Good morning, Chennai!
🌧️ Today’s weather: Cloudy and rainy weather ahead.
🧐 Did you know? India’s first automotive component company is located in Chennai. India Pistons was established in 1949 by S Anantharamakrishnan and his Amalgamations Limited.
💭 Comic strips for planning permissions
The CMDA has released a comic strip to help educate people about urban planning.
What’s it about? If you’ve wanted to know about plotted developments, getting permission, and buying land, the Chennai Metropolitan Development Authority (CMDA) has come up with a unique tool – a comic strip.
- The CMDA used the agency Leewardists to develop the comic strip. They’re also looking to distribute them among students with the help of the school education department and the Chennai Corporation.
- The two comic strips released are about permissions for buildings and their extensions and rules about buying plots and flats.
An example: The one about planning permissions involves a couple and their architect daughter driving to the CMDA office to meet the CMDA officer, Raju. He helps explain the necessity for permissions and how it’s done.
🤝 Investments from Chennai
Ahead of the Global Investors Meet, nearly 300 agreements were signed with Chennai MSMEs.
What’s it about? According to Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises (MSME) Minister TM Anbarasan, the government signed 293 agreements worth ₹5,566 crore from the Chennai district alone. The target fixed was ₹4,368 crore. The state government had sought investments for various sectors ahead of January’s Global Investors Meet.
- The investments will be across several sectors, including auto components, aerospace, manufacturing, and IT equipment. It’s expected to generate over 26,000 jobs.
- The MSME department organised roadshows in Chengalpattu and Kanchipuram. There have also been over 26,000 applications under the Single Window 2.0 scheme.
Financial help: In Chennai, nearly ₹54 crore was disbursed as subsidies through which 1,622 graduates were trained to become entrepreneurs. This included 1,014 women and 367 Dalits.
🛍️ Showcasing women-run SHG products
The Mathi Experience store and cafe presents a platform for SHGs to market and sell their products.
What’s it about? The Mathi Experience store and cafe is the first of its kind in Chennai. Located in Nungambakkam, the cafe and store are run by women in Self Help Groups (SHGs) to sell handicrafts, textiles, handloom, and food products.
- The Mathi experience is the first phase of a government initiative to market products from women-run SHGs. The products are sourced from across the state and sold directly to consumers with no middlemen.
- The store was set up through the State Supply and Marketing Society. The members were trained for 20 days on how to run and operate a cafe.
Future plans: Chennai was chosen as the inaugural city since it’s the capital and would help garner attention. Plans are afoot to open similar stores in each district. Most of the products are also available on mathisandhai.com.
🎭 Know Your Theatre
The Know Your Theatre series aims to spotlight modern theatre and its influence on theatre in Chennai.
What’s it about? Theatre group Masquerade began its Know Your Theatre series in July, with Na Muthuswamy, the art director of the Tamil folk theatre group Koothu-Pattarai. The aim is to help promote Chennai as a theatre hub.
- Sessions begin with readings of some of the works of a playwright followed by an introduction and background on the era in which they lived and worked. In the informal setting, the guests are well-known writers who speak about the playwright and their impact.
- It’s an immersive experience since the mood is set according to the playwright being discussed. For Brecht, his leather-bound works were displayed in German.
About Masquerade: The group has been active in the theatre scene for a couple of decades by conducting workshops and hosting productions. The group wants to educate youngsters on theatre’s history, evolution, and impact. Their next Know Your Theatre session is scheduled for December.
✨ Things to do…
Here are some fun and interesting things to do in the city over the weekend!
- DWL Open Mic presents a platform for poetry, stories, and music this Sunday.
- Racing enthusiasts! Get ready for the Indian Racing Festival this weekend.
- Calling all art lovers, Splash 2023 presents a national art festival this weekend.
- Masquerade presents an English murder thriller in An Autumn Fall this Saturday.
- College to Corporate is a Tamil standup comedy special happening this Sunday.
🛋️ Local Lounge
Yesterday’s Poll Results:
- The roads in my neighbourhood have been affected by the recent rains: 58.3% 🏆
- The roads in my neighbourhood haven’t been affected by the recent rains: 41.7%
Answers to Yesterday’s Question:
Which is your favourite cafe in Chennai?
Shiva: “Ratna Cafe, CCD”
Nirja: “Ciclo cafe”
Suchi: “Amethyst”
That’s it for today. Have a great weekend!