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Photo Gallery
Forthcoming Events
Over the summer there will be number of events that
Walk For Women - Sunday 4 July
British
The latest issue of our newstetter Village Matters is available here as a PDF (3Mb).
The latest copy of our Annual Review 2008 is availaible here as a PDF.
We are working on a website for the Madras Cafe. If there is anything you would like to see on the site please contact us.
Many thanks to all who helped at WOMAD. We couldn't do without you.
My first experience with Madras Café at WOMAD
WOMAD provides a unique opportunity for AVI to meet new people who share our deep interest in India and also to raise funds for our partners. Each year for the past years the turnover and profit for WOMAD has increased and each year new people support us by volunteering to chop vegetables, wash dishes and serve food in the vibrant community created by the café members.
Madras Café has made its mark at WOMAD. Regulars at the festival and at the café came looking for us. Some had their breakfast, lunch and dinner with us and still came back late at night for chai.
The tantalising smell of the idli sambhar, the vegetable curry, the high spirits of the cooks and the music from the surroundings mixed in Madras Café and created an environment of great joy. There were queues long into the evening waiting to enjoy the food in this unique environment. A typical day at Madras café began with calm but cheerful spirit, preparations in the kitchen began with the chopping of vegetables, boiling the rice, making the chai. As the day progressed and the music became louder, the pace of work in the kitchen increased, number of people coming to eat grew and the dancing began while cooking, washing dishes, and serving the food.
I tried to get involved with everything; right from painting the menu to stirring the curry, grating the carrots, eating the tasty food and drinking chai with all the wonderful people. Everyone stayed there for the few days like one big family giving back massages if in anyone was in pain, grabbing someone's hand for a sway and a dance and bringing food for each other. You could take a nap in the afternoon wherever you were. I slept in the van only to be woken up by the extraordinary sound of frantic violins by Les Yeux Noirs.
Over 20,000 people gathered in one place for music. Everyone moved together with the beats and rhythms and Madras Café stood opposite the white flags witnessing these festivities. The atmosphere at WOMAD builds up to a climax on Sunday evening and the Monday morning comes with an unusual calm leaving behind empty tents, cans, and fields. Campers pile up their belongings in their vehicles and roll out slowly to the life outside WOMAD.
Madras Café volunteer
