Chennai| For Madras Busking, it is all about conversations and memories

The second chapter of Madras Busking brought together artists and writers who conversed, listened, and gave people a memory of the day to take back home

The normally sober, and quiet conference room at The Hindu office had a different aura last Saturday. The chairs were rearranged in a circle, and all along the walls were different tables for poets and artists, bearing typewriters and sketchbooks.  

As part of the Made of Chennai campaign, the second chapter of Madras Busking set up shop in an unlikely location — an indoor space. The setting however, was no deterrent to the experience, as around 250 people came to interact with poets, writers, and artists. 

“Busking involves performing an artform in public. It is very common in Europe where one can see people play music in public spaces. We were keen on bringing something like this to Chennai, which brought together illustrators and writers. People can strike up a conversation, and get a poem written, or a doodle or sketch made,” said GS Sairam Santhosh, one of the founders of Madras Busking. The community of writers and artists aims to document life in the present for people who visit and interact with them, and are encouraged to take a piece of poetry or a sketch back: a time capsule they can revisit years later. 

His co-founder Nirosha Shanmugam, was seated with a typewriter, some flowers, and an assortment of papers on her table. “I talk to people and type out a poem, with the idea of covering our conversation properly. People share something significant from their daily lives, are sometimes vulnerable, or happy. This experience comes with the ability to connect and speak to a complete stranger about all of this, and take back a conversation, poem or sketch as a memory of the day,” she said. 

Not too far away from Nirosha, Urusha Maher and Rohan, were working on poetic illustrations. “I enjoy conversations, meeting people, getting to know their stories and putting my spin on it. We have a conversation, and I can come up with an illustrated piece of poetry, or even a doodle,” Urusha said. While lawyer KRB Dharanee was speaking to people and typing letters on her typewriter for them, heritage illustrator Aafreen Fathima, with an orange lamp on her table, sketched away while holding long conversations. 

People who came to participate in the centre, patiently waited their turn to speak to the buskers. Tamil poet Vignesh Gopalan, photographer Muthu Kumaran, and  design generalist Anthony Jackson were among the buskers as well.