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Bestindianbloggers.com came forward to sponsor Chennai Twestival even before we finalized the event. Mr. Rajesh the person behind bestindianbloggers.com develops opensource wordpress applications and would get donations for it. He wanted to use his hard earned money for a social cause. And he has found that Twestival is doing a wonderful job in collaborating people for doing social good. So he himself came forward to donate his hard earned money for Chennai Twestival which will eventually reach the hands of our NGO Concern through which schools will be built for the benefit of more children. Chennai Twestival team salutes Mr.Rajesh’s spirit of giving.

கடவுள்  என்  கல்லானான்  - மனம்

கல்லை  பொன மனிதர்களாலே

(Why did god became a stone,

Because of people who are like stones)

Kannadasan is regarded as the King of poets.  His lyrics around cycles of life is an absolute treat for people in all walks of life. He has contributed around 5000 lyrics besides 6000 poems and 232 books. He was the first ever to receive the National film award for Best Lyrics  given in 1969 for the film Kuzhanthaikkaga. Kannadasan was born in Sirukudalpatti, near Karaikudi, Tamil Nadu, India as Muthiah. But when he died at the age of 54, on 16 October 1981, millions of Tamils remembered him only by the name Kannadasan.

To drench you into the awesome lyrics of this poet beating around love, sex, hunger, joy, life, death and wine here comes Chennai Twestival 2010. Chennai Twestival is all set to take you into the poetic world where in there will be no mondays, no wife, no deadlines, no dad, only you and your soul. Come in to fill yourself with lyrics like this.

கல்  எல்லாம்  மாணிக்க  கல்லாகுமா

கலை  எல்லாம்  கண்கள்  சொல்லும்  கலையாகுமா

சொளெல்லாம்  தூய  தமிழ்  சொலாகுமா

சுவையெல்லாம்  இதழ்  சிந்தும்  சுவையாகுமா

Chennai Twestival is bringing ‘oru kannadasan malai’ to raise money for a NGO called as Concern which works for educational needs of very poor students. The raised money will be used for building Schools,  providing clean water for schools, betterment of girls education, heath and sanitation programs, providing school meals, teacher training, furnishing schools (books, pencils, desks) and out of school programs.

நான்  நிரந்தரம்  ஆனவன்  அழிவதில்லை

எந்த நிலையிலும்  எனக்கு  மரணம்  இல்லை

In the above lines Kavi Arasu Kannadasan says that there is no death for him. It has been two decades since he died. Yet today there is a big fan following for his songs and here we are using his works and his name  to raise funds for a cause. This only makes us to believe that true artists never die.

If you want to know more about this event, keep watching this space. We will soon provide you with more information on

1. Program details.

2. Competition.

3. Sponsorship.

4. Ticket.

The Chennai Twestival Day 2 was a rip roaring event as Subject to Change performed their acoustic music concert at the AFM Auditorium.The audience, mainly consisting of youngsters, were treated with an absolutely awesome concert by Benny Dayal, Anisha Verghese, Abraham Verghese, Anjana R, Aakash Jacob and Toby Joseph, who comprise Subject to Change, performing pop, rock, Tamil film and Malayalam songs.

They started off with the Crosby, Stills and Nash’s Love the One You’re With and followed it up with Fleetwood Mac’s The Chain. That was followed by a brilliant rendition of One of Us by The Cranberries. What’s Up by 4-Non Blondes was performed so well that it merited a repeat performance. The surprise of the evening was of course the beautiful cover of Roja Poo Aadi from Agni Nakshatram by Ilaiyaraja. Though Benny Dayal declared that the next song was an Ilaiyaraja one, he kept the suspense on which song it was going to be and everyone was pleasantly surprised when this gem came up. Dear Prudence(The Beatles) was well received by the crowd as was the final medley of songs by, who else, A.R Rahman! The final act was their signature song - Cindy that brought the crowd together and also made everyone laugh their hearts out.

The young crowd was made aware of The Prajnya Trust and that sure was a positive outcome from the evening. A few soundbytes to NDTV Hindu after the concert, and Chennai Twestival is right on track to becoming one of the best events in Chennai to look forward to in the future.

Snapshots from the concert and a hearty vote of thanks to those who made this happen will follow in the next 24 hrs!

Chennai Twestival Snapshots - Day 1

The Chennai Twestival kicked off today at the AFM Auditorium with a western classical music concert by Julie-Anne Derome and Gabriel Prynn. A brilliant performance by Gabriel Prynn on the cello and Julie-Anne Derome on the violin playing a myriad of compositions ranging in classical music of different eras.

Representatives of Prajnya, the NGO that Chennai Twestival is supporting, were present to create awareness about their campaign against gender violence. The 150+ strong crowd learned about The Prajnya Trust and their campaign through the flyers that were distributed and also by talking directly to the representatives.

The Chennai edition of the Twestival started off on a positive note and we have one more day of music and social work. Don’t miss the music concert by Subject to Change with Benny Dayal and friends at the AFM Auditorium at 7.30 pm on Saturday, September 12th. Tweet. Meet. Give. See you on Day 2!

The final details for the Chennai Twestival events are here!

Thursday, September 10th 2009 - Western Classical Music Concert by Julie-Ann Derome and Gabriel Prynn; 7 pm at the AFM Auditorium(New no. 24(Old no. 40) College Road, Chennai).

Saturday, September 12th 2009 - Music Concert by the group “Subject to Change” comprising of Benny Dayal, Aakash Jacob, Anisha Sarah Verghese, Anjana Raghavan, Abraham Verghese and Toby Joseph; 7.30 pm at the AFM Auditorium(New no. 24(Old no. 40) College Road, Chennai).

The event is non ticketed, so please bring your friends for two evenings of scintillating music! You would also get a chance to contribute to The Prajnya Trust as their donation boxes will be kept at the venue. Be a part of Chennai Twestival and Alliance Francaise Prelude 2009 and contribute to a good cause.

Official Radio partners of Chennai Twestival: Chennailive 104.8 FM

You can learn more about Subject to Change here.

We look forward to seeing you there!

We are excited to announce that the Chennai Twestival ‘09 preparations are almost complete!

The Chennai Twestival will be part of the PRELUDE fest organized by the Alliance Francaise - Madras. The events will be on September 10th and 12th.

The cause that Chennai Twestival will support is The Prajnya Trust. From their mission statement, “Prajnya’s vision is to help achieve peace, just and sustainable, which is the basis of a secure and happy life for all humans. Prajnya’s mission is to build a centre of scholarly excellence and creativity, known for its engagement with policy and its commitment to collaborative endeavour.”

Like we had announced, we repeat:

September 10th, 2009 - Western Classical Music Concert by Julie-Ann Derome and Gabriel Prynn; 7 pm at the AFM Auditorium.

September 12th, 2009 - Acoustic Music Concert by ….well, wait for it! We want to make it sound as surprising as possible! 7 pm at the AFM Auditorium.

Yes, please wait for it a bit more!

The official radio partners are Chennai Live 104.8 FM.

The entry to the events would be absolutely free of cost! There would be donation boxes of the trust at the venue to which you could contribute. And we would be happy if you do!

Some links for your use:

http://prajnya16days.blogspot.com/

http://keepingcount.wordpress.com/

http://prajnya.in/16d08medianie.htm

Annual Report:  http://prajnya.in/ar0809.pdf

The official Chennai Twestival twitter ID is : http://twitter.com/chntwestival

Well, yes some exciting news! The radio partners for the Chennai Twestival and the Alliance Francaise events would be Chennai Live 104.8 FM, Chennai’s only English radio station!