If the first indicator of success for any event is the presence of crowds, then the second is surely participation of allied and fringe players. And Chennai Sangamam, the open-air, folk festival of the city has scored on both fronts. Huge crowds attended the folk-art and classical arts presentations and demonstrations at the various parks and other venues. The food industry had, as in the past two years, rolled out the red carpet to the audience, giving them a chance to taste Tamil Nadu cuisine. This year, the art galleries too joined in and put up exhibitions.

(Pictures courtesy: ASHWITA.)

At the Ashwita Art Gallery on Dr. S. Radhakrishnan Road, the theme was commercial art. The group that runs Sangamam had said that the theme for art galleries could be “The Line”. This, says Ashwin of Ashwita, was ­interpreted by most galleries to mean line drawing. But he ­decided to showcase Chennai’s commercial art instead. This ­according to him is a dying, or ­already dead, art form, especially in the large formats. The art of painting hoardings was killed by the vinyl sheets which in turn went out of business when hoardings were removed.

The exhibition, however, looks at all kinds of commercial art. It begins with the calendars of the 1920s and 1930s, framed for their Gods and Goddesses and worshipped, no matter what the product being advertised in them was. Thus you have Vishnu, dutifully being garlanded by his two consorts, all of them standing under a banner that says “United Breweries for the Best Beer”. And then there is Muruga as a nude child (MF Hussain and his detractors,  please note) with a prominent message from TAS Rathi­nam, the snuff makers. The best one is, however, from George Dralle, perfumers and soapmakers of Hamburg, who have a nubile young thing reclining langour­ously across the ­picture and then you have the ­anticlimax: M/s Adycappa Chetty, sole agents for Madras and Ceylon, it says right next to the siren. How’s that for juxtaposition?

Elsewhere there is a poster encouraging you to vote for Antony Pillai of the Social Workers Party in the upcoming election. Pillai himself, the poster informs you, is a BA (Hons) from London. Nowadays that might be a disqualification but those were different times. Displayed in this section of line drawings and blocks are sketches of the covers and inner pages of Kalki and other magazines, spanning ­several years.

Elsewhere in the gallery are mastheads, banners, page markers, vertical strip ads, matchbox cover designs and a whole range of tear-off day calendars with ­visuals ranging from Gods to present-day politicians. Finally, there is a full display of vinyl stickers of film stars, meant to be stuck on to windscreens. As you leave you see posters from ­various films. Overall, it is a very good representation of the art of Madras that is Chennai.

At the other end of South Madras is Forum Art Galley in leafy Padmanabha Nagar. Here Shalini Biswajit had husband and cartoonist Biswajit Bala­subra­maniam team up with well-known artist Ilango and Madras Musings columnist Ranjitha Ashok to come up with two 18-ft long canvases depicting the chaos that is Chennai together with the arts and culture that it sustains.

‘Lining the Street’ is a unique amalgam of cartoon, painting and comment. There is a road sign which says “Illegal U Turn Ahead”. There is also the bus charging down the wrong side of the one-way road, with one wag remarking to the other, “You may have right of way but he drives the bus!” “Where has all the long hair gone?” is a cry of anguish that rises from a Mylapore sketch. Then we have Kokilambal Mess where meals are ready comprising “Gopi Manchuria, Butter Non, Chinse Noodle, very very fast food, and some chats”.

“Meet you near the statue on the beach,” says a voice from the crowd. “Which one? No 1 or 101” replies the other.

Then you have the Spiritual Ritual Digital vehicle which is a cell phone-wielding sastrigal (Brahmin priest) on a two-wheeler! What would you say to a man emerging after inspecting a manhole? “Paarthadu Podum! Pongi Ezhu!” (You have seen enough! Now burst forth!). And, finally, a long queue snaking to a small window with a face glowering through. This is for testing EQ – Endurance Quotient!!

And they raised quite a few guffaws, titters and smiles from those who came to see.

Here are two panels that should grace Ripon Building or the CMDA headquarters to keep everyone in them in good humour even as they are reminded how much they have to do for Madras that is Chennai.

The Forum Art Gallery exhibition also had on display a collection of individual pieces by Ilango and Biswajit reflecting the chaotic city and its sense of humour that makes life liveable in it.