Good morning, Chennai!
🌧️ Today’s weather: High: 27 ℃ | Low: 22 ℃ | Generally cloudy with moderate rain.
🧐 Did you know? Chennai Port became India’s first major port to handle a very large crude carrier (VLCC) inside the port basin. In 2018, VLCC New Diamond, measuring over 300 metres long, was docked.
🌱 A green touch
Under-passes in the city will get a green touch with plans for vertical gardens.
What’s it about? The Chennai Corporation has plans to construct vertical gardens under four flyovers. The ones chosen are at North Usman Road, Royapettah, TTK Road, and the GK Moopanar flyover. Previous attempts were made but failed after lakhs of rupees were spent.
- Some of the existing vertical gardens have withered since they weren’t properly maintained. The Corporation plans to set up tanks with better drip irrigation pipes.
- Others that have wilted will be redeveloped with better maintenance. At some locations, the plants were placed at heights reachable to stray cattle. Many plant boxes have also gone missing.
Previous attempts: In the past five years, the Corporation has spent over ₹1 crore on vertical garden projects at 15 flyovers. At these locations, where the gardens have withered, there has been no official Corporation monitoring.
👩💻 The next sphere of gaming
The conclusion of Shaastra 2024 saw students showcase innovations in gaming.
What’s it about? With their technical and design skills on hand, students showcased their gaming innovations on the final day of IIT Madras’ Shaastra 2024. Several student-designed and developed games were showcased.
- ‘Animator’ was one game from IIT Madras chemical engineering student Surya Prakash. It mimics the player’s movement and took 20 days to develop.
- Students showcased how gaming integrated with AI, AR, and VR has enormous potential. They can be used in schools for students to explore subjects like maths, science, and programming.
Additional workshops: The final day also saw several workshops. One, called “Want to Quant?” showcased how stock market performance could be predicted through maths. A computer-aided design (CAD) workshop gave students a chance to explore 2D and 3D designs.
🎨 Artist in demand
Mural artist Kowshigha Rajendran is in demand to beautify Chennai’s urban spaces.
Who is she? Following her work at the Kathipara Urban Square, artist Kowshigha Rajendran is now getting more offers to beautify some of the city’s urban spaces. It all began with a mural art project in Choolaimedu and later, projects in collaboration with the Chennai Corporation.
- Apart from the Kathipara Urban Square, her work can be seen in cafes, schools, corporate offices, the Medai theatre space, Chai Kings outlets, and the IIT Madras Research Park.
- According to her, the city now has an active mural art scene with many city-based artists interested in working in their own style.
Evolution of mural art in Chennai: Instead of the usual paintings of politicians, artists are now interested in creating work that reflects the city’s culture and heritage.
📚 Book Fair expansion
The latest edition of the Chennai Book Fair has expanded its reach with stalls on different relevant topics.
What’s it about? 2024 rang in welcome changes at the annual Chennai Book Fair with more publishers with stalls providing books on different topics. Amidst the classic novels, bestsellers, comics, and children’s books, there are writings and essays from Dr Ambedkar, anti-caste literature, and books on the LGBTQIA+ community.
- New publishers like Salt Publication, Neelam Books, and Thirunangai Press touch on issues like caste and feminism. At other stalls are the teachings of revolutionaries like Malcolm X and Periyar.
- For many publishers, this is a chance to introduce the public to different types of writings and ideas. They vary from Tamil translations of Emily Dickinson’s works to poems from contemporary writers.
Evolution of the Book Fair: By providing free entry to kids and students, the aim is to encourage reading from different languages and genres. With the inclusion of more publishers, the Book Fair now has over 1,000 stalls compared to 50-100 in the initial years. There’s also a stall from the Puzhal prison department where people can donate books for inmates.
📊 Today’s Poll
(Only subscribers can participate in the polls)
Have you gone scuba diving?
- I have gone scuba diving.
- I haven’t gone scuba diving.
❓ Today’s Question
(Only subscribers can submit their answers)
What’s an interesting fact about your parents that surprised you?
Reply to this email with your answers.
🗞️ In other news…
- Veeranam Lake, one of Chennai’s water sources, has a high concentration of cyanotoxins harmful to humans.
- Long distances and high fares are concerns for passengers at the new Kilambakkam Bus Terminus.
- The Chennai Corporation will allocate more funds for solid waste management to make Chennai a bin-less city.
- Several affected residents of the Chennai oil spill allege that they were not considered for compensation.
- Reliance and Brookfield will enter Chennai’s fast data centre market with a new data centre.
🛋️ Local Lounge
Yesterday’s Poll:
- I have been to the previous editions of the Chennai Book Fair: 45.5%
- I haven’t been to the previous editions of the Chennai Book Fair: 55.5% 🏆
That’s it for today. Have a great day!