Features – Citizen Matters, Chennai

Life on the go: Meet your Swiggy delivery person

November 12, 2018 Aruna Natarajan

Food delivery persons face many hardships on the job, including dealing with ‘hangry’ people on a daily basis. Yet, they soldier on in the face of a lack of enough alternatives and in hopes of a better future. A chat with a delivery person for Swiggy in Chennai.

Caring for heritage: What my grandfather’s house taught me

October 29, 2018 Pradeep Chakravarthy

Pradeep Chakravarthy lives in a house that was built in 1950. What has it been like to match the house to his life in it today, nearly 70 years on? And what has his experience taught him about preserving heritage?

For the love of rowing: anecdotes from three generations of rowers on Adyar River

October 16, 2018 Laasya Shekhar

Imagine a walk on the Kotturpuram bridge on any morning or evening – a glance below provides a picturesque sight: people shouting in happiness, their row boats on the tranquil waters of Adyar River, free

Of child marriages and substance abuse: How Kannagi Nagar children sketched their problems

October 4, 2018 Laasya Shekhar

Art therapy emerged as an effective tool in Kannagi Nagar, as children expressed their concern and fears through pictures. See how their sketches bring out the social evils prevailing in the area.

Who keeps your streets clean? The invisible women of singara Chennai

October 1, 2018 Aruna Natarajan

Ever wondered where all the litter in your streets accumulated through the day and evening disappear the next morning? Meet the women who sweep the streets of Chennai for a pittance, have little by way of of job security and remain largely unseen by all citizens.

Inside Nanmangalam Reserve Forest, Chennai’s lesser-known natural gem

September 8, 2018 Seetha Gopalakrishnan

Did you know that Chennai has two reserve forests within its metropolitan limits? One among them is the last remaining natural forest of the landscape.

What is Kasimedu’s connection to the Vijayanagara Empire?

August 31, 2018 Laasya Shekhar

In the last of our articles celebrating Madras Day, read all about the bustling fish market at Kasimedu and its connection to the Vijayanagara empire

Come to St George’s Cathedral, where time stands still on a bustling road

August 29, 2018 Seetha Gopalakrishnan

Just beyond the mad rush of Gemini Circle is a haven of quiet, lending its name to the road it is situated in — the St. George’s Cathedral, the Mother Church of the Diocese of Madras. Take a stroll through its cool interiors on a sunny afternoon

What do Tiruvottiyur and Padur have in common?

August 24, 2018 Laasya Shekhar

Distanced by location, differentiated in socio-cultural profile, the Chennai localities of Padur and Tiruvottiyur have something similar, which they can truly take pride in: two successful, citizen-driven waste management initiatives.

The famous red building of Kilpauk and its forgotten connection

August 22, 2018 Sandhya Raju

As the city celebrates Madras Day (Week), a resident remembers her favourite ‘red building’ — the Kilpauk Water Works, which stands as an example of engineering brilliance to this day. But is it merely a part of our colonial legacy, or is there more to it?

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?