Good morning, Chennai!
☀️ Today’s weather: High: 36 ℃ | Low: 25 ℃ | Sunny weather for the day.
🧐 Did you know? The first street lights in the city were introduced in 1785. Oil lamps were used as street lighting.
🃏 Pulli kolams on playing cards
Artist Nancy John’s unique project features pulli kolam prints on cards.
What’s it about? Nivedita Ganeshram, the founder of Madras Finds, collaborated with Nancy on a project to create unique playing cards with pulli kolam prints.
- The biggest challenge was integrating the kolams into the shapes of diamonds, spades, hearts, and clubs. Pulli kolams have a significant cultural value in Tamil tradition.
- To infuse a more personal touch, the drawings are in the style of Tamil storybooks.
Previous experience: Her interest in graphic design and illustrations began during an internship at a clothing company doing illustrations for social media. She took online courses, designed notebooks, and sold them online.
🍭 Cotton candy returns
Vendors are turning to alternate ingredients to make cotton candy pink following the government’s intervention.
What’s the story so far? The government had previously banned chemicals used to turn cotton candy pink. Food safety authorities found harmful textile dyes used to give the signature pink colour. The Government Food Analysis Laboratory in Guindy found the cancer-causing chemical Rhodomine-B in samples.
- Vendors have now found an alternative – rose milk essence. Not only does the colour change, but it also gives a slightly new taste.
- Feedback from kids, in particular, is positive. Parents are happy too as the colours no longer stain hands or clothes.
Sales impact: When the government banned the sale of cotton candy due to the colouring agent, street vendors reported a drop in sales. Plain-coloured cotton candy wasn’t popular among kids.
🏨 New boutique hotel
The Palomar by Crossway opened its new boutique hotel on East Coast Road (ECR).
What’s it about? The Palomar by Crossway Hotel is managed by Crossway Hotels and Resorts. The new boutique hotel at ECR was developed by the Chennai-based Librans group.
- The hotel has 23 designed rooms, a global cuisine restaurant, a pub, and other facilities. There’ll also be a rooftop restaurant with views of the beach.
- The hotel has easy access to Old Mahabalipuram Road (OMR), the Akkarai beach, Mahabalipuram, and family entertainment spots like the VGP Amusement Park and Marine Kingdom.
Goals: The Crossway Hotels and Resorts hopes this new boutique hotel will set a new benchmark in the city with its strategic location and modern amenities.
💡 New street lights
The Chennai Corporation has floated tenders to operate and maintain street lights in 15 zones.
What’s it about? The tenders are to maintain street light lamps and high mast lights for one year. The contract period was decreased from 30 months after the zonal committee chairmen of Thiruvottiyur and Madhavaram zones were concerned about poor maintenance by some firms.
- The zones include Thiruvottiyur, Madhavaram, Ambattur, Adyar, Perungudi, and Sholinganallur. In 2022, the corporation fined contractors who failed to fix broken street lights within a specified time.
- Maintenance of street lights hasn’t been proper in the past, even with the penalties. One of the issues was the manpower shortage faced by contractors.
Fines: If corporation engineers notice fewer staff members at the time of inspections, electricians will be fined ₹1,600 per person per day. Contractors also have to switch on and off street lights per schedule and submit a fortnightly report. Failure to do so will attract a ₹500 fine per day.
✨ Things to do…
Here are some fun and interesting things to do in the city over the weekend!
- Catch two comedy shows at the Duplex – Oru Ticket Rendu Play event this Sunday.
- Dive into the world of art and sketching at the Bad Drawing Party this Saturday.
- Music lovers can experience the powerhouse duo Madmen this Saturday.
- The world of tea awaits at the Immersive Gong Fu Experience this Sunday.
- Express yourself through music, comedy, or poetry at the Time to Shine open mic this Sunday.
🛋️ Local Lounge
Yesterday’s Poll Results:
- I still buy/collect music CDs: 0.0%
- I don’t buy/collect music CDs: 100.0% 🏆
That’s it for today. Have a great weekend!