Good morning, Chennai!
☀️ Today’s weather: High: 36 ℃ | Low: 25 ℃ | Sunny weather for the day.
🧐 Did you know? The earliest inscription confirming the existence of the port town of Madrasapatnam was from the 14th century on a rock near the temple of Pennai-nayanar in Kaveripatnam of Krishnagiri district.
🧵 Celebrating the art of embroidery
A retrospective exhibition showcases the blend of Indian and French craftsmanship.
What’s it about? The exhibition titled Thread of Time is an ode to the legacy of embroidery that blends Indian and French craftsmanship. The exhibition is by Vastrakala.
- Known as “Metiers d’art”, the exhibition is a curation and celebration of Indian and French designs and craftsmanship.
- One of the pieces on display called “Light and Gold” was created in 2012 and represents the Forests and Bamboo using hand-embroidered gold zari to create the various shades of metallic gold.
About Vastrakala: Vastrakala is founded by Jean-Francois Lesage with his associates Patrick Savouret, Malavika Shivakumar, and Sandeep Rao. It employs nearly 200 local craftspersons.
Details: The exhibition is on at Alliance Française of Madras till April 15th.
🖥️ Translating courses
IIT Madras NPTEL has translated thousands of technical courses into several regional languages.
What’s it about? The National Programme on Technology Enhanced Learning (NPTEL) has translated 207 technical courses into regional languages. To expand access, the NPTEL has also published 199 e-books in Hindi. There’s also 1,200 hours of video content.
- The major disciplines prioritised are computer science, social sciences, and electrical engineering. Among the 11 languages are Assamese, Bengali, Tamil, Kannada, and Telugu.
- There has been a positive response to the initiative. Among the courses included are The Joy of Computing using Python and Introduction to Machine Learning.
About NPTEL: The NPTEL is a joint venture of the IITs and IISc funded by the Ministry of Education. It was launched in 2003 initially to expand quality education across India. It now offers hundreds of courses for students and working professionals.
💡 Streets go dark
Many streets in the city go dark come nighttime since the Corporation hasn’t renewed contracts to maintain streetlights.
What’s the story so far? In 2013, the Chennai Corporation replaced the yellow sodium lamps with cost-saving LED bulbs. Nearly 2.5 lakh streetlights were replaced between 2013 and 2016. The maintenance contract was for seven years and has now expired.
- At the Vepery godown, several defunct lights are lying untouched with no takers. These and the poles need technical expertise to fix since they’re from prominent brands like Philips and Crompton.
- Almost 5,000 of the 3 lakh streetlights across the city aren’t working, and there have been at least 100 daily complaints of malfunctioning lights.
Shortcomings: Residents said the Corporation has yet to translocate streetlights from encroached areas and waterbodies. According to the Chennai Corporation’s Gender Lab, 152 dark spots in the city need additional lighting.
🙏 Modi’s Chennai roadshow
Amid loud drums and folk dancers, Prime Minister Narendra Modi led a 20-minute roadshow at T Nagar.
Pomp and circumstance: The roadshow began at 6.30 pm at Panagal Park with Modi in an open-top jeep along with BJP state president K Annamalai and the party candidate for Chennai South, Tamilisai Soundararajan. The roadshow included folk dancers and chants of “Bharat Mata Ki Jai”.
- Modi promised that his government would continue to work for the welfare of Chennai and its citizens. He mentioned the Egmore station redevelopment and the Chennai-Bengaluru expressway.
- The day didn’t begin as planned. The police removed party posters and Modi cutouts. In the evening, police confronted BJP workers over the removal of party symbols.
A festive zone: Before Modi arrived, the Pedestrian Plaza at T Nagar was transformed into a cultural zone with dance performances and songs to highlight the BJP’s policies and achievements.
📊 Today’s Poll
(Only subscribers can participate in the polls)
Do you have stage fright?
- I have stage fright.
- I don’t have stage fright.
❓ Today’s Question
(Only subscribers can submit their answers)
What’s your favourite fruit juice?
Reply to this email with your answers.
🗞️ In other news…
- The Madras High Court criticised the Chennai Corporation for failing to deal with encroachments on NSC Bose Road.
- The Chennai Metro has formed separate committees to investigate recent technical snags.
- Frequent cancellations and delays of train services in the Western suburbs have affected regular commuters.
- A stake in Appasamy Associates, the city-based ophthalmic equipment maker, was bought by private equity firm Warburg Pincus.
- M Siva Prakash’s life story from a humble background to pursue his passion as a caricaturist.
🛋️ Local Lounge
Yesterday’s Poll:
- I carry my own bag for grocery shopping: 83.3% 🏆
- I don’t carry my own bag for grocery shopping: 16.7%
Answers to Yesterday’s Question:
Which historical figure would you want to have a conversation with?
Suchi: “Mahatma Gandhiji”
Ragav: “Thiruvalluvar”
That’s it for today. Have a great day!