Know your village right here in the city

Satyabhama College in OMR was transformed into a village with people tilling and sowing land, playing traditional games and eating native delicacies while watching folk performances. Recreating the ambience of a village, the Village Ticket 2.0 festival, inaugurated on Thursday, recognises the three pillars of our village life — farmers who have created positive impact through traditional farming methods, artists who have treasured the traditional art forms and chefs who have passionately retained the diverse spice and taste of village food. For `100 you can play traditional games like uriyadi, nungu vandi, etc.

The farmers will educate you on how to till the land, sow crops, and different stages of agriculture. You can also watch more than 10 traditional dance performances. “One of the major attractions is Nalla Sandhai. We brought in small-time farmers who display native produce like rice, pulses, sugar and oils. Eighty farmers from 32 districts have gathered for the event,” said Hemachandran Logan, CEO of Brand Avatar, which is coorganising the event with citybased Grand Caterers.

There is a food festival which offers three menus — Kalyana Virunthu for vegetarians, Kari Virunthu and Gramathu Vitunthu for non-vegetarians. Urulai pottalam from Madurai, thattu vadai from Salem, biryani from Arcot and Dindigul, Nilgiris chicken curry, Hogenakkal fish fry from Dharmapuri are some of the delicacies you must try. “For teenagers born and raised in the city, this is a great way to know about village life, their traditions and day-to-day activities. Events like these are essential to keep our roots intact,” said R Selvamuthu, one of the visitors.