Regular Articles

• Vol. XXXIII No. 6, July 1-15, 2023

Chennai Traffic Police make a U-turn on new speed limits

-- by A Special Correspondent

“I felt rather silly for a second there,” confesses Siddharth, waving towards his expensive new sports car. The bonnet catches the sun rather prettily – sophisticated, shiny and sleek, it can accelerate to high speeds in the blink of an eye. Siddharth was temporarily thrown for a toss earlier in June, when the Greater Chennai […]

• Vol. XXXIII No. 6, July 1-15, 2023

Heritage Watch: A City Icon Turns Fifty

July 1 will mark the completion of fifty years of the iconic Anna (Gemini) Flyover. Built at a time when the number of vehicles crossing that junction was around 9,000 during peak hours, it continues to cater to a load far higher than that. And yet it keeps working, with minimum maintenance. It certainly deserves […]

• Vol. XXXIII No. 6, July 1-15, 2023

Our Readers Write

The Randor I knew I wanted to write about dear Randor, whom I had known fairly well. A long time ago, I was attending a dinner in Delhi hosted by my colleague Muthuswamy Varadharajan, accompanied by my wife. Alarmel Valli and her mother were there, too. There was some talk about the writers at The […]

• Vol. XXXIII No. 6, July 1-15, 2023

Short ‘N’ Snappy

– (Wo)MMM

The Madras brand of affection The Woman from Madras Musings was marching to her position on the tennis court when her doubles partner suddenly stopped and gazed at her, his forehead scrunched. “Where’s your pottu?” he asked after a while. When (Wo)MMM replied that she has never worn one to tennis, his frown deepened. “Perhaps […]

• Vol. XXXIII No. 5, June 16-30, 2023

Govt. Sanctions Rs 17 Crores for Rajaji Hall – But what after that?

-- by The Dy. Editor

We need to be thankful for small mercies. The Tamil Nadu Government has sanctioned Rs. 17 crores for the restoration of Rajaji Hall. It is reported that the Public Works Department has been entrusted with the task and has since begun the work. The announcement also has it that with this, Rajaji Hall will be […]

• Vol. XXXIII No. 5, June 16-30, 2023

Chennai scorches as wet bulb temperatures breach safe thresholds

-- by A Special Correspondent

Balu has not slept for days. “The house feels like a furnace even at night,” he says, eyes ringed by dark circles and lips cracking dry. His job requires him to work outdoors, beneath an increasingly cruel sun. The workplace provides him with as much water as he wants, but he says that the limits […]

• Vol. XXXIII No. 5, June 16-30, 2023

Heritage Watch: Let’s put heritage to use

Two views of Rajaji Hall are what we have for you in this issue. And both views are OLD. The first dating to the 1850s shows what was then Banqueting Hall, sans the enclosing verandah. The second, dating to after 1890, shows the building as it is now. It is remarkable how little the edifice […]

• Vol. XXXIII No. 5, June 16-30, 2023

Short ‘N’ Snappy

– MMM

The Long and Short on the Sengol The Man from Madras Musings was in far-off lands and deep in slumber when the phone rang. He answered it groggily and was immediately hit by what seemed a ton of bricks. On brushing off the last vestiges of sleep he was able to think with greater clarity […]

• Vol. XXXIII No. 4, June 1-15, 2023

Next Chapter on the Pen Memorial

-- by The Dy. Editor

The Union Ministry of Environment, Forests and Climate Change, has via its Expert Appraisal Committee given its approval for the construction of the pen-shaped memorial to former Chief Minister M. Karunanidhi off the Marina Beach. With this the controversial proposal seems to have crossed yet another hurdle towards becoming reality. The party in power has […]

• Vol. XXXIII No. 4, June 1-15, 2023

Authorities clamp down on unsafe drinking water, seal six packaged water units

-- by A Special Correspondent

A spike in complaints regarding the poor quality of water cans supplied to residents in different parts of the city prompted authorities to investigate the matter. Following a joint inspection of 19 packaged drinking water units by officials from the Food Safety Department, GCC and CMWSSB, authorities have sealed six packaged drinking water units for […]