Good morning, Chennai!
🌧️ Today’s weather: High: 29 ℃ | Low: 25 ℃ | Mostly cloudy and rainy.
🧐 Did you know? The Taj Connemara was originally called The Albany. It was later named after Lady Connemara, the former wife of Robert Bourke, the first Baron of Connemara.
🎭 An addition to the music season
The Kutty Kutchery Festival is a unique addition to the annual Margazhi celebrations.
What’s it about? Come December, the Tamil calendar shows its Margazhi. The 30 days where art and culture are celebrated with fervour and grandeur. This year, the “Kutty Kutchery Festival: Concerts, Coffee and Conversations” curated by dancer and the founder-director of Rasoham, Laasya Narasimhachari, is a unique addition to the festivities.
- This year’s edition will host 45 artistes, including singers, musicians, folk artists, and other traditional performers across the 10-day-long festival.
- During the festival, artists will showcase folk, classical, and contemporary dance, music, and theatre. The 75-minute production hopes to foster a deeper connection with the audience.
Closer to the audience: The festival, according to Laasya, is for the audience to experience something that’s intangible but that people can take home with them.
🎄 Unique Christmas trees
Christmas trees at the city’s hotels get an artistic and sustainable makeover.
What’s it about? Hotels in the city are embracing the festive spirit with decorations and Christmas trees. This year, they’ve gone beyond the usual ornaments and lights to promote sustainability and hope.
- Park Hyatt has partnered with the underprivileged community of Ambedkar Nagar. The “Tree of Hope”, made of wooden cubes, features cards with notes from kids on their Christmas wishlist.
- ITC Grand Chola’s tree is inspired by the Athangudi tiles of Chettinad, a tribute to the region’s cultural heritage. Westin Chennai Velachery’s tree is crafted from terracotta pots to highlight traditional earthware and support local artisans.
Highlighting sustainability: Le Meridian’s 30-foot tree is made from recycled scrap metal, discarded sheets, and repurposed plywood. Radisson Blu Temple Bay’s tree was made from locally sourced palm leaves.
🔥 Biomining affects residents
The ongoing biomining process at the Kodungaiyur dumping yard has affected the health of nearby residents.
What’s it about? The biomining process at the Kodungaiyur dumping yard in North Chennai has affected the health of residents. While the groundwater has been polluted for many years and continues to be, the burning of waste has polluted the air with toxic gas.
- Since the process has begun, it’s expected to take at least two years to retrieve the original land. While biomining will help in the long run, the odour and stagnant water on the roads have affected nearby residents.
- Since metro tanks don’t deliver water regularly, residents are sometimes forced to use contaminated groundwater for domestic purposes. Environmental activists say the waste wasn’t segregated before the biomining process began.
Future plans: The Chennai Corporation will be able to segregate 100% of the waste in 2030. Until then, it needs to be burned or bio-mined. The landfill at Kodungaiyur is an Open Space Reservation (OSR) land, so it will be difficult to convert it into a water body. It will remain an open space with minimal development.
☔ Heavy rains return
Amid heavy rains across the city and other districts, schools remain closed.
What’s it about? Schools in Chennai, Kanchipuram and Tiruvallur were closed after the regions received moderate and heavy rainfall Wednesday onwards. The IMD issued a yellow alert for Chennai and predicted heavy rain for 24 hours due to a low-pressure area.
- Until 6 am Thursday, the zone-wise cumulative rainfall across several parts of the city was over 7 cm. Most of it was in intermittent heavy spells from Wednesday night to Thursday morning.
- On average, Chennai received 5.3 cm of rain during this period. The Chennai Corporation’s rain gauge stations in Tondiarpet, Perambur, Madhavaram, and Basin Bridge recorded over 7cm of rain.
Other districts: The IMD has forecasted heavy rains for Ranipet, Chennai, Chengalpattu, Kancheepuram, and Cuddalore.
✨ Things to do…
Here are some fun and interesting things to do in the city over the weekend!
- Calling all cinephiles, catch award-winning films at the Chennai International Film Festival this weekend.
- Rap fans can enjoy the regional rap talent showcase, PETTA RAP, this Sunday.
- Budding filmmakers can network with creators, writers, and technicians at the Coffee with Cinemakers event this Sunday.
- Coldplay fans can enjoy their biggest hits at Candlelight: A Tribute to Coldplay concert this Sunday.
- How I Met Your Mother fans – test your knowledge at the HIMYM trivia night this Sunday.
🛋️ Local Lounge
Yesterday’s Poll Results:
- I have been on a heritage walk: 42.9%
- I haven’t been on a heritage walk: 57.1% 🏆
Answers to Yesterday’s Question:
Which politician in Tamil Nadu do you like the most?
Suchi: “Shri Kamaraj”
Chandru: “PTR”
Shiva: “PTR Palanivel (100% confident that he won’t get another chance to be MLA or MP)”
That’s it for today. Have a great weekend!