GENRE: Voices

‘Hot, hotter, hottest’ might define the different seasons of Chennai, but its people exude a certain warmth that is endearing. As platitudinous as it may sound, this empathy and resilience shone through during the recent Chennai floods, as residents bent over backwards to help each other. A lot transpired in the sprawling metropolis in 2023 that gave us reason to cheer—consultations for the upcoming Third Master Plan, the vibrant Madras Day celebrations and Chennai emerging as the safest metro for women according to NCRB. But all this was overshadowed by the increasingly problematic stray dog and cattle problem; Cyclone Michaung…

Another year goes by and most of us, who are not directly affected, are watching the world in turmoil helplessly from a distance. Whether it is extreme violence and massacre of human rights in Gaza or the tepid COP 28 commitments for climate action. Closer home, there is a record number of suspensions of members of our parliament and passage of bills without debates, raising disturbing questions about India's democratic structures. And then in Mumbai, one has almost gotten used to the fact that the city has not had the municipal elections so as to expect our elected representatives to…

Often, as journalists, we have an eye for the problems people face and so it is reflected in our stories. This is because every small impediment that we come across is connected to a larger systemic issue. While it is very important to highlight the problems, be it a minor civic issue or a larger systemic one, I learnt this year that we should also keep an eye out for stories that provide solutions to these issues. Here are some of the stories that I worked on in 2023 that had a huge impact on me: How a tuition centre…

The basic necessities of democracy are timely elections, as well as formation and continuance of an elected government without any delays or truncated tenures. The idea of 'one nation, one election' has caught the attention of the people as the Government of India wants to adopt a policy of simultaneous elections across the country. It has formed a high level committee (HLC), headed by the former president of India, Ram Nath Kovind, to examine the matter comprehensively and make recommendations for holding simultaneous elections to the Lok Sabha, the state Legislative Assemblies, the Municipalities and the Gram Panchayats. Even though…

COP28 emerges at a crucial juncture for global climate action amid escalating temperatures and unprecedented climate-related events. It is placed historically – as per the UN's global stocktake synthesis report - to align with the Paris Agreement's goals and address numerous issues, steering the world towards a more sustainable trajectory.  COP28 includes the inaugural global stocktake, a pivotal mechanism for evaluating progress under the Paris Agreement, putting into action the loss and damage fund from COP27 and figuring out a plan for the global goal on adaptation in the Paris Agreement. Also, parties are discussing aspects like a switch to…

As a wheelchair user, who likes to travel and go around the city, the biggest hurdle is navigating public spaces and using public transport to get around. As a member of the Disability Rights Alliance (DRA) in Chennai, I have taken part in accessibility audits and have been involved in different activities such as training wheelchair users for state and national-level competitions in a paralympic game called Boccia. Whenever we travel for all these activities, accessibility is the main challenge. Most of the public transport including buses and trains cannot be used by persons with physical disabilities, especially people who…

The desire of citizens for effective governance has enabled a stunning victory for the Congress, the current government in power. But are they in danger of losing the goodwill placed in them by the people?  For instance, the latest suggestion to allegedly ease the globally notorious traffic congestion in Bengaluru is to create double-decker flyovers along the proposed metro lines so that private vehicles go above the metro. If there is a metro along the route already, where is the need for a flyover above it? Is this not a reversal of the idea of elevated corridors, which was put on the back…

As I write this, Hyderabad is gearing up to vote in the Telangana state assembly polls scheduled for November 30th. Political rhetoric and slugfests have both been at a peak over the last few months leading up to these elections. But in the usual noise, what is often lost are the real needs of the city and its people. What Hyderabad needs most urgently is good governance. There is a vacuum of participatory governance, ethical governance, transparent governance, and accountable governance. The city faces several social, economic, environmental and other challenges, the resolution for which can come about only through…

I grew up in a home that didn't hate dogs but never really loved them either. I was consciously told to avoid dogs, always. And I followed that during the early part of my childhood, till I was 10-11 years old. However, this was to change. I was riding pillion on my uncle's Bullet motorcycle on CMH Road Indiranagar, in Bengaluru, for something early in the morning, about 4 am. Just as we entered CMH Road from Murphy Town (this is before the Metro era), the road was dark. A pack of street dogs started to chase the motorcycle. I…

It has become a norm now. We go all out for festivals. We need to fulfil our desires to celebrate and conform to practices laid down by ancestors or traditions that simply happened over time. And then, in hindsight, we take stock of everything - the money we spent, the bills we ran, junk we ate and the waste and pollution that we contributed to. We promise ourselves every year to do better next time. Until the cycle repeats over and over. This Diwali was no different. Not to mention the World Cup fever that only added to the feelings…