NIFT Chennai holds a carnival to mark the 36th anniversary of the institution's founding and Pongal.
CHENNAI: The National Institute of Fashion Technology held a carnival on its Chennai campus on Friday to celebrate the institution's 36th foundation day and Pongal. The event featured soul-stirring classical dance by Kali Veerapathiran and team, energizing Toda dance and Mayilattam and Thappattam performances, students biting into juicy sugarcane, and a brief but rickety bullock cart ride.
The NIFT Chennai also hosted a workshop for local craftsmen from the Kancheepuram and Toda communities in addition to the celebrations, to recognize craftsmen.
The evening started with the worship of the bull, the harvesting of sugarcane from the NIFT garden by Anitha Manohar, director of NIFT Chennai, and then the awarding of diplomas to craftsmen from the Kancheepuram and Toda communities. Following were games planned by the students, a Toda tribal dance, Thappattam and Mayilattam, and a Bharatanatyam performance by Kali.
"The idea was to reinforce that art and culture are part of fashion. We provided product development training to Toda artisans. We taught them to make laptop bags and mobile pouches with the fabric that they make," remarked Anita Manohar.
NIFT Chennai is also guiding a girl from Toda community to gain admission into the institution. "We are encouraging the children to carry on the legacy of their family. Once they train here and leave, the quality of their products will enhance," she highlighted.