“The Adivasis were the first to die for freedom and last to benefit from it” says Sainath

Picture Credits: @dhinesh_ch N Ram launched the PARI founder’s second book about unsung heroes of our freedom struggle Annie Louis “Our ideas of freedom came from Oxford Brahmin Banyas who went abroad and read Rousseau” said award-winning journalist and author P Sainath, at the launch of his new book The Last Heroes: Foot Soldiers of...

Schools in Cuddalore test endurance of students

Broken chairs and student benches for teachers due to inadequate funds allowed for infrastructure | Photo: Annie Louis Despite multiple requests to authorities, little has been done to improve conditions Annie Louis Cuddalore: Many government schools in Cuddalore lack an adequate number of classrooms, toilets and other facilities, which adversely impacts learning among children who...

Traffic Bayamma, your friendly neighbourhood traffic controller

Picture Credits: The Indian Express Shagur Banu lends traffic police a hand by volunteering at the Tharamani link road junctions to ease peak traffic for the past 11 years. Annie Louis Chennai: Daily users of the Taramani link road meet ‘Traffic Bayamma’ at the Kambar street junction, where vehicles and pedestrians stand in flocks to...

Gundruk: Packed, Preserved Greens

Picture Credits: NE Origins This Nepali preserve is comfort food for the ones at and away from home Annie Louis Nepal, a small landlocked country in South Asia often shares culinary practices with its border nations, India and Tibet. “But this is exclusively Nepali,” says 23-year-old Heera from Siliguri, West Bengal. She is a third-generation...

Unforgiving Nature of Love

Picture Credits: Biblioklept Lucia Berlin’s ‘Mama’, is a touching record of how children deal with addict parents Annie Louis Chennai: ‘Mama’ by Lucia Berlin is a conversation between two sisters that takes the form of reminiscences of their estranged mother. The story is a quick seven- page read featured in the collection of her short...

Behind the absence of 50,000 students in class 12 exams

Enquiries reveal most had dropped out earlier for several reasons Annie Louis and Asmita Ravi Shankar Chennai: The absence of over 50,000 students for the language paper in the Tamil Nadu state class 12 board examination last month sent alarm bells ringing among all sections. As the government is looking for answers, queries with officials,...

Dated Royapuram station revamp delayed

Original structure will be retained, say officials  Annie Louis Chennai:The country’s second oldest functioning railway station cries for attention. An important rail terminus during the colonial era, the Royapuram railway station now sees few trains and fewer passengers. Station manager R Palanivel said the station sees a mere 300-400 footfalls a day.  Over the recent...

Hridayam: Another movie version of ‘boys will be boys’

Picture Credits: Hotstar While Arjun Reddy is criticised for his brashy sexist behaviour, Arun is lauded as the ‘changed man’ Annie Louis Hridayam, a 2022 Malayalam movie, hops onto the nostalgia bandwagon, roping in an early 2000s Chennai and the off-home Engineering- college trope. The film features Pranav Mohanlal, Darshana and Kalyani Priyadarshan as leads. ...

Caught in a vicious loop of poverty

Dismal living conditions deprive young women at Kannapar Thidal of education and a good life Annie Louis Chennai: Safety issues that arise from a lack of privacy, access to sanitation and permanent housing push young girls at Kannapar Thidal in the city to discontinue their studies and marry at an early age. And this nudges...

Mumbai City, Family and Pet Rooster

Picture Credits: Kottke.org 'Meet Tungrus and His Pet Chicken from Hell' - an absurd piece of Bombay portrayed through Rishi Chadna’s film on the Bhadres’ and their pet rooster Annie Louis Rishi Chadna's short film 'Meet Tungrus and His Pet Chicken from Hell' explores Mumbai's chaos and absurdity through the Bhaders, a middle-class family with...