GENRE: In Focus

In recent times, one of the lasting representations of Kolkata in popular culture lies in an iconic scene from the film Piku, where Bhashkor Banerjee, played by Amitabh Bachchan, is seen riding a bicycle around familiar haunts, with an air of euphoria and freedom. Ironically, in spite of the humble bicycle being a symbol of nostalgia and heritage, Kolkata is also the only city in India to have widespread restrictions on cycling. Cycling used to be banned in 178 roads earlier. Presently, the bicycle ban is in place in 62 arterial roads of the city. Despite this, the city records…

In Part 1 of this series, we found that online education in government schools is largely limited to WhatsApp messages, and that many children are unable even to access them. At the other end of the spectrum are well-established and high-end private schools that are also conducting online classes since the pandemic began. In Part 2, we find out whether they have made online learning effective. Aparna Hariharan conducts tuition classes in maths and science for Grade 5-10 students who study in private schools. She says her workload has multiplied since COVID. Her students say the syllabus was covered in…

Translated by Sandhya Raju வாய்ப்புகள் தேடி மக்கள் நகர்ப்புறம் நோக்கி நகரத் தொடங்கியதில் உலகம் முழுவதும் நகரமயமாக்கல் வெகு விரைவாக முன்னேறியுள்ளது. பெருகி வரும் மக்கள் தொகைக்கேற்ப நகரத்தின் உள்ளேயேயும், அதனை சுற்றியும் விரிவாக்கம் செய்யும் நிர்பந்தத்திற்க்கு தள்ளப்பட்டுள்ள நிலையில், வெப்ப நிலை மாற்றம், சுற்றுச்சூழல் பாதிப்பு, அதிக மாசு என அதன் தாக்கம் பல எதிர்வினைகளை ஏற்படுத்தியுள்ளது. 2001 ஆம் ஆண்டு 6.6 மில்லியனாக இருந்த மக்கள் தொகை 2011-ல் 8.6 மில்லியனாக (சென்சஸ் படி) அதிகரிக்க, சென்னையும் இந்த மாற்றத்திற்கு விதிவிலக்கல்ல. சமீபத்தில் வெளியான ஆய்வின் படி, 1991-2016 ஆண்டில் சென்னையில் கோடை வெப்பம் (மார்ச் - மே) 5.8 டிகிரி செல்சியஸ் வரை உயர்ந்துள்ளது. மக்கள் தொகை ஏற்றம், சீரற்ற நகரமயமாக்கல் ஆகியவை இதற்கான முக்கிய காரணியாக அமைந்ததாக குறிப்பிடப்பட்டுள்ளது. நகர்ப்புற விரிவாக்கம் மற்றும் இரண்டு இந்திய மெகாசிட்டிகளுக்கான மேற்பரப்பு வெப்பநிலை மற்றும் அதன் விளைவுகள்:…

Basamma thinks her children's school should not have promoted them this year. A resident of Chinnapanahalli near Whitefield, Basamma, who makes a living by doing domestic work, sends her daughter and son to the nearby government school. The school had no online classes at all. Yet, her daughter is now in 7th standard and her son in the 8th. "They only watched lessons on DD Chandana channel (on TV) and spent most of their time idling and playing. They learnt nothing," Basamma says. Before COVID struck last year, Basamma used to send them to tuition classes. But that stopped with…

Did you know that at least a hundred litres of water are used up in construction of one square foot of built-up area? In a growing city like Chennai, where you find some construction or the other going on whichever way you look, think of what that means for groundwater resources, which currently constitute the primary source of water supply for the requirements of this water-intensive industry.  In a city that is constantly under the shadow of a looming water scarcity, finding alternative, eco-friendly ways to reduce the burden on groundwater tables has never been more important. And that is what…

Picture this: a Miyawaki forest, a play area for children, a sculpture court and a pedestrian plaza along the Buckingham Canal, that now stands as just a conduit for sewage water amid squalid surroundings. But if plans on paper are implemented on the ground, the Buckingham Canal beautification project initiated by the Greater Chennai Corporation under the Smart City Mission, will soon transform the IT corridor (Rajiv Gandhi IT Expressway) stretch along the canal into upgraded, modern recreational spaces. Over the years, the Buckingham canal, which holds such an important place in the ecology of Chennai, has suffered the neglect…

Susheela Kumari was a quiet, average class 5 student studying in a school run by one of Delhi’s three municipal corporations. Now, authorities in two schools are looking for her. Susheela has not violated any law. And she is not the only student for whom there is such a close — almost police-like — hunt! This scenario playing out in the national capital could be described as bizarre — teachers in both municipal corporations schools and schools run by Delhi government are in a race to locate students like Susheela who have passed the 5th class. The reason given is that these…

Sandhya R, a 3-year-old preschooler, gets distracted and restless every five minutes even while her online classes are underway. Her mother, R Saritha, an IT employee from Adyar, has to take a break from work often to pacify her and get her back to focussing on the screen. “Since my work is flexible, I have the advantage of being able to take breaks to attend to my daughter when she needs me. But online classes have been very challenging, as she is too young to concentrate on, or engage with, what is happening in these virtual classes,” shares Saritha, a…

With house rent of Rs 6,000 overdue and two children on the verge of dropping out from school due to her inability to arrange for fees, single mother R Sharmila is at the end of her tether. She is one of the hundreds of conservancy workers who were terminated by the Greater Chennai Corporation (GCC), without any prior notice, earlier this year. In January, the civic body suspended the contract of 545 conservancy workers after the privatisation of 11 of the 15 zones in Chennai. Although they have been jobless for over six months now, the fired conservancy workers turn…

Muthulakshmi S, a resident of Kattukuppam village in the Ennore Industrial Cluster spends a good share of her family income on doctors' fees and medicines. “My kids suffer from severe cold and cough infections every two months. The doctor says that it is common among those living here,” says 27-year-old Muthulakshmi, whose kids are seven and three-and-a-half years old.  Her husband is a fisherman who brings home a few hundred rupees on some days, but nothing on many others. Muthulakshmi is not alone, however. Her trials and tribulations reflect those of many women in Ennore, and much of that can…