Features – Citizen Matters, Chennai

When a Corporation school student met a NASA astronaut in Washington D.C.

August 11, 2018 Laasya Shekhar

Under the US Consulate’s English Access Microscholarship Programme, eight students from Chennai’s Corporation schools were taken to the US capital recently. R Gopinath was one of them. Citizen Matters Chennai spoke to Gopinath and others who have been a part of the broader programme.

50000 books, rare memorabilia and just three employees: Why Madras Literary Society needs Chennai

August 3, 2018 Seetha Gopalakrishnan

One of the the oldest subscription libraries in the world, Chennai’s literary treasure trove is critically short of hands required for maintenance. As we celebrate Madras Day, would you consider volunteering for the cultural wonderland that is MLS?

Plastic ban: Where there’s a will, there’s going to be a way!

August 2, 2018 Laasya Shekhar

Watch this video to see how self-help groups under the Tamil Nadu Corporation for Development of Women are helping temples in Kancheepuram and Chennai city switch to greener options.

How Chennai police is helping marginalised youth and kids stay happy and productive

July 16, 2018 Aruna Natarajan

Close to 75 Police Boys and Girls Clubs in the city, in collaboration with NGOs and corporate organisations, are engaging these kids and youth in various academic, cultural and sporting activities, thus keeping delinquency in check.

Green worship: These Chennai temples show the way by composting floral waste

June 28, 2018 Laasya Shekhar

By composting flowers and reusing wet waste generated in temples, they are preventing large quantities of waste from reaching landfills and choking water bodies.

Football fever in Chennai — beyond the World Cup!

June 23, 2018 Aruna Natarajan

The players are aged 40 – 60 plus years, well past the prime of their professional playing careers. Yet they have not only kept their passion alive through the Phoenix Veterans FC, but are also trying to ensure a better future for the sport and native players.

The connection between Nawab rule and Friday bazaar at Pallavaram

June 20, 2018 Laasya Shekhar

Dating back to the days when the Nawab of Arcot ruled in Tamil Nadu, the Pallavaram Friday market is as fascinating a place today as it was back then. A look at the long and eventful history of the market, from then to now.

Wetland turns treasure trove of herbs

June 12, 2018 Seetha Gopalakrishnan

Medicinal herbs, edible greens and fruits thrive in and around Chennai’s Sembakkam lake, reveals a study. Apart from their usage, the fact that an urban waterbody could be so rich and diverse in terms of beneficial plant species is very heartening.

Anyone can be Karikalan

June 11, 2018 Tara Krishnaswamy

The collective stomach of the Tamils is coiled tight and Kaala is a reflection of that burn. Pa Ranjith’s propaganda is sheer rage against the state machine on screen. Anyone who watches it will not miss its messages. A juxtaposing of good and evil, set against the marginalised truth of good and evil in the gritty context of class, caste and gender. An intersectional quelling of demons, including the ones that possess the viewer.

How a caring Headmistress brought about change in a Kottur school

May 4, 2018 Seetha Gopalakrishnan

In a school that was struggling with absenteeism and lack of focus and self esteem among students, HM Maheswari Kalpana and her team reach out of parents to help their children come to school and improve their performance. She and her team aspire to make all these children leaders in society.

Chennai palliative care centres a blessing for the chronically ill

April 19, 2018 Laasya Shekhar

Unlike regular medical facilities, palliative caregivers or hospice centres focus on the social, psychological, financial and emotional needs of a patient, adding both relief and dignity to the life of the sufferer.

Once glorified, watch mechanics in Chennai a disappearing tribe today

April 17, 2018 Laasya Shekhar

Once, cities could not do without them. Today, with branded showrooms mushrooming and the ubiquitous mobile phone replacing watches, it is only their passion that keeps a few watch repairmen at their trade.