Society

The Erin Brokovich like story of the common man taking on a Graphite Electrode producing factory that polluted. This is the incredible story of a 40 year old, Rs 9000 crore, private graphite polluting factory in Mahadevpura A 10 year legal battle for residents of Ferns Paradise 1 student project A large citizens campaign A Supreme Court judgement A win for citizens with the factory shut down! Read More here for the full story. There is a big learning from this journey. If you are keen to take on a challenge, read more to understand what worked. Media Mentions: 1. Times of India - Battle for Whitefield 2. The Hindu - NGT…

Ashwin, Samreen, Shimon and Prem were just a bunch of toddlers when their parents moved to Lallubhai Compound in Mankhurd, a rehabilitation and resettlement (R&R) colony situated in Mumbai’s M-East ward. This ward has seen some of the lowest human development indices in the city and like most R&R settlements grappled with a range of social, economic and civic issues. Rampant drug abuse, sexual harrassment, high drop-out rates among children and other safety concerns were a regular feature and the residents, reeling under dire poverty, were too caught up in the struggle for day-to-day sustenance to actually address these issues…

"கூத்துக்கொட்டாய்" உயிரற்ற பிம்பங்களை, சினிமாவிலும் தொலைக்காட்சியிலும் பார்த்து பழகிவிட்டோம். உயிரோட்டத்துடன் நம் கண் முன்னே ஆடிப்பாடி நமக்கு புத்துயிர் ஊட்டும் 50 திறன்மிகு நாட்டுப்புற கலைஞர்கள் வரும் சனி ஞாயிறு சென்னைக்கு வருகிறார்கள். 4 மணி நேரம் 50 கலைஞர்கள் 55 வகையான மீட்டெடுக்கப்பட்ட தமிழர் கலைகள் ஒரே மேடையில்! குதூகலம் கொடுக்கும் அரிதான பழைய காலத்து விளையாட்டுக்கள். ஆட்டம்போட வைக்கும் நாட்டுப்புறப் பாடல்கள், மலைக்க வைக்கும் திறமையுடன்  வீதி நாடக வகைகள், பிரம்மிப்பூட்டும் நம் பாட்டன் காலத்து ஆட்டங்கள்! 'கூத்துக்கொட்டாய்' - இது நம் தமிழர்களின் செறிவூட்டும் பொழுது போக்கு! 'கூத்துக் கொட்டாய்' நிகழ்வை அளிக்க இருக்கும் கலைஞர்கள் சமீபத்தில் 120 கலைகளை ஒரே மேடையில் நிகழ்த்தி உலக சாதனை புரிந்தவர்கள். கலைமாமணி உள்ளிட்ட பல விருதுகளை மாநில அளவிலும் தேசிய அளவிலும் வாங்கியவர்கள். இதில் திரட்டப்படும் தொகை நலிந்த நாட்டுப்புற கலைஞர்கள் பிள்ளைகளின் கல்லூரி படிப்பிற்காக செலவிடப்படும். நிகழ்ச்சி…

What does a city look like? Who lives in the city? If you are thinking of the New York skyline, skyscrapers, wide roads, clean streets and cars, you are perhaps not alone. These westernized imaginings are quick to invade our mind whenever there is talk of urbanscape. However, now think consciously of the space that we inhabit, a typical Indian megacity, and our own daily experiences may present themselves as stark contradictions. Having lived in Mumbai, when I think of a city I am taken back to my daily commutes to college, in the local trains. Standing at the doorstep,…

To begin with, that's how India's map looks like right now, if we mark the parliamentary constituencies with women Members of Parliament (MPs) in green. The chart visualised by Lokdhaba, an initiative of Trivedi Centre for Political Data at Ashoka University, shows that women's representation has been scattered across the nation, for the 16th Lok Sabha. The debate on having more and more women at the helm of political affairs has been a long one. The Women's Reservation Bill promised by various political parties has remained unimplemented due to lack of political consensus. As we head towards yet another Lok…

“When a 70 year old person is able to fill a pothole in hours, why is the government failing, especially when they spend hundreds of crores of rupees on other issues?” asks Gangadhara Tilak Katnam. “How is the helmet going to help when there is a pothole,” he wonders. It has been nine years and counting since January 2011. At the last count on January 3 2019, 1359 potholes have been filled. “I used to keep a tally in my diary, but then my son helped me feed it on to social media, and that recording continues,” he says. Clearly,…

After having lived in Delhi through the seventies for over a decade, every short trip I make to Delhi is one of a sense of loss. I do not recognize the Delhi that I grew up in anymore. With the exploding boundaries, the flyovers that dwarf the city, the mindboggling traffic and the crowds, and of course the smog, the pollution, I have stopped relating to the city that I loved so much. As I made a brief two-day visit to the city, I decided to recapture the magic, the stunning royal walk from India Gate to Rashtrapati Bhavan. Much…

Hamlet. Angada. One an immortal character from the tragedies of William Shakespeare, and another from Valmiki’s Ramayana. Hamlet sought revenge upon his uncle Claudius, but Angada, son of Vali, was a loyal nephew to Sugriva. Imagine both characters on the same stage, conversing about their experiences. The essence of the characters does not change, even though the plot does. The play Hamlet & Angad, scripted by Thomas Manuel and produced by the group Crea-Shakthi, epitomises the changing times in Chennai’s theatre setting. Mythology has been used in theatre since time immemorial. Epics such as Ramayana and Mahabharata, and historical novels…

After a month long discussion on everything about Bangalore’s traffic through the prism of the steel flyover and the elevated corridor, we wanted a break. We couldn’t think of a better way to destress than with music. We headed to the Indian Music Experience at JP Nagar to chat with its founders, Dr Suma Sudhindra (who was recently awarded Sangeeth Natak Academy Puraskar for 2017) and Manasi Prasad. Many of us grew up humming along with Julie Andrews that Do come from a deer, Re meant a drop of golden sun... But if you want to know the origins of…

I live on the top floor of an eight story building right behind an airport that is used mainly by the Air Force. As something I discovered recently, I could walk up one tiny flight of stairs and watch the sunset every evening looking at the open airstrip on one side, the looming yet disappearing sun ahead, and a large lake that is lovely from afar. It is all quite beautiful, especially with my back turned to the concrete and glass mass that is the business district. Four days ago, I watched with wonder a helicopter making rounds from the…