Good morning, Chennai!
🌤️ Today’s weather: High: 31 ℃ | Low: 21 ℃ | A misty morning and a sunny day ahead.
🧐 Did you know? Naval officers from Chennai were the ones chosen to head India’s first-ever submarine crew in 1967.
🎨 Thiruvizha Chennai exhibition
The unique art exhibition showcases different works ranging from animation to sculptors.
What’s it about? The 30 pieces of art hanging on the cloth walls of Artifact Artspace revolve around the theme of Pitha – the madness or devotion devoid of reasoning. The exhibition also showcases works from first-time artists.
- Poorvaja’s works narrate tales of caste, class, and labour. They highlight the contrasts between rural and urban landscapes. One piece is inspired by MC Escher’s Impossible Staircase as an allegory of generations dealing with casteism.
- Another artist, Sivaranjani V, is inspired by Salvador Dali and Johfra Bosschart. Her “The Walls Have Eyes” piece shows how walls have become relics and pieces of evidence of political campaigns and cinema.
For a good cause: The exhibition is also raising money for Ennore which has been affected by the gas leak and floods. The funds will be used by activists to promote their activism.
⚒️ Preserving cultural heritage
At DakshinaChitra, conservator Amirthanathan L has preserved and conserved several of the museum’s collections.
What’s it about? For the past decade, Amirthanathan has been restoring several objects from the museum. To spotlight conservators, a new exhibition, “Preserving the Past: A Conservation Journey” showcases some of the restored objects.
- The exhibition has several paintings on canvas, prints on paper, and items crafted from terracotta, wood, metal, and glass. All of them were restored by Amirthanathan.
- During his tenure, he has restored over 300 objects. Upon receiving an object, he assesses its material, condition, and age. Restoring includes retouching a painting and disinfection of manuscripts.
Why conserve? For Amirthanathan, historical objects need to be preserved for posterity. It’s a way of safeguarding these objects to ensure they have a long life and preserve their heritage and historical significance.
🛺 Namma Yatri now in Chennai
The Namma Yatri app is available for Chennaites to book autos.
What’s it about? The app, used to book auto rides, launched in Chennai after being reasonably successful in Bengaluru and Kochi. Unlike other apps, Namma Yatri doesn’t collect commissions from drivers. The app is linked to the government’s Open Network for Digital Commerce (ONDC) system.
- The app has to follow fares fixed by the government in 2013, i.e., ₹25 base fare and ₹12 for every additional kilometre. A proposal to increase this is pending.
- The company does charge ₹25 a day as a subscription fee from its drivers. They can either pay it at the end of the trip or pay ₹3.5 per ride.
Permitted rides: Currently, the permits issued to autos in the city are valid only within the Chennai Metropolitan Development Authority (CMDA) limit. Since the city’s limit has been expanded till Kancheepuram and Chengelpet, permit rules will be changed.
🚇 Amenities for phase 2 stations
Passengers will be able to shop and eat before entering a metro station in phase 2.
What’s it about? The Chennai Metro Rail Limited (CMRL) plans to build mini shopping centres at entry and exit points of underground stations in phase 2. Officials are currently identifying which stations have enough space.
- Commercial development is an integral part of generating non-ticketing revenue. Developing these spaces can only be done above if there’s enough space.
- One of the stations could be Thirumayilai, which will be an interchange station for corridors 3 and 4. A large piece of land has already been acquired to build one of the station’s five entry and exit points.
Structural challenges: In phase 2, most stations will have only two entry and exit points. Entry structures are built above a station’s diaphragm or peripheral walls. These can support up to two floors. Parking also needs to be considered which takes up a lot of additional space.
📊 Today’s Poll
(Only subscribers can participate in the polls)
Do you personally know someone who’s involved in politics?
- I personally know someone who’s involved in politics.
- I personally don’t know anyone involved in politics.
❓ Today’s Question
(Only subscribers can submit their answers)
What fruits do you think should be in a fruit salad?
Reply to this email with your answers.
🗞️ In other news…
- For the Lok Sabha polls, the BJP opened its first election office in South Chennai.
- Pedestrians crossing the road at JN Salai under the Padi bridge struggle due to the free movement of vehicles.
- Chennai’s real estate market has seen significant growth in 2023 with a 5% increase in residential sales.
- Southbound buses will now begin operations from the Kilambakkam bus terminus.
- Underground station construction is underway at several locations for corridor 3 of the metro.
🛋️ Local Lounge
Yesterday’s Poll:
- I subscribe to print magazines: 22.2%
- I don’t subscribe to print magazines: 77.8% 🏆
Answers to Yesterday’s Question:
What magazine did you read regularly in the past?
Nirja: “Chutti Vikatan”
Suchi: “Reader’s Digest”
Maanasa: “Reader’s Digest”
That’s it for today. Have a great day!