HISTORY CULTURE TOURS

5 Mon 10.15 AM
The Folly, Amethyst
Whites Road
Next to Corporation Bank
Royapettah, Chennai 600 018 
Breathtaking anecdotes of spirited women from the History of  Madras!
Venkatesh Ramakrishnan is a bilingual author who writes in Tamil and English. Of the three historical novels he has written in Tamil,Kaviri Maindan – ‘The Son of Kaveri’ – is a sequel to the greatest Tamil historical novel ever written – Kalki’s Ponniyin Selvan. Gods,Kings and Slaves - The Siege of Madurai published by Hachette is his first novel in English. He writes a weekly column in DT next paper n interesting tales from Madras in the decade of 40’s. Having a Degree in Agriculture he spent some time dabbling in organic
agriculture and still continues to have a deep interest in environmental issues.
Today, he will enchant us with unheard of stories such as - the Queen from Alwarpet, the Ukranian who started a secret society, the woman who threw a stone at 10 Downing Street, the first Indian lady novelist to write in English, the girl who prevented Nehru from entering a meeting he was to preside over, the first PG Physician in the world, the lady Doctor who worked with Netaji and many more… Unbelievably they lived in Madras.

MUSIC & PERFORMING ARTS

7 Wed Amir Mahal
Durbar Hall
Bharathi Salai
Royapettah, Chennai 600 014
Diabolus in Musica!
Diva Performing Arts is the Arts Company of France headed by music impresarios Christian and Miriam Ledoux. They will de presenting Diabolus in Musica.
Diabolus in Musica has done great work in reviving ancient music and performing as a group to audiences worldwide. Antoine Guerber is the founder and leader of this unique group. It consists of talented professional singers and instrumentalists.
The group is open to collaboration with many styles of music all over the world. Songs of the troubadours and polyphonies with men’s voices from 12th century up to the Renaissance is their forte. This year they bring to India the Diabolus ensemble for a six - city tour – Mystic Breath!
They have taken to Paris and for European audiences several musicians including Charumathi Ramachandran, the acclaimed classical Chennai vocalist, for operas and concerts. They will enthrall us with a lecture demonstration of this musical production for 45 minutes.
What other venue could be more appropriate than the Amir Mahal,the residence of the Prince of Arcot Nawab Mohammed Ali for this ethereal musical experience! We thank him profusely for opening his heart and home.

COOKING SWAPSHOP

9 Fri 10.15 AM
Madras Club
8, Adyar Gate Club Road
R. A. Puram
Chennai 600 028 
How good is your knowledge of  food?
Think you know your pulaos from your biryanis, your enchiladas from your empanadas, your matcha from your sencha, your mince pie from your shep’herd’s pie, sweet bread from sugar bread, pear and pare…All those hours of watching Master Chef, reading food magazines and writing food blogs…The new restaurants… all the travels and of course home cooks who love to experiment…
Well, we are going to put it to test!  So, put on your thinking cap instead of your chef’s hat and come have a fun filled morning at the Cooking Swapshop Food Quiz.

ARTS & HANDICRAFTS

15 Thu 04.15 PM
Alagammai Alagappan’s Residence
10, Chittaranjan Road
Teynampet
Chennai 600 018
 Fragrances and the Human Psyche!
Why do certain fragrances appeal to us, while others do not? Why do fragrances bring back memories? What impact do fragranceshav e on our emotions?
Ahalya Matthan, is a perfumer trained in fragrance and perfumery at ISIPCA, one of the premium institutions in France.Born and raised with fragrances surrounding her, Ahalya went on to set up Ally Matthan Creations Pvt Ltd and Areev, a business that encompasses spa and hotel supplies and bespoke fragrance creation. She is also well known as the co-starter of the famous #100 Saree Pact, a pact between two friends to wear their sarees 100 times in 2015 and share their saree stories, that became a catalyst for many more to join 
from all over the world.In Ahalya’s words, “Being a perfumer involves telling stories through the medium of fragrances: and this has what has always driven me!” Please wear your favourite saree and perfume and join us for an interesting evening of fragrances and conversation.

CURRENT EVENTS

22 Thu 10.15 AM
The Folly, Amethyst
Whites Road
Next to Corporation Bank
Royapettah, Chennai 600 018
Human - Animal Conflict
Janaki Lenin – familiar to all the readers of The Hindu as the writer of the delightful series of articles titled “My Husband and Other Animals” – is more than just a writer. She is a documentary film maker, editor, script writer, at times, the camera person, author and co-author of books and a publisher.
Although she wears so many hats, all the facets of her embrace the core values of conservation and the preservation of our environment and of our flora and fauna.This presentation deals with the tragic and devastating human-animal conflict that is now so frequent in our land-hungry path to progress.

WELLNESS CONCLAVE

27 Tue 11.00 AM
Mena Hall
101. Dr. Radhakrishnan Salai
Mylapore
Chennai 600 004Wellness Conclave
The Midlife Rollercoaster!
The changing physical and emotional needs associated with the big ‘M’ can be stressful and confusing. This morning’s program is aimed at empowering and providing coping strategies to face the challenges of menopause, midlife and more.We have a panel of three speakers who bring their expertise and wealth of knowledge in this field.
Dr Jaishree Gajaraj, is a Senior Obstetrician & Gynaecologistpracticing in Chennai. She did her undergraduate and post-graduate education from the University of Madras and higher training in the UK.She has the distinction of being a member of the Royal Colleges of both Obstetricians & Gynaecologists and Surgeons. Her areas of expertise include Pelvic Endoscopy, Gynaec Oncology and Preventive Oncology in women, high risk obstetrics and menopausal health.Among her notable achievements is that she is the Founder Secretary of the Indian Menopause Society, Chennai Chapter.
Our own member, Didem Atahan-Fabig is a Psychotherapist and research scholar in Psychology. Her focus is on cross cultural psychotherapy, women, domestic violence and trauma. After completing her B.S. in Psychology at Middle East Technical University in Turkey, she went on to a graduate program in Cognitive Behaviour Therapy at Louvain-la-Neuve, Belgium. She has completed a clinical fellowship in Gestalt therapy in New York and has a Masters degree in Gender and Public Health from Freie Universitaet, Berlin. She has worked for the Red Cross Luxembourg as a psychologist working with
migrant children; in Harlem, New York with underprivileged children and her current research focus is on domestic violence and burn survivors.