OCTOBER

INTERNATIONAL MUSIC DAY

1Mon

10.15 AM

The Malayalee Club

28, Club Road, Srinivasa Nagar

Chetpet, Chennai 600 031

International Music Day

October is a special month at IWA as we fondly remember our Founder Member Nirmal Seshadri, as we celebrate International Music Day on

her birthday on 1st October. Remembering her passion for music and

performing arts, her family instituted an award to be given to a young and

talented musician every year.

This year IWA is proud to honor Amirtha Varshini.Amirtha Varshini is a versatile musician and singer. She is a flautist in the orchestra of the Madras Musical Association. She is also an accomplished vocalist, singing a variety of songs from classical opera to Tamil film songs and folk songs.

 She was awarded scholarships to theInt ernational Music Sessions, Long Island, New York (a summer music camp for talented child musicians from all over the world) in 2017 and 2018.

As a special treat we will also hear Lydian Nadhaswaram (IWA musicaward recipient) perform along with his sister Amirtha Varshini.

We look forward to you joining us at The Malayalee Club to acknowledge and hear their performance followed by a lunch of scrumptious Kerala cusine.

This is a members only meeting.

ART & HANDICRAFTS

5Fri

10.15 AM

E. Hotel

Gate No.1, Express Avenue Mall

Patullos Road

Chennai 600 002

 Photography for Everyone,Everyone for Photography

Gayatri Nair is an engineer-turned-photographer who is passionate about making pictures of things as she sees them. She has a keen interest in family, culture and society and this makes her an ardent wedding photographer.

Gayatri is also a trustee of the CPB Foundation, a registered nonprofit trust that promotes photography as an art form and a skill; through year long events and through the Chennai Photo Biennale- a four week long festival of photography exhibitions, walks, talks, workshops and films.

Gayatri will speak to us about her artistic journey and her current dream project, The Chennai Photo Biennale. She will also give us tips on getting better pictures on our smartphones!

MUSIC & PERFORMING ARTS

8Mon 04.00 PM

The Folly, Amethyst

Whites Road

Next to Corporation Bank

Royapettah, Chennai 600 014

        The challenge Indian writing poses to English theatre

Over the last couple of decades Indian playwrights and writers have engaged the attention of English Theatre, either in original, translationor adaptation. How has traditional English theatre, nourished on Western plays from Shakespeare and Shaw to Pinter and Neil Simon, coped with this new focus? What difficulties and challenges has this thrown up? What effect has it had on audiences, used to “English English”? Renowned theatre personality and voice-over artist PC Ramakrishna looks at this progress, with the pitfalls  encountered and opportunities given.

P.C. Ramakrishna is a theatre actor and a communications professional, long associated with The Madras Players as an actor and administrator. He served as its president for two decades and has acted in scores of its theatrical productions since 1969.

Please note this is an evening meeting.

HISTORY CULTURE TOURS/ HEALTH & ECOLOGY

10Wed 10.15 A.M

The Folly, Amethyst

Whites Road

Next to Corporation Bank

Royapettah, Chennai 600 014

“Be the change you wish to see”

The pressing need of the hour is the rapidly deteriorating environment in and around Chennai that sorely needs our attention……. Here to sound the warning bell and urging us to stand up and be counted is Arun Krishnamurthy, Founder of the NGO,the Environmentalist Foundation of India (EFI). 

He will talk to us on Chennai’s pristine ecology and the need for people to participate inits conservation.  He is the world’s youngest awardee of the Rolex Award of Enterprise, the award one of several, recognized his contribution to

the restoration of Chennai’s Kilkattalai lake, one of the main feeders to the Pallikarnai marsh. This “Lake Warrior” has spear headed the restoration of 39 lakes and 54 ponds in the country. His talk will b e accompanied by one of the 6 environmental documentary films thatEFI has made for creating public awareness. So, if you have ever felt distressed by the litter and pollution……let’s learn how to turn our concern into something meaningful and community – altering by actively participating.

Together let’s make mountains move!

HEALTH & ECOLOGY

16Tue10.15 A.M

The Folly, Amethyst

Whites Road

Next to Corporation Bank

Royapettah, Chennai 600 014 

A Donor’s Story!

The Journey of a Kidney Donor, Anil Srivatsa, who went through emotional upheavals and subsequent making of a champion for the cause of Organ Donation. He encourages people to accept the concept of organ donation and willingly become donors just like him.Anil has driven across 40 countries over 70,000 kilometers in his own car and taken the message to schools, colleges and organizations.

From being the Chief Executive Officer of Kings XI Punjab, an editor and publisher of Blossom City, COO of Radio Today, broadcasting India’s first FM Network for Women only, Executive vice-president of Imagine Asian TV, director of Worldwide marketing and public relations for RTV, UK, to being the Director of Cricket and South Asian at Kelly Broadcasting Systems - his career is a mosaic of the eclectic and the creative.

Please join us as Anil Srivatsa presents his true story of gifting a life.

PHILOSOPHY & RELIGION

23Tue10.15 A.M

The Folly, Amethyst

Whites Road

Next to Corporation Bank

Royapettah, Chennai 600 014

The Idea of Happiness

What does the search for happiness amount to? Why is it that people tend to find existential meaning in unhappiness when happiness is valued so much? This talk will explore some philosophical themes around the idea of happiness.

Sundar Sarukkai is Professor of Philosophy at the National Institute of Advanced Studies, Bangalore. His work is primarily in the philosophy of natural and social sciences. He is the author of many books including Philosophy of Symmetry, Indian Philosophy and Philosophy of Science. He is the Co-Chief Editor of the Springer Handbook of Logical Thought in India. He has also been very active in outreach programmes to take philosophy to different communities and places as well as bringing philosophy to the public through his writing in The Hindu. He is heading a project of philosophy in the public domain, funded by the Tata Trusts.

Happiness is a state we all aspire to.Aren’t you eager to find out what happiness truly means?

DEEPAVALI

26Fri 4.00 PM

Mayor Ramanathan Chettiar Centre

75/2, Santhome High Road

M.R.C. Nagar, R.A. Puram

Chennai 600 028

Deepavali Bazaar

“Deepavali” -The festival of lights symbolizes the spiritual “victory of light over darkness, good over evil and knowledge over ignorance”.

Do join us for IWA’s Deepavali celebration with an evening filled with surprise entertainment and shopping followed by a mouth watering High Tea.The ever popular Khazaana stall will be present.

We are pleased to invite IWA members for the Deepavali celebrations and no ticket purchase is required for our members, however there will be guest charges of Rs.600.

We look forward to welcoming you there with friends and family.

Our heartfelt thanks to Visalakshi Ramaswamy for graciously sponsoring the hall.

Please note this is an evening meeting.

COOKING SWAPSHOP

29Mon 10.15 A.M

The Folly, Amethyst

Whites Road

Next to Corporation Bank

Royapettah, Chennai 600 014 

Learn About Lavender

Growing up in Coimbatore, Siddharth Murthy’s passion is Food and visual arts. His mother and grandmother were his foremost teachers, followed by hotel management and the-hospitality industry.This took him around the world and ultimately to Australia and landed him into - Lavandula Farms owned by Carol White In Daylesford, a small rural town. Here Sid prepares a menu for the cafe, that is authentic and uses local/seasonal herbs from their own kitchen garden which of course features lavender.

Come join us for this interesting and fragrant talk on lavender and how it is used for culinary purposes.

BOOK DISCUSSION

31Wed 10.15 A.M

Madras Literary Society

DPI Campus,

College Road, Nungambakkam

Chennai 600 006 

Come Kreeda With Us! Triple Treat laid out for you…..

Games in books, games in Chennai, games in MLS!

Do you know which game Shankar and Parvathi played on Mount Kailasa? And the one Ramanujan played with his mother?It’s all in the books and what’s more, you get to play them! Following a short reading of extracts, we invite you to take a step back into your childhood and crossing all ages and boundaries, perhaps follow in the footsteps of Rama, Sita and Lakshman, or...Perry Mason or...Edgar Allan Poe?

To enjoy this morning, we have the perfect setting for you in the Madras Literary Society, a 200-hundred-year-old library housed in a century old heritage building, right in the heart of the city!First time visitors please set out in good time and make your way to College Road. Sharing the wall with WCC, is the entrance to the DPI compound and MLS is the first Indo Saracenic building on your left,if you enter through this gate.

Vinita Sidharta, the founder of Kreeda will share with us the journey of the organisation that has been researching and reviving traditional games that were inspired by the shells and seeds and fruit-laden trees of Chennai.