Idhu Namma Ooru

Chennai Idhu Namma Ooru was a Public Relations Campaign organized by the students of the Communication Department of M.O.P Vaishnav College for Women. Chennai- Idhu Namma Ooru was a concept adopted to instill pride and pleasure among the citizens of Chennai; to make people aware of Chennai that it still hasn’t lost its splendor, that it is still rich with ancient traditions and practices; to remind people that Chennai had a rich past, the Gateway to the South. The campaign took place on the 4th, 5th and 6th of March at various venues as the students had drawn up a schedule of events to promote the idea.

The idea was derived from the Atithi Devo Bhava Campaign launched by the Government of India in January 2005. The campaign was adopted in order to give the tourists or “guests” a feeling of home and hospitality when they came to India. The students of M.O.P Vaishnav College felt that the same concept can be adopted for Chennai. In addition to Athithi Devo Bhava, they identified six different aspects of Chennai and organized highly interactive activities and events for the general public and the youth population of Chennai. Their campaign was aimed at sensitizing the public to issues like preservation of the heritage monuments in Chennai, promotion of Chennai’s characteristic culture and tradition, enlightening the public about the innumerable festivals celebrated throughout the year, nurturing a sense of secularism, awakening the people of Chennai as a cradle for arts and crafts and celebrating exclusive Tamilian trait of hospitality.

The students came up with highly innovative ideas to promote their events. Posters, brochures, danglers, banners, stickers were few of the PR tools used by them. They also screened documentary films at various premises to give an idea to the audience about the campaign. Their creativity was showcased through the variety of events arranged by them such as folk dance to promote festivals, mimicry, magic show, quiz contest on monuments of Chennai, martial arts display as well as Villu Pattu to showcase Chennai’s culture and tradition.

Those in charge of culture and tradition organized a jewellery designing contest. Other events included Villu Pattu, Chennai Anthem, performed by school students and a stall at Spencer’s Plaza set up by crew members of Dakshina Chitra. Villu Pattu is a traditional folk style of music where a group of people play the Villu (bow) and convey a message to the audience. Kalaimamani Subbu Arumugam a name synonymous with Villu Pattu performed at the Chennai Trade Fair on 4 March, along with his daughter, Bharathi Thirumagan. They also performed at M.O.P Vaishnav College the 6th. Jewellery was the cynosure of all eyes during the cultural fiesta, the resplendent bangles taking the pride of place. The word valayal (bangles) worn by women on their hand, signifies valayam which means that women are generally flexible in nature and they sacrifice a lot to bring peace.

The response on both the days was overwhelming. Villu Paatu endeared the audience and won many a heart. At Spencer’s Plaza Dakshina Chitra had set up stalls like stone carving, bangle weaving, bead necklaces etc. Priced affordably, the kaleidoscopic bangles and bead necklaces drew a lot of crowd. The students had also screened a documentary which featured personalities like Pop Shalini, Boskey, Swarnamalaya, who spoke on why Chennai is the best city and their connection to Chennai.

Article contributed by the students of MOP Vaishnav College for Women