From Madras that was to Chennai that is

Chennai is associated primarily with its architecture, a notion these young art curators at the Dakshinachitra Heritage Museum, Muttukadu, wanted to break.

“We wanted to visually represent the people, the textiles, the food and the automobile industry, all of which are trademarks of the city,” says Sarasi Ganguly, one of the curators of the exhibition titled ‘Madras to Chennai: Appo Ippo (then, now)’ at the museum.

It features the transition of Chennai from Madras in six sections – people, food, language, music, textile and automobile industry – through photographs and installations, some created by them, some part of the museum collections. From the evolution of the transport systems in Chennai to that of the music in Chennai from folk and classical to modern, the exhibition also explores the legacies left behind by communities which migrated to Chennai for education, employment or business and left.

The curators, DAK-Chola Museum Management interns at Dakshinachitra — Rebecca Devnesh, Sarasi, Murcchana Parashar, Sulaxna Toppo, Arpit Masih, Samreen Zaidi and Sujeetha Lakshmanan say that it’s not just about what Chennai received but what it gave back to the world.

“The Indie band Casteless Collective was highlighted to show the diversity of music in Chennai, which includes that of marginalised voices.” says Sarasi.

In the automobile section, they have included a timeline of vehicles – Milestones in Motion – from British vehicles of the 1800s, trams and railways to the current pink buses and electric vehicles. “Public transport played a major role in encouraging people to go out and work, so we wanted to document that,” says Rebecca. A photo grid themed on ‘wheels’ in the automobile section showcases a series of photographs of the potter’s wheels of the past as well as installations of new car wheels.

The textile section explores the traditional craftsmanship of Chennai, with a focus on quintessential colours. “We have used old photographs to show how saris were draped in the past and recreated them, in characteristic Chennai colours of terracotta reds and blues,” says Sulaxna.

The exhibition is on till May 27.