CHILDREN

Rarely perhaps does one see the police distributing chocolates and people bursting crackers upon the award of capital punishment by a judge. But such was the scene following the initial applause at the Chengalpet Court where the killer of seven-year-old Hasini was sentenced to death. While the judiciary and the police congratulate each other for delivering justice to the girl within a year of the brutal rape and murder that shocked Chennai, there are at least 328 such Hasinis in the Chengalpet Court alone, waiting for their turns to be heard. Dozens of more such miserable victims await justice in…

Today (Tuesday, 20th Feb '18), I took the children of Pramiti School, aged between 8 and 12 years, to the Government Museum on Kasturba Road. It took us nearly an hour in the traffic to get to the Museum from J P Nagar. So when we reached the Museum, we had to take the children to the toilets before the visit. I was told that the Museum building does not have toilets and was asked to go to the Venkatappa Art Gallery next door, so we took the children there. The staff kept on giving us instructions to "put a…

If you are an environmentally conscious person, yearning to give back to Nature and the planet that sustains us, here is an opportunity in Chennai for you to know more and actually move towards translating your plans to action: the Reciprocity fest scheduled for the coming weekend (February 10-11th). Reciprocity concerns holistic sustainability, thus indicating that everyone is an affected stakeholder. Considering the steady rise in the mounds of waste in the city, the Reciprocity fest reiterates the need for citizens to join hands and do something to reduce and recycle waste. Seminars and discussions would be held on the…

A strong stench of seafood fills the air at Ayindhu Gudisai Street in Chintadripet, which is a stone’s throw away from the banks of the Cooum river. As the sun descends slowly on a Friday evening, a group of lungi-clad men aimlessly banter about their day-to-day chores, while the women sip on their tea and play Daya kattam. Overpowering the Tamil song played from one of the MGR movies on the narrow street, the verses of Bharatiyar resonate through the entire locality. With a wide smile and excitement writ large on their faces, children repeat the verses after their teachers,…

The spate of horrific news from schools across the country does not seem to subside. The most recent incident, of course, is the mysterious death of a Class 9 student in the school toilet in northeast Delhi's Karawal Nagar. It is suspected that the teen died of internal injuries resulting from assault by a group of friends. Earlier this year in Lucknow, Hrithik Sharma, a Class 1 student, was stabbed on the back, chest and left eye by a girl in Class 7, in anticipation of a holiday that the school would inevitably declare in the wake of such a…

The academics of substance addiction is full of definitions and statistics. The World Health Organization defines substance abuse as “persistent or sporadic drug use inconsistent with or unrelated to acceptable medical practice”. Hours have been spent on understanding the patterns. Yet, when you put a face to the problem and ask them to describe it – it very simply is about losing control. “You know it harms you. Yet you feel so helpless to fight the urge. That loss of control is possibly the hardest thing when you battle addiction.” remembers Sahana (name changed). She should know. The 38 year-old…

I was waiting with Radhika (name changed) for the guests to arrive. She is a 2nd year student studying at a city college. The women and young girls of Shollinganallur slum had invited a group of us to their homes and their community. An initiative by iVolunteer with whom I am associated, called Dine and Dialogue was kicked off, simply to encourage people who may not have otherwise met to mingle, chat and have a good time. An NGO, Centre for Women’s Development and Research (CWDR) has been working with these women in the area for two decades, mostly in…

The Diwali sugar overload and dark warnings have swung back again for your annual consumption. Various government, parastatal and private organisations have already created lists of what you can do, what you can’t, and what you shouldn't. And these are relevant to every reveller in every city and town, as the nation gets ready to celebrate the annual festival of lights. Let’s look at the yearly log book of safety rules, along with other tips that have been handed down over the years like grandma’s homilies. DO Keep a blanket and a bucket of water or sand nearby as a…

Three years ago when Sampath Ramanujam, Founder of Anvaya Foundation travelled to Kaiwara, along with his family, he met two girls who were playing happily with a fully damaged cycle with no bell, no brake and not even a seat. It was then that he realised that around 30 to 40 cycles were lying unused in each block of his apartment. That incident inspired Anvaya Foundation team to come up with the concept of “Freedom Pedals”.  He along with others started an initiative to make use of these cycles. For the past three years, they have been collecting unused cycles…

The compound wall of the AMM Matriculation Higher Secondary School in Kotturpuram was as bad as any other compound wall in the city, till a few months ago. The wall was filled with political posters, making it an eyesore.   Some time last year, three 10th grade students - Ritvik Roy, Siddharth Kumar and Sai Muthuraman thought their school compound wall urgently needed a facelift. In the words of Ritvik, he and his friends were fed up with political posters all over and they wanted to replace it with something meaningful. Thus an idea took shape in the mind of…