It has been close to a decade since thousands of families and unsuspecting young children were washed away by a massive Tsunami that struck the coast on December 26, 2004. Ironically, as Chennai gears up to celebrate yet another Christmas, survivors will mourn the loss of their loved ones just the day after. To remember the lives lost and to pay homage to the victims of the tsunami, the Prakriti Foundation has organised an all-night vigil of poetry and songs that will commence on the night of December 25. It will start at 9pm and go on till 6 the next morning — coinciding with the anniversary of the tsunami. The tribute is a part of their upcoming festival, Poetry with Prakriti 2011, and will be held at Spaces, Besant Nagar. “Last year, this remembrance was held mid-way through the fest. But we felt that it needed to be a separate event this time," says Ranvir Shah, Founder of Prakriti. "I was amazed at the number of artistes who volunteered to perform on their own with no fees. It shows the extent to which the artistic community is willing to share."The night's proceedings will include performances by Anil Srinivasan and Alarmel Valli, the Madras String Quartet, Harmonize Projeckt, Oxygen, La Pongal, Akatha Kahani, CinC and several others. While each group will be assigned time slots on stage, their performances will not necessarily be about the Tsunami or the loss due to the tragedy, say the organisers. "This will not be just another performance from me," confides Anil Srinivasan, who will be doing a reading of poetry with renowned dancer Valli, interspersed with a few compositions on the piano. "It will be good to be a part of something larger than oneself," he explains. "We have chosen some poetry that will reflect hope in the context of children, especially the girl child."The event is not targetted at any specific age group. Ranvir clarifies, "It is open to anybody who empathises with the victims of the Tsunami. Last year, we had an attendance of people aged 16-75 years." "For those who stay with us through the night, there will be sitar ragas at the break of dawn," he adds.
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