Chennai Times

On a balmy March morning, we left Kohima behind and drove through patches of pink, red and white along the winding roads of NH39 to Dimapur, our hired Eeco piled up high with bags and bags of clothes, our musical instruments, jewellery and costumes :) 100 kilos checked in baggage. Believe it or not!
We made quite a sight with all our bags at the airport and with a little help from the cheerful staff at the Dimapur airport, we boarded our plane to Kolkatta and a few hours later, we were in Chennai. Stepping out of the freezing airport AC to the warm slightly humid area outside, we were met by two young men from our host, Kalakshetra Foundation, speaking a most musical language. They helped us load our baggage onto a mini truck and drove us to our hotel where a delightful buffet was laid out. Hungry tummies that were growling got filled up with yummy chicken curry, daal, sambhar, rasam, fried vegetables, roasted chillies, papad and a host of other delicasies. Wow! Soon it was time to slumber and be ready for the big day.

First stop. Soundcheck after our Interview session at Chennai Live 104.8 FM where we chatted at length with RJ Sano and played some songs for the listeners as well as got to play our playlist for the Women's Day Special airing. Damn cool.

Outside the venue, Narada Gana Sabha Hall, Alwarpet, Chennai after our soundcheck. So it was back to our hotel for lunch and getting ready for the show. 6:00pm and showtime!!!
The show was a smashing success if we may say so. And our feelings were hugely reinforced by the feedback we received and the long queues to interact and get pics taken. Wooopeee for Li!

Ready! Get set and go!

Phrozü Li : Lamentations of women

The stories come alive....

Apulio Lizo

Exciting times :)

Fans of Li from Kalakshetra Foundation

New friends in Chennai

Post Leichal, we had more gigs to go in Chennai and we made maximum use of our time there by checking out the beaches and local attractions. First stop was Marina Beach. Fifteen minutes from where we were staying. Long auto rickshaw ride around the city, stopped at a few souvenir shops and checked out papier mache kitties, stopped at the Besant Nagar beach, more waves, sat on horses, drank juice by the roadside stall, feet sore from hot sand and too much sea water, wet clothes from the big waves, sun tan....windblown hair. Wow. Nandri Chennai!!!!!

Watching the waves take the fishermen and their boats away.

Mhaseve lending a hand as the Fishermen pushed their boats out to the sea.

Girls on the rocks?

We saw these beautifully handcrafted gramophones by the roadside on our ride about the city.  Too bad we couldn't get one. Excess baggage already.

Day 3 in Chennai we went and met the lovely team at Indieearth and got ourselves interviewed and played a set for them too. Roy and Co, give us a shout soon. The tea was amazing!!!

Next up was the Li and Yoga session at Studio 136.1 at Alwarpet. We performed an hour set for the lovely people at the Yoga Studio. Yoga with a twist indeed.

Our exciting stay in Chennai soon came to an end as we moved on to Bangalore for a few more appearances but we did promise to come back and explore more soon. The food, the beaches, the lovely people we met and well, the wonderful experience we had in Chennai continue to stay strong with us. Thanks to our friends at Kalakshetra Foundation, Yoga Studio 136.1 and Anushka & Iswar & Co. And hey, we'll definitely be back for the Uramili experience soon.
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