Good morning, Chennai!
☀️ Today’s weather: Clear skies with rising temperatures.
🧐 Did you know? Chennai has been home to many historical markets. In the 1700s, George Town was the centre of affairs. One of the earliest, Popham’s Market, was built here in 1788. It survived for nearly a century.
💵 Corporation budget
The Chennai Corporation will focus on education and keep its revenue deficit down.
What’s it about? The Corporation expects to keep its revenue deficit at ₹334.59 crore, which is ₹188 crore lesser than the revised 2022-23 estimates. In addition to investments in infrastructure like roads and stormwater drains, education saw increased allocation with ₹110 crore. Mayor R Priya stated the budget was crafted with education as a focus area.
- ₹881.2 crore was allocated for Singara Chennai 2.0 and the Tamil Nadu Urban Road Infrastructure Fund. ₹102.5 crore has been allocated to build new bridges and widen existing ones. ₹260.5 crore has been allocated for solid waste management.
- Last year, the Corporation was close to collecting ₹1,500 crore in property tax. This year, the hope is to collect ₹1,680 crore. The civic body’s collection efficiency has increased, and they’re also looking at under-assessed properties.
Other announcements: Among the other projects in the budget were modern fish markets at Chintadripet and Besant Nagar, on-street parking extensions at all zones, and an increase in councillor ward development funds to ₹40 lakh.
🚗 Parking revamp
Chennai Corporation will focus on parking to increase revenues and expand facilities.
What’s it about? The corporation will revive its on-street parking project through a public-private partnership. A parking and transport department committee will be set up with eight officials. Different zones will see teams monitor on-street parking.
- So far, coordination between agencies has been poor, with no dedicated institution for planning, managing, pricing, and monitoring parking. The goal is to reduce demand by controlling the parking available.
- The revenue collected will be used to develop walking, cycling, and public transport facilities. A contractor is already monitoring parking at Anna Nagar, Teynampet, and Kodambakkam.
Who said what? Aswathy Dilip of the Institute of Transportation and Development Policy (ITDP) said the parking committee is a good start. Shreya Gadepalli, transport expert and founder of UrbanWorks, said streets should be used for people and not congested by parked cars.
🎨 Exhibiting mornings
A new exhibit will showcase artists from South Korea with the theme of different aspects of ‘morning’.
What’s it about? Curator Insang Song, based out of New Delhi and Seoul, will bring an exhibition to Chennai featuring seven contemporary artists from South Korea. The exhibition, with traditional Korean paintings, will be titled “The Morning Calm.”
- Korean painting is called ‘hanji’. The basic materials used are paper, brush, and ink. They have some similarities with Indian traditional painting, like a long history based on their respective cultures and religious traditions.
- Korean paintings are based on the country’s nature-friendly ideology with a contemplative gaze on nature. The exhibit will showcase different perspectives through a distinctive visual language.
History: Hanji dates back over a thousand years and is characterised by mulberry paper, ink, and natural pigments. Land of the Morning Calm was a phrase introduced to Korea in the 19th century. It was popularised by American author William Elliot Griffis. In his book, “Core, The Hermit Nation”, he describes the country as a land of peace and tranquillity.
✍️ Art and mental health
Pragathi Shankar conveys mental health issues through doodles and posters.
What’s it about? The Chennai-based multi-disciplinary artist uses art to talk about mental health. Her notes and takeaways from the therapist are now sketches with her online store of doodles and posters. It began by putting up her artwork on Instagram during the lockdown. First, it was experimenting with oil pastels and moving on to sketches.
- Lady Pragaga serves as the fictional character through which she expresses herself. Last year, Pragathi challenged herself to draw 365 sketches, one for each day, to deal with her emotions.
- The themes of her drawings are work, stress, depression, sex, and relationships. She also uses digital illustrations to speak about taboo topics like the harmful effects of using certain sanitary napkins.
Journey: Pragathi is also a theatre performer and IT professional. She and her friend Suhas set up The Artists’ Block to host open mics and other events. Her first works were exhibited at the Alt+Art festival, where the response spurred her to continue her business online. Next up is a coffee table book with her doodles.
📊 Today’s Poll
(Only subscribers can participate in the polls)
Do you plan to go on a vacation this year?
- Yes, I plan to go on vacation this year.
- No, I don’t have plans to go on vacation this year.
❓ Today’s Question
(Only subscribers can submit their answers)
Where do you buy groceries from?
Reply to this email with your answers.
🗞️ In other news…
- Chennai Traffic Police have booked and fined nearly 42,000 riders for various offences.
- Despite increasing temperatures, meteorologists say summer hasn’t arrived yet.
- Chennai Photo Biennale showcases stories from the hinterlands with a focus on women.
- The Makkalai Thedi Mayor initiative was launched by Mayor R Priya, where she’ll meet residents once a month.
- Metro’s Phase 2 will have facilities to park two and four-wheelers.
🛋️ Local Lounge
Yesterday’s Poll:
- I prefer earpods/earphones: 70.0% 🏆
- I prefer headphones: 30.0%
That’s it for today. Have a great day!