GENRE: Voices

As schools struggle to adapt to the new classrooms, it is the children who are paying the price Pic: Sandeep J Gupta It is a strange question for five-year-old Arya to ask his mother - “How many meetings do I have today?”.  But we live in strange times and my friend’s son still cannot wrap his mind around the fact that he is expected to sit in front of a computer from 8.30 am to 12.30 pm for his classes or what he calls "meetings". His mother, Anitha Anand, a physiotherapist, doesn’t have answers either. And she is not the only…

[This article is part of the Bengaluru Moving series, in which citizens share their vision for BMTC post COVID. This series is pubished in collaboration with Radio Active's #BengaluruMoving campaign. In this first part of the series, a transport expert shares his ideas.] Before we look into ‘post-COVID’ Bengaluru, we need to look back at how our transport system was in pre-COVID Bengaluru. We were facing extreme growth in: Vehicular traffic (both in terms of number of vehicles and vehicle kilometers travelled) and congestion on city roadsTraffic accidents and fatalities, especially of vulnerable road users High levels of exhaust emissions including…

In a press meet held on July 8th, TN CM Edappadi K. Palaniswami hinted that a further extension of the lockdown which is set to end at the end of the month is unlikely. The chief minister said, “Extending lockdown will cause economic slowdown thereby putting onus on the public to adhere to safety norms to prevent the spread of COVID-19.” He further emphasised the need for self-regulation among the general public even as the state continued to clock a high number of cases daily.  The fact however is that the premise of self-regulation by the public assumes that all…

We often see people in apartment complexes and neighbourhood shops putting out a whole lot of food (or grains) for the birds - usually pigeons and crows are the recipients. Ask any of them why they feed the birds and the answers almost always point towards redemption - doing a good deed, reserving a place in heaven, overcoming personal difficulties and the like. Urban wild animals such as pigeons and crows are meant to fend for themselves! There is something called ‘natural selection’ which allows only for the fittest individuals to survive, getting rid of weak animals and those prone…

உலக வரலாற்றிலேயே கொரோனாவுக்கு முன் (கொ.மு) கொரானாவுக்குப் பின் (கொ.பி) என்று சொல்லக்கூடிய அளவுக்கு நிலைமைகளைப் புரட்டிப் போட்ட இந்த வைரஸ் தாக்கம், சென்னையிலும் இதுவரை  கண்டிராத ஒரு மிகப்பெரிய நிலைமாற்றத்தை உருவாக்கிக் கொண்டிருப்பதன் விளைவாக அதன் அடையாளமான ’வந்தோரை வாழவைக்கும் சென்னை’ என்பதை அது இழந்து கொண்டிருக்கிறதா என்ற ஒரு கேள்வி இன்று நம் முன்னே நிற்கிறது. ’புதிய இயல்பு நிலை’ கொஞ்சம் கொஞ்சமாக உருபெறத் துவங்குகையில் சென்னை இனி முன்பு போல் இருக்கப் போவதில்லை என்ற சமிக்ஞை கிடைக்கிறது. ஆம், அதன் மக்கள் தொகை, பரபரப்பு, ஏதோ ஒன்று செய்து பிழைத்துக் கொள்ளலாம் என்று இங்கு வந்து சேரும் மக்களின் வரத்து என எல்லாமே மாறிவிட்டிருக்கப் போகிறது. சென்னை என்றாலே அனைத்து வித மக்களையும் பாரபட்சமின்றி அரவணைக்கும் அதன் தன்மைக்குப் பெயர் போனது. அதனால் அதன் ஜனத்திரள் தமிழகத்தின் பல மாவட்டங்களிலிருந்தும் பிழைப்புக்காகவும் பல்வேறு துறைகளிலும் ஒரு உச்சத்திற்கு…

When Bengaluru schools started online classes in June, many opposed it citing the lack of laptop access for large sections of students, health concerns etc. Soon after, the state government banned online classes for primary school children altogether. Shukla Bose, Founder and CEO of the non-profit Parikrma Humanity Foundation, however opposed the government ban on classes, even though her own students come from deprived backgrounds. Parikrma Foundation's schools cater to over 1800 students from slums across Bengaluru, with the aim of providing quality education and helping the children break out of poverty. At the time the government banned online classes,…

Unlike other cities in the country, Mumbai has a complex structure of electricity distribution. To begin with, there are multiple electricity distributors. There is the state owned Bruhanmumbai Electric Supply and Transport (BEST) and a Public Sector Undertaking, Mahavitaran (MSEDCL). The two major private players are Tata Power and Adani Electricity. In the Western suburbs of the city, customers can choose between the private distributors. So if you are living in an apartment complex, it’s quite possible that you and your next door neighbour receive power from different companies. When customers received their bills in June, they were in for…

It was just like any other routine bike trip for Madhav (name changed) and his father as they started on their cycles that early Saturday morning. Little did they know how adventurous, and even stressful, the day would turn out to be. Madhav is an autistic teen, who enjoys cycling along with his father. This Saturday, driven by his instinct, he somehow rode away from his regular route while on the way back home after cycling for 2 hours. He had not been going for cycling for more than four months due to the COVID-19 lockdown, and that might have…

Nobel laureate Albert Einstein, who demonstrated extreme patience in his pioneering research, when questioned on his unconventional methodology had once replied, “What is right is not always popular and what is popular is not always right.” The reply came at a time when he was repeatedly failing in his attempt to establish convincingly the Theory of Relativity. Undeterred, he pursued and his discovery has been the trend setter for many other discoveries in classical physics. When the coronavirus pandemic first surfaced on 30th January, few expected it to really hit India. February remained subdued but in March, as the cases…

India employs 90% of its workforce within the informal labour sector. According to ILO estimates, four million workers are employed as domestic workers (of which three million are women). According to the Ministry of Housing and Urban Poverty Alleviation, more than 10 million people are registered as street vendors. The NSSO survey findings from 2011-12 highlights that there are 37.4 million home-based workers in India. With limited laws and policies governing them they are often left at the mercy of their employers, who have become their proxy social security providers during the pandemic. Over the span of the last three…