CHENNAI : On Sunday evening, hundreds of people flocked to OMR Food Street at Navalur to celebrate the last day of Madras Week conducted in association with The New Indian Express. After a week of riding on the double-decker bus, ‘Namma Chennai Namma Pride’ and learning about the city’s history, the celebration ended with a night of stand-up comedy, music and dance. The event started with the performances of a few independent artists. One of the performers, Prem John, who started his music career in 2015, said, “The crowd was encouraging. The best moment of the night was when a six-year-old told to me that she loved my music performances.”
After singing a few Ilaiyaraaja compositions, John sang his soon-to-be-released track, Unakena Naan, for the first time for the Namma Chennai, Namma Pride event. “I began with a few popular Tamil songs and gradually moved on to sing my own song. It was really overwhelming to see the audience appreciate my efforts.”
Other performers were Namma Ooru Boy Band, Delphi Marshal, and Rochana Mohan, a stand-up comedian and a journalist. Taking the stage in between musical performances, Rochana’s comedy focused on women and their problems at the parlour. Everyone in the audience who had frequented a beauty parlour, knew exactly what she was referring to, and this brought a smile on the audience’s face. “I have done theatre in college, and that helps me with stand-up performances. It has taught me to be present, improv when necessary and be aware of everything that is going on,” she said adding that as a comedian she has to judge the pulse of the audience as soon as she takes the stage. The audience were predominantly families who came to enjoy a Sunday night.
“We agreed to perform as the theme of our band is similar to that of the event. We compose songs about the city and Namma Chennai Namma Pride was the perfect platform for us,” said Josh Vivian Raj, member of the band.“People visiting the OMR Food Street are mostly from different states. We chose this venue so that we could bring the Chennai culture to them and make them aware of the city’s 379-year-old history,” the organisers said. They added that Madras week celebrations received an overwhelming response this year, thanks to the participation of Chennaiites. The celebrations ended on Sunday when the audience grooved to the tunes of DJ Shah.