy, and the current off ence its own. A hint of melancholy few minutes of the track ‘Fal nute. The nearpsychedelic songs took less than a of infl uences, from Chennai constant process, and the
culture. permeates, and Alvin’s soul len Mornings’. No track is ending of ‘Falling star (Po- month... I was never putting based The F16s to a number of plan is to release one song
ful notes are made more ur evenly intense: the pulse gathey)’, for instance, is a ve out music like this [at this Western artistes. Guitarist each month.
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Shepherd
sanitising — has brought them visibili COVID19 period. They have taken a nool in Andhra Pradesh, Nirmal in Te drones), we will be the fi rst in the
ty. In fact, the pandemic and pesti lot of eff ort with regard to drones and langana, and Mumbai. country to do this,” he says. With this
lence have pushed this sector to furth this will result in many players coming “Now the Government under service, even a 20kilometre radius
er innovate. into this segment,” says Kumar, ad stands that automation and drone can be covered in 15 minutes. He also
Senthil Kumar, professor and direc ding, “Big industries will join too, es technology can serve as replacement plans to have his own cloud kitchens.
tor, Dr Kalam Advanced UAV Research pecially if the agriculture fi eld is open. for onground health and sanitation With increasing dependence on
sky
Centre, MIT, Anna University, is now It will create a lot of employment workers,” says Agni, whose company drones, Agnishwar says, “Today, the
working on fl ying a swarm of 20 opportunity.” was also roped in to tackle locusts by drone industry is where the ecom
drones with a single operator. “In the Lately, the involvement of the the Department of Agriculture in Ra merce industry was in 2009. Over the
case of disinfecting during the pan drones in relief work, says Smit, has jasthan and Uttar Pradesh. next couple of years, we will grow.”
in
demic, if you programme the swarm, made securing permissions from the
then each drone can spread out to dif Government a little easier. A case in
ferent streets and get the job done at point is the GARUD portal (Govern
the same time,” explains Kumar. ment Authorisation for Relief Using
He adds that drones are useful in Drones) that was recently set up to <
> Today, we have 38
the
diff erent solutions
fi ghting locusts, with pesticides. “If fast track large scale, quick permis
e
lakhs of locusts come in, one drone sions for COVID19related drone op
that drones off er.
in
may not be enough. But a swarm can These include
eff ectively fi ght them.” az mosquito repellents,
mapping, electricity
Driving innovation wire survey...
ag
Drones are primarily batteryoperat Agnishwar Jayaprakash
ed, but Kumar designed a dualpo
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wered drone (petrol and batteryoper
ated) in 2018. This year, these hybrid
Buzz word (Top) Drone pilots training people and
drones in action SPECIAL ARRANGEMENT
AL
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//t
Seasons in the sun
and in West Bengal. “Some of
s:
them are a lot more active than
tp
the rest, and once they manage
to sustain their business without
ht
Going once,
through the dancing keyholes of ing, a necessary quality for a wri 35, Muthulakshmi, who had
the deodar’s darkgreen, needle ter, that makes Bond still rele been trained by a French nation
shaped leaves. After a night of vant. “Strangely enough, kids al in her hometown, started Gok
lashing rain, the room on the are still interested in stories set ulam Crafts, and now works out
of a Government workshop.
going twice
roof has fl ooded and the morn half a century ago, even ghost
ing has been spent mopping up, stories, though it takes a lot to Through its various auctions so
I am told. scare them these days. Many far, The Artist Project raised
Ruskin Bond, 86, has spent write to ask about the girl at Deo close to ₹ 22,000 for Muthulaksh
nearly 70 years wielding his pen li station, a bittersweet story mi and her family.
“Apart from the auctions, we
— he is one of India’s most prolif
ic writers, a staple for children, a
written in 1956.”
Falling in love is a constant
Citybased The Artist Project holds also promote our artists’ works
recipient of Sahitya Akademi, theme, even if the love never aff ordable auctions of artwork on Instagram on our account. They are priced
between ₹ 300 and a maximum
Padma Shri and Padma Bhushan
awards, and a mascot for nostal
comes to fruition. “I was very
vulnerable,” says Bond. “It
to help rural artisans of ₹ 3,000. We realised that fun
gia. didn’t take long for me to fall in draising through auctions would
“There’s quite a bit of traffi c love even if sometimes it was a :: Sweta Akundi so they have a steady source of be more immediate and eff ective
on the road below. But the val oneway thing. With Raj {from A revenue,” explains Abhinaya. for now,” she says.
ley’s landscape is unchanged Song Of India whose parathas On an Instagram post by The Ar The account had not been ve For the auctions, many up
and the mornings are still full of Notes from a sepia world he devoured earning him the tist Project, featuring a circular ry active since mid2018, until andcoming artists have volun
birdsong,” says Bond, of the Ruskin Bond; (right) the book moniker Paratha Bond} it was acrylic painting of seagulls, a bid the pandemic hit. “We started teered their work, from Goa
view from his window. It is this cover SPECIAL ARRANGEMENT
* more a friendship. I lost touch ding war has ensued in the com receiving requests from the ar based photographer and pain
hypnotic appeal of recasting life with her when I left for En ments. “4000” comments one tists we work with, asking us if ter, Richa Kashlekar to Hydera
for today’s reader even while of boys called the Fearsome gland.” user, “4500” says another. we could help sell their pro badbased Malvika Jey, and
looking back with love, of paint Four; the death of his father In the UK, Bond worked four “5000” says the third, outbid ducts,” she adds. Abhinaya herself. “We put up a
ing a picture of clouds boiling up when he was 10 that forever left jobs, which he “never saw as ca ding the others. Abhinaya says they currently post of the painting with its de
from the valley even as cars fi sh a hole in his heart; his indepen reers, although I did consider In the next three days of post have 1015 artists in their roster, tails and opening bid, and invite
tail up the steep hills, that has dent streak when he went to live becoming a tap dancer or a bo ing that painting, it is sold to the from across the country: Pudu people to bid in the comments
ensured Bond has survived the with his mother and her new fa tanist”. He wrote in the evenings highest bidder. cherry, interior parts of Andhra for three days,” she explains the
tidal shifts of Indian writing in mily in Dehradun; losing his and watched Jean Renoir’s The Since June, many such paint Pradesh, a couple of villages process. Sometimes, bidding
English. friends to Partition; the friend River to tide over homesickness. ings have been auctioned from near Jaipur, in the Kutch region happens privately. “We then DM
ships with boys from his home His debut Room On The Roof this Instagram account, for this is to check if it is a legitimate bid.”
Revisiting boyhood town that have survived; the ma won the John Llewellyn Rhys how Chennaibased architect Ab This week, pottery by Gopal
In A Song Of India (published by ny loves who fl itted in and out of Memorial Prize in 1957 and paid hinaya Rangarajan, founder of Lal from Kotjevar, Jaipur has
Penguin) which comes after his life even while he never sum for his passage home. “The book the notforprofi t, is raising funds been featured. Gopal, who runs
Looking For The Rainbow, Till moned the courage to act; and would make a fi ne fi lm,” says for rural artisans. a fourthgeneration institution
The Clouds Roll By and Coming the year he went away at 16 to Bond, who writes in longhand “The Artist Project was started that crafts Jaipurstyle blue ear
Round The Mountain — all beau the Channel Islands in the UK to almost every morning and is as an initiative where we work thenware, has coached and up
tifully illustrated by Mihir Jogle fi nd a new life fi ll the pages. reading Bram Stoker’s Dracula. with rural artisans who do not skilled most of his village. His
kar — Bond, who is of British des “I have a vivid memory of my “But for how long can you get have the access or means to put handpainted animal motif plates
cent, travels the arc of his boyhood,” says Bond. “I did dren across backgrounds. It was pleasure in biting a lady in the their work online. Their work are now up for sale.
boyhood. The separation of his keep a diary but it got me into a diff erent milieu when my neck?” he laughs. may even sell internationally, but Works featured on The Artist
parents; a magical year with his trouble at school. My childhood mother married a Punjabi Hin Looking back at how his writ it is often the middlemen who Project ship throughout South
father in Delhi; his schooldays at in Jamnagar, where my father du. After Partition, my Muslim ing began, Bond says, “16 is an earn the most. So we reach out to India. Contact mailtheartistpro-
Bishop Cotton, Shimla, where he was employed by the Jam Saheb, friends left and Sikh friends took important year for all of us. Per them, give their work more visi Go local Abhinaya R; (top) art by ject@gmail.com or visit
was part of a mischievous gang resulted in friendships with chil their place. I settled here in 1964 haps that’s why it stands out.” bility online, and get them orders Gopal Lal SPECIAL ARRANGEMENT
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@theartistprojectindia.
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A quiet refl ection (Left) From
Annanya ‘s photo art series ; (below)
Parvathi Nayar’s fi ve windows poem
*
SPECIAL ARRANGEMENT
started taking photographs.” Her pho
to poem, fi ve windows, took form
then; this was also the seed of the
collaboration.
Just ahead of the lockdown, Srilata
went on a birdwatching trip near Ke
lambakkam. She recalls the fl ock of
migratory birds that visited the marsh
es: “Everything seemed so normal. It
painted a picture that said, ‘everyth
ing’s going to be okay with this world!’.
For me, the shift was very dramatic.”
Her poem Our Days Would Catch on
the Cruellest Thorns encapsulates the
response to an unfathomable shift.
Shift in perspective
In continuum Anannya Dasgupta’s photo art series,
Lockdown Vocabulary, has images
coupled with words associated with
the times. For instance, under the title
A to Z of PPE is the image of a mask
Through a unique amalgam of art and poetry, this merged with inscriptions on silver ta
blet strips. Geetanjali, who writes in
exhibit captures lockdown and its many emotions the tradition of Japanese haikai, re
fl ects on fl eeting moments. Her poems
:: Gowri S are “reminders of the transience of
everything”. The fi rst haiga in the se
The lockdown and its companion, iso ries came from observing a furrow on
lation, mean diff erent things to diff e a mother’s forehead that was not there
rent people. earlier, she writes.
For creatives, this situation has trig The medium is what aided the col
gered responses that vary across laboration. “Geetanjali and I are pri
genres, much like any crisis in history. marily people who work with words,
Artistic language has seen a slow shift whereas Annanya and Parvathi have
to a vocabulary that has never existed worked with both words and images.
before: Held — The Lockdown in In the process, I was able to refl ect on
Words and Images is one such com what happens to a poem when it’s set
pendium presented by GoetheInsti to an image. Annanya spent days and
tut/Max Mueller Bhavan, Chennai, nights working on each of the poems,
that captures the ‘new normal’ lockdown was a “shock” for the artists. reading and understanding them
through an amalgam of art and poetry. Though the fi rst few days were closely and setting them to images,”
The digital exhibit, uploaded in four spent grappling with the changing sit says the poet. Annanya also helped
installments, presents an interesting uation, Paravathi Nayar says, “Later, I meld photographs for Geetanjali’s hai-
marriage of genres that encapsulate was literally found lingering near win kai: the format captures the shift in
e
the responses of four artistes: visual dows and looking out; becoming con perspective as time goes by.
in
artist and poet Annanya Dasgupta, scious of this position of being on a Parvathi says though there are plans
poet Geetanjali Rajan, visual artist and threshold, a windowsill of time.” to give the collection a physical form, az
poet Parvathi Nayar and poet K Srilata. Through the window, she could see by what means, is still uncertain owing
Comprising poemages, photopoetry, the playground, once fi lled with chil to the times.
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photo art and words, the ongoing pro dren’s laughter, was now empty: “The Held — The Lockdown in Words and
ject relies heavily on collaboration. playground seemed like a large sun Images can be digitally viewed on
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The hornbill has a Russian friend
IT
Nagaland’s annual Hornbill Festival, which has grown to be synonymous
with the State’s natural and cultural landscape, has entered into a
IG
partnership with the VRox Festival, which bring global crowds every year to
the Russian city of Vladivostok. A joint announcement by organisers of both
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festivals claimed an intention to “explore avenues and platforms for the
exchange of music, art, and culture, between the two festivals and countries
in the days and years ahead,” and drew a congratulatory tweet from
N
Nagaland Chief Minister Niephiu Rio. Hornbill Festival, held at Naga Heritage
Village in Kisama every year, includes every Naga tribe and celebrates not
AR
only old traditions, but also contemporary art and music from the state.
e/
6 Liveliness (9)
7 Quickly (2,3,6)
8 Aggressive (11)
12 Bedtime command
WUMO (6,3)
16 Bishop’s
jurisdiction (7)
17 Hold in high
regard (6)
19 Wall painting (5)
23 Do something (3)
Solution will appear
in MetroPlus dated
August 13, 2020.
■ Across 21 Name taken by 13 Solution No. 13370
1 Landlocked Asian popes, the last dying in
PEARLS BEFORE SWINE country (11) 1903 aged 93 (3)
9 Official in charge of 22 Make a lot of trouble
fi nances (9) (5,4)
10 Anger (3) 24 Regardless of what
11 Reduce by 50% (5) may have happened
13 Eccentric (7) (2,3,6)
14 Take in (6) ■ Down
15 Spending time doing 2 Charge for
nothing (6) professional services (3)
18 Wild (7) 3 Female entertainer (7)
20 Person with legal 4 Very limited (6)
title to something (5) 5 Tear to pieces (5)
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of custard
And, that is how GoGo Chai was
born.
Indie-pendence Rock The brand is Ashvin’s second
This is neariconic. Task Force for lockdown launch. “Our fi rst COVID19
Music and Art (TaFMA), an arm of the baby was GoGo Desi,” he says wryly.
Nagaland Youth Services and Sports Although restaurants are “We, like many others, were
Department, has many feathers in its cautiously reopening, if you prefer severely hit by the pandemic and
cap — notably the annual Hornbill
Festival that celebrates both tribal
to order in, try the new wave of lockdown. And, we continue to be
hit,” he says. Realising that many
culture and contemporary music. TaFMA has exciting plans for Independence curated cloud kitchens off ering people have lost jobs or taken paycuts,
Day: its Facebook live concert features homegrown talent like Alobo Naga & The homestyle comfort food but still need to order meals
Band and Mar Jamir, vocalist of the slick, intense and nationally popular band sometimes, he launched GoGo Desi
Polar Lights. The lineup also includes acts from around the country and abroad, :: Shonali Muthalaly from a separate, vegetarian kitchen in
like Bengalurubased folkfusion band Swarathma’s frontman Vasu Dixit, June, focussing on competitively
pioneering rock band Indus Creed’s Uday Benegal, and an overseas guest artiste: The past fi ve months have proven that it is priced homestyle food like dal,
Kpop’s My.st. This is music in diverse, muchloved forms, coming from some of impossible to recreate the restaurant parathas and okra fry. “The response
the best, on August 15 at 7 pm on Task Force for Music and Arts Facebook page. experience at home. Not even if you are has been great, because this is home
KCK Food Pack Pradhyuman Maloo, in Netfl ix’s Indian cooking. In fact, this is the exact same
Matchmaking, ostentatiously wielding liquid food I eat at home everyday,” he says.
House of T Enter the Mallu Bento box. Instead of reopening nitrogen and fox nuts, shadowed by a nervous With WFH, Ashvin realised that
The Chennai Kappa Chakka Kandhari, now that lockdown rules army of kitchen staff . there was another opportunity: a
based indie have eased, Chef Regi Mathew has launched KCK His recipe, unveiled on Instagram involves brand centred around chai time,
event Food Pack as a separate vertical, focussing on roasting fox nuts (makhana), adding peri peri, running only from 3pm to 5 pm. “We
organiser’s takeaway comfort food. liquid nitrogen, then “gold dust and good are trying to see what the market is
Corona Explaining how the new menu was curated, he vibes”. Alternatively, toss makhana in like — surprisingly it is huge,” he says.
House Party says, “We are looking at how the dish tastes after one turmeric, red chilli powder and chaat masala After the onion pakora success, he
series has hour, and how it travels. We planned portions for a much easier and tastier, if less camera tried Kerala’s pazham pori (₹ 100 per
been running keeping in mind how a family orders, with dishes friendly, version (“Gold dust and good vibes” box), following his motherinlaw’s
for 120 days that can be shared.” optional.) This way, you are less likely to burn recipe, resulting in pleasingly crisp
straight. The string of Instagram The star here is the Malabari Bento box (₹ 540), a your mouth, oesophagus and upper airway edges and sweet, steamy interiors.
lives features artistes performing Live From joyful, if unexpected, blend of sleek Japanese with improperly consumed liquid nitrogen, Then came chilli bajjis, oozing cheese
and chatting with fans in typical, aesthetics and an extravagant Kerala wedding menu. which has no business in a home kitchen. (₹ 125). Although GoGo Chai offi cially
laidback House of T style. The scope Seoul With Luv Arriving in a neat rectangular box, the pack includes Of course, in a good restaurant, trained launches in September, try these
has been expanding not only from When Kpop boy group Monsta X biryani, a fl aky paratha and small, but rich, portions chefs bring much more to the table than snacks via GoGo Desi, as the team
singersongwriters to poets and released its album All About Luv earlier of prawn roast, chicken curry, chutney, pickle and Pradhyuman’s mangled molecular gastronomy. builds the chai menu. Meanwhile,
quizmasters, but also from Chennai this year, it created waves as it was the caramel custard. An admittedly overwhelming buff et of Which is why, wholly adapting a restaurant Ashvin is working on convincing his
talent to Kochi, Pune, Ranchi and fi rst allEnglish album by the group in hearty fl avours, but appealingly good value for money. menu for delivery is impossible: aunt to share her legendary masala
even Londonbased ones. The latest over a decade. The band will now treat its And the advantage of WFH is you can pop any temperature, texture and presentation vadai recipe with his cooks.
addition is on Sundays, when global fanbase with a livestream concert, unfi nished food into the fridge for another meal. are vital. Inevitably, compromises Call GoGo Desi on
e
Thomas Davis (the T) chats with ‘Live From Seoul With Luv’. The concert Although KCK is known for Kerala cuisine, sourced have to be made. 42109990
in
other indie artiste promoters. Check will be held on August 8, at 11 pm EST, on from family cookbooks, this launch features food The alternative is
out House of T’s Instagram page. the platform livexlive.com. from other southern States. So while there are az setting up cloud
popular staples such as tapioca, puttu, fi sh fry and kitchens with menus
payasams, it also includes Goan prawn curry, created for takeaway.
ag
Liar, Liar! Mangalorean chicken gassi and Nellore fi sh curry. Flavours need to be
This is not standup. Reason one: it is part of the #sitdowncomedy festival by The quality is on par with the restaurant which heightened and dishes
_M
We would love to know how you are keeping busy at home. Tell us who you are watching tailored for benched families craving
normalcy and professional cooking.
IG
live at metro@thehindu.co.in.
This weekly column tracks the city’s shifting culinary landscape.
Heard of a new venture? Tell me: shonali.m@thehindu.co.in
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AR
SHORT CUT
Home run
e/
The The current trend is to make use of available resources to make
.m
movies. Tarun Teja and Muralidharan have done the same with
AsVINS, a 20minute horror short about a team of YouTubers
//t
ACTION
The new cop entering an abandoned building to rescue a friend who is stuck in
Vaibhav and Venkat a thousandyearold curse.
s:
Prabhu in a still The entire fi lm was shot in Tarun’s Chennai residence that was
from the fi lm was built in 1950s. Murali plays the character of Varun, the only
tp
*
SPECIAL face that appears (through a phone) in the movie. “Almost
throughout the movie, Tarun had to hold the phone in one hand,
ht
ARRANGEMENT
begins
torch light and the GoPro camera in the other hand... at the same
time,” says Murali, who is also part of the trilingual fi lm Rocketry:
Filmmaker Venkat Prabhu, who plays a cop in upcoming Tamil The Nambi Eff ect, directed by R Madhavan.
AsVINS, which has currently over 200K views with 1,000plus
fi lm Lock Up, discusses a renewed interest in his acting career comments on YouTube, is actually a pilot for
and the future of digital streaming an intended feature fi lm the two are
planning. “The feature fi lm will
be a horrorthriller with a
strong connection to Indian
:: Pradeep Kumar kat is set to appear as the antago Thapara and RK Nagar; the last nouncement on the series is mythology,” says Tarun,
nist — his fi rst major role in fi lms of which released on Netfl ix dur expected soon. Dubbed in multi who has earlier directed
Mankatha is not Venkat Prab since Vasantham Vanthachu ing lockdown. ple languages, Venkat says he several short fi lms,
hu’s favourite game anymore. (2007) — in Lock Up. Bankrolled While he believes the opening has attempted horror with the including I Raped
With COVID19 and lockdown by actorturnedproducer Nitin up of OTT platforms are a “bless unnamed web series. “It won’t Her, S1207 and
putting an end to the fi lmmak Sathyaa, Lock Up also features ing in disguise” for small budget have the typical jump scares of The Confessor.
er’s sedentary lifestyle, he has Vaibhav and Vani Bhojan in lead productions like Lock Up, he the horror genre. I’m a big fan of
taken to walking; he updates his roles. “It is refreshing to see oth acknowledges that it is a double Stranger Things on Netfl ix, so I
Twitter feed with details of the er fi lmmakers imagine and write edged sword too, especially have applied a similar treat
distance he covers on foot (upto roles specifi cally for me,” he since revenue share percentages ment,” says the director, adding
11 kilometres a day now). says. off ered to a producer by digital that it has been fi lmed keeping in
“The driving force {for Venkat Prabhu plays a streaming platforms have taken mind tier2 and tier3 audiences.
the new fi tness regi cop — SI Moorthy — in a tumble. “When someone is The fi lmmaker notes that Ta
men} is Praveen KL Lock Up. “[Moorthy] is ready to buy content, it lifts the mil cinema’s reputed actors and
{fi lm editor},” says selfcentred and crooked. producer out of debts, even if it technicians too will have to em
Venkat, over phone He does something and means he stands to make no brace OTT platforms going for
from his home. tries to cover it up by gains from the trade. But some ward. “There is no bigger chal
The last we saw blaming others; the platforms insist on revshare mo lenge or success today than
of Venkat Prabhu, more he lies, the big dels with multiyear payment being able to make an audience
the fi lmmaker, ger the issue be structures.” sit and binge watch 10 episodes
was four years comes. He is at odds However, there seems to be a of a web series you shot,” he
ago in the se with this constable future in betting big on OTT plat says, before adding with convic
quel to cult character {played forms. Venkat Prabhu himself tion, “I’m sure mindsets will
classic Chennai by Vijay}). It is a has completed a web series fea change.”
600028. very serious turing Vaibhav and Kajal Aggar Lock Up will stream on Zee 5
He has since fi lm, has its wal for Disney+ HotStar; an an from August 14
faced a series of ups and twists and
downs; his eighth directo turns and
rial, Party, produced by T captures the MAANAADU DROPPED?
Siva of Amma Creations, duo’s jea The high budget production venture, Maanaadu,
was supposed to release in
2018 but is yet to see the
lousy and
clash of
which features an ensemble cast including
Silambarasan, SJ Suryah, Kalyani Priyadarshan,
Rising above the storm
light of day. The on egos,” he P Bharathiraja and SA Chandrasekhar among The travails of a father who will go to any lengths to secure a
again, off again venture, says. others, went through a roller coaster ride future for his son, forms the subject of awardwinning short
Maanaadu, starring Si after the producer Suresh Kamatchi and its film, Edhu Thevaiyo Adhuve Dharmam, a title which appears to
lambarasan, complicated Sticky wicket lead star had a muchpublicised, infamous be a throwback to Aaranya Kaandam.
aff airs further before CO Venkat Prabhu will also be fallout last year. In the end, a compromise was The father is Kumar, a oncehitman who now works at a lathe
reached and shooting began, only to be workshop. When he picks up his son from school, the boy
VID19 outbreak brought the seen in an acting capacity in
suspended 20 days later with COVID19 outbreak innocently asks if he would end up becoming like his father,
curtains down on its fi lming Chimbu Deven’s upcoming
enforcing a lockdown. Of late, it has been rumoured that Venkat who also went to a Government school. “Your father didn’t
in March. fi lm Kasada Thapara.
Prabhu might be dropping the project. “Maanaadu is a story that provide you with a good education. Will I also end up like
The former is also a copro you?” he asks. The reality hits Kumar in the gut and he turns to
happens around political gatherings. We need crowds in many
Changing course ducer on the fi lm under the aegis his former boss to make some quick money, for his son’s
frames and it has big action sequences. Even if the Government
While he waits for the fog on his of Black Ticket Company, his education.
lifts the shooting ban, if they cap the number of people allowed
fi lmmaking career to lift, Venkat fi lm production fi rm. Through on a set to 7080 people, how do you shoot a fi lm like Directed by Thu Pa Saravanan, the film raises questions of
Prabhu has reconnected with so the company, Venkat has so far Maanaadu? We were discussing shooting something else with the what constitutes dharma in the first place.
mething that actually brought bankrolled three feature fi lms — same team,” he says. Starring Srini, Sheela Rajkumar (of Tolet fame), Lingesh, Dass,
him into fi lms: acting. Now, Ven Chennai 600028 II, Kasada AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA the short film, which released on YouTube last month, has
caught the attention of viewers and has garnered over a
million views.
CM A CH-CH
YK