One Mylaporean is trying to make a difference to the cultural world of North Chennai. T. S. Thyagarajan, a retired executive of LIC and a resident of Karneeswarar Koil Street in Mylapore has been hosting a classical music and dance festival in Kodungaiyur every summer the past seven years.

Kodungaiyur is more well known for the huge garbage yards that receive the waste of this part of Chennai. And to most people who have not visited these neighbourhoods, North Chennai is a dirty, dark place.

That is a cliched assumption. The area has many quiet colonies and well known institutions but it suffers because of neglect and limited civic development. Thus, but for the movie halls, there are limited avenues for cultural acts and entertainment.

The North Chennai Music Fest started small but has grown.

This year, the five day festival was launched in late April with a kutcheri by Kadri Gopalnath on the saxophone and A. Kanyakumari on the violin. Also present at the inauguration was Narada Gana Sabha secretary R. Krishnaswami who has also lent support to this effort. The audience may have been about 150 people on the opening day but Thyagarajan is happy to see the fest take roots gradually.

His family runs a Trust which has funded a school in this area - the Sree Sayee Vivekananda Vidhyalaya in the Muthamizh Nagar area of this quiet neighbourhood.

Alongside, he also promoted the arts fest so that the classical arts could be presented to rasikas in this part of the city.

This year, music and dance recitals were scheduled. They were held in the playground of the school.

The artistes and the guests were also treated to 'tiffin' after the concert. This then is a positive move of a culture-rich Mylapore willing to support similar events in another part of the city.