Siblings S. Amarnath, S. Surendranath and S. Aparna are known as ‘The Mylapore Trio’. They are also called the cultural ambassadors of Mylapore.
They promote performing arts from India through free programmes: most of these events are conducted in and around Mylapore, where they grew up and continue to live.
They do these activities under the Sri Sumukhi Rajasekharan Memorial Foundation, which they formed in 2003 as a mark of gratitude to Rajasekharan, a freedom fighter and his wife Sumukhi.
This couple had taken care of Nagammal, their maternal grandmother who was widowed early in her life and was saddled with the responsibility of bringing up two daughters all alone.
The three refer to Sumukhi and Rajasekharan as their foster grandparents. Rajasekharan, a freedom fighter who followed Rajaji, owned Vindya Publications. Sumukhi, a headmistress at Lady Sivaswami Iyer Girls Higher Secondary School, Mylapore, later involved herself in the activities of Kalakshetra.
“We encourage underprivileged children and youngsters to take part in our programmes. None of the participants, whether rich or poor, are expected to pay any registration fee for these events,” says S. Amarnath, a history professor at Presidency College. “We organise an event called Kala Poshakam, where the criterion for participation is not age.
Nor is it even talent. We only expect the participant to be interested in Indian art forms,” he said.
“For the last eight years, the foundation has been organising an event titled Visesha Kala Poshakam, an international cultural festival, to which non-resident Indians are also invited. We don’t expect even a penny from them,” she adds.
The Foundation conducts various camps and cultural festivals. During April and May, ‘Bala Gurukulam,’ a summer camp is conducted for children, where they are made to watch old movies like Avvaiyar and Shankarabaranam.
Traditional games like Pallankuzhi and Thayakattai are played. Children are taught to draw kolams and there are storytelling sessions promoting moral values. “During such camps, I enjoy cooking lunch for children. We allow them to decide the menu every day,” says Aparna who works at a MNC bank.
Another event Bala Vidwan Bhavani is organised in the morning of January 1, every year. It is a heritage walk where children are taken around the Mada streets of Mylapore, along with their parents. “The event aims to help children understand the importance of going to bed early and waking up and how being active is necessary,” says Amarnath. “Every year we visit Montford Community Development Society to teach underprivileged children from coastal slums and transit schools. We teach them prayer songs from all religions. The sessions include spoken English, personality development, motivation and storytelling,” says Surendranath, a freelance art director in advertisement field. “For every Navaratri festival, we invite these children and old women from the coastal slums to our house to see Kolu,” he adds.
