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.