GENRE: Features

Peak summer is yet to hit Chennai, but the sun is blazing and thanks to the failed winter rains and depleting reservoir levels, residents in many parts of the city have already begun to feel the scarcity of water. For those, who have their gardens and plants to look after, the act of balancing water conservation with plant management is a tricky challenge. Here are a few tips that may see you through the season: 1. Plan growing varieties based on seasons and climates. That way we can cut down on the varieties that demand a lot of water. 2. Use water from…

The very popular share autos, or 7-seater mini vans operating in the hundreds in Chennai and addressing an acutely-felt need for intermediate public transport in the city are in fact illegal, and cannot pick up and drop passengers at random. This was revealed by a response given by the Tamil Nadu Transport Department to an RTI query filed in March 2017 by a journalist from the city, who blogs at Straphangers United. The RTI application was filed to the Secretary, Transport, Tamil Nadu, who forwarded it to the Transport Commissioner, who in turn sent it to the RTOs. The response to…

Mysore Bank at the Mysore Bank Circle is a thing of past - it's going to be just State Bank henceforth! Pic: Malempati Ravi/ Google Local Guides After 104 years, the name State Bank of Mysore was relegated to history. “Mysore Bank” which held a place of pride among Bengalureans no longer exists. There won’t be any boards dotting the city with the blue symbol. And like with many establishments, the name will continue to live on in Bengaluru, hiding in plain sight among other spots of history – in the city’s bus stops and junctions. The latter cannot be…

Seeniammal, a resident of Parameswaran Street in Zamin Pallavaram had acquired a small piece of land for constructing a house three decades ago but never saw this coming. For her as for other residents of the area, the 2010 notification from the Archaeological Survey of India (ASI), accompanied by a letter from Chennai Metropolitan Development Authority, was a bolt from the blue. According to the notification and letter, Zamin Pallavaram was one among the sites chosen for research by the ASI and hence classified as “Prohibited” or “Regulated.” Effectively what this means is that homeowners in these regions would not…

Sights and sounds at Yediyur Lake I am not immune to FB posts, so when there was a sudden rush of bird sightings from Yediyur kere, I realized that I'd not visited for many years. When Padma and Ramaswamy suggested going there this morning, I was very happy to join them. So many trees have fresh leaves right now, like this Peepal tree: This lake is maintained well. However, the fact of its being completely fenced around, and having all growth stunted to bush size except for a few spots, made it feel more "manicured" than I am comfortable with...but…

Trifene, a student from Zimbabwe, came to Bengaluru, to study in Christ College in Bengaluru, after she was promised of cutting-edge technological opportunities and new multi-cultural experiences. But as she was soon to find out, the process of assimilating into Indian society would be much harder than she expected. She says she faced racially motivated encounters that she would shy away from to avoid any conflict; sometimes it was unavoidable to participate in such conflicts when they occurred inside her hostel. In the video below, she narrates an incident where another male student who lived in the same hostel as…

“If you kill someone with a gun, if you shoot them, they die once. But if you throw acid on them they die every day.” These moving words by an acid attack survivor motivated Sandeed Farooq to take action. Calm, collected and articulate, Delhi-based Sandeed shows a maturity far beyond his sixteen years. Alongside his co-founders Sakshi Agarwal and Neha Thadani, he started a campaign called “Flawless Flaws”, which works to raise both awareness and funds in support of acid attack survivors. A student himself, Sandeed is not unlike many other students in a lot of ways. His favourite subject is history,…

Whenever you meet her, Nandhini’s enthusiasm is overflowing. Talking very rapidly, she shows me around the Trust for Youth and Child Leadership (TYCL) rooms in Pondicherry. Children of all ages run up to us excitedly to bombard me with questions. The walls are covered in motivational quotes, alongside posters detailing the important role a child can play, whiteboards and book shelves. TYCL works to empower children and let them realise their potential. At age 21, Nandhini heads their programme N’Ka Na (my sister and my brother), which aims to connect children with professional mentors to help the children achieve their…

There was a time when menstruating women were asked to ‘sit’ separately during ‘those’ days – they would not enter the kitchen or go to the market or fill water from the well or do any work. It was like being in the naughty corner for 3-4 days. It probably gave the over-burdened women a restful break every month. Times have changed and women cannot take (nor do they want to take) those kinds of breaks. All the leak-lock technologies, long-absorbing gels and ultra-thin-extra-large sizes in sanitary pads -- at the end of the day, they are still restrictive. Reusable menstrual…

Many may have missed this small snippet of news, but the Special Officer, Corporation Commissioner D Karthikeyan has already passed the Greater Chennai Corporation budget, reportedly on March 14. Details of the budget are however being withheld in the name of election code of conduct, in view of the imminent by-elections in RK Nagar. While one can understand that the announcement of welfare measures related to RK Nagar could violate the election code of conduct, it is difficult to see why the entire budget details have to be withheld. And one cannot hold back the feeling that an elected council…