A number of groups have been fighting against construction of concrete structures on the Besant Nagar Beach, though the Chennai Corporation is planning this beautification on the Marina Beach. Why no soul has voiced their opinion on the beautification of Marina is a Million Dollar question? The Commisioner of the Corporation of Chennai states that this beautification programme is to attract tourists.
Have the Corporation ever thought of improving the roads in the city? This improvement will attract tourists as they look forward to better motorable conditions and the traffic snarls drive them crazy and they do not wish to return to Chennai. The autowallahs also make lives miserable for the tourists. I think improving the infrastructure will be a better bet that spending money to spoil the natural surroundings of the beach.
Why have we not filed a Public Interest Litigation (PIL) against the Chennai Corporation - asking them why should new car buyers pay road tax for life - the roads have not been improved for years. Why should we not stop Registration of new cars after March 31st, 2007, until the roads are repaired and made motorable in all areas of Chennai? All the money collected by way of Road Tax is now available to the Corporation of Chennai and the Authorities feel it is important to beautify the beaches and not repair the roads and give room for free flow of traffic.
Can a Lawyer help me file this PIL please?
Incidentally, I wish to share some information with you all. My visit to some shops on Lattice Bridge Road (now Muthulakshmi Salai) gave an insight to some things which the Chennai Corporation is grossly overlooking. Each and every shop owner tells me that they have been given 'Eviction' orders long long ago but the Government has not put any pressure in evicting them to increase the Road width of LB Road.
All the traders on LB Road, are ready to leave if such an eviction is to take place, without any protest, as they are all aware they are encroaching the space meant for the expansion of LB Road. If LB Road is widened by about 50 feet then there will be free flow of traffic on this road as it is an arterial road.
Those who read this, please join the Civil Society Group and extend your support to improve existing roads and stop concreting the Beaches in the name of 'Beautification'. You can email to civilsocietygroup@googlegroups.com and support this cause.
Monday, March 19, 2007
Wednesday, February 28, 2007
Do we need to spoil the looks of Elliots Beach??
Hi Everybody,
As many of you are aware, there is a proposed plan to beautify Elliots Beach by the Chennai Corporation. Their plans seem more to put an end to the natural and beautiful look of the Elliots Beach.
It was decided by a group of like minded people to meet the Commissioner of Chennai Corporation and the same has been organised by Mr.Bharath of CAG. (Consumer Action Group).
This meeting is scheduled for this Saturday (3rd March 2007) evening at 5.30pm venue is at Elliots Beach between the Police Booth and the Gym.
Can we talk things over with the Commissioner of Chennai Corporation? Can you please make it to the venue with all your friends and relatives and give a solid support for a genuine cause?
As many of you are aware, there is a proposed plan to beautify Elliots Beach by the Chennai Corporation. Their plans seem more to put an end to the natural and beautiful look of the Elliots Beach.
It was decided by a group of like minded people to meet the Commissioner of Chennai Corporation and the same has been organised by Mr.Bharath of CAG. (Consumer Action Group).
This meeting is scheduled for this Saturday (3rd March 2007) evening at 5.30pm venue is at Elliots Beach between the Police Booth and the Gym.
Can we talk things over with the Commissioner of Chennai Corporation? Can you please make it to the venue with all your friends and relatives and give a solid support for a genuine cause?
Some of the things that can be found out from this meeting from the commissioner are:
A. Seeking a copy of plans, drawings and other documents for the proposed beautification plans.
B. Ask him to put up the proposed plans and drawings at prominent places on the Beach for interested and concerned citizens to study
C. We could also demand certain transparency from the govt officials in issues involving the citizens and the common property.
Shanthi Krishnan,
Vice President,
Kalakshetra Colony Welfare Assn.
Tuesday, September 12, 2006
Telemarketing - boon or bane
I am sure many of the Cell phone users may have been bugged by Tele-marketing executives. They call and offer personal loans - on what basis? Just because you own a cellphone! They call you at odd hours - when you are probably resting or when you are in a meeting.
When calls come on my landline numbers you are given a sweet talk and offered home loans, insurance and many other loans. One particular Bank's tele-marketing executives rang me up at least ten times on a single day. Won't you find this irritating?
How do they get our cell phone numbers? Who provides the information to them? Who can we sue to obtain peace of mind or will our minds be blown in pieces? I think our privacy is being intruded upon and the Service Providers are responsible for giving vital information of their customers.
So please join me in putting a full stop to this menace.
PS: My daughter once answered one of these calls and said "Oh sure. I want a loan, say about two lakhs, but I have no salary - so is it ok if I do not repay?" - for some time we were not troubled by these calls. But it is now on the increase once again.
When calls come on my landline numbers you are given a sweet talk and offered home loans, insurance and many other loans. One particular Bank's tele-marketing executives rang me up at least ten times on a single day. Won't you find this irritating?
How do they get our cell phone numbers? Who provides the information to them? Who can we sue to obtain peace of mind or will our minds be blown in pieces? I think our privacy is being intruded upon and the Service Providers are responsible for giving vital information of their customers.
So please join me in putting a full stop to this menace.
PS: My daughter once answered one of these calls and said "Oh sure. I want a loan, say about two lakhs, but I have no salary - so is it ok if I do not repay?" - for some time we were not troubled by these calls. But it is now on the increase once again.
Telemarketing - boon or bane
I am sure many of the Cell phone users may have been bugged by Tele-marketing executives. They call and offer personal loans - on what basis? Just because you own a cellphone! They call you at odd hours - when you are probably resting or when you are in a meeting.
When calls come on my landline numbers you are given a sweet talk and offered home loans, insurance and many other loans. One particular Bank's tele-marketing executives rang me up at least ten times on a single day. Won't you find this irritating?
How do they get our cell phone numbers? Who provides the information to them? Who can we sue to obtain peace of mind or will our minds be blown in pieces? I think our privacy is being intruded upon and the Service Providers are responsible for giving vital information of their customers.
So please join me in putting a full stop to this menace.
PS: My daughter once answered one of these calls and said "Oh sure. I want a loan, say about two lakhs, but I have no salary - so is it ok if I do not repay?" - for some time we were not troubled by these calls. But it is now on the increase once again.
When calls come on my landline numbers you are given a sweet talk and offered home loans, insurance and many other loans. One particular Bank's tele-marketing executives rang me up at least ten times on a single day. Won't you find this irritating?
How do they get our cell phone numbers? Who provides the information to them? Who can we sue to obtain peace of mind or will our minds be blown in pieces? I think our privacy is being intruded upon and the Service Providers are responsible for giving vital information of their customers.
So please join me in putting a full stop to this menace.
PS: My daughter once answered one of these calls and said "Oh sure. I want a loan, say about two lakhs, but I have no salary - so is it ok if I do not repay?" - for some time we were not troubled by these calls. But it is now on the increase once again.
Sunday, September 03, 2006
Travelling - a stomach bursting experience.
Have you ever travelled by Shatabdhi Express from Bangalore to Chennai? I think most of you would have. But I think all of you should know about the food served on this train.
We boarded the train on Sunday the 27th of August at 4.50 pm. Yes the train was late when it reached Bangalore from Mysore. So a good 40 minutes of delay.
As soon as the train left Bangalore City Station at 5.05 pm, the attenders started distributing water bottles to all the passengers. This was followed by a fruit drink. Hardly 45 minutes later the attenders served us a plate with one somosa with a ketchup satchet, a sandwich, a tea cake and satchets for coffee, sugar, crema (milk powder). We enjoyed this thoroughly and tea was offered to those who needed it.
Having had a nice fill we were just dropping off for a much awaited snooze, when another 45 minutes later we were served trays with bun and butter and salt and pepper and piping hot tomato soup. Well, the soup was definitely inviting and we drank it, though the buns went into a 'special plastic bag' for we had no place to eat the same - but why leave it behind when we have doggies back home to wallop the same.
At this time, we found that the train was shaking thoroughly, thank goodness none of us puked. It was very similar to the flight suddenly loosing altitude to air pockets. Oof what an experience. To think of it, I recently read in the newspapers that we should soon be having trains between Bangalore and Chennai and the journey would only be an hour. God save the passengers !!
Another 45 minutes later, we were served dinner. WISHED WE HAD A ZIP ON OUR STOMACHS TO FILL ALL THAT WAS SERVED.
Piping hot dinner served in Aluminium foil trays, it contained a pulao, a paneer subji and channa. This also had a rumali roti. The paneer was just leathery and the roti was rubbery (may be both mean the same). All of us packed the rotis into our 'special plastic bag'. Since we had no dinner prepared for us back home, we had to eat this pulao and subji and channa. Not that the food was bad, it was the lack of stomach space. Oops, I forgot. There was a packet of fresh salad too - thick slice of carrot, beetroot and cucumber with a piece of lemon. We were also served nice sweet curds.
Having taken away the dinner trays, we thought we will be able to relax for some time, but we were given a cup of ice cream for dessert and most of us refused - and taking it in our 'special plastic bag' would have resulted in melted ice cream - thanks to the Chennai climate.
We arrived in Chennai at 9.25 pm, 5 minutes ahead of schedule. The journey was tiring, thanks to the non-stop serving of food and the super fast running of the train, which made each one of us tired to the core - we needed to rest for a whole day to get our nerves back to normal.
This is personal request to the IRCTC authorities to seriously consider to reduce the food and also they can reduce the cost of the fare.
We boarded the train on Sunday the 27th of August at 4.50 pm. Yes the train was late when it reached Bangalore from Mysore. So a good 40 minutes of delay.
As soon as the train left Bangalore City Station at 5.05 pm, the attenders started distributing water bottles to all the passengers. This was followed by a fruit drink. Hardly 45 minutes later the attenders served us a plate with one somosa with a ketchup satchet, a sandwich, a tea cake and satchets for coffee, sugar, crema (milk powder). We enjoyed this thoroughly and tea was offered to those who needed it.
Having had a nice fill we were just dropping off for a much awaited snooze, when another 45 minutes later we were served trays with bun and butter and salt and pepper and piping hot tomato soup. Well, the soup was definitely inviting and we drank it, though the buns went into a 'special plastic bag' for we had no place to eat the same - but why leave it behind when we have doggies back home to wallop the same.
At this time, we found that the train was shaking thoroughly, thank goodness none of us puked. It was very similar to the flight suddenly loosing altitude to air pockets. Oof what an experience. To think of it, I recently read in the newspapers that we should soon be having trains between Bangalore and Chennai and the journey would only be an hour. God save the passengers !!
Another 45 minutes later, we were served dinner. WISHED WE HAD A ZIP ON OUR STOMACHS TO FILL ALL THAT WAS SERVED.
Piping hot dinner served in Aluminium foil trays, it contained a pulao, a paneer subji and channa. This also had a rumali roti. The paneer was just leathery and the roti was rubbery (may be both mean the same). All of us packed the rotis into our 'special plastic bag'. Since we had no dinner prepared for us back home, we had to eat this pulao and subji and channa. Not that the food was bad, it was the lack of stomach space. Oops, I forgot. There was a packet of fresh salad too - thick slice of carrot, beetroot and cucumber with a piece of lemon. We were also served nice sweet curds.
Having taken away the dinner trays, we thought we will be able to relax for some time, but we were given a cup of ice cream for dessert and most of us refused - and taking it in our 'special plastic bag' would have resulted in melted ice cream - thanks to the Chennai climate.
We arrived in Chennai at 9.25 pm, 5 minutes ahead of schedule. The journey was tiring, thanks to the non-stop serving of food and the super fast running of the train, which made each one of us tired to the core - we needed to rest for a whole day to get our nerves back to normal.
This is personal request to the IRCTC authorities to seriously consider to reduce the food and also they can reduce the cost of the fare.
Monday, March 13, 2006
The smart kiddo - ME!
Hello! Sorry for hibernating.
Memories of School kid - I was around 5 years old and studying in Rosary Matriculation School in Santhome, Chennai (earlier known as Madras).
Believe it or not, but those days I used to walk to school from home which was about a kilometre and and a half. Those days walking was the way of life and no one ever used to complain. My sisters too studied in the same school and sometimes they would stop midway to chat with their classmates who used to reside on the route back home. Some days I used to walk alone back from school and on the Custin Beach Road, there used to be a milkman's son Muthu who probably would have been around 12 to 14 years of age. I knew him as the milkman's son but this guy used to harass me by pinching my cheeks, giving flying kisses and this irritated me a lot. Basically this boy did this out of affection unlike the ilk of today where some men loose sanity on seeing a kid alone.
One day I made up my mind to teach him a lesson (mind you I was all of five years old). I told my father I wanted a foot ruler which was objected by all at home as there was no necessity for this for a Ist standard student. My father said he would get me a 6" ruler but I was firm and insisted on a scale (12"). 6" ruler cost 3 paise but a foot ruler cost 6 paise. As I was the last in the family, pampered by my father I got this 12" ruler, which ws bought from Vijaya Stores in North Mada Street, Mylapore. The whole night I was having this ruler under my pillow.
Come Monday morning, I was up early and got ready to go to school without any fuss. On my way back from school, I was having this ruler between the tips of my Index finger and thumb moving it up and down and walking back home alone.
A few minutes later the milkman's son Muthu accosted me enroute home. But I was seething with anger and what followed was a reign of blows on Muthu with my foot ruler without any respite and his pleas for mercy was not heeded by me, resulting in my ruler breaking into two or three pieces. I ran home as fast as I could, panting as I entered my house compound and my mother saw me with the broken ruler. She just could not accept the new ruler being broken and what happened next - my turn to get a few beatings for breaking the ruler. But before she could give me the worst I darted to the neem tree and climbed it and reached the terrace.
I must have been on the terrace for about 15 minutes or so, I heard a loud wail and when I peeped to see what the commotion was all about, I witnessed a scene where the milkman's wife was bitterly complaining to my mom about how I had beaten her son. She explained to my mom that all that Muthu did was to seek affection from me saying that I was fair looking unlike him and he could not resist pinching my cheeks. She told my mom I would turn out to be a terror if I was not punished for my behaviour. My mom told her to get lost and seemed proud that I was able to take care of myself.
That night after dinner, I heard my mother telling my father the whole incident and my father told her that a girl should be bold and he was really proud of me.
Though Muthu did not come in my way on my return from school, my sisters ensured that I did not get into any trouble.
Memories of School kid - I was around 5 years old and studying in Rosary Matriculation School in Santhome, Chennai (earlier known as Madras).
Believe it or not, but those days I used to walk to school from home which was about a kilometre and and a half. Those days walking was the way of life and no one ever used to complain. My sisters too studied in the same school and sometimes they would stop midway to chat with their classmates who used to reside on the route back home. Some days I used to walk alone back from school and on the Custin Beach Road, there used to be a milkman's son Muthu who probably would have been around 12 to 14 years of age. I knew him as the milkman's son but this guy used to harass me by pinching my cheeks, giving flying kisses and this irritated me a lot. Basically this boy did this out of affection unlike the ilk of today where some men loose sanity on seeing a kid alone.
One day I made up my mind to teach him a lesson (mind you I was all of five years old). I told my father I wanted a foot ruler which was objected by all at home as there was no necessity for this for a Ist standard student. My father said he would get me a 6" ruler but I was firm and insisted on a scale (12"). 6" ruler cost 3 paise but a foot ruler cost 6 paise. As I was the last in the family, pampered by my father I got this 12" ruler, which ws bought from Vijaya Stores in North Mada Street, Mylapore. The whole night I was having this ruler under my pillow.
Come Monday morning, I was up early and got ready to go to school without any fuss. On my way back from school, I was having this ruler between the tips of my Index finger and thumb moving it up and down and walking back home alone.
A few minutes later the milkman's son Muthu accosted me enroute home. But I was seething with anger and what followed was a reign of blows on Muthu with my foot ruler without any respite and his pleas for mercy was not heeded by me, resulting in my ruler breaking into two or three pieces. I ran home as fast as I could, panting as I entered my house compound and my mother saw me with the broken ruler. She just could not accept the new ruler being broken and what happened next - my turn to get a few beatings for breaking the ruler. But before she could give me the worst I darted to the neem tree and climbed it and reached the terrace.
I must have been on the terrace for about 15 minutes or so, I heard a loud wail and when I peeped to see what the commotion was all about, I witnessed a scene where the milkman's wife was bitterly complaining to my mom about how I had beaten her son. She explained to my mom that all that Muthu did was to seek affection from me saying that I was fair looking unlike him and he could not resist pinching my cheeks. She told my mom I would turn out to be a terror if I was not punished for my behaviour. My mom told her to get lost and seemed proud that I was able to take care of myself.
That night after dinner, I heard my mother telling my father the whole incident and my father told her that a girl should be bold and he was really proud of me.
Though Muthu did not come in my way on my return from school, my sisters ensured that I did not get into any trouble.
Saturday, June 18, 2005
Memories of a school kid
How many of you were afraid when your report cards in school were given to you. Well, not all! But I was as I was an average student. But imagine being afraid after getting 60 % marks. I was shit scared of facing my mother's wrath that I wondered how she came to know that my report card was given to me by the teacher. Much later I realised that my sisters too got theirs at the same time. (What a Dumbo I was!). I did not know why she was angry but took me years to find out that one of sisters was not a bright student and mom was angry with her and we all were target of her anger. At these times my heart would pound.
After giving the report card to my mother who was busy making tiffin in the kitchen, I would dart off like a deer, but can you guess where I would hide? I would climb up the neem tree which was our staircase to the terrace. My mom could not climb as she always wore a sari(or that is what I thought). I much later saw her one fine summer morning on top of the terrace with father making vaadams for the family. I got up unusually early on a summer day and when my mom had to get down I was sent away to the bathroom to brush my teeth and when I came out of the bath I found her making coffee in the kitchen. I asked how she got down and she said she can fly. I believed her but Thank God I did not attempt to fly. To think of it now, can we ever try this on our children who have just crossed 3 years.
Those were the days when we never knew of TV's and listening to the radio was allowed only on Sundays. We all enjoyed going to the beach which was just a 5 minute walk from home and what a great time we had standing on the shore and enjoying the waves. Whenever we prayed we had a big wave and when it was followed by a small wave, we were told by our friends on the beach that we did not pray enough.
When we went to school we knew of only one mango seller and he used to bring ground nuts and mangoes to sell with 'koduka puli' fruits too. The mangoes were sliced neatly and these slices would be cut half way to look like design and it would be lightly touched on the 'milagai podi with uppu'(chilli powder and salt) and we all enjoyed the taste. These mango slices were called 'badhdhai' and it would cost 10 paise for 4 or 5 such badhdhais. "koduka puli' was sold for 10 paise in a cone with a small 'pottalam' of 'milagai podi'. Groundnuts were always 'Avicha verkadalai' or groundnuts cooked in salt water, to ensure that you did not fall sick eating raw ground nuts. This was sold in cones but you could get a small cone for 10 paise and a bigger cone for 25 paise.
Much later we found a small shop within the school premises and what we enjoyed most was the 'kamarkattu' which has three varieties and was sold for 1 paisa, 2 paise and 5 paise. Wonder where I can find those today!
Next Episode: Little Brave me.
After giving the report card to my mother who was busy making tiffin in the kitchen, I would dart off like a deer, but can you guess where I would hide? I would climb up the neem tree which was our staircase to the terrace. My mom could not climb as she always wore a sari(or that is what I thought). I much later saw her one fine summer morning on top of the terrace with father making vaadams for the family. I got up unusually early on a summer day and when my mom had to get down I was sent away to the bathroom to brush my teeth and when I came out of the bath I found her making coffee in the kitchen. I asked how she got down and she said she can fly. I believed her but Thank God I did not attempt to fly. To think of it now, can we ever try this on our children who have just crossed 3 years.
Those were the days when we never knew of TV's and listening to the radio was allowed only on Sundays. We all enjoyed going to the beach which was just a 5 minute walk from home and what a great time we had standing on the shore and enjoying the waves. Whenever we prayed we had a big wave and when it was followed by a small wave, we were told by our friends on the beach that we did not pray enough.
When we went to school we knew of only one mango seller and he used to bring ground nuts and mangoes to sell with 'koduka puli' fruits too. The mangoes were sliced neatly and these slices would be cut half way to look like design and it would be lightly touched on the 'milagai podi with uppu'(chilli powder and salt) and we all enjoyed the taste. These mango slices were called 'badhdhai' and it would cost 10 paise for 4 or 5 such badhdhais. "koduka puli' was sold for 10 paise in a cone with a small 'pottalam' of 'milagai podi'. Groundnuts were always 'Avicha verkadalai' or groundnuts cooked in salt water, to ensure that you did not fall sick eating raw ground nuts. This was sold in cones but you could get a small cone for 10 paise and a bigger cone for 25 paise.
Much later we found a small shop within the school premises and what we enjoyed most was the 'kamarkattu' which has three varieties and was sold for 1 paisa, 2 paise and 5 paise. Wonder where I can find those today!
Next Episode: Little Brave me.
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