GENRE: Features

The fuel tank of a two-wheeler, the body of an auto-rickshaw, wheels of a cycle and engine parts of a car. Did you ever think that these parts of a discarded vehicle could be shaped into a work of art? That vehicle scrap could actually have some aesthetic value?  Students of the Government Industrial Training Institute (ITI), Guindy are moulding metal waste into beautiful works of sculpture while Zone 13 of Greater Chennai Corporation is doing the same with scrap from two-wheelers. Known as junk art, this art form could be an ideal solution for scrap waste management and can…

At Versova jetty one morning some months ago, I asked Ramji bhai, who was sitting on a rock at the edge of the creek, what he was doing. “Timepass,” he replied. “I’ll take this home and eat it.” He pointed to a small tengda (a type of catfish) he’d just caught. I saw other fishermen cleaning nets they had floated in the creek the night before – they had caught loads of plastic but no fish. “Fishing in the khadi [creek] today is barely possible,” says Bhagwan Namdev Bhanji, who has lived all his 70-plus years in Versova Koliwada, a fishing village in north Mumbai’s…

At Versova jetty one morning some months ago, I asked Ramji bhai, who was sitting on a rock at the edge of the creek, what he was doing. “Timepass,” he replied. “I’ll take this home and eat it.” He pointed to a small tengda (a type of catfish) he’d just caught. I saw other fishermen cleaning nets they had floated in the creek the night before – they had caught loads of plastic but no fish. “Fishing in the khadi [creek] today is barely possible,” says Bhagwan Namdev Bhanji, who has lived all his 70-plus years in Versova Koliwada, a fishing village in north Mumbai’s…

This is the second video of our series, "Oora Therinjukitten Ulagam Purinjukitten with Raaghav" that deals with common problems faced by citizens and ways to solve them. If you have ever lost your wallet or misplaced your driving licence, the once-daunting process of acquiring a duplicate has now been simplified. In a few short steps you can get a duplicate licence within days. The steps can be completed online followed by a visit to the RTO at your convenience. Watch this video to find out how. https://youtu.be/QtQkCOMq2Po

When the Government of India issued an advisory on August 3rd, urging tourists and non-Kashmiris to leave the state, thousands of labourers who work in Srinagar and other areas decided to return home. However, around 150 non-Kashmiri waste pickers and their families decided to stay put in Srinagar. The city had provided them a home and livelihood for years and they believed they would be safe, despite subsequent reports of non-Kashmiri truck drivers and traders being killed Most of these waste-pickers and their families have lived in Srinagar since the 1960s, but their numbers increased in the 1990s. “A majority…

The central region of the Greater Chennai Corporation is diverse: it has Ayanavaram which is crying for basic amenities, semi-urban Ambattur that has been incorporated into the civic body only in 2011, Anna Nagar that has great connectivity but grave traffic woes, Kodambakkam, the trader hub and Teynampet, the commercial hotspot of  the city. “Before charting out plans for these localities, it is important to understand their nature,” said P N Sridhar IAS, the Regional Deputy Commissioner of Chennai Central, as we caught up with him for an exclusive interview.  We see a huge disparity in terms of development in…

“Will I be able to watch Shimla’s first snowfall before I return to Patna after my semester examination in December 2019?” Ankit Kumar, a student at Shimla APG University asked his teacher. Hailing from Bihar, Ankit said one of the reasons he chose to do his journalism course in Shimla was to see his first snowfall. “I have seen lots of lovely pictures of this beautiful hill station completely wrapped in soft white snow. It’s my life’s dream to experience this”. With the sudden drop in temperature to 6 degrees centigrade on November 29, and popular tourist spots like Noranda,…

For the transpeople of Pune, November 20 was an important day. “We have come here for all the transpeople who lost their lives to transphobia,” said Rishi, a trans-rights activist, on this “Trans Remembrance Day”. “We want to observe this in public, these tragedies took place in public and it is only right that we are here and we are being seen”.  If you have lived or travelled around Pune you will have heard of and visited the shopping area of Tulsi Baugh, just four minutes’ walk north of Budhwar Peth, the city’s red light district. Many transwomen have their…

The "spring" of good times Of all the things that Besant Nagar beach is known for, Spring Potato (also known as Tornado Potato) seems to be the one that has witnessed the most phenomenal growth. A spring potato is a snack where  a single potato is sliced continuously into a spiral, fried and served with spices, on a sharp skewer. Over a 100 spring potato shops lined up next to each other, compete for 5000+ customers every month. "Business is dull these days due to the monsoon," says a stall owner. "We get 100+ customers in a single evening but…

Translated by Sandhya Raju தமிழகத்தில் தற்போது பெண்கள் மேம்பாட்டை குறிக்கும் நிறம் பிங்க் என்று தான் சொல்ல வேண்டும். சென்னையின் பல்வேறு பகுதியில் பிங்க் நிற காவல் ரோந்து வாகனங்களை பார்த்திருப்பீர்கள். கடந்த ஜூன் மாதம், பெண்கள் மற்றும் குழந்தைகளுக்கு எதிராக அரங்கேறும் குற்றங்களை தடுக்கும் முயற்சியாக தமிழக அரசால், அம்மா ரோந்து வாகனங்கள் அறிமுகப்படுத்தப்பட்டன.  பெண்கள் காவல் நிலையங்கள், குழந்தை கடத்தல் தடுப்பு பிரிவுகள், சிறார் போலீஸ் பிரிவுகள் போன்ற அனைத்து பிரிவுகளையும் இந்த CWC (Crime against Women and Children) ஒருங்கிணைக்கிறது. இந்த அம்மா ரோந்து வாகனங்களின் பணி என்ன? இந்த வாகனங்களில் அதி நவீன தொழில்நுட்பம் கொண்ட கேமரா மற்றும் ஜிபிஎஸ் வசதி பொருத்துப்பட்டுள்ளது. இக்கட்டான சூழலில் உள்ள பெண்கள் -1091 என்ற எண்ணையும், குழந்தைகள் 1098 என்ற எண்ணையும் அழைக்கலாம், இந்த தகவலை காவல் கட்டுப்பாட்டு மையம் அருகில் உள்ள அம்மா ரோந்து…