Refer the below invite for details …..

Venue: P S Senior Secondary School, R K Mutt Road, Mylapore, Chennai.

Timings: 10 am to 7pm

ENTRY FREE

This is an awareness programme for better Mental Health.

One could
• Know their personality
• Test their IQ & memory
• Know about mental illness & alcohol related problems
• And watch Short Films in related topics

One could also call : 94450 40236 to know more about this.

Those interested do visit the event and be wiser.

The institute founded in 1936 was formed to culturally revive the country at that time which was under the British Rule.

Check the details about the celebrations here at kalakshetra

Construction in progress with A R Rahman billboard in background – July 2006

Partly operational - View from St Thomas Mount - July 2008

Fully Operational on Deepavali day October 27, 2008

Chennai’ites are awed with this grade separator. Of course with some confusion. With more road signs coming up the facility is a great boon to those who cross Kathipara

Traffic bottleneck in this crucial gateway is a thing of the past.

Now Chennai looks for the Padi Grade Separator to become operational soon.

This is a house in a residential colony at Velachery in Chennai. What is striking about the image is the paint – fluorescent paint – in ghastly colours. This is a recent trend observed in different parts of the city. These colours are not so pleasant to eyes. Yet there could be reasons why people go for such paints. In some apartments, only the frontage is painted with such colours. Some sources say it has got to do with Vaastu.

Vaastu is considered significant in India as it is an ancient science on the use and correctness of the space. A friend tells me that such fluorescent paints are sold as Vaastu paints by paint companies to dispose of their not so fast moving shades. The second image is that of a mansion at Triplicane ( bachelor’s quarters in Triplicane area are called mansions).

The third image is a shopping complex coming up at Taramani Road which houses Peter England showroom in the ground and first floor. The frontage painted with fluorescent shade paint.

A search in google with “Vaastu – Colours” throws some 55,800 entries. One such site www.http://www.sereneinteriors.com/colors-and-vastu.html  correlates colours with Zodiac signs as below :

Zodiac sign Colors suggested
Aries                            Coral red
Taurus                         Milky white
Gemini                         Green
Cancer                         Rose red, pearl white
Leo                              Ruby red, dim white
Virgo                           Emerald green
Libra                            Cement color, milky white
Scorpio                        Pink, coral red
Sagittarius                   Golden yellow
Capricorn                     Dim red
Aquarius                      Pink, blue
Pisces                          Yellow, pure white

The same site also bring out the colors compatible with the directions.

It is common belief in this part of the world that certain colours are lucky, brings good fortune and certain colours bring ill luck. The marriage invitations are still printed in yellow colour and obituaries are bordered in black.

But why this sudden craze for fluorescent shades ?

Could it be true that paint companies are selling their slow moving shades by calling them Vaastu Paints ?

An array of soft dolls, toys on display on the car backs at Pondy Bazaar, T Nagar. All display and sales happen on the roadside and the display changes in an instant when the parked vehicle leaves to the next car.

Every year starting April 16^th, there is a ban on fishing in the Tamilnadu Coast from Thiruvallur to Kanyakumari Districts. Since scientists found fish breeding to be active in the eastern coastal belt during April and May, fishing by mechanised boats from Thiruvallur to Kanyakumari districts is prohibited between April 15 and May 29. The ban excludes fishing by country boats and catamarans.

The ban has come at a time when the heat was on the rise in Chennai. The sea food is an alternative to those who cannot consume meat during the Chennai heat. Because of the ban, the fish prices have gone through the roof. According to “The Hindu” retail plus of May 25,2008, seer fish is priced at Rs 300 to Rs 420 a kilo, Squids can range from Rs.80 to Rs.100 a kilo. Mackeral should be around Rs.100 a kilo while pomfret would range from Rs.200 to Rs.280 depending on size and colour. Crabs in season would cost Rs.160 per kilo but the price is dependent on the variety – like mud crabs, spotted ones,

If one is an early riser and visits the nearest beach, the day’s catch can be bought from the fisherman at a decent price. On this day, the fisherman was trying to sell the prawns  at Rs 8/- a piece. A morning walker in the beach was negotiating forRs 6/- a piece and settled for Rs 7/- a piece.

With the ban on fishing by mechanized boats ended on May 29, 2008 the supply of fish has increased and there are reports that the prices have started coming down.

(During a visit to Thiruvanmiyur beach on June 8, 2008, the visuals of the fishermen coming to the shore with their catch were shot and these images are posted here.)

The story appeared in the Sunday weekly magazine Dinamani Kadhir of February 10, 2008

It so happened that the newspaper carried the report on February 10, 2008, the day on which The Fourth Chennai Photowalk took place.

This is not the case with this restaurant alone. There are quite a few places which are like this. There is simply nothing which creates a longing to visit the place again. Rainforest in Adyar, Eden in Besant Nagar, New Yorker in Nungabakkam, Copper Chimney and French Loaf to name a few. This list would include most restaurants in the city.

With the concept of dining gaining prominence, the emphasis on food is being lost I feel. The food should create a longing in me, that sadly is becoming hard to find along with fine dining. The longing is there in Mathsya for instance, otherwise it’s the domain of roadside eateries like idiyappan in Pichupillai street and Brilliant Masala Dosai. This longing is also there in bare bones restaurants like National Lodge or Maris. For now its roadside zindabad.