LAB JOURNAL OF THE ASIAN COLLEGE OF JOURNALISM

Anti-Sanskritprotest at IIT

The pressures oflooking beautiful

Railways facing“bankruptcy”

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Volume No 18Issue No 6

March 2, 2018

Karti arrested by CBI,Cong calls it ‘persecution’ Kanchi Acharya dies at 82

Chennai: The Central Bureau ofInvestigation has arrested KartiChidambaram, son of formerFinance Minister P Chidambaram,and presented him at the PatialaHouse Court in New Delhi. The court ordered that he be held

in CBI custody for five days. Karti was arrested on Wednesday

in Chennai and taken to New Delhiin connection with the INX Mediabribery case. The CBI claimed that Karti tra-

velled too often and that made hisinterrogations difficult. CBI sourceshave said they wanted to grill Kartiand his chartered accountant at thesame time to check for discrepan-cies in their statements and confrontthem with the claims made by theothers. Defense attorney Abhishek Manu

Singhvi claimed that these argu-ments were baseless and could notbe reason for his arrest.According to NDTV, Singhvi

called the case bizarre and addedthat the agency was attempting to‘prejudice the court with half-bakedfacts’.However, a senior CBI officer

told The Times of India. "We havestrong evidence to confirm his rolein a cheating case." Karti was taken into custody mi-

nutes after his flight from Londonlanded at the Chennai airport on Fe-

bruary 28. The CBI had registered an FIR

against him nine months ago andthe then INX Media Director In-drani Mukerjea and then INX NewsDirector Peter Mukerjea. Karti’schartered accountant, S Baskarara-man, was arrested from a Delhihotel on February 16. The CBI sought Karti’s custody

based on the statements made byBhaskararaman and Indrani Muk-herjea, who is now in jail in con-nection with the murder of herdaughter Sheena Bora. The case according to the CBI is

that on March 15, 2007 INX Mediahad applied for clearance from theForeign Investment PromotionBoard (FIPB) to operate and broad-cast a bunch of channels including aHindi entertainment channel, and

multiple vernacular entertainmentchannels. The agency alleged thatINX Media violated rules and ente-red into a criminal conspiracy withKarti Chidambaram, whose fatherwas then Union Finance Minister,to avoid any serious disciplinary ac-tion.

The CBI’s FIR says, “INX Media(P) Limited deliberately and in vio-lation of the conditions of the ap-proval (i) made a downstreaminvestment to the extent of 26% inthe capital of INX News (P) Limi-ted without the specific approval ofFIPB which included indirect fo-reign investment by the same fo-

reign investors and (ii) generatedmore than Rs 305 crores ForeignDirect Investment in INX Media(P) Limited against the approvedforeign inflow of Rs 4.62 cro-res…….”A year later, in May 2008, the

FIPB issued a letter to INX Mediademanding clarification on both is-sues.The CBI alleged that owing to

Karti’s influence, the officers andofficials of the Board not only ig-nored the violations on the part ofINX Media but also advised thegroup to apply for fresh FIPB ap-provals. The same proposal waslater approved by the then FinanceMinister.The CBI alleged that Karti was

paid for his “services” by INXMedia, with invoices in the name ofAdvantage Strategic Consulting PvtLimited (ASCPL) amounting to Rs10 lakh. The CBI also alleged thatinvoices for Rs 3.5 crore were alsoraised by INX Media in the name ofother companies, where Karti hadsustainable interests.Describing the Karti’s arrest as

“political persecution” of his fatherand his family, the Congress has ac-cused the CBI of being “a captivepuppet” of the Modi governmentcarrying out political vendettaagainst opponents. P Chidambaram would also be

questioned in connection with thecase, press reports indicated.

PRAJANAMA DAS Chennai: The 69th pontiff of theKanchi Sankara Mutt,Sankaracharya JayendraSaraswathi, passed away onFebruary 28 at a private hospital inKanchipuram, following a cardiacarrest. Although praised by his

followers for his social outreachand bringing contemporary ideasinto the Mutt, his legacy is seentainted due to his mediation in theAyodhya issue and his allegedinvolvement in the Sankaramanmurder case in which he wasacquitted subsequently. Prime Minister Narendra Modi,

in his tribute mentioned that theseer was at the forefront ofinnumerable community serviceinitiatives and he was “deeplyanguished by the passing away ofthe Acharya.” Political analyst Sumanth

Raman said on Twitter “JayendraSaraswathi leaves a mixed legacy.His focus on starting educationalinstitutions for poor students andhis outreach programs forconnecting with society were pathbreaking for the mutt. TheSankararaman case thoughindelibly marred his latter years.” The 82-year-old Acharya is

credited with the extension of theMutt’s philanthropic activitiesbeyond the Brahmin communityin the areas of education andhealth, not just within Tamil Nadu

but also in other southern states.He also transformed thespirituality-focused mutt into asocial service-oriented and all-inclusive one. But unlike his predecessors who

focused only on spirituality andreligion, Jayendra Saraswathi,wasn’t a low profile Acharya. His interest in politics and his

comments on various issuessparked controversy. In 2002, the seer who had great

political connections, promisedthat a negotiated settlement couldbe achieved in the Babri Masjid-Ram temple dispute among boththe Hindu and the Muslimcommunities. He met members of the All

India Muslim Personal Law Board(AIMPLB) and suggested thatthey furnish a no-objectionstatement for the construction of aRam temple. Though his formulawasn’t taken into consideration,

his popularity as a mediator forpeace increased among theMuslim community. After September 2004,

Sankaracharya’s life took acontroversial twist and his imagefaded among many of the mutt’sdevotees who were shocked tobelieve his involvement in themurder of the mutt’s functionarySankaraman, who had turned intoa whistleblower.

The Acharya also faced sexualharassment charges filed by writerAnuradha Ramanan and assaultcharges in the auditorRadhakrishnan case. Publicprosecutor K Duraiswamy saidthat “the seer is the mostundeserving criminal deserving nospecial treatment” and that thecourt should respect the institutionand its seat but not individuals.’’Nine years later, he was

acquitted but his image remaineddented. “The ugliness of the wholeepisode tarnished his legacy. Thisalso brought to light the politicswithin the mutt, which followerslike me refused to digest initially,”said Dhandu, a local priest whowas a devotee of Sankaracharya.After the demise, the Kanchi Mutthas turned towards the 70thsuccessor Vijayendra. “The jury isout on whether Vijayendra has thepolitical acumen his predecessorhad, to navigate his way throughthe intersection of religion anddirty politics,” wrote T. S. Sudhirin Firspost.

PURNASNEHA S.

Karti Chidambaram arrested by CBI; remanded to five-daycustody | THE STATESMAN

‘Rainwater harvesting is a necessity’ Chennai: The Tamil NaduGovernment had announced abudgetary allocation of Rs 100crore for the year 2017-2018 torevive the long-forgotten methodof water management in ruralareas, but political rivalry hasrendered it ineffective, said SekharRaghavan, director of the city-based Rain Centre.“Both the parties (the ruling

AIADMK and DMK) pretend tocare about the people but carry onwith their colonial mindset. Theyundermine each other’s work andignore the well being of the peoplein the process. The system whichshould be run by the villagers is

still being supervised by the PublicWorks Department (PWD),” hesaid.Kudimaramathu, a sustainable

and cost-effective water harvestingpractice prevalent since the late19th century, was a system inwhich irrigation tanks were dug,forming a chain. Excess water would flow from

one tank into the next. Waterwould be saved and floods wouldbe prevented.The practice died in 1949 when

the government transferred the res-ponsibility of maintenance of thetanks from farmers to the PWD. “Systems like Kudimaramathu

can be put in place in rural areas,where people depend on water bo-

dies, “ Raghavan said. “The urban areas, however, re-

quire a totally different form ofwater management since they de-pend on the groundwater more. Inthese areas the focus is on rainwa-ter harvesting,” he said.The Rain Centre, which is a

bridge to connect the people ofChennai and water harvesting, ac-cording to Raghavan, encouragesthe construction of filter chambersand recharge wells in houses.

Most of the centre’s activitiesare funded by corporate compa-nies’ Corporate Social Responsi-bility (CSR) contribution.According to Raghavan, in orderto make rainwater harvesting po-pular among locals, a three-step

process is adopted. First, people are made aware of

the importance of rainwater har-vesting in a place like Chennai,which gets flooded during mon-soon and faces severe water scar-city during summer.Second, charitable institutions,

old-age homes, and orphanagesare approached and a proposal tofund the construction of rainwaterharvesting tanks is submitted tothe corporation on their behalf.Third, a survey across Chennai

is conducted monthly in an attemptto understand the groundwater po-tential through monitoring thewater level of 90 wells. This is done to keep the local

people informed of the availability

of groundwater, and how muchthey can extract at a given timeRevathi M, a resident of one of

the apartments where rainwaterharvesting system has been cons-tructed, said, “Construction of thefilter chamber, sump, and the re-charge well was done by the Rain Centre.”“ Other than the top perforated

slab, everything else is under theground. We did not have to worryabout the cost of construction eit-her.” Gomathi B, another resident,

said, ‘’Jayalalitha made rainwaterharvesting mandatory in all buil-dings. We have done it in our so-ciety, but others don’t pay muchheed to it’’

PRASHASTI SINGH

Protestors outside Tambaram Railway Station | NARAYANAN

Disabled protestat railway stationCHENNAI:Members of the TamilNadu Association for the Rights ofAll Types of Differently Abled &Caregivers (TARATDAC) stagedprotests at 32 railway stationsacross the State on February 27demanding disabled friendlyrailway stations and a host of otherbenefits. The protesters gathered atTambaram railway station accusedthe Central Government of beinginsensitive to the disabled personsand the Indian Railways of notproviding even the basicinfrastructure for the disabledpersons. Tambaram railway station is amajor hub that connects thesouthern suburbs of Chennai toother parts of the city throughElectric Multiple Unit (EMU)trains from Chennai Beach toTambaram, used by lakhs ofcommuters every day. The railwaystation also serves as secondterminal for boarding long distancetrains bound for Southern TamilNadu, after Egmore station. State secretary of TARATDAC, P.Radhakrishnan said that despitebeing a major connecting station,the Tambaram railway stationlacked disabled-friendly ramps andwheelchairs to transport disabledpersons to the platforms. He also accused the railway

authorities at Tambaram railwaystation of demanding money fromdisabled persons for wanting to usethe wheelchair facility.

“Disabled persons are asked to payRs. 500 to use the wheelchairservice,” Radharkrishnan said.State president of TARATDAC, SJhansi Rani, said the SouthernRailway officials were denying therights of disabled persons byrefusing to accept their uniquedisability ID cards issued by theCentral Government. The unique disability ID card wasintroduced to ensure that personswith disabilities do not needseparate ID cards for variousgovernment schemes andconcessions and is meant to workacross India. However, theprotesters charged that railway staffwere demanding separate ID cardsfor railway concessions. “Although some people havereceived the universal disability IDcard it could not be used for railwayconcessions since the scheme is notfully implemented”, said JhansiRani. According to Jhansi Rani, specialcoaches for people with disabilitywere cancelled without anyannouncement and none of theplatforms or coaches havedisability signage (DDA) to notifythat the coaches were meant fordisabled persons.

NARAYANAN V

Reserved categoriesscore lowest in Class 10

Chennai: Class 10 students’ inTamil Nadu belonging toScheduled Castes (SC) andScheduled Tribes (ST) constitutemore than 50 per cent of studentswho need improvement, revealsthe National Achievement Survey,2017. The survey done by the Natio-

nal Council of Educational Re-search and Training (NCERT)showed that the average scores ofstudents from SC and ST catego-ries, was between 230 and 241 outof 300.They were tested in five sub-

jects – English, Mathematics,Science, Social Science and Mo-dern Indian Language and thesestudents belonging to reserved ca-tegories scored even lower thanthe State average. The subject where the students

need immense improvement is So-cial Science, irrespective of socialcategories, according to the sur-vey. M. Subholakshmi, a mother of

Class 10 student said, “After aday-long drudgery, I manage to

send my girl to a corporationschool nearby. She works reallyhard but still scores poorly in theexaminations. I do not know whatexactly is wrong.”Andrew Sesuraj, assistant pro-

fessor, Loyola College said, “Thechildren from disadvantagedgroups go to government and cor-porate schools.”“There is no doubt that the tea-

chers there are more qualified thanthe teachers in private schools butlack of monitoring is the pro-blem.”The children in the remote areas

suffer the most. Sesuraj added, “Sometimes, the

timing of the school depends onthe timing of the bus. For e.g. if abus leaves at 3:10 p.m. the teacher

will also leave even if the classends at 3:30 p.m.” In this case, teachers spend no

time with students beyond classhours. “The school is the most impor-

tant institution for the child’s overall development,” he said. Above all, the overall perfor-

mance of Class 10 students in theState was also significantly lowerthan the national average.Last year, with the recommen-

dations from an expert committeeheaded by the Education Minister,the State board announced a sche-dule for rolling out new syllabi forall classes from 2018, startingwith higher secondary. 15,121 stu-dents from 353 schools across theState were covered in the survey.

PURNIMA S DAS

Cabbies take onUber, Ola

CHENNAI: Three thousandcab drivers in the city havejoined hands to launch a newApp based cab service tochallenge Uber and Ola Cabs. The Ottunar Thozhargal

Sangam, associated with theCentre of Indian Trade Unions,supports the drivers’ initiativeand the app is set to launch thismonth.Approximately, 1700 drivers

are set to operate within the citylimits and the rest would beassigned suburbs and theoutskirts. Muthu Kumar, a former

driver for Uber, said “Wedrivers have to pay a heavycommission and the passengersface an unexplained price surge.So this is our move to ensurethat cab services do not affectpassengers and drivers.”According to Anand, another

member of the OttunarThozhargal Sangam, the privatecabs collect 20 per cent of adrivers total earning along withGoods and Services Tax. Ola

Cabs collects 21 per cent of adriver’s earnings ascommission. “Our initiative will only

collect seven per cent ascommission along with five percent GST,” said Muthu Kumar. Another feature promised by

the drivers was the removal ofhidden charges imposed on thepassengers. According to SelvaRaj, a former driver for Uber,the private cabs imposed manyhidden charges for delaysbecause of heavy traffic, nightrides, waiting and even badweather. The organisers of thenew app have promised tocharge only for the distancetravelled. “We have approachedBSNL for an easy-to-remembernumber and we have planned tocreate a tariff according to thevehicle’s model,” said SelvaRaj.Earlier, the Airport TaxiAssociation which runs the pre-paid taxi service at the AnnaInternational Airport here,reduced the prices of their faresin order to compete against theprivate cab companies.

NITHIN KUMAR

KANCHI ACHARYA1935-2018

Strong evidence toconfirm cheating - Sr

CBI officer

A MAN OF MANY SIDES

The Word Edition 6 Page 1_Layout 1 3/6/2018 10:49 AM Page 1

CHENNAI March 2, 20182 THE WORD CITYSCAPE

CCTV cameras in new local trainsChennai: In an effort to strengthensecurity for women on trains, thenewly inducted three-phaseElectric Multiple unit (EMU) trainon Chennai Beach – Chengalpattusuburban line has CCTVsurveillance cameras in the ladiescompartment.Until now, there was one 9 car-

rake operating between Chennai-Avadi and Chennai-Gummidipoondi stretches that hadCCTV cameras installed. According to C.Selvam, Senior

Divisional Officer at the ChennaiBeach railway station, securitycameras played an important role

in getting hold of the accused inthe Infosys techie Swathi murdercase who was killed at theNungambakkam railway station.“After that incident, we

approached ICF (Integral CoachFactory) to manufacture coacheswith CCTV cameras installed inthe compartments. Right now, it is just limited to

ladies compartments, but we hopeto see it in the generalcompartments as well,” saidSelvam.Selvam said these cameras on

the Avadi stretch just helped in thepost incident investigation and theRailways did not have livetransmission of the feed to a

control room. However, monitoring of the live

feed in the three phase EMU canprevent untoward incidents in real-time.Women passengers travelling in

the new train seemed relieved andconsidered this as a proactive andan additional step towards theirsafety. “It is not uncommon formen to enter the ladiescompartments in the trains runningafter 8 pm. Chain snatchingincidents and sexual harassmentcases rise from the increasingunsafe environment in the trains,”said Revathi, a commuter.Lakshmi, another commuter,

said “The police constable

stationed inside the compartmentsshould be throughout the day andnot just after 7pm. I hope thesecameras will do a full time job ofthe constable.”.However, the passengers also

questioned the functioning andmonitoring of these cameras.“Most of the times, these

cameras go defunct and little isdone to revive their operations. Loads of money is spent for

installation but nothing ishappening in terms of keeping acheck on their operation andmonitoring,” said Lavina, acommuter from Tambaram.Ashok Agarwal, Deputy

General Manager of the IntegralCoach Factory, said the initialresponse would be monitored andthis was aimed at detering anti-social elements. But before rolling out the

facility to all trains, there was needfor a detailed evaluation. “We take responsibility for the

effective functioning of thesurveillance cameras that are fit inthe ladies compartment of thetrains.”

“But there is a need for morethan a hundred cameras that areplaced at the train stations but arenot working,” he added.The initiative is currently in the

evaluation stage, where thefootages are assessed for qualityand officials are trained.

PRIYA LALWANI

Protest against Sanskrit song

Chennai: The Governor of TamilNadu, Banwarilal Purohit, insistedthat the Tamizh Thai Vazhthu, theinvocation song of mother Tamil,be sung at the eighty first convoca-tion ceremony of the DakshinaBharat Hindi Prachar Sabha(DBHPS), Chennai, on February28.The function began with eight

students singing Vande Mataram. The Governor, who was the

chief guest at the function, reques-ted that the students be called backto the stage to recite the Tamil in-vocation song before the functionproceeded further.The Chairperson of the DBHPS,

former Supreme Court Justice Shi-vraj Patil, said, “If you don’t learnHindi, you will face difficultiesonce you move out of Tamil Nadu.When the language is imposedthere is objection. However, whenit is proposed, there should be noobjection.”The Governor’s action in asking

that the Tamizh Thai Vazhthu besung comes against the backdrop ofprotests on February 27 against therecitation of a Sanskrit song at thestart of a function at the IIT Madrasthat was attended by Union Minis-

ters Nitin Gadkari and Pon Rad-hakrishnan. Members of the Campus Front

of India (CFI) protested at the gatesof the institute around noon. They shouted slogans of “Inqa-

lab Zindabad (long live the revolu-

tion)” and “Campus Front zindabad(Long live Campus Front)”. Earlier in the day, members of

the Tamil Maanila Congress hadprotested here. Both the protests were dispersed

within minutes, the protestors being

detained for unlawful assembly.“It is customary to begin any

function at IIT with Tamizh ThaiVazhthu but this year they sangSanskrit bhajans on the campus.This is clearly the BJP’s agenda tocommunalise the institution and

impose Sanskrit on Tamils,” saidMustafa, one of the demonstrators.The city police had secured the

gates of the institute throughout theday, restricting entry. People were allowed in only

after proper verification of docu-ments. On February 26, at the founda-

tion stone laying ceremony of theNational Technology Centre forPorts, Waterways and Coasts, thatis to be established on the IIT-Mcampus, students from the collegesang Maha Ganapathim ManasaSmarami, a Sanskrit song. The protestors took offence,

seeing this as snubbing of TamizhThai Vazhthu, the invocation songof mother Tamil, and a forceful im-position of Sanskrit.IIT-M director Bhaskar Rama-

moorthy told Hindustan Times thatthere was no scope for a contro-versy since it was the students whocame up with the song and therewas no involvement of the institute. “You must appreciate this is an

engineering college and when wego out to ask who will sing the in-vocation song, a few hands go up”,he said.

“So, these people came forwardand sang what they know.” headded.

Chennai: Chaos reigns at the bus terminal atThiruvanmiyur with commuters finding it difficult toboard buses because there are no queues and thevehicles are parked in bays with a different routenumber.As many as 160 buses operate out of the terminal

with one bus leaving every two minutes. After complaints by commuters about the lack of

seats where they could wait for the bus, theMetropolitan Transport Corporation installed a fewseatsI in one of the bus bays. This is inadequate, ashuge crowds waiting for the bus.‘’There are no proper queues for us to stand here

and when the bus arrives, people start jumping in,leaving many others behind. I have missed my busmany times due to the crowd and the boards arewrongly marked at the platforms,’’ said ThyahuSravan, a young student who travels to college fromthe terminal everyday.The boards installed at each bus bay are supposed

to indicate the bus number arriving there, but therehave been instances when some other bus hasarrived.It creates confusion for many passengers.Another passenger Shyam said, ‘’When it rains the

water stagnates in terminus. So, we have to stand andwait on the roads, which hinders free movement ofvehicles.’’ Suresh, another commuter, said he suffered injuries

on his leg.‘’A few days back, I was waiting at the platform

for the bus to arrive when I got pushed by the crowdand fell over a broken railing.’’he added.Commenting on the issues faced by the commuters,

K S Shanugham, Assistant Public InformationOfficer,MTC said, ‘’We installed e-toiletsimmediately after complaints about lack of toiletswere registered. Before the next monsoons, we will make sure that

the roads are leveled so that there is no waterstagnating at the depot.’’

Bus terminal lacks upkeepThe Thiruvanmiyur bus depot

NIKITA PRASAD

Chennai: Addressing larger issuessurrounding solid wastemanagement and the acute needfor disposing of waste responsibly,Kuppai Matters, a city-basedinitiative, organized a ‘KuppaiThiruvizha’ (garbage festival) atthe Nageswara Rao Park onFebruary 25.The vizha promoted eco-

friendly alternatives to plastics,segregation of garbage andcomposting, up-cycling glass,plastics and paper, collection ofneatly maintained old clothes,repair and spot-fixing of damagedshoes and bags and a participatoryaction planning session for asustainable waste managementsolution in the neighbourhoods ofAlwarpet, Mylapore andSanthome.Kuppai Matters is a collective

of the Civic Action Group (CAG),Citizen Consumer and variousother non profits in the city. Kripa Ramachandran, one of

the group members and the brainbehind this initiative said, “Everytime the Chennai Corporationcomes up with any wastemanagement scheme, citizens turna deaf ear to it and it ultimatelyends up in blame games.”

She also explained how theSolid Waste Management (SWM)Rules which were laid down in2016 were aimed at providing asustainable solution through therecovery, reuse and recycling ofwaste.“The Corporation of Chennai

also mandated door-to-doorcollection and segregation ofhousehold waste inOctober. Despite these bestefforts, the city remains one of thefew least compliant cities withSWM persisting as one of themost pressing issues facing the

city,” she added.Most workshops at the

thiruvizha revolved aroundrecycled paper and decors,degradable accessories, ecofriendly fashion accessories andcutlery. Others focused onsustainable practices – such ashow to create your owncomposting system at home toupcycled art.“It’s great to have a live demo

to get a better understanding ofhow this works. Otherwise, therules that we keep talking aboutare all in abstract,” said Shonali,

who attended the event.Ramnath, a resident of T.Nagar,

“I didn’t know that there existedthe concepts of green and reddustbins. It’s interesting to learnand I want it to try in myhousehold as well.”Kripa said that studies had

shown that effective and honestpublic participation was the key toachieving the goals laid out underthe SWM Rules. An effective way to bring these

issues to the fore was by creatinginclusive and participatory spacessuch as this one.

Chennai: The Chennai Metro RailLimited (CMRL)’s proposal tointroduce E-bikes and bike taxis atmetro stations is seen as a positivemove towards better connectivityand traffic decongestion.According to a recent news

report in The Hindu, CMRLofficials are currently in talks withtwo firms to provide motorbikesand e-bikes that would be rentedout to commuters atMeenambakam andThirumangalam stations on a trialbasis and later expanded to otherstations depending upon thepatronage. CMRL officials are also in talks

with cab aggregators Ola andUber and transport officials tocheck the feasibility ofintroducing bike taxis in the city. “It will be very useful for

people like me who reside ininterior residential areas wherepublic transport is not available,”said G Gulam Maideen (21), fromPallavaram, who is working as acustomer care executive atChennai airport. However, Meenambakkam and

Airport metro stations attract

fewer footfalls in comparison tothe local electric train stations.Only employees from the airportand the neighbouring cargo officesand few local residents use theMeenambakkam Metro station.Most people in the suburbscommute through local trains thatply from Chennai Beach toTambaram railway station. “This station is used only by

some employees of airportauthority, why do they chose thisstation for this initiative?” askedM Rajkumar (31), an auto driverat Meenambakkam Metro station. Rajkumar added that most

passengers who got down atMeenambakkam or Airport metrostations carried with luggage. So,hiring a bike might not be helpfulfor them to travel comfortablywith their luggage. G.Vignesh

(32), a resident of Anakaputhursaid, “During peak hours, it iseasier to manoeuvre throughtraffic on a bike than getting stuckinside the cab” According to him, everything

depended on the way it isimplemented. He felt commutersmight not use the bikes if theauthorities insisted that they returnthe bikes to the same station fromwhere they were taken. “Bike taxi service by Ola and

Uber will be useful for singlepassengers who can avoid cabsand also travel at lower rates,”Vignesh added. Currently CMRL has a tie-up

with ZOOM’s PEDL cycles andAthi’s Bicycle’s cycle-on-hirefacility at select metro stationswhich will be expanded to all 20metro stations in the city.

The newly introduced EMU train in Chennai |MEGHA SREERAM

|NIKITA PRASAD

Police arresting CFI youth protesting in front of IIT on Tuesday | NEHAL CHALIAWALA

NEHAL CHALIAWALA

How to remove ‘Kuppai’ responsibly

CFI members held demonstration in front of IIT Madras

PRIYA LALWANI

Bins for segregated waste

E-bikes soon atmetro trainstations

Bicycles at the St. Thomas Mount station

NARAYANAN V

|NARAYANAN V

KNOWYOUREARTH.COM

Autos fleece peopleat Central StationPassengers who alight at ChennaiCentral and head to various placesin the city are fleeced byautorickshaw drivers and the policeand the Railway authorities donothing. . These drivers quoteexorbitant prices even for shorttrips and travellers often end uppaying more than they should.Auto-rickshaw and taxi drivers

are mandated to make only pre-paid trips from the premises of thisstation. However, many driversjump the queue of waiting pre-paidautos, park their vehicles at the busstop here, and try to recruitpassengers as soon as they exit thestation-building. If caught, they areliable to a fine of Rs. 200 for illegal

parking.When asked for the fare to

Marina beach from the Centralstation, one such auto-driver saidthat it would cost Rs. 185 for thefive kilometre trip. When asked fora receipt for the journey, he pointedtowards an empty white booth andsaid that pre-paid service wasclosed for lunch. That boothactually belonged to RailwayPolice. Meanwhile, online cab services

will charge anywhere between Rs.80 and Rs.105 to drop you at theLabour Statue at Marina beach. Ashared cab ride could cost as low asRs. 38.The unruly auto-drivers have

driven more passengers to opt foronline cab services.

NEHAL CHALIAWALA

The Word Edition 6 Page 2_Layout 1 3/6/2018 11:25 AM Page 1

Chennai: The recent demise ofBollywood actor Sridevi Kapoor,although unrelated to the cosmeticsurgeries that she underwent in hertime, has raised questions about theunrealistic beauty standards set byan industry that is often known asthe ‘dream factory’ for many youngwomen and men. The burden to defy age and look

‘perfect’ has increased cosmeticand aesthetic surgeries, despitetheir exorbitant costs. There waswild speculation that Sridevi dieddue to the after effects of cosmeticsurgery. While the choice of actors to go

under the knife is personal, Dr.Krithika S Ravindran, a plastic sur-geon said that impossible beautystandards like the “size zero” affec-ted most patients mentally andmade women under confident. “Such pressures force my pa-

tients to seek cosmetic procedures,which are usually not necessary fortheir bodies. Women also gain con-fidence after their first surgery andindulge in repetitive sessions. Thiscauses an addiction to fit themsel-ves into the mainstream idea of abeautiful person,” she pointed. While body contouring, the most

sought after procedure amongyoungsters today, can range fromRs.70,000 to Rs.2.5 lakhs, hairtransplant surgeries range betweenRs.80,000 and Rs. 2 lakhs andbreast reduction or implantationcosts between Rs.80,000 and Rs.1.2 lakhs. The least expensive pro-cedures are the scar revision surge-ries that range between Rs.10,000and Rs.50,000 that women startingfrom age 16 undertake across hos-pitals in the city. Patients are given a form of

anesthesia in order to relieve painduring the surgery, an overdose ofwhich can lead to complicationsthat could result in death. Contrary to popular opinion

about the immediate skin effects ofsuch surgeries, Dr. Swetha Rahul,aesthetic dermatologist at the Ka-very Hospital said that the cosmeticprocedures were similar to othereveryday beautification processes,for example, hair-cuts.

“Cosmetic surgeries are a not ahealth compromise if done by trai-ned experts,” she added. Cases like morbid obesity, whe-

rein a patient undergoes bariatricsurgery and sheds weight, but laterexperiences folds of hanging skinaround the tummy are indicatorsfor surgeons to prescribe a tummytuck procedure (Rs.1.5 lakhs to Rs.3 lakhs), which will give the actual

results expected by the patient. According to Dr Krithika, this

pressure has forced many patientsto spend more than their ability inorder to beautify themselves tem-porarily. From Anushka Sharma’slifted lips to Kareena Kapoor’ssize-zero body, many actors haveadmitted to getting under the knifefor their films. Is the trend changing?The sudden death of Sridevi has

stirred a question about the cost oneis willing to pay for going under the

knife to achieve transient beauty. In her recent Buzzfeed article,

actor Sonam Kapoor wrote thatflawlessness is a dangerous, high-budgeted affair that needs to beshattered. “So, for every teen girl wonde-

ring why she doesn’t look like a ce-lebrity: Please know that nobodywakes up like this. Not me. Not anyother actress, (Not even Beyonce. Iswear.) It takes an army, a lot ofmoney and an incredible amount oftime to make a female celebritylook the way she does when yousee her. It isn’t realistic, and it isn’tanything to aspire to,” she said. Every flawless celebrity staring

out of a billboard, endorsing a cos-metic product is contributing to theRs.4,000 crore beauty industry inIndia. Mona Bedre, a Kollywoodactor said that celebrities who be-lieve that these standards should beshattered must stop modeling forsuch products. “Actors are seen as role models

for the youth in our country. Giventhat, if they acknowledge bodyweight and skin colour as ‘eternalflaws’ it creates a psychologicalpressure on their fans to undergocosmetic changes. It is importantfor actors to get sensitized towardsthe campaigns that they endorse,”explained the actress.

Chennai: A job fair for the differently-abledpeople was conducted at the Loyola Collegeby ‘We Are Your Voice’ on February 25here. Almost 5000 candidates registered online

for the jobs offered by 300 companies thatactively collaborated with the organisationto offer jobs.The main organiser of the event, Basit

said that this was the second time that theywere organising this job fair here in LoyolaCollege. “Last year 500 out of the 848 shortlisted

candidates were hired. We have made a lotof progress since then and we may have abetter result this year,” he said.Only the candidates who had a diploma

or were graduates were eligible for partici-

pation in the fair. The fair was organised forvisually impaired, speech and hearing im-paired and orthopaedically impaired people.Madan (22), an electronics engineer, loo-

king for a job in core company said that hehas first time participated in a job fair likethis. “There is no limit to the number ofcompanies you can apply to. This is the bestthing about this. If you fail in one, you cansit for another company”, he said.Selvi (27), a visually impaired candidate,

said that she was here to look for computer-based jobs or tele calling. “I have registeredfor six companies and I am coming here forthe second time. It is a good opportunity”,she said.Start-up companies joined, big companies

like Wipro, Apollo Hospitals, Caterpillar andIBM also participated in the fair. Companieslike Wipro which came for the recruitment

were also the sponsors for the event.Sukanya, a recruiter for her start-up com-

pany ‘I 2 I’, said that she here looking forvisually challenged people who are confi-dent of their communication skills and alsohearing and speech impaired candidates withcontent writing skills. “We are here to recruitour first batch. These people have amazingwill power. There is a lot to learn from themtoo. That’s why we are here to hire them”,she said.Harish, an Assistant Manager for Recruit-

ment at IBM was also here to hire 30-40candidates for the finance and IT sector inthe company.The fair also saw participation of more

than 1000 volunteers for the event. Therewas also on spot registration for voluntee-ring. Some of these volunteers were alsotrained in sign language and acted as an in-

terface between the candidates and the re-cruiters. Vincent, a volunteer said that he the com-

pany (Covenant) that he works for is alsohere for recruitment. “It feels good to helppeople here. How often do you get to see afair like this”,he said.More than 100 wheelchairs were made

available for the candidates along with theambulances. The volunteers helped the can-didates in availing wheel chairs and drivingthem to desired recruiters.‘We are Your Voice’ is a social organisa-

tion formed by a small group of young vo-lunteers who are either students or working.The organisation is also active in taking upother causes for social welfare. The LoyolaCollege has offered the venue free of cost tohold the fair for the second time consecuti-vely.

Chennai: Pensioners are unhappythat the panel appointed to go intotheir grievances has not yet sub-mitted its report.On February 19, 2016, the then

Chief Minister Jayalalithaa hadannounced that an Expert Com-mittee would be set-up to see if thenew Contributory Pension Schemecould be scrapped and the old onerestored.Anbarasu Muthuvijayan, Gene-

ral Secretary of Tamil Nadu Go-vernment Employees Association(TNGEA) says, “Two years havepassed and the panel has still notsubmitted the report, we will keepprotesting till the old pensionscheme comes back.”

“We cannot have a pensionscheme which is dependent oneveryday trading as pensionshouldn’t be a subject to marketrisk,” he added.Under the Contributory Pension

Scheme, the employee makes acontribution of 10 per cent of thebasic pay, grade pay and dearnessallowance and the governmentmakes a matching contribution.But the amount the employee gets

would depend on the market re-turns on the investments made bythe Government.There was no such restriction in

the old pension scheme.The Go-vernment contribution was madeon the last pay drawn by the em-ployee and it would be around 50per cent.S. Ramnarayan, Assistant Di-

rector, All India Federation forPensioners Association (AIFPA)

said that the new pension schemewas introduced by the Govern-ment of India in 2004, and thedrawback was that it didn’t coverthe family. “So if the pensionerdies his family won’t be eligiblefor the pension thereafter,” headded.Venkatesh, a member of Joint

Action Council of Teachers Asso-ciation (JACTO) says, “Due tomarket risk, the amount of pension

is getting reduced and there is noguarantee that the new pensionerswill get a pension.”The Government’s inaction has

led to the protest and the discon-tent among the government em-ployees.“Jayalalithaa appointed a com-

mittee to look into the matter butthe committee has been sitting andsitting and nothing is coming,”said Venkatesh.

Government employees staging a demonstration in Palayamkottai

Chennai: The “Cup and Cloth”campaign by Sustainable Mens-truation Tamil Nadu Project waslaunched at Chennai Press Club tocreate awareness on product choi-ces, their environmental impactand socio-political factors onmenstruation. Kavya Menon, co-founder of

Sustainable Menstruation who hasbeen conducting awareness drivesover five years said, “The objec-tive of the meeting is not only todiscuss the free aspect of the go-vernment providing sanitary padsbut its impact on health and envi-ronment.”“Several NGOs provide free,

low-cost disposable napkins butare completely ignorant of the factthat disposable pads contain plas-tics and other non-disclosed che-micals which are not onlyharmful, but takes 500-800 yearsto decompose,” she said.The discussion turned towards

the disposal methods and environ-mental hazards caused by the dis-posable pads.According to the National Fa-

mily Health Survey 2015-2016,only 57 per cent of women bet-ween the ages of 15 and 24 haveaccess to hygienic products duringperiods, including disposable sa-nitary pads. Gopi Vijaya Kumar, a social

worker said, “Most women opt forthe disposable pads because theyare soft, bulky and cost-effective.But most manufacturers use poly-mers in the napkins which sucksmoisture out of the skin.”“Hygiene is compromised due

to infrastructural deficiencies inschools and offices. The disposedpads are treated as a normal wasteand incinerated with other waste,making environment hazardousfor children. Some are dumped inthe drain which results in cloggingor in the soil which takes hundredsof years to decompose,” he said.Several alternatives like mens-

trual cups and cloth-based eco-

friendly pads were presented bySonal Jain, Co-founder ofBoondh. Menstrual cups are silicon-

based insertable devices that col-lect menstrual fluid. Sonal Jainsaid, “The device attaches itself tothe opening of the cervix and crea-tes a vacuum so it stays in place.After usage, the blood collected inthe cup is drained and the devicecan be rinsed and used again. Thiswould help in waste managementas well.”She continued, “The micro-

crystals in a disposable pad resultin rashes and itching, which leadsto a lot of health issues. The mens-trual cup does not react to thebody and does not restrict anywomen from water-based sports.”There are cloth pads made with

organic cotton and banana fiberswhich are leakage-protective,have buttons for securing and arereusable after washing. If properlymaintained, these pads can last forseveral years.Dr. Meenakshi Bharat, a gynae-

cologist said, “Most women thinkthat it is unhygienic to use thesame pad for every cycle but thatis not true. The best way to con-serve the cloth-based pad is to letit dry in the sun.”She also said that the unlike the

disposable sanitary napkins, thecloth-based napkins produced noheat so they did not irritate theskin.With regard to the Class 7 girl

who committed suicide after shewas shamed by her teacher forstaining her dress, Dr. Bharat said,“In our country, 70 per cent ofwomen think that menstruation is‘impure’, and we should work toeliminate the shame around pe-riods.”Sustainable Menstruation Tamil

Nadu has requested aid from theGovernment to evaluate the alter-natives and include them in mens-trual hygiene schemes, which mayprove to be financially more sus-tainable with regard to waste dis-posal and create a safer alternativefor women during periods.

CHENNAI March 2, 2018 3THE WORDCITYSCAPE

“Bring old scheme back” Beauty comes with ‘cost’

‘Attacks on women are

crimes of passion’

Chennai: Women being stalkedand attacked by ex-lovers whothink persuasion is the key towin her back is a crime of pas-sion committed generally by so-meone with a low self-esteem,psychologists say.The recent incident in Anna

Nagar was one of many attackson women by ex-lovers. N Ra-jesh, a 23-year-old electrical en-gineer, stabbed his girlfriendand childhood schoolmatewhen she said she dids not wantto continue the relationship. Hethen went on to harm himself aswell. Both were admitted tonearby private hospitalsOn April 1, last year, John

Mathew (22) bludgeoned todeath a girl, who had decided toend the relationship, and thencommitted suicide by hanginghimself at Mamallapuram. Swathi (24), an IT employee,

was hacked to death at the Nun-gambakkam railway station bya man who stalked her, “When people like this get

into a relationship they see it asa refuge and they want to hangon to it no matter what. The mo-ment the other person driftsaway they cannot bear it andspin out of control,” said Dr.Sunil Kumar, Mind Zone psy-chiatric facility. “Murder happens in a mo-

mentary fit. They are angry be-cause their lover has left themthat they forget everything else.These are crimes of passion,committed at a moment whenthe only thought they have is re-venge.”N. Perumal, Sub-Inspector of

Police, MKB Nagar police sta-tion, said, “We get complaintsfrom women almost every otherday. But very few women ac-tually come and report abouttheir ex-lovers.”

Differently abled get jobs at fair

PRAJANMA DAS

NISCHAI VATS PURNASNEHA S

MOHINI CHANDOLA

PRATIBHA SHARMA

Sonam Kapoor too needs colour adjustment

Reusable pads last years

| TWITTER

Chennai: An 82-year old womanwas left behind in a school by herdisabled son in Vadakarai when shewas unable to pay the rent for herold age home. Muniammal was asked by the

management of the old age home toleave after which she went to herson’s house. Her son, Dilli Babu,who is disabled, abandoned hismother at the school since theowner of the house he had renteddid not permit him to take in hismother. “This is brutal treatment,” said

Kaveri who works as a helper at theAnnaiIllam Old Age home. “Any person with at least some

sense of humanity wouldn’t do so-mething like this. Forcing old peo-ple out because she cannot affordthe rent like this is inhumane,” shecontinued. Saddama, another helper, said it

was wrong to comment on the par-ticular incident because “we don’tknow the full circumstances yet.”But she said she felt sad becauseMuniammal’s son had abandonedher. “Whatever may be the case, a

son abandoning his mother is sad,”Saddama says. Suhrith Parthasarthy, a lawyer in

the Madras High Court, said “Thepolice have not registered a caseagainst the son, but the police canunder the Maintenance and Welfareof Parents and Senior Citizens Act,2007.” The act prescribes punishment

for the abandonment of parents orsenior citizens by a person who isliable to take care of them. In cases where a senior citizen is

childless, they can claim mainte-nance from any relative who pos-sesses his property or who willinherit it. “In this case, it is the former, but

the police must have seen this as aspecial case,” said Parthasarthy, re-ferring to Dilli Babu’s disability. However, activists are of the opi-

nion that action should have beentaken against the owner of thehouse where Babu was staying. “It is extremely unfortunate that

such an incident has occurred,” saidRajashekhran of the Tamil NaduSenior Citizen’s Association(TNSCA). “The owner of the placewhich declined to house Muniam-mal should be booked,” he conti-nued.HelpAge India, a voluntary or-

ganization working for abandonedand needy elderly people, revealsthat one in every three senior citi-zens is a victim of abuse in India.The report highlights that in morethan 50 per cent of the cases perpe-trators are family members; evenmore shocking is the fact that inover 56 per cent of these cases, theprimary abuser is the son.

NISCHAI VATS

These eco-friendly cloth pads can be re-used for years ifused with care.

| THE HINDU

Old mother abandoned,senior citizen laws in vain

| MOHINI CHANDOLA

Candidates at the job fair at Loyola College | PRATIBHA SHARMA

Impossible beautystandards affectpatients mentallyand make womenunder - confident.

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Chennai: Stall keepers werejubilant over the high turnout at thelast day of crafts fair ‘Santhe –Back to Nature’, organized fromFebruary 15 to February 25 at theKalakshetra Foundation here. Kritika Narayan, a customer who

was visiting the fair for the secondtime in a week, said that it attracteda large crowd this year due to thevariety of products offered throughmore than 90 stalls to thecustomers. “They have a great collection of

clothes, paintings, show pieces, andcrockery from states like Bihar,Rajasthan, Kashmir, and AndhraPradesh this year,” she said.RitwikJha, another customer,

said, “This year the good things didnot get sold out in the first fewdays. The collection was goodthroughout.”Ajay Kumar Sharma, a stall

keeper who had come from Biharwith a collection of Madhubanipaintings from his village, said,“Making large, medium and smallsized Madhubani paintings hasbeen the family business of mostpeople in our village Jitwarpur foras long as I can remember. I havecome here as a representative of myvillage’s talent.”Another Madhubani artist from

Bihar, Mahesh Kumar, had soldalmost all the kurtis and sarees thathe and his family had painted bythe afternoon of Santhe’s last day. “This is my first time in South

India. When I was notified by

Kalakshetra about this fair, I washesitant about coming all the wayto Chennai for it. But the money Ispent on my train ticket was worththe profit that I earned here,” hesaid.The foundation did not takeany share of the money thecraftspersons earned.“We just have to pay Rs. 3000

per day to Santhe for booking onestall,” he said.K Geetha from Andhra Pradesh,

who had a kalamkari clothes’ stall,said that she was facing a lot ofcompetition since there were twomore stalls selling similarkalamkari clothes. “I have bought only kalamkari

kurtis with me, whereas the othertwo stalls also have skirts and evenfull length dresses. This is thereason why this year I did not earnas much as I had last year,” shesaid. The stall that had kani shawls

and kurtis from Kashmir was themost popular one at the fair afterRajasthan’s chat stall, whereas theone set up by women ofTiruchirappalli selling seedjewellery did not attract muchcrowd.J Rekha, who makes the seed

earrings and neck pieces herself,said, “I find seed jewellery quitefascinating, but people are moreinterested in the things that glitter.But all that glitters is not gold!”She added, “If you handle them

carefully, seed jewellery is muchmore durable than the artificialjewellery that most people getattracted to.”

CHENNAI March 2, 20184 THE WORD CITYSCAPE

‘Back to Nature’ expoa big hit for sellers

PRASHASTI SINGH

From left to right: R. Srinivasan, Gopal Krishna Gandhi, Suresh Jacob, MathangiKrishnamurthy, Thomas Verghese, Abraham Jacob

Rlys face “bankruptcy”

Handicrafts displayed at the Kalakshetra Foundation | PRASHASTI SINGH

PURNIMA S DAS

Chennai: “The dangerous truth isthat soon the Indian Railways willbecome bankrupt,” said AbrahamJacob during the launch of hisbook “The Story of IndianRailways” at Spaces in BesantNagar on March 3 evening.The book is a gripping narrative

of a young and idealistic officerwho enters into the labyrinthsystem of the railways andexperiences, over forty years, aloss of innocence. Speaking at the launch, Jacob

said, “The British left 47,000 kmof railway track in India whenChina had 12,000 km. Afterindependence, India’s rail trackincreased to a mere 63,000 kmstretch whereas China’s increasedto 121,000 km.”

“This is the rate of developmentwe have been talking about,” hesighed.Narrating an incident, Jacob

said, “When the stampede on thefoot overbridge at ElphinstoneRoad railway station killed 23people, the Railways should haverebuilt the bridge. Instead, theIndian Army built it. They aregenerally considered as the lastresort.”Thomas Verghese, a retired

General Manager of SouthernRailways said, “When I joined in1959, almost 80 per cent of allgoods were transported viarailways but now it has comedown to 12 per cent. The majorityof it constitutes coal.”India had stopped conceiving

new coal-fired power projects toaddress global warming concerns

over burning of fossil fuels, sothere was no long term future incarrying coal, Verghese added. On the current status of the

Railways, Jacob said “During mytenure since 1973, I tried to pursueevery single thing I wrote in thisbook. Sadly, I could not evenmake a dent. Either we pull up oursocks or we perish.”R. Srinivasan, Editor of

BusinessLine said, “Almost all thechapters deserve a book in itself.If you are a fan of railways, thisstory could be depressing becausein a caustic way, it unveils thetruth.”Gopalkrishna Gandhi, former

Governor of West Bengal, said,“These days, ‘calling a spade aspade’ is difficult but his faithfuldocumentation of what actuallyhappens is an eye-opener.”

“The ocean is my religion”

| PURNIMA S DAS

NIKITA PRASAD

Chennai: Ishita Malaviya, who is said to beIndia’s first professional female surfer, wasfeatured in a documentary ‘Beyond TheSurface’ screened at the DAMned Artexhibition at Lalit Kala Akademi on February24. Directed by Crystal Thornburg Homcy and

David Homcy, the 46-minute documentarytouched upon eco-tourism, youth and women’sempowerment and the pursuit of surfing in theIndian waters and was followed by an hour-long interaction between the audience andHelmut Schippert, Director of GoetheInstitut/Max Mueller Bhavan..The documentary started with Ishita

Malaviya being joined by other women surfers-Crystal Thornburg-Homcy, Lauren Hill, EmiKoch, Kate Baldwin and Liz Clark. Callingthemselves as ‘Sea Sisters’, they travel throughSouthern India documenting the ways in whichsurfing, yoga and ecological creativity arebringing hope and fueling change for localpeople and the planet. Visually appealing stills of the ocean,

compelling background score and the girlssurfing across the waves brought the audiencecloser to the narrative. The documentary presented the popular

stereotype of how girls do not surf in India andthat the ocean is a place meant only for men.Surfing is an adventure sport which often

results in tanned skin and hence, not manywomen choose to surf as black skin is lookeddown upon in India. Ishita explained that by creating more

awareness about surfing, she was not trying tobreak any barriers, but just pursuing herpassion. ‘’When I first started surfing, I knewI would be doing this for the rest of my life.

Everything about the ocean draws me there- Ifeel balanced, supported and safe. It takes mein and washes the troubles of the world away’’,she said. Lauren Hill, her co-surfer claimed that the

energy of the sea gets her in sync and makesher more connected with the planet. ‘’I find agreater spiritual connection when I’m surfingand the ocean is my religion. I learnt how towork with my body, rather than fight againstmy body’’, she said. The group visited yoga centers across South

India and practised chanting, meditation andvoice culture exercises. They also visited Manapad Women’s Self-

Help Group, in a coastal village 60 km fromTuticorin and interacted with the womenworkers who volunteered to surf with them,wearing sarees. It was their first time in water and they

overcame their inhibitions by taking their leapof faith into the ocean.

Ishita began surfing in 2007 after meeting aGerman exchange student. She currently runs asurf club named the Shaka Surf Club and CampNamaloha in Coastal Karnataka in India.In the interaction with the audience

Schippert said ‘’We were supposed to organizethis event near Couum river where a lot ofpeople could have come, but we didn’t getpermission. Here it is more of an installationthing and slightly difficult to get a lot of peoplefor attending our events.’’

Documentary featuring Ishita Malviyaat DAMned Art Festival | NIKITA PRASAD

‘Newsrooms need automation’

Chennai: Artificial intelligencecan no longer be interpreted interms of robotics; it is also asoftware that could be used innewsrooms, according to CarlGutsav Linden, a researcher atUniversity of Helsinki in Finland.In a lecture on ‘News

Automation:- Algorithm forJournalism’ delivered at AsianCollege of Journalism Linden saidthe software would help increating a more structured, factualand accountable news stories.“We talk about artificial

intelligence as if it is a newphenomenon. But the truth is thatit is a part of our daily lives. Weshould recognize it and assimilateit into our newsrooms,” he said.Linden is involved in Immersive

Automation, a research anddevelopment project aimed atautomating news production anddeveloping new ideas for makingthe process more automated.“The goal of this project is to

make news for you and not for ageneral audience. It generatespersonalized news stories withissues that directly affect you,” he

said.A news automation software

named ‘Valtteri’, he said, had theability to generate news articlesautonomously and structure it withthe most important fact on top. Thesoftware could also produce thesame article in various otherlanguages.“Creating news in languages

which are dying is an effectiveway to preserve them,” he said.Asked whether this technology

was an opportunity or a threat,Linden said “Is it going to takeaway jobs? Yes, it might. But Iwould say that it’s the business

model in commercial media that istaking away jobs.”However, Linden said that

introducing technologies like thesein newsrooms did not mean thatjournalists will no longer beinvolved. They were still requiredto ensure truthfulness, fairness andthe human angle in news and alsoexplain why a story is important. Talking about possible issues

that might arise with automation,he said that if the system generatedpersonalized news according to thereader’s religion, race andethnicity there was a possibility ofpeople getting polarised.

New luxury shopping mall opensNITHIN KUMAR

Chennai: Luxury shopping in thecity has been taken to a whole newlevel with the launch of Palladiumat Velachery last week. The new mall is inside the

Phoenix Market City but is not anextension of it. It is spread across 2lakh sq ft and it is entirely inspiredby the shape of a handbag. “This is a luxury shopping

destination that goes beyond highend brands. It is an experience that

touches all the senses”, saidRashmi Sen, Group Director –Retail of the Phoenix Mills Ltd.This is the second Palladium mallopened by Phoenix Mills, with thefirst one opened in Mumbai.The new mall consists of 75

stores on three floors, with most ofthem yet to open their doors. Highend fashion brands such as theHugo Boss, Cadini Suits, MichaelKors, Canali and even RalphLauren are set to open their outletsfor the first time in the city.Papparoti, a high end Malaysian

café, is set to open here.According to the construction

manager, Palladium’s architecturewas inspired by landmarks andartists across the world. Theinteriors were designed by wellrenowned architects from theUrban Studio in Mumbai. Palladium’s ceilings were

inspired by the minimalistic designof Apple products, like the iPhoneor the iPad. In some parts of themall, the ceilings consisted ofnumerous mirror claddings,inspired by Sheesh Mahal inLahore Fort.

“Numerous design elementshave used for inspiration to

construct Palladium”, said RahulBhatiya, the operating manager ofPalladium.The mall offers ‘VIP’ valet

parking for its customers,concierge and porter services onrequest, wheel chairs, AutomatedTeller Machine (ATM) and even achild care station. “Top level customer experience

is our priority here at Palladium”,said Bhatiya. Hasna Jaffar, a shopper, said “It

was always a luxurious experienceto go to Luxe Cinemas insidePheonix Market City, but to designan entire mall extravagantly andopen top brand’s outlets isamazing.”Most of the visitors to the new

mall come in to experience thedesign and mostly window shop.“The luxury brands here will

cater to the high end buyers in thecity, but the experience of the mallis for every customer and visitor”,said Bhatiya. Even as Phoenix Market City

receives more visitors, Palladiumis set to expect more customers.With new brands opening in themall, shopping is set to take aluxurious turn.Glossy architecture inside Palladium | NITHIN KUMAR

A cafe to talk about deathMOHINI CHANDOLA

Chennai: While most people shyaway from discussing death and itseffect on the living, Sneha Rooh, apalliative physician, has created aplatform for people who have lostfamily and friends but do not havean emotional outlet. Calling the platform Death Café,

Sneha Rooh said, “We intend tobring the topic of death on the sur-face without any pressure. Mostpeople who attend Death Café feellighter because they were not ableto share their trauma with their fa-milies.”Events are created on Facebook

and on the website and anybodycan attend the event for a conversa-tion for free. Death Café meetingstake place usually in restaurants, onbeaches or in a volunteer’s home.The venue is changed for everyevent. Students, counselors, doctors,

housewives and anyone from theage of six to 70 years are welcometo discuss death and grieve overtheir loved ones. Rooh said, “We are not a therapy

group. But society has made deatha disease- which reveals what welack as a society. Grieving is im-portant. I wouldn’t want an expertto tell me why my family memberhas died and what is wrong with meto grieve over them.”She continued, “It is only when

the grieving process is prolonged oris a danger to themselves that werecommend them to psycho-the-rapy.”

Death Café began in 2011 inHyderabad and was first conductedin a cemetery with nine otherfriends. Rooh, who had lost hermother two weeks earlier, wasalready pondering over the ideauntil a friend suggestedspontaneously they do it that night. The idea was inspired by the

Buddhist thought that death is notthe end of life. Since then, Rooh has conducted

Death Cafes in schools, collegesand restaurants in Hyderabad,Delhi and Chennai.

“People are so inspired by theidea that they have opened up theirown Death Cafés. To open one,people are required to attend atleast one Death Café and followguidelines on the website.”The idea of Death Café was ins-

pired by Jon Underwood and SueBarksy Reid, who initiated this so-cial movement in several Europeancountries. The idea of death and reincarna-

tion, which rings deep within theIndian cultural system runs parallelwith Mexico’s Day of the Dead,where death is seen as a symbol ofa new life.

Carl Gutsav Linden on news automation

PRATIBHA SHARMA

| PRATIBHA SHARMA

The idea wasinspired by the

Buddhist thoughtthat death is not the

end of life. Sincethen, Rooh has

conducted DeathCafes in schools,

colleges andrestaurants in

Hyderabad, Delhiand Chennai.

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