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Vol. XXXIII No. 7, July 16-31, 2023

Regular Articles

Shifting the Yale Monument and how the ASI has bungled

-- by The Dy. Editor

The High Court of Madras in its order earlier this month has ordered the relocation of the Hynmer Obelisk. The monument in question, dating back to the 1670s, is the last remnant of the Guava Garden cemetery, where the British buried their dead till the 1750s. The High Court and the Law College came up […]

Vegetable prices grow burdensome, families struggle to plan nutritious meals

-- by A Special ­Correspondent

The last couple of months have been hard on consumers, for the city has been seeing a surge in the price of produce owing to a stock crunch. First, it was the heatwave that restricted the supply of vegetables; then, the recent spate of heavy rainfall in southern states dampened availability. “I cannot remember a […]

Heritage Watch: Shifting the Heritage of Over 300 Years

Like it or hate it, you cannot deny that the Hynmer Obelisk, better known as the Yale Monument, has been a part of our city’s heritage for over three centuries. It, and the neighbouring Powney Vault, which vanished mysteriously around the time the Metrorail began work in the vicinity, were the only remnants of what […]

Short ‘N’ Snappy

– MMM

Red it is! It is amazing how in this Madras that is Chennai, political colours always have a habit of manifesting themselves. For all that our leaders claim to be devoid of any hue, the Man from Madras Musings notes that each one has his or her favourite colour and the administration makes sure that […]

TN Government seems to wake up to heritage at last — Will private players follow?

-- by The Dy. Editor

Government-owned built heritage in Chennai seems to have never had it so good. All over the city, many Indo-Saracenic structures are getting much needed restoration and if not that, at least a facelift. In the last decade or so, there has certainly been a change in attitude as far as the authorities are concerned over […]

Chennai Traffic Police make a U-turn on new speed limits

-- by A Special Correspondent

“I felt rather silly for a second there,” confesses Siddharth, waving towards his expensive new sports car. The bonnet catches the sun rather prettily – sophisticated, shiny and sleek, it can accelerate to high speeds in the blink of an eye. Siddharth was temporarily thrown for a toss earlier in June, when the Greater Chennai […]

Heritage Watch: A City Icon Turns Fifty

July 1 will mark the completion of fifty years of the iconic Anna (Gemini) Flyover. Built at a time when the number of vehicles crossing that junction was around 9,000 during peak hours, it continues to cater to a load far higher than that. And yet it keeps working, with minimum maintenance. It certainly deserves […]

Our Readers Write

The Randor I knew I wanted to write about dear Randor, whom I had known fairly well. A long time ago, I was attending a dinner in Delhi hosted by my colleague Muthuswamy Varadharajan, accompanied by my wife. Alarmel Valli and her mother were there, too. There was some talk about the writers at The […]

Short ‘N’ Snappy

– (Wo)MMM

The Madras brand of affection The Woman from Madras Musings was marching to her position on the tennis court when her doubles partner suddenly stopped and gazed at her, his forehead scrunched. “Where’s your pottu?” he asked after a while. When (Wo)MMM replied that she has never worn one to tennis, his frown deepened. “Perhaps […]

Govt. Sanctions Rs 17 Crores for Rajaji Hall – But what after that?

-- by The Dy. Editor

We need to be thankful for small mercies. The Tamil Nadu Government has sanctioned Rs. 17 crores for the restoration of Rajaji Hall. It is reported that the Public Works Department has been entrusted with the task and has since begun the work. The announcement also has it that with this, Rajaji Hall will be […]

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