Even with sun glaring upon the city, Chenniites seem to know how to cool off. Rather than travel out of the city for a break, they are opting to be part of camps and programmes organised right in namma ooru. From working and learning to surf at Surf Turf, to camps organised by Madras Crocodile Bank and Reach Foundation, we take a look at how the Gen-Y’s idea of a vacation is evolving in Chennai.
Shalini Biswajit, director of the Forum Art Gallery, says, “Not just parents, many youngsters also enroll in the summer programmes. One can learn or hone a skill through the art appreciation programmes. For this year, we are planning to have a four-week art course, that includes sketching, mix medium and acrylics.”
One of the prominent B&Bs in the city, Surf Turf has invited youngsters for summer jobs with a very exciting offer. Divya Pandurangam of Surf Turf, shares,
“Those who are interested can come and work with us —they’ll gain experience and learn how to host guests. Apart from learning to surf, this is an opportunity for city youngsters to understand more about village life! They may get a different perspective of life after interacting with the villagers.”
Currently, the summer job offer is for two months — April and May. “We are looking for people who are willing to stay and work with us for two months. This vacation experience can even change their paths. A lot of people from the corporate world have already registered with us,” she quips.
Reach Foundation, an NGO that focuses on the renovation and restoration of ancient temples in Tamil Nadu, invites interested candidates to be a part of the process. M. Ramanath, an executive member, says, “The restoration of old temples in villages are done periodically. There are a lot of people from the city who join us to learn the techniques that go behind a temple restoration. They will be staying with the villagers and also will get to know about our heritage as well.”
Zoo educator at the Madras Crocodile Bank, Anjana Srimathi, explains about their camp — “Reptiles are an unpopular group of animals and there are many misconceptions about them. The camps that we offer are exciting and informative and aims to spread awareness and remove negative connotations associated with reptiles in the minds of people. People perceive them to be slimy and gross.
The camps conducted by the Croc Bank facilitates in changing the mindsets of people about them. The participants who are coming over are provided an opportunity to take part in husbandry work.”
