Singer Rithvik Raja
| Photo Credit: Special Arrangement
Vijayalakshmi Krishna says that Kanchipuram, the city of a thousand temples located only two hours from Chennai, has always been an artiste’s playground.Threads of silk from the houses of artisans come together to make fabric in hues that are sometimes yet to be named, making it the perfect base for experimentation. It is why as the founder of Aavaranaa, a 20-year-old clothing brand from Chennai, Vijayalakshmi is intent that the first time she opens her store space for intimate events, she would like to weave in bits of Kanchipuram into the organisation’s story.Between June 19 and 21, Aavaranaa will be hosting the unusual mid-year margazhi, an event that hopes to spotlight two Carnatic artistes in the city, while also hosting a talk. “Much of the performances in Chennai are clustered around December and January. We wanted to change that,” Vijayalakshmi says.The festival kicks off with Carnatic vocalist Brindha Manickavasakan performing on day 1, followed by a talk on Kanchipuram’s stunning temples such as the Kailasanathar temple and the Varadaraja Perumal temple by historian Chitra Madhavan on June 20, and a Carnatic music concert by artiste Rithvik Raja on the last day.
