Good morning, Chennai!
🌧️ Today’s weather: High: 29 ℃ | Low: 23 ℃ | Cloudy with a chance for rain.
🧐 Did you know? The Pallikaranai Marsh is locally known by its generic Tamil name ‘kazhuveli’ which means a flood plain or water-logged area.
🐦 The Birdman of Chennai
Sudarson Sah, called the Birdman of Chennai, has become a hit on social media and inspired a movie role.
Who is he? The 53-year-old animal lover, aka the Birdman of Chennai residing in Chintadripet, took to his work after his father’s death fifteen years ago. To cope with the loss, he saw his neighbour feeding a crow and wanted to do the same. The next day, he left some rice on his terrace and the crows flocked. He now dedicates his life to bird-feeding and his videos have become popular on Instagram.
- Sudarson soon began to understand the grain consumption among different birds. During the monsoon, when trees get cut or uprooted, he feeds the birds twice a day.
- His videos on social media have caught international attention. Some even visit his residence to observe and bring along rice and peanuts.
On celluloid: He was the inspiration for Arvind Swamy’s character in the movie Meiyazhagan after Sah caught director C Prem Kumar’s eye. The actor went to Sah’s house and observed his routines for two months.
♿ Centre for persons with disabilities
The newly inaugurated Vizhuthugal is a one-stop centre that provides services to persons with disabilities.
What’s it about? Chief Minister MK Stalin inaugurated the centre at Kannagi Nagar near Thoraipakkam under the TN Rights Project. It’s the first among the 273 centres under the ₹1,173 crore initiative funded by the World Bank.
- The centre is aimed to provide physical and mental rehabilitation services for persons with disabilities, including occupational therapy, speech therapy, and special education.
- The centre will also be a one-stop destination for other services like accessing welfare schemes and facilities. It will prevent the need for people to travel long distances to access schemes.
Location matters: The government chose Kannagi Nagar since it’s one of the socially and economically developing areas of Chennai.
🏗️ New high-rise
Chennai’s skyline will have a new luxury high-rise with SPR India’s Sky Tower.
What’s it about? SPR India announced the launch of Sky Tower 1, a new 45-storey luxury high-rise in Perambur. It’s part of the new expansive SPR City with luxury apartments.
- The building will have 303 luxurious 2 and 3 BHK apartments. The prices will begin from ₹85 lakh. It will also be the state’s tallest residential tower.
- The new high-rise is backed by seismic and earthquake resistance assessments from IIT Madras and wind force resilience. To address urban heat concerns, there’s a green podium with a swimming pool.
Strategically located: Perambur is one of the city’s rapidly expanding locales. The new building offers connectivity to a modern hospital, a CBSE school, and retail and entertainment options within the township.
🗣️ Conference on Chennai and religion
Madras University will host a conference on how religion shapes the city.
What’s it about? The University of Madras in association with the Study of Religion, Culture and Society, Elon University, US, will host an international conference titled “Religion and Cities” next March. The event will focus on how religion shapes Chennai and vice versa.
- The two-day conference, on March 11 and 12, will examine the convergence of religion and Chennai and the complex relationship between the two.
- The conference will also highlight public and private expressions and practices of religion in Indian cities, including the public celebratory and the quieter side of urban religion.
Broader themes: The conference will spotlight 10 themes, including urban spaces and innovations, temple cities, migrant urban religions, and social justice.
📊 Today’s Poll
(Only subscribers can participate in the polls)
Have you taken a loan to pay for something?
- I have taken a loan to pay for something.
- I haven’t taken a loan to pay for something.
❓ Today’s Question
(Only subscribers can submit their answers)
What breed of dog would you love to have as a pet?
Reply to this email with your answers.
🗞️ In other news…
- The Government Doctors Association protested at the Stanley Medical College Hospital demanding additional posts in public healthcare facilities.
- The Chennai Metro has delayed its Salem and Trichy projects to focus on Coimbatore and Madurai.
- The Chennai Corporation has allocated ₹3.37 lakh to redevelop and maintain the Kannagi Nagar burial ground.
- Jaganathapuram residents protested the biometric survey by government officials for an eviction drive.
- IIT Madras and BodhBridge Education have partnered to offer career counselling certification for school teachers.
🛋️ Local Lounge
Yesterday’s Poll:
- I regularly use cab aggregators like Ola/Uber: 28.6%
- I don’t regularly use cab aggregators like Ola/Uber: 71.4% 🏆
Answers to Yesterday’s Question:
Which Indian city do you think has the best scenic views?
Suchi: “Leh”
Shiva: “Chennai”
That’s it for today. Have a great day!