Moving closer to the grounds at Sathyabama University, you can hear the faint drumming of the parai grow louder. It is 5.30 pm, and around two kilometres from SIPCOT park, there is a man dressed as a tiger dancing in front of a parade worthy of a village thiruvizha. The three-day long Village Ticket, is in fact modelled after one.
Started by Hemachandran L, CEO of Brand Avatar, the event serves as a nostalgia package for those who left the village for concrete pastures, and a learning experience for the city-raised. Sathyabama University’s expansive, arid grounds have been transformed into a little patch of rural heaven, complete with cowsheds, thatched huts and a paddy field. All curated to expose city-dwellers to the joys and work that make up the rural lifestyle. The event was kickstarted by the actor Vishal, who participated in the bullock-cart ride, and in planting rice seedlings.
Hemachandran is from Arakkonam, on the outskirts of the city. He travelled to Chennai to study, and found himself missing the little things that defined his day-to-day life back home. “Life is simple there, ” he says. The ‘simple’ things are on full display, though city folk might have a harder time with them than we think.
The fair is divided into segments, each part dedicated to some aspect of village life. There is a space for farm-work sectioned out in a corner with a paddy field, where visitors learn how to plough with a bullock-cart and transplant little rice-saplings. There is also a mortar and pestle, where the former is filled with husk-covered rice grains. Jayanthi from a village near Thiruvallur, is there to support the visitors. “Just hit the grains repeatedly, and then, done! Rice is ready,” she says with a bright smile.
Villagers have come from across Tamil Nadu to run the stalls. Around 33 food stalls border the edge of the ground, with dishes ranging from traditional items like Ambur biryani, to potato springs. However, the biggest attraction are the events that showcase the pomp and gaiety that accompany a thiruvizha. There are several cultural competitions for colleges across the city, folk dance performances like puliyattam and oyilattam, and cooking competitions with clay pots over an open fire. The parai drumming circle, conducted by artist Sound Mani, is a crowd pleaser. The event starts with a lively crowd-work session, and is followed by sixty attendees learning the parai through a quick call-and-response format.
“Ultimately, profits go towards the villagers, and other farmers across the State,” says Preksha Singhvi, one of the event organisers. “This entire event is for their benefit.”
