A monthly market where traditional foods, arts mingle

On a pleasant Sunday morning, a couple from Perumbakkam were asking for directions to M.E.S. First Cross Street in Irumbuliyur near Tambaram railway station. So was a woman shopper from Chromepet.
IT employee D Nithya during her Karagaattam performance | Sunish P Surendran
IT employee D Nithya during her Karagaattam performance | Sunish P Surendran

CHENNAI: On a pleasant Sunday morning, a couple from Perumbakkam were asking for directions to M.E.S. First Cross Street in Irumbuliyur near Tambaram railway station. So was a woman shopper from Chromepet.

A pretty house located in an independent plot in Irumbuliyur on Sunday played host to an exhibition of sorts. On sale were pottery, varieties of organic rice, traditional food, herbal drinks, hand-spun cotton clothes and to top it all, there was a ‘Karagaattam’.

Namma Santhai (Our Market), held in Irumbuliyur on second Sunday every month, brings together people engaged in cultivation of organic vegetables and traditional varieties of rice, a vendor of sweets made from millets and people involved in seed protection.

Purely a voluntary initiative, the market is a culmination of the efforts of Agaththi, an organisation that aims to bring people back to their roots. The day began with a talk on safe food and role of consumers, delivered by Ananthoo, safe food and sustainable agriculture activist. He recalled that India once had over one lakh varieties of rice cultivated according to regions, requirements and health needs. However, 92 per cent of what was being cultivated at present were only 8 varieties.

On display at the santhai were sweets made from millets by GA Parivel from Salem. His family has a shop in the town, selling organic vegetables cultivated in their six-acre farm, apart from the millet laddus.
“The concept is very good and the interest among people in such organic products is growing rapidly,” he said.

Geetha Krishnan of Perumbakkam said he was visiting the santhai for the first time, assuring he would visit it every month. The enclosure where organic rice cultivated from different places, especially Pudukottai, had most visitors. “I buy rice at the supermarkets. I am going to buy from here, let the money go directly to the farmers,” Krishnan said.

Chithra Nambi from Ambattur offered steam-boiled palm-leaf ‘kozhukattais’ and ‘vazhaipoo vadais’ at `10 a piece and they sold like hot cakes in minutes.

The highlight of the morning session was a Karagaattam performance by D Nithya. A native of Kancheepuram and an IT employee for 10 years, Nithya said traditional folk arts need support.

An author of Tamil books on HTML, Linux and Selenium, among others, Nithya said when IT employees learn classical arts, it is normal, but when they tell people that they are interested in Tamil folk arts and that they attend classes to learn them, people raise eyebrows. “They ask why our interests are so unique,” she said. “If we do not learn our traditional arts and dance forms, who else will,” she asked.

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