K K Nagar's popular Stationery Shop

Report and photo by Sharanya Srinivasan

A board held on it's side firmly over the wall of building spelt  'Sivatha and Co' and a narrow staircase went straight and ended at the entrance of the shop in the first floor. Located at No 680, Ramasamy Salai, K.K.Nagar (opposite State Bank of India), this stationery store is quite popular.

T. Thiru is the owner and  runs the shop without any assistants; he has done so for 12 years. He says he used to have 100 customers a day but now that has declined.

He sells crafts, educational CDs  and stationery products. Having studied law nevertheless,  he set up this shop because it wasn't like anything he had expected.

The products are sold at cheaper rates when compared to other shops. All the items are organised and well kept at the store. 

He maintains a book for the all the picture chart collections. These books have a set of numbers and the same set of numbers are on the racks, making it easily accessible for the customers.

He also maintains a separate book on information on tuitions and extra-curricular classes in the area. 

Sanjay, a resident of K. K. Nagar was at the shop after three years. He says he was a regular customer here when he was in school and that the shop was started when he was in seventh grade. 

He says one can get any kind of stationery item here, especially given that a school is situated across the place.

The shop is open from 8 am to 1 pm and again from 5 pm to 8:30 pm Contact no: 9840620810

Changing face of Triplicane agrahara

Report and photo by M. Pradeep

If you walk down Peyalwar Koil Street in Triplicane you may notice  a agrahara called ’Komati Bungalow’ - that is what this colony is called by the locals. 

This agrahara was built by the Kopi Parthasarathy Iyengar Trust during the British rule in India. This agrahara’s main purpose was to house the poor Brahmins.

Vaschala, who has been living in the agrahara for 53 years said, “This is a very old agrahara. Initially there were about 57 Brahmin families living here. Now most of them have left, returning their houses in the agrahara to the association that manages it. Only Brahmins live here.”

“There are 10 common community toilets in the far side of the agrahara. Only the bathrooms are integrated into the houses. The houses are rented, the fee is very nominal since the founders decided to house only the poor Brahmins.. All the rent we pay goes to the Ayodhya Rama Temple in Ayodhya,” she adds.

Her husband Raman said, “We have an association that is in charge of the agrahara. This association gives us a lot of freedom. We are allowed to decorate our interiors in any way we want as long as we do not build extra floors. All the expenses to do this must be borne by us.”

The social and religious events are conducted in the newly constructed part of the agraharam   called the Nam Pillai Sannathi. 

Nam Pillai was a Vaishnavaite acharya. Religious discourses also happen in this sannathi. 

During the Nam Pillai Utsavam, an idol of Nam Pillai is taken in procession through the agrahara..The agraharam also is honoured by the processional deities of Sri Parthasarathy and Sri Narasimha during the annual festivals of Brahmotsavam. 

This procession stops at every house and everybody is given an opportunity to offer their obeisance to the Lord.

“The houses here are very old and have started to show signs of wear. So, the Association has decided to demolish the houses and rebuild them. They have not asked us to move out but we do not know how long we will be able to live here, ” said Raman.

Music, dance, celebration at AIADMK party office

Report and photo by R. Prahalad

As news came in that the All India Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (AIADMK) party was winning the state elections on May 19, party cadres began dancing and singing joyfully and giving out sweets at the party headquarters office in Royapettah.

They shouted slogans like "Puratchi Thalaivi Amma Vazhga" and "ADMK  venruvittathu" [when ADMK got the highest voteshare] as they went around the AIADMK  headquarters in 226, Avvai Shanmugham Road, Royapettah.

Many people were dressed up as MGR and Jayalalithaa. A few more people were dressed in the party colours, i.e. red, white and black.

Some people painted themselves in the 3 colours. 

The sound of crackers and the shouting went up when the results were announced. 

People started jumping up and down like crazy and the scene was also a chaos. Each person in the celebrating crowd had a symbol of either the party or of image of Jayalalitha.

Kandasamy, a supporter of the AIADMK, said,"I have been voting for Amma ever since I could vote. She is the best and will always be there in our hearts."

Gomathi said "During her first year of rule I did not have a house. She was the one who came as the goddess of wealth and helped me in every way she could to buy a house."

AIADMK wins; cadres party in Poes Gardens

Report and photo by Kapil Naresh

AIADMK cadres danced, sang and jumped and shouted at the party's headquarters on Avvai Shanmugham Road, Royapettah as it became evident on May 19 that the party was winning in the state elections.
There were also lots of celebrations at Poes Gardens where Jayalalithaa reside. People gathered here since morning and the crowd became big as the news came that AIADMK was in the lead.

Many transgenders were seen dancing in the crowd at Poes Garden.

AIADMK wins; celebrations in Alwarpet

Report by Karthik Rajaraman

Members of the AIADMK celebrated their election victory on Dr. Ranga Road on May 19.

Party members danced to songs composed in favour of J. Jayalalithaa. A particular song was chorused by all the party members. People chorused the lines " Nee ezhundu nikkumbothu vaanam idikkaama paatthu vaa ma....." (watch out for the sky when you stand tall over your rivals).

"These lines signify Amma's meteoric rise in Tamil Nadu politics," said Anbazhagan, a resident of Alwarpet.

AIADMK wins in TN elections; cadres celebrate in Tarmani

The scene in Taramani after AIADMK party won the state elections on May 19. Cadres celebrated in the area. Photo by Dhipthi Dona.

Walking around 'haunted' Demonte Colony

Report, photo by Nithyashree Venkataraman

Many people across the city assume that  Demonte Colony located in Abhiramapuram is 'haunted'. 

The stories got thick after a Tamil film was based on some stories related to the 'haunted' house tales. That made hundreds of people visit the deserted colony with its empty houses and a large park. The abandoned houses were then demolished.

We went around this area on Thursday to take a look. The whole area was deserted, the demolish deplanes dusty.

It was sundown and in the centre was the park. The park has a variety of trees and plants - ashoka , neem, eucalyptus, jackfruit and fruit plants too.

There is even an old and huge banyan tree.

The 'creepy corners' of the park comprise of empty patches of land beyond which the walls exist. These walls are well over 10 feet in height and are topped with broken glass throughout.

When it gets dark, this is a lonely place and we are told some people come to smoke and drink.

Mariamma, the local caretaker says she believes in the existence of spirits. "I have been the caretaker here for five years but I work only during the day," she says.

People who use the park have mixed opinions. Some insist that the park is haunted while others say that those are simply stories that sprang up due to the movie "Demonte Colony."

One corner of the park has old see-saws and a play gym for children. Another corner has an old disused well. Nobody goes to those areas.

Fountain Plaza in Egmore hopes to see good old days all over again

Report and photos by Shakti Balaji

Fountain Plaza, on Pantheon Road, Egmore was built in 1976 and is one of the oldest shopping complexes in the city. 

Forty years back, it was one of the top shopping destinations and people from all over the city came here. But, the small shops inside now witness a different trend.

Inside the complex, there is the main building which houses all the small shops, fulfilling every shopper's necessity, ranging from textiles to gifts. Surrounding the building, there are big shops like the famous chaat house - Ajanabi and the Fountain Fruit Center.

Fountain Fruit Center is a fresh fruits and juice shop located near the entrance. The owner, Majid says his shop has been there since the very opening of the plaza. 

He says “The number of customers has certainly decreased over the years as people prefer buying fruits at big air-conditioned shops like Nilgiris. Though we do get a lot of customers because of having the huge advantage of being near the entrance and not deep inside the building where people don’t even know that there are shops.”

The shops we see outside like Ajanabi and Fountain Fruit Center have good business even now. Deep inside the building are some well-stocked shops which seldom get customers. 

One such shop is Afrah, which sells kurtis for women. The owner, Abdul, complains that he gets only about 10 customers a day and hence business is not great. 

While some shop owners are complaining of fewer customers, there are some who are very happy to be here.

Rajesh, the owner of Rajesh Fancy Store, says that this shop was set up by his father in 1976 the day the plaza was opened. He says, “We used to get so many customers back in the day, when Fountain Plaza was the only big shopping complex in the city. Now people want to go to malls which are air-conditioned and and have good food courts.” 

He says some of his customers have been coming to the shop since the beginning and new customers are rare. When asked if he considered moving to a bigger better complex he said, “As long I go to bed each day, satisfied with serving my customers, I am more than happy to stay here and carry on my father’s legacy.”

Prakash, a young man is the owner of a mobile phone store. He says he used to help his father in his father’s sari shop here in the complex. 

He then went to the US to pursue studies. When he came back after 4 years, he set up a mobile phone sales and phone repair store in Fountain Plaza to continue his father’s business. He is known as the famous “I-phone Doctor” in the area. He says he is satisfied with the stream of customers he gets and would never consider moving to any other place.

Many senior shop owners at Fountain Plaza just hope the old days of the centre are back.

Anna Nagar's best place for kotthu-parottas

Report and photos by M. Meghna

This is said to be the best shop for kotthu-parotta in Anna Nagar.

Grand Fast Food on the 7th Main Road is 30 years old - it was founded in 1985 by Meenatchi Sundaram and now, his son Kannan and his brother take care of the shop. 

This shop has been featured in The Times of India for the best shop for kotthu parotta.

So what's special in the kotthu parotta?  "Those are all secret recipes," says Kannan.

Grand has a menu for breakfast, lunch and dinner but the parottas are the hot sellers.

Pazhani, an autorickshaw driver is a regular at the shop. He says, " I come here for the kotthu- parotta 4 times a week." He has been coming here for the past 20 years.  " It's the best in the world and also the fried rice. There's nothing like good food at the end of the day after a day's hard work," he says.

The parotta-maker Sundaran says he's been working here since Grand's inception. Muthu Arasan is the man in charge of making the kotthu parotta. " have worked here for 5 years and it has given me everything," he says.

Rains create civic woes for residents of Velachery

Report by Karthik Rajaraman

Many houses in and around Velachery were flooded due to the unseasonal rains over the last few days. 

Jeevanandham of Andal Nagar Extn. was among those whose houses were flooded.

" During the December rains, my house was flooded after six days of rains. After a construction project on the other side of the street blocked drainage of water, the road level was raised to let the water drain the other way.", he said.

" A half completed storm water drain system has added to the woes of residents.", said Sivakumar, a resident. 

"As the water drains don't work, the stagnated water from both sides of the street ran into my house.", adds Jeevanandham.

The excessive rains also caused long power cuts. Many areas did not have power for two/three days. "The power went off on 17th and has come back only for short intervals only.", said Harish, a resident of Brindavan Nagar.

This place sells all medical needs, even for seniors

Report by Nithyashree Venkataraman 

Rinku Anand is the owner and founder of Shakuntala Patient Care Needs in Sri Ram Colony in Abhiramapuram.

She sells wheelchairs, walkers, child walkers and adult diapers and these products are available at all times. "Other products that aren't available commonly can also be purchased here but it may take up to 3 days to be delivered," she says.

Not only are these products personally door delivered but also installed in the patient's houses. "For far-off destinations, I have send by auto," she says.

"Even though my store isn't linked to any hospital, health devices, orthopedic products, back adjustable cots and back rests are available here," she says.

She gives patients her personal phone number so that they can contact her at any time in case of any emergencies. "It's a family business, for my husband runs a pharmaceutical company," she says.

Economically backward people are given a discount. "In case there is a death in a family, they return the patient care products. I gift these to the economically backward people," she says.

K. K. Nagar park gets new look

Report, photo by Sharanya Srinivasan

The Chennai Corporation park at the Bharathidasan Colony in K. K. Nagar came about a year and 6 months ago. 

Ramalingam, the watchmen of the park said that the workers are on a contract basis and they are the ones who maintain the park, water the plants and maintain the lighting.

A. Venkataraman, a regular walker here, says he recently complained regarding poor maintenance of the park and the Corporation took action.

The park is opened  from 5 am to 10 am and 4 pm to 9 pm in the evening. The park is on 6th Street, Bhararthidasan Colony, K. K.Nagar, Chennai-78

Alwarpet's new place for pastries

Report and photo by Kapil Naresh

A fancy pastry restaurant has opened in Alwarpet's  Sriram Nagar West area. Pantry d'Or opened a month ago. 

We tasted one chocolate lava which cost Rs.90 and it was heavenly. The pastries are really awesome and worth for money.  The food is displayed stylishly; they also design cakes on order.

There is space here to hold small parties.

Woes of Triplicane when it rains

Report, photo by M. Pradeep

The summer rains since Monday night provided some relief from the scorching sun but it has only brought a different set of problems to the people living around Sri Parthasarathy Temple in Triplicane.

The recently laid concrete roads in this area have been not levelled as a result of which water continues to stagnate as large, deep puddles in several places. 

Local residents said that they were not surprised by this as the entire work was done in a hurried manner with no technical supervision on site, just to complete the project in time for the temple kumbabhishekam.

The Dr. Besant Road end of T. P. Koil Street continues to get waterlogged even during light rains despite several attempts by the Corporation to get the storm water drain system there working effectively. 

Residents recall that this area has had this problem for several decades and lament that no one seems to be able to solve it.

The stray cattle menace, another major grouse of the residents gets compounded when it rains as the combination of rotten vegetables and cow excreta on the roads make the streets dirty.

Rain shows up bad condition of roads in Anna Nagar

Report, photo by M. Meghna

It rained on Tuesday and the condition of roads in Anna Nagar showed up.
In many areas like 4th Avenue, 9th Main Road, 10th Street of Anna Nagar, water began to stagnate. Flooding took place in the Aminjikarai causeway.

Rainwater flooding spoils the mood of this shop manager

Report and photo by Shakti Balaji

The very sight of rain disappoints some.

Trevor, the manager of Azure - a textile shop on C P Ramaswamy Road, Alwarpet. Even the slightest of rain causes water-logging in the area in front of his shop as the road is higher than this area. 

On rainy days, customers here are few. 

Says Trevor "Whenever the road is damaged, the Corporation just applies layers of cement on the road to conceal the damage. That is why the roadside is higher. If there is so much of dirty water logged in front of the shops, how can customers come in?"

Voting Day: 72 and keen to vote!

Report, photo by Sharanya Srinivasan

Amidst the voters at St Anthony's Girls Higher Secondary School, R A Puram there was an old woman who was here to cast her vote. 

Sushila, 72 years old was accompanied by her family members and she refused to take the wheel-chair provided to her. 

She walked to the polling room from the gate of the school with the aid of her family members.

A. Nishanthini, constituency inspector-in-charge was given the task of assisting senior citizens and disabled persons in the wheel-chair. 

She said she had helped around 15 people.

Voting Day: A senior's persistence

Report by Kavhya Suraj

Shankaranarayanan, a 96 year old resident of Mangammal Street, seen outside a Mylapore polling booth was quite enthusiastic about voting.

He was accompanied by his son and was using a wheelchair. Even though the ramp at the booth was not very useful for him because the ramp was very narrow for his wheelchair.

Still Shankaranarayanan was persistent and with the help of four other people and his son, he was carried and helped to vote. 

He also told me that for the past three generations his family has been voting at the same station.

Voting Day: Amma's supporter

Report, photo by Dhipthi Dona

Kupmodagan owns a clothes ironing shop, situated adjacent to the polling booths in Chennai Primary School on V. P. Koil Street, Mylapore for the past 40 years.

He says, "I don't understand why people need a holiday to vote; when the polling booth is situated right next to their place". 

 "I am a follower of Amma!", says this 66 year old whose shop is filled with pictures of the AIADMK leader

Voting Day: Wheel Chair Volunteer

Report, photo by Pravav K.

At the Chennai Corporation Hr. Sec. School, Alwarpet which had booths for the Mylapore constituency, a brisk middle aged lady was standing at the gate with a wheel-chair and badge stating “Wheel-Chair Volunteer”.

G. S. Arokyama, a resident of Pudupet was appointed by the Election Commission of Tamil Nadu to help the disabled people who came to cast their votes. 

Arokyama said that the she was standing here since six in the morning and four physically challenged  people had come to cast their vote.

Polling Day: Never say die couple

Report, photo by Dhipthi Dona 

Though the rain poured heavily and the roads got slippery Dharmaraj and his wife, armed with an umbrella and a walking stick made it to the polling booth on V. P. Koil Street, Mylapore to cast their votes. 

Dharmaraj, a former staff of the Tamil Nadu Secretariat says that not even God can stop him from exercising his right to vote. The 80 year old says,"These days people have started supporting the individual candidates contesting in the elections; in fact this is the first time I voted for an individual candidate. Only educated people can help this state develop and I personally am desperate for change."

Voting Day; helping hands

Report and photo by Kapil Naresh

We were at a booth in Alwarpet on May 15 morning.

A auto arrived there at 9:55a.m. at the venue. A old lady who was welcomed by a policewoman guarding the place and helped her to get down and took her inside slowly.

Voting Day; senior struggles . . .

Report and photo by Nithyashree

P. M. Vaithyanathan, a 89 year old man struggled to cast his vote in Lady Sivaswami Ayyar Girls' Higher Secondary School,  Mylapore.

He was here despite the rain. He said he didn't know how to use the EVM (Electoral Voting Machine).

He hobbled to the nearest booth and requested police officers to help him cast his ballot by telling him how to use the EVM.

Voting Day; On and off Lazarus Church Road

Report and photo by M. Meghna

It was raining and at the Fatima School in Mandaveli there were 7 booths. This school is alongside St Larazus Church.

There were 25 policemen stationed at different areas in the voting area. There were no ramps for the disabled.
              People kept going in and coming out come and go. Mostly, they were youngsters. There were a lot of children around, accompanying their parents , clueless on what is happening.

Voting Day; Scenes in Luz Avenue

Report by Shakti Balaji

Today, May 16 was Voting Day in TN and Jawahar Bal Bhavan on Luz Avenue 5^th Street, Mylapore was a bustling place today as polling booths - numbers 64, 65, 66 and 67 were set up here.

An enthusiastic young voter comes in ready with his voting slip in hand. As he enters, the police men and women on duty guide him to the booth allocated to him along with some advice on how to vote, etc. 

This procedure is followed for all voters. 

Shamianas were put in front of the booths to provide shade to the voters. 

There is also a notice showing new, inexperienced voters how to vote using the EVM (Electronic Voting Machine).

Outside the booth, a woman in her 50s said says the voting procedure has definitely improved and is much faster compared to last time, when it took her 2 hours to simply cast her vote. 

Voting Day: Police and security help people

Report by Karthik Rajaraman

Sakthivel is busy showing people to their polling booths. He is one of the 30,000 CRPF (Central Reserve Police Force) officers sent to the state to secure the elections.

He is stationed at Sri Venkataramana Primary School, Dr. Rangachari Road, Abhiramapuram. Here, polling booths number 48, 49 and 50 have been set up. "Lots of old people have turned up to vote", says Azhagu, the security guard to the school.

"We opened at 7'o clock in the morning. Voting will go on till 6:00 pm.", says Sakthivel. "To enable people with disabilities to vote, we have set up wheelchairs." he adds.

Though he is new to Chennai, Sakthivel is able to direct people who have mistaken their polling booths. " This morning alone, close to 1,500 people have turned up for voting. Of these, senior citizens are more then youngsters.", says Azhagu.

75-year-old Swaminathan proudly holds up his inked finger. He was among the many senior citizens who turned up to vote in Abiramapuram. " My son helped me to come here and vote", says the septuagenarian.

"The police officers stationed in Mylapore were very helpful." he says. "We went to the wrong polling booth twice and were redirected here by the police officers who were there."

"We came here around 10 and were done voting within the next 5 minutes," said Swaminathan.

Polling Day; At Vidya Mandir . . .

Photo and report by Sai Manasa

Polling was steady at Vidya Mandir Senior Secondary School, Luz. 

A 100 metre area was cordoned off from the entrance to the polling booths and police officers were stationed outside. Inside the school campus, classrooms were converted into polling booths.

There were five polling stations in all. Details of candidates along with their respective parties and symbols were put up outside the stations.

Special arrangements were made for the differently abled so that they could cast their votes. Wheelchairs along with volunteers were made available to the differently abled.

Many senior citizens turned up to cast their votes. Proper assistance and wheelchairs were made available for the voters.

Security was tight and only voters were allowed inside the polling booths. People from the press and media were stationed 100 metres away from the polling booths.

Voters were not allowed to use cellphones while voting. Instructions on how to use the Electronic Voting Machine was also put up along with the details of candidates.

R.Natraj, the AIADMK candidate contesting from Mylapore came by to take a look. ( seen in photo)

 A sudden spell of rain caught people off guard. Nonetheless, people turned up with umbrellas and raincoats to fulfill their duties as responsible citizens.   

Voting Day; scenes at a school campus

Report by Nithyashree

People continued to cast their votes in booths across Mylapore in spite of the rain. Five booths are located in Lady Sivaswami Ayyar Girls' Higher Secondary School in Sundareswarar Street, Mylapore.

Inside the booth, there are various posters that bear instructions, symbols, the 25 candidates' names and symbols.There is also a poster about the citizens' right to vote for NOTA (None Of The Above).

The five booths in the school are booths 166, 167, 168, 169 and 170. Several police officers are stationed outside and inside the booth.

Malavika, an 18 year old voting for the first time, said she hoped that by exercising her right to vote, she will draw the governments' attention to the needs of the common people.

530 people had cast their vote by 9:30 in the morning, said S.Amirthavalli, a police officer stationed inside the booth.

Voting Day; Long queue

Photo by Prahalad

Voters in a queue at the Chennai Corporation-run AIDS Help Centre on Royapettah High Road, Mylapore on May 16. The state went to the polls for the state Assembly that day.

Scene at Thiruvanmiyur polling booth on Sunday

Report and photo by Pranav K.

On May 15, the polling booth at Chennai Higher Secondary School in Bharathidasan Salai, Thiruvanmiyur was getting ready for voting in the elections for the TN Assembly on May 16. 

The EVM’s ( Electronic Voting Machines ) had been brought here.

“All the EVM’s that arrived here for the Velachery constituency were distributed to 262  polling booths that includes Adyar, Taramani, Besant Nagar, Thiruvanmiyur and Velachery”, said Silambarasan, a police constable on duty. 

Two policewomen, Pandishwari R. and Rajeshwari. R. were at their posts outside the booth here. They will be on duty till voting ends, they said.

Poll booth in K K Nagar set for voting day

By Sharanya Srinivasan

The government school in Anna Main Road, K. K. Nagar is temporarily prepared for the voting day - it is one of the polling booths in K. K.Nagar. 

Ramps for wheel chair-bound citizens have been built across elevated platforms.Drinking water and washroom facilities for the voters and officials are already present..

Each rooms in the pooling booth are provided with an EVM and a policeman and poll officials will guide the first time voters. As for the disabled citizens,they can be accompanied by any of their family members to the room and from there on, the police officer will take care.

Voting starts from 7a.m. on May 16.

Parkour in the park; try this out in Luz

Report and photo by Kavhya Suraj

At Nageswara Rao Park. Luz a group of youngsters have been running the Parkour workout for some time now. '

Parkour workout is a type of exercise where the body is strengthened and controlled simultaneously while you go through some exercises using locally available walls, stands and poles.

The Parkour course at this park has been on since 2011, says Vishwa, a guide here.

This workout engages youngsters to workout in open spaces.

The trainer, Vishwa is at 99 62 696859.
The team is at the park from 4 to 6 in the morning and in the evening on Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays.

Final day of campaigns; buzz in Velachery

Photo and report by Dhipthi Dona J.

With only hours left for campaigning the main roads of Velachery were abuzz on Friday. 

The Velachery- Tambaram main road was filled with vans, motorbikes and  autos sporting the posters and flags of various political parties; their supporters went about distributing their brochures.  

We spotted youngsters sporting the PMK logos and symbol. These college going boys who spoke on condition of anonymity say that they would go to any extent to make sure that PMK wins. 

They said,"Both the Dravidian political parties have not brought in much development in the past 5 decades and their election manifestos aren't  impressive. Dr. Anbumani Ramadoss is young and his take on social issues appeals to us."

Miniature animal figurines in Sivan Park add colour in this place in K. K. Nagar

Photos and report by Sharanya Srinivasan

Sivan Park in K. K. Nagar has got a makeover.

Like any other city park, this park too has the kids play area with slides and swings and it has a walking track, fountain and exercise area. But what is  new is that this park are the miniature animal figurines planted here in January.

Rinky, who is a contract worker hired from Kolkata that her husband had built the fountain and the exercise area. 

Apart from the fountains, the park provides a exercise arena where equipment is set up, separately for men and women. 

There is a skating rink where classes are conducted for children by Raja, who is a professional skater. Classes are taught on Tuesday, Thursday, Friday and Saturday. Initial cost is about Rs.2000 and monthly cost is about Rs 300, inclusive of all the equipment required.

With the election around, this park is visited by political party members for campaigning.

A Bengali actress in poll campaign in Thousand Lights

Report and photo by Shakti Balaji

On Graemes Road, at around 12 noon, BJP candidate Shivalingam, and his supporters and party workers were joined by Roopa Ganguly, a famous Bengali actress, well-known for her role as Draupadi in the hit TV series ' Mahabharat'. 

The Graemes Road has a small Bengali population, who were cheering loudly for her.

Shivalingam and Roopa Ganguly took  break on this hot afternoon and stepped down and went to a tender coconut vendor to enjoy a break.

Final day's poll campaign in T. Nagar area

Photo by R. Maithreyi

This photo was taken at Postal Colony, West Mambalam. As the curtain comes down for campaigning on Saturday, the PMK candidate in the T. Nagar constituency was seen meeting people here.

At a AIADMK poll office . . .

Photo by Pranav K.

As the election campaign came to an end on Saturday May 14, this was the scene at a AIADMK local office in Thiruvanmiyur.

A variety of flags in poll campaign . . .

Report, photo by Nithyashree Venkataraman

Parties ran a quick campaign through the Warren Road area in Mylapore on May 14, the last day for the campaign. 

Thaniya, a DMK party campaigner, said that the party's campaign had begun at 8 a.m. and had covered several areas including Chitrakulam, Luz, and R. A. Puram. 

"It will continue till 4 p.m. after a short break for lunch," he said.

This team had people carrying the flags of the allies of the DMK and made a colorful sight.

Milk agent does his bit for DMK

Report and photo by M. Meghna

Here is a simple man who has done his bit for the DMK party this election.

A. Subramani is a milk supplier and also delivers water cans in Anna Nagar. With the meagre income he gets, he educates his son. This has put him into debt, he says.

 Since DMK has said they would waive all educational debts, Subramani took an interest in campaigning for this party. He decorated his only vehicle with slogans and the DMK's symbol.

He says someone had sent a picture of this effort to Karunanidhi and 'Kalaignar' replied and thanked him for his support.

Subramani was spotted on May 14 at H block 10th Street in Anna Nagar.

Folk artistes promote BJP in Anna Nagar

Report and photo M. Meghna

Thangavelu has had a busy election season, campaigning for the BJP.

He is part of a troupe of  drama and dance artistes who were engaged for the BJP party; his team was seen in Anna Nagar recently.

He says he has been in this profession for the past 2 years. His team and he uses the tavil instead of the drums to whip up some music. For the past 25 days they have travelled to different areas everyday and campaigned. He says he has covered most parts of Anna Nagar in the past 3 days.

 His main source of income is in the thiruvizhas at temples. An expert in the mayilattam and karagattam, he and his team showcase folk dances at these festivals.

Bright, mobile campaign!

Photo by M. Meghna

Election campaigns produce some creative ideas. 

This photo was taken in Annanagar's 3rd Avenue. This party cadre carries a board with the candidate's name and has lights around it to make it appealing.

The man says he carries it around this area.

Bounty of jackfruits! In Alwarpet

Report and photo by Kapil

The  jackfruit tree in my backyard in Sriram Nagar, Alwarpet has borne fruit this summer.

My father Naresh and mother Aruna said that this tree has been there for years and gives only three or four huge fruits every season.

This is the one and only tree in my house which gives fruits every summer and ever since it started growing, this is the first time it has produced 21 fruits.

The tree is inside our residence campus at No.33, North Street, Sriram Nagar, Alwarpet.

How K. K. Nagar gets power supply

Report by Sharanya Srinivasan

So how does K. K. Nagar get its power supply?

We are at the TNEB Administration Office in K K.Nagar and meet Ezhilarasan and  Jayakanthan, Assistant Engineers (general) explain how this works. 

Power is received from the power station in Koyembedu at the K K.Nagar Sub Station. Koyembedu generates at 11 K V and during transmission it is stepped up to 750 KV . 

From the Sub Station located in each area, the power is stepped down to 400 KV, 230 K V, 110 K V, 66 K V, 33 K V and finally to 11 KV which is received by the local area transformers. 

From this, power is distributed to each household. 

Poll campaign visuals in Velachery

This melange of photos describes the election campaign scene in Velachery constituency.

Photos by Dhiphti D.

This hospital is studying how it can transplant part kidney

Report by Shakthi Balaji

On May 11, 18 years ago, India test flew its first indigenous aircraft ‘Hansa 3’ at Bangalore. 

To commemorate this achievement, May 11 is celebrated as National Technology Day every year. 

KJ Hospital and Research Foundation on Poonamallee High Road, one of Chennai’s oldest hospitals, celebrated this occasion. The celebration was graced with the presence of Dr. R Jayanthi, Head of Dept. of Medicine, Stanley Medical College. 

 The research carried out at the institute was highlighted, including the study of obtaining clean air from smoke, an oxygen alarm for detecting low oxygen levels in the brain and the possibility of transplanting half a kidney.

The abandoned jail in Poonamallee

By Cherryl Malar

An old rusting watchtower sticks out of a compound in one end of Poonamallee.

Recent residents may not be aware that this tower is inside a campus of the Poonamallee sub-jail.

This jail was used to accommodate all the accused in the infamous Rajiv Gandhi assassination case.

At the end of the trial and verdict, the inmates were moved out to other jails and this camp was converted into a Sri Lankan Tamil refugees camp.

Later, the camp was closed down and now, the campus is a lonely place, closed in by apartments, shops and houses.

Local park in Thiruvanmiyur turns into place to dry clothes

Report by K. Pranav

Summer is sizzling and the heat is intolerable. 

Some families in a Thiruvanmiyur colony called Thiruvalluvar Nagar have started drying their clothes in a public park near the Thiruvanmiyur beach. 

This barren park, which is populated now and then was finally put to good use when people realised that swings and see-saws can become excellent cloth-hangers. 

The park is a playground for local children in the mornings and evenings.