After the Madras Week, residents of Anna Nagar will be better informed about their neighbourhood, thanks to a trained architect. Ar. Thirupurasundari Sevvel, 25 years old, is the architect of an array of events, including photography, quiz and drawing contests, two walks around the area and activities involving the creation of scrap books, videos and Power Point presentations on Anna Nagar, which will run through the Madras Week.
Sevvel, who is also an independent researcher, has lived in the locality all her life and has been intrigued about some of its landmarks, whose histories she has successfully unearthed.
“My great grandfather ‘Atchi Mozhi Kavalar’ K. Ramalinganar moved to Shenoy Nagar, a planned settlement in Chennai, before Anna Nagar, for a site study on area planning in 1958,” says Sevvel on who her family came to this part of the city.
She says she has always been fascinated by the layout of Shenoy Nagar: the parks and the avenues.
Not only Shenoy Nagar, but stories about other places in this region have added to this fascination. She explains how she would ask herself questions like these: How did Blue Star get its name? Which is the first super market in Anna Nagar? Which is the first temple? What were the initiatives taken by the Government to make people move in? The impact of the World Fair?
Over the years, Sevvel found the answers to these questions and she wants to share what she has learnt with others.
After finishing her bachelors of architecture from SRM University, doing a part of the course at Birmingham City University, she went on to do her masters in urban and regional planning (MURP) in Universite François Rabelais, Tours, France, with a fully-funded regional centre scholarship.
She realised that cities abroad maintained a thorough documentation of their layout and development. She wanted the same done for her neighbourhood . Being a planner and a designer, it was not difficult for her to get started. She began by setting up a Social History group.
On what can be expected from the Madras Week, she says an exhibition titled ‘nam ooru , nam veedu , nam kadhai’ invites people to share whatever historical information about Anna Nagar they possess, in any form. It could be anything –
photographs of family functions, reunions, weddings, places from the neighbourhood or even copies of a very old land documents, explains Sevvel.
“I collect rare books and details on Madras. This time I am displaying some old advertisements /paper cuttings about Madras (which will be a part of this year’s exhibition too). The aim is to make people aware of and appreciate their own locality. Dr. Jeyaraj, conservator, will offer guidance on how to preserve antiques and artefacts. We are also organising two walks, one on August 10 and the other on 17.”
Sevvel and her team are looking for venues where the exhibition and the events could be conducted. “It will be helpful if schools come forward to help us at this juncture and we are also looking for sponsors for the events,” she says.
For details, contact annanagarshg@gmai.com or 9840495717.
