New Street residents actively promote terrace gardening

Terrace gardening is the practice of growing plants in the terrace space available on residential buildings.

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The people of New Street in Mylapore have been pursuing the practice of terrace gardening for the past few years.

The gardens can be seen on the terraces of buildings that bear door numbers 72, 73 and 75 of New Street. The residents of No 72 and 75 started it 2 years back whereas those at No.73 started it some 7 years ago 

You get to see on these terraces medicinal plants, organic vegetables and flowering plants. 

 "I started by growing a couple of ornamental plants, now we grow chillies and tomatoes too. It feels so wonderful to use it in our cooking. It gives immense satisfaction is using the space fruitfully.We're also planning to decompose organic waste from our apartment in future." says a resident of New Street.

                                      

Ramana Kumar has a thought for animals on the streets at summertime

By Pavithra Chandrasekhar

A bowl filled with water is left outside Ramanalayam, the house of B. Ramana Kumar and his family who live on Dr. Ranga Road in Alwarpet. And that bowl is for the dogs of the area. 

"Not only dogs but crows, sparrows and goats also drink from this bowl" says Sharadha, Ramana's wife. 

She says Ramana was inspired by his friend and started keeping a bowl of water outside his gate for these animals three years ago.

He also built a small structure on the platform for the bowl to be placed. 

This structure was broken down when the road was being laid but Ramana had it rebuilt for the summer season. The bowl is filled every morning and refilled when required. 

Messy method of clearing drains

By Pavithra Chandrasekhar

Workers of Metrowater who clean the drains are creating a mess because of the way they do this job. They remove the silt and dirt from the drains and then dump this on the pavements and on the street side.

Evidence of this was seen on Dr. Ranga Road in Alwarpet on Tuesday morning.

They left behind heaps of sewage dirt on the platforms making life difficult for the pedestrians. Also, the waste created a bad odor. The sewage which was thrown on the roadside kept spreading all over as bikes and cars ran over it. 

The workers came back to clean up the place.  But many spots remained dirty.

Mango Trees Bloom

Come summer and the entire campus of the Mathews' residence on 2nd Main Road in R. A. Puram is covered with leaves, flowers and small buds of mangoes.

This is because the campus has mango trees on each side.

The trees start flowering by mid March and the fruits start growing by April.  There are Malgova and Baganapalli mango trees. The family says it does nothing to tend to these trees but the trees bear good fruit.

But they say that getting the mangoes plucked is a huge problem. The other problem is the fact that people keep coming into the property to pluck mangoes. 

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Many people use Small Bus from Vadapalani

By Pooja Ravikrishnan

The Small Buses were introduced in Chennai on February 25 to run on roads inside areas which are not served by the MTC buses.

One such Small Bus serves the Vadapalani and Virugambakkam areas.

The S31 bus runs from the Vadapalani MTC terminus. It travels from the terminus to the CMBT bus stand via Avichi School, Virugambakam, Kesavardhini, Sri Devi Kuppam, Ganga Nagar and School Road.

The bus leaves from the Vadapalani bus station every half hour. The ticket from Vadapalani to CMBT costs Rs.9.

The bus gets crowded at the Vadapalani bus station and many get down at School Road. 

Sudden rain shows up potholes on this Vadapalani street

By Pooja Ravikrishnan

The sudden rain in Chennai has created problems for pedestrians and motorists in Vadapalani. One example is the condition of K.G. Street.

On Tuesday morning, there were pools of rainwater across the street. The water had filled into the many potholes on this busy street

Local resident Nalini says that the condition has been
like this since the time she moved here two years ago.

The street does not have a side walk. 

To avoid the potholes and depressions, motorists move to the sides of the street and pedestrians are at risk.

“Officials have said that a cement road will be laid soon. But it
has been 3 months since.” says Ravi, another resident of the street.

Water stagnates in inner streets of Mylapore

By Aadhya Babu

The summer showers over the last two days made the weather a little pleasant but it has also shown up civic problems.

Many inner and small streets in Mylapore are now slushy and one can see water stagnant in many areas.

This is seen on Solai Perumal Street and Abraham Street in Mylapore.

Residents say this is caused due to the uneven laying of roads. 

Shopkeepers complain that the shoppers are not able to stand in front of their shops because there are pools of rain water! 

Rains leave pools of water on Ashok Nagar 7th Ave.

By Deepak Kannan

The summer rains may have brought down the temperature. But it has also created small civic problems in Ashok Nagar's 7th Avenue.

On Tuesday morning, water was seen stagnating in many parts of this road.

Nehru, a dhobi who runs his trade on this road said water collects every time it rains.

"The water sometimes enters our apartments and cause problems," said Vijayalakshmi, a resident.

Rainwater Harvesting System has improved groundwater here

By Madhumitha Viswanath

Residents of  C.G.R Court on Thiruveedhi Amman Kovil Street in Mandaveli have come to realize that having a rain water harvesting (RWH) system in their campus has helped improve the quality of the groundwater.

The surprise rain this week was not wasted; it was tapped by this system.

Pit in the ground where water gets collected in C.G.R.Court

Residents here say the rain water harvesting system was implemented in 2003 when the state made it mandatory for all buildings to have RWH.

They say that ground water level has increased considerably.

"There was a remarkable change in the quality of water after this system was installed. Initially water used to be brackish but now it is potable," said Hemalatha, a residents of C.G.R. Court. 

Sai Baba devotees set up buttermilk stalls in city

By Pavithra Chandrasekhar

Sathya Sai Baba devotees are offering buttermilk in the various parts of the city to the people on the road who are thirsty. One such stall is set up on Dr. Ranga Road in Alwarpet.

The distribution of buttermilk started on May 2 and this will go on until the end of this month.

Devotees here said that on May 2 they also had an annadhanam ( distribution of food freely to the public).

The distribution of buttermilk is done every year at the time of Agninakshathram when the temperature is at its highest.

They said that they distribute a minimum of 100 litres of buttermilk everyday.
Many people moving around in the hot sun were happy to stop by for a glass of buttermilk.

Champaka Ladies' Bhajan Mandali

By Shrishti Mathew
 
On  every Friday, for the past thirty years, the Champaka  Ladies' Bhajan Mandali have been meeting up and singing Bhajans from 5pm to 6pm every evening.  "This is  a small group of just  15-20 people who meet up at one of their homes, in and around RA Puram, Alwarpet and Mylapore, every week to sing.  At the end of every session a member offers to host the next one at her home," says Mrs Prema Raghavan, one of the founder members.

They begin every session with songs of Ganesha, followed by Guru, Saraswati, Shiva, Ambal, Muruga and Vishnu after which they recite the Narayana Kavacham and the Navagraha Stuti. This is followed by  singing songs of their choice.

Every member can bring along friends who can also join the club.

KravMaga Classes.

By Shrishti Mathew

The Krav Maga Association will be holding KravMaga classes in Chennai.  The classes are held at Evolve Fitness studio in Alwarpet and cost Rs 250 per hour exclusive of taxes. For more details, call 93400 06600.

Skating camp at park in K. K. Nagar

By Deepak Kannan

A roller skating camp is to be conducted for children of the age 4 to 16 at the Corporation Park ( popularly known as Sivan Park) on P. T. Rajan Salai in K. K. Nagar.

The classes  will be conducted five days a week in two batches from 6.30 to 7.30 in the morning and 4.30 to 5.30 in the evening.

The course fee is Rs.2000, said Vignesh, a coaching staff.

Regular courses are also conducted at the skating rink inside the park.

Vignesh can be met in person at the park in the evenings.

Autodrivers at K. K. Nagar stand celebrate May Day

Report by Deepak Kannan

May Day was celebrated by the auto drivers of the Sivan Park auto stand in K. K. Nagar.

The  CITU flag was hoisted and sweets were distributed to the public in the morning on May 1.

Later, buttermilk was distributed to the public.

Kuppusamy, a auto driver at the stand said, "We have been following this form of celebration for May Day for the past four years."

May Day at Mandaveli bus depot

By Madhumitha V.

May Day was celebrated at MTC's Mandaveli bus depot by the staff and workers here.

Many bus conductors and drivers gathered in the depot to witness the union leaders hoist the flags of their respective unions.

Chocolates were distributed, slogans were recited as a part of the celebrations which lasted for about an hour.

The unions of LPF, ADP and CPI (M) were represented.

Blood donation camp held at Madras Boat clu

 By Madhumitha V.

A blood donation camp was organised by the Madras Voluntary Blood Bureau on May 1 between 10am and 1pm at the Madras  Boat Club, R. A. Puram.  

Over 30 people turned up to donate blood.

The donated blood is used to treat poor children suffering from Thalassemia. 

Donors have to be aged between 18 and 65 years and weigh more than 50kgs. 

Doctors and nurses from the Blood Bank of Voluntary Health Services (VHS) hospital,Taramani were present to assist the volunteers.

"The donated blood is used for multiple transfusions for over 300 kids suffering from Thalassemia," said Dr. Rebecca, medical officer of the blood bank of VHS.

Flash mob Bharatanatyam dance at City shopping mall

 By Madhumitha Viswanath

To celebrate World Dance Day, the Association of Bharatanatyam Artistes of India (ABHAI) organised a flash mob dance recital at Citi Centre,  a shopping mall on Dr. Radhakrishnan Salai on April 29.

About one hundred dancers took part.

The performance started off at 5.30pm in atrium of the mall.  Dancers of all ages, some in saris, some in half-saris and some in salwar-kameez broke into Bharatanatyam dance moves when the music was played.

Shoppers and shop-keepers came out to watch the unexpected performance.

Said young Aishwarya, a dancer who performed here, "We wanted to perform amidst people in a place where a dance show like this is not expected to happen."

ABHAI president Chitra Viswesvaran,  vice-president S.Janaki and secretary Parvathi Ravi Ghantasala helped organize this event.

Dancers in action at Citi Centre on world dance day

This community group addresses its local civic issues

By Madhumitha V.

Thiruveedhi Amman Koil Street Residents Association ( TAKSRA ) was formed recently for and by the residents of this street in Mandaveli.

This body was started by Ramkumar - he is now the secretary of TAKSRA.

Many people had tried to improve this area individually but they did not succeed in their venture due to lack of support from other residents, said Ramkumar.

Ramkumar said he meet the secretaries of the apartments around his place to form an association so that they could take up civic issues.

Their prime goals were to clear the abadoned vehicles dumped along the pavement, put a stop to open defecation and also stop people from drinking behind parked cars.

He says support from the Chennai Corporation officers helped them achieve a few things.

Over the next few months new garbage bins were installed , street lamps were repaired, 'no parking' signs were put up, the abadoned cars were removed and police patrolling was intensified.

Ramkumar says their association proved to be an inspiration for the residents of the neighbouring streets, who started taking similar initiatives to clean up their surroundings.

This association is headed by Viswanathan (president), Ramkumar (secretary) and Srinivasan (treasurer).

Thiruveedhi Amman Kovil street with 'no parking' signs and dust bins

Photo exhibition, workshops at Lalit Kala Akademi

By Pooja Ravikrishnan

A photography exhibition is being held at the Lalit Kala Akademi in Greames Road. The exhibition is being organised by the Photographic Society of Madras.

The exhibition ends on May 4. It is open everyday from 10 a.m. to 7 p.m.

Various workshops are also being conducted on various kinds of photography like photojournalism, landscape photography and wedding photography.

The fee for each workshop is Rs. 750.

Auto Drivers in Saligramam celebrate May Day

By Pooja Ravikrishnan

May Day celebrations were in evidence at three auto stands in the Saligramam area.

There were posters and union flags hung all around the auto stand in each area.

A few autos also sported red-colour union flags.

Auto drivers offer buttermilk to public to mark May Day

By Aadhya Babu

The auto drivers in Mandavellipakkam celebrated May Day by decorating the auto stand with CITU flags, (Center of Indian Trade Unions), a socialist organization of trade unions.

The auto drivers in Musiri Subramani Road, opposite St. Isabel's hospital, gave buttermilk to all passerby as a gesture to mark May Day.

Special pooja for Lord Muruga

By Aadhya Babu
 
A special pooja was held on April 30 evening at the Singara Velar Temple, 7th Trust Street, Mylapore.

30 people stood at the shrine to take part in the pooja and prayer.

Said the temple priest, "Today is Kirthikai and every month it is a day for Lord Murugan as it is his star sign. So a special pooja is conducted here."

Summer Camp for juniors

By  Pooja Ravikrishnan

Little Millennium Pre-schools all around Chennai are conducting summer camps for children between the ages of 2 and 6 years.

The schools have a variety of activities like art and craft, drawing, dancing and music.

Timings - 9 a.m. to 1 p.m.

The camps begin on May 2 and will be on through the month.

For more information contact Chakradhar at 99625 56555.

Pichwai paintings on show at hotel's gallery

By  Pooja Ravikrishnan

Pichwai paintings are on display at an art exhibition at the Leela Palace Hotel in MRC Nagar. 

It is on till June 5. The gallery is open from 11 am to 8 pm daily.
 
These intricately done paintings reveal an ancient art form in which screens of painted cloth are draped to form a backdrop for the deity of Shrinathji (the seven-year old lord Krishna who lifted the mountain with his finger).  
All the paintings in the collection represent lord Krishna in his boyhood. 

The prices of the paintings range from Rs.1,60,000 to Rs.30,000. 
For more information contact 30958077.

Blood donation camp on May 4

By Aadhya Babu

A blood donation camp is to be held on Sunday, May 4 at No:47, Dr. Ranga Road, Mylapore.
The venue is adjacent to Farida's departmental store.
The camp is from 9am to 1pm.

Vacation Bible School at Santhome Church

By Pavithra Chandrasekhar  

The St. Thomas English Church has a vacation Bible school teaching kids of age 3 - 15 various chapters from the Bible, songs and drama.

The vacation school started on April 23 and goes on until May 3.

The students of The school took part in a anbu virindhu on April 30. Each kid brought food from home and shared it with his/her group.

The group is split according to their level of learning.

St. Thomas English Church is located on San Thome High Road, opposite Ssan Thome High School.

Photography Exhibition

 By Pavithra Chandrasekhar

The Photographic Society of Madras is conducting an exhibition at Lalit Kala Academi on Greames Road. The exhibition was inaugurated by film music director, Ilayaraja who is also a photography enthusiast.

The exhibition displays 1,666 entries from 22 countries around the world. This is the first international photographic salon organized here. The exhibition is on till May 4.

The Photographic Society is also conducting workshops on various different styles and techniques of photography.

Each workshop costs Rs. 750.

Contact details: Telephone +91-44-24320605 / 24353079

Adress - Lalit Kala Academy, Greams Rd, Ayiram Vilakku, Chennai, Tamil Nadu

Website - www.photomadras.org / www.facebook.com/psm1857

Flutter at Mandaveli voting centre

Reported by Pavithra Chandrasekhar

There were a total of 8 booths at St. Johns Senior Secondary School and the St. Johns Higher Secondary School in Mandaveli.

Through the day, the area looked busy with voters and members of parties.

Around 4:45 p.m. when one of the candidates showed up with a group of people and walked into the booth, it created some problems. The rules say that the candidate can go into the booth only with a booth agent.

Police got into action. They dispersed people who were around the venue. Since then very few people came by to vote and the schoolgates were closed at 6 p.m. when voting came to an end.

Busy booths in Saligramam

Reported by Pooja Ravikrishnan

Around 8 a.m. on Election Day (April 24) the poll stations at Saligramam were filled; there were families and a few first time voters.

The first time voters were all very excited as they walked in to cast their vote.

There were desks to guide local voters; people said they found this useful.

Smooth polling at R. A. Puram centre

Reported by Shrishti Mathew

Thirty minutes into polling on April 24, at 7:30am the booth at Raja Muthiah School, R A Puram is already quite full.

Residents trickled in and out in a steady flow. There was not much of  police presence, just an officer or two, keeping each line in order. “It is a very well organized, well maintained booth. The personnel are patient and helpful.” said the Murthys, residents of R A Puram.

However there appeared to be no ramp here for those who were physically disabled.

A short distance away from the booth were little counters, run by members of political parties (mostly AIDMK although there was a BJP counter which was empty). The job of the men at these counters was to give those who do not have a voting slip but are on the supplementary voters list a separate slip by which they can vote.

Quiet scene at Alwarpet booth

 Reported by Aadhya Babu

On polling day, the booth at the campus of Chennai Corporation Assistant Engineer’s Office on C P Ramaswamy Road, Alwarpet was not very crowded at about 11 a.m. when we visited it.

A 21 year old college student who came in said she was voting for the first time.

"I finally chose a candidate because I had not much of a choice," said a 61 year old woman.

Policemen kept a watch but everything seemed fine here.

Busy booths in Mandaveli

Reported by Madhumitha Vishwanath

On  April 24, voting was brisk from 7am onwards in the booths at Raja Muthiah  Hr Sec  School and at Sigapi Ramasamy Primary School in Mandaveli.

Many old people were seen in the booths.

A few young voters were also present.
They said they were  impressed by the efficient voting system.

Police jeeps were constantly patrolling these areas.

DMK, AIADMK and DMDK supporters were stationed outside the booths, at their counters.

Poll 2014: Failure of machines cause delay in Ashok Nagar

Reported by Deepak Kannan

Residents of one area of Ashok Nagar voted with enthusiasm for the Lok Sabha elections at the YMCA branch of Kodambakkam and at Jawahar Vidyalaya Senior Secondary School.

Some voters said that due to the failure of the

Electronic Voting Machines there was some delay.

For the first time barricades were put up to block cars and bikes from driving up to the polling booths.

Concert by Ragam Sisters at Temple

Reported by K. Sambhavi

As part of the Chithirai Izhai Vizha at Sri Kapaleeswarar Temple, Mylapore, a music concert was held at Navarathri Mandapam on April 22 from 6.30pm onwards.

The concert was by  Ragam Sisters, Sivaranjani and Nalinakanthi.

The festival is organised by the temple management led by D. Kaveri, deputy commissioner.

Polling booth in Mylapore school under tight police security

Reported by Aadhya Babu

Lady Sivaswami Ayyar Girls Higher Secondary School is the local poll booth for the voters of Mylapore who live in the area who will be voting in the General Elections.

This poll booth was under strict police control and this evening, we saw the EVMs  (Electronic Voting Machines) being taken to the booths.

There were posters all around this place to create awareness among the people to vote on April 24.

Saligramam polling booths ready for voting

Reported by Pooja Ravikrishnan

The polling stations in Saligramam were being prepared on April 23, 2014.

At 8 a. m., when we went around this area it was easy to identify the booths as there were various posters outside them.

The polling station at General Cariappa Higher Secondary School was almost ready in the morning. The make shift barricades had been put up and the desks have been set up.

The only thing left to do was to set up the voting machine.

Polling booths prepared for voting day

 Reported by Pavithra Chandrasekhar

The booths are being set up for the Parliament election on April 24, Thursday.

“The drains have been checked and drinking water has been filled for people,” says a worker from the Metro Water Board of Chennai when we visit a booth at Sri Venkataramana Primary School on Dr. Ranga Road, Alwarpet.

“The electronic voting machines (EVMs) will arrive by tonight” says the official from the Corporation of Chennai.  The information banners are up and the booth is under surveillance by the police all the time.

The election polling starts tomorrow ( April 24, Thursday) at 7 a.m. and goes on until 6 p.m.

Mapping the Neighbourhood

Day Two of the Course. April 22.

Starting the session with reading the participant's choice of news story from the day's newspaper.
To understand what the news story is and what it has to share with readers.

Also, time to look at the Map of the Neighbourhood that the team has created - to help each one to locate the places that can be the source of news, of stories, of pictures.

Assignment - look for pictures of preparations at polling booth as the state readies for parliamentary elections voting day.

Course of 2014 Summer begins

April 21.
The 2014 edition of the Basics of Journalism, Writing course that Mylapore Times, the neighborhood newspaper offers students begins on a  soft note at the newspaper's office in Alwarpet.

Six young people report for Day One.
And we set the agenda for the 15 days ahead - to start the day with readings of news reports that the morning newspapers carry and see what we can can learn from them. Listen to the day's lecture. Discuss the day's assignments. Read small reports that the attendees write.

That seems a lot to achieve in the day's 90minutes.
And beyond.