CHENNAI: The Mylapore Festival drew a steady footfall on its third day with two programmes that highlighted music and food traditions: a performance by the long-running Madras MBS Choir and a jaggery-based cookery contest. Families, visitors and home cooks gathered across the venue as the festival continued its annual mix of cultural activities.
At the main stage near the Kapaleeshwarar temple, the Madras MBS Choir presented a set of songs composed by legendary MB Srinivasan, who founded it in 1970. The organisation, now over 50 years old, is observing the centenary year of its guru and continues to use its performances to preserve his musical legacy.
Rajashri Baskaran, an instructor with the choir, said the group focuses on teaching children music that carries messages on social themes. “The choir teaches children songs focused on human values, environmental awareness, patriotism, and national integration,” she said.
She said the programme opened with a piece designed to introduce musical basics. “The opening song introduces the basics of Carnatic swarams and thalam, so children can engage with music in an accessible way.” She added that “‘Koranggatti’ speaks about the suffering of monkeys forced to perform tricks and spreads awareness about treating animals and humans kindly.”
Another piece focused on the city and its upkeep. “‘Namathu Nagaram, Azhagu Nagaram, Chennai Mahanagaram’ encourages people to keep Chennai clean and green, especially by disposing of waste properly,” Rajashri said.
Elsewhere at Nithya Amirtham on North Mada Street, the jaggery-based cookery contest brought together around 25 participants. Organised by Sundharam Finance, the contest has been part of the festival for four years. “Using jaggery brought back memories of home-style cooking, and it was exciting to experiment with it in a new way,” said Saravanan, a participant from Triplicane.
Curator Sridhar Venkatraman said the format is kept open to encourage wide participation. “We wanted to keep the platform inclusive and accessible, so anyone with a passion for cooking could participate,” he said.
Contestants prepared dishes at home and presented them at the venue using jaggery as the common ingredient. Entries included pumpkin halwa, wheat halwa, poori jaggery, elai adai and other recipes from within and outside Tamil Nadu. An organiser explained, “Jaggery is a versatile and healthier alternative to refined sugar, and we wanted participants to explore its full potential.”
The judges evaluated entries on nutritional value and creativity. “We looked beyond taste and focused on how thoughtfully the ingredients were used,” one of them said. Five contestants were chosen based on overall performance. Another cookery contest, themed around soups, will take place at the restaurant on Sunday noon.