EDITORS' PICK

Today we have with us one of the most intriguing gods ever. He comes from a solid lineage. His father, Mahadev, is known to have caused the big bang. His mother, an excellent chef as Annapoorna, is a formidable Goddess. Well, she has a lion for her pet. His elder brother Kartikeya is the athletic types, the military commander-in –chief to be precise. Whereas he is more of a nerd. Apart from the popular stories about his legendary wisdom, he is best known for his assistance in writing the Mahabharata. Naturally, blessed are we Mumbaikars to have such an illustrious…

How and why. Greater Chennai Corporation (GCC) officials seem to be deliberately ignoring these two important questions, while executing the infrastructure projects. The ill-planned beautification work at Besant Nagar only bears that out. Besant Nagar (or Elliots) beach, with its fragile sandy coastal ecosystem, stares at destruction, thanks to all the work being carried out in the name of modernisation. Having received funds from the Tourism Ministry under the Swadesh Darshan scheme, the civic body is all set to develop the beach as a mini tourist destination. The resulting slew of ongoing construction activities at Bessie appears to be disorganised and…

In the wake of the landmark judgment decriminalising homosexual acts among consenting adults, Citizen Matters Bengaluru spoke to Sanjay Bavikatte and Arvind Narrain, organisers of Bangalore's (and India's) first Gay Rights Symposium in an academic institution in 1998, about the long road to 2018. Tell us a bit about your individual involvement in the movement. How did it all start? Arvind: We were at National Law School – Sanjay and I – friends from Class 5 onwards. We would hang out together and attend discussions on human rights among other topics. It was a great place to be. I remember…

Submission of self declaration forms for revised property tax has been in the news for more than a month now. Despite multiple reports and clarifications by the Greater Chennai Corporation (GCC) officials, there is still palpable uncertainty among citizens about the whole procedure. In an earlier article on the topic, Citizen Matters Chennai had explained the nitty gritty of self declaration and the procedure to submit these forms. Since then, the last date for submission of forms, has been revised to September 16th. As several questions continued to pour in from our readers, we met R Lalitha, IAS,  Deputy Commissioner,…

During my college days in the pre-Metro rail era, travelling in the DTC buses in Delhi was a common choice. Rather, it was the only choice available for youngsters. Then came the automobile explosion in our cities, and the four-wheeler entered our lives too. We moved to Gurgaon eight years back and with almost non-existent public transport, we had to have two cars for just two of us in the family. It was only recently with the rapid metro reaching the city, about a ten-minute walk from our doorstep, that we started using it, especially on my trips to Delhi.…

Samarth Mahajan does not match the common man’s imagination of an IIT-ian. While exceptions may not be all that rare, India still associates IIT with successful corporate careers, fat salaries and most recently, Sundar Pichai! One doesn’t really think of a 24-year-old graduate from IIT Kharagpur giving up a coveted FMCG job on a whim, getting up on unreserved compartments on trains and taking a 17-day journey across the length and breadth of the country, capturing through his camera the voices and lives of a vast majority of people from its cities, towns and villages. Samarth’s documentary The Unreserved, winner…

Not by a long shot, but I am glad you are willing to hear me out. Undoubtedly, the Supreme Court judgement was a victory for us all - you and I. We have been declared free of an irrational and arbitrary law that has no place in our society today. Now, we regroup and get to work. The judgement has laid the groundwork for things to come -- leading everyday lives of dignity and free of discrimination outside the bedroom. It has left us with a clean slate to write upon a set of binding policies that will truly ensure…

Kerala’s devastating floods in August set off alarm bells in Tamil Nadu. Municipal Administration minister S P Velumani chaired a state-level flood prevention review meeting on August 21st, around one-and-half months before the expected commencement of the north east monsoon in the first week of October. A slew of infrastructural projects were flagged off as part of monsoon preparatory work, including the desilting of storm water drains at a cost of Rs 20 crore and clearing of encroachments in water bodies. Preparatory work for the monsoon is usually taken up only a few weeks before the onset of the season,…

The rainbow is out, and rarely has it been brighter. A landmark Supreme Court verdict, delivered through four separate but concurring and stirring judgments, has decriminalized homosexuality by scrapping certain portions of Section 377 of the Indian Penal Code (IPC) and also underlined the ‘primary objective’ of the Constitution as one of ‘establishing a dynamic and inclusive society’ that recognizes and grants the rights of all persons who identify themselves as ‘queer’. The mood among members of the community as well as those who work with them has been euphoric, for it has been the culmination of a long and…

Chennai is home to not just one, but two reserve forests - the Pallikaranai wetland and the Nanmangalam scrub forest. Located along the Tambaram-Velachery Main Road, the Nanmangalam Reserve Forest is among the last remaining havens of the ‘Vandalur scrub’, the original natural forest of this landscape. While it might be difficult to tie the seemingly disparate scrub and forest together, the Tropical Dry Evergreen Forests (as they are also known) with their short, small leaved trees and thorny shrubs indigenous to South-East India are best equipped to survive the local climatic conditions. The scrub and its diversity Spanning around…