Green perspectives in architecture

Today's Property Plus supplement in The Hindu, Chennai edition, has readable articles on ethical decisions in modern living.

"How frugal are appliances?" That question is posed by Biju Govind, who then follows it up by providing some answers in the form of Bureau of Energy Efficiency tests on electrical appliances.

There is also a delightful article on garden houses in Chennai by Madhavi Desai, exploring the intersection of the bungalow type of building with the European villa style, resulting in a grand structure that nestles in a huge tree-filled garden with tall ceilings and a vivid white exterior.

Is it all too vulgar and elitist? Perhaps, from a historical perspective. In the latter day, can it be varied to provide aesthetic alternatives that include subaltern feelings?



Meanwhile, here is an interesting story on use of solar energy in Seville, Spain narrated by the BBC, and linked to by many architecture websites.

Lalu Prasad boosts railway fortunes, but in-laws try free tripping

Lalu Prasad has now secured the only endorsement that matters in New Delhi on his running of the gargantuan Indian railway network: Sonia Gandhi has said he is doing fine.

Here is the PTI report on it:

Sonia praises Lalu for "new style" to improve Railways

Rae Bareli (UP), Feb 14. (PTI): UPA chairperson and Congress Chief Sonia Gandhi on Tuesday joined the chorus of praise for Railway Minister Lalu Prasad saying he has introduced "new style" to improve the functioning of the Railways.

"Prasad has introduced a new style to improve the Railways functioning. For this everybody is praising him," she said after laying the foundation stone of a Rail Coach factory in her Lok Sabha constituency Rae Bareli in the presence of Prasad and his two deputies - Naranbhai Rathwa and R Velu.

Referring to the UPA Government, Gandhi said she was happy to say that ever since the party-led coalition came to power at the Centre, a new era of economic development has started, which would bring positive changes in the lifestyle of common people across the country.

As far as the Rail Coach Factory here is concerned, the Congress chief said that Railway Minister Prasad is a man of firm commitment and she was fully confident that this project would be fructified soon and provides jobs to youths.

"Lalu Prasad is firm on his words. Whatever he promises, he does it. That is why I hope that this factory will be ready soon and start working and will provide employment to youth here," she said.

Asserting that people gets name for his works, she said similarly, a Government is also remembered for his work.

"I am satisfied that our UPA Government at the Centre was proving to be a Government that works", she said.

But Lalu's in-laws are not really co-operating, it appears. They were caught without proper tickets but to their credit, they did not provide fodder for the media and quickly paid the fines, continuing their journey. The mainstream media is apparently too embarrassed that the in-laws of the illustrious Lalu were caught without proper ticket and so leading newspapers down south have only a single column item in their inside pages.

This is The Hindu's report of the incident from staffer K.Balchand.

Of course, one must conclude with the observation that Lalu Prasad is hopelessly ignorant of how his Railway system is faring in Chennai. To belabour the point to the insensitive Railway bureaucracy, the MRTS system is a ghost line even today because Lalu and his somnolent deputy Velu have no idea what is going on. Perhaps when Lalu has some time left after his MBA lectures, he can visit Chennai and take a ride on the MRTS.

In some stations, if he walks in after dark, he is likely to fall into the ditches and traps that have been left uncovered by the Southern Railway administration, currently headed by General Manager Thomas Varghese.

Advertising medical cures and public health

Health Minister Anbumani Ramadoss has said it for the third time in a year and half that he proposes to amend the Drugs and Magic Remedies Act, 1954 with the aim of banning advertisements about treatment processes.

It is a matter of wonder why he is unable to implement what he said in 2005, though a full year has passed. He said it again in 2006, and now he has said it again in 2007. What is so pressing about advertisements, that is not about a host of other ills that are sapping the health of the average Indian?

We are living with air pollution beyond imagination (India has 5 of the world's most polluted cities, the World Bank says, and New Delhi is still the most polluted in the WHOLE WORLD). Why is Dr. Ramadoss happy to live in Delhi with such polluted air, but feels so strongly about advertisements, which are of course completely unethical and I hold no brief for the greedy corporate dispensers of health.

Water is another sadly neglected area which is yet to catch the concerned gaze of our Union and State Governments and Dr. Ramadoss. Only people who can buy bottled water are safe in India. Why not do something about municipal water supplies, so that people can drink safe water. After all, that is a much more fundamental driver of public health than getting a few tertiary hospitals to stop advertising? You can actually stop sending people to hospitals looking for cures!

Are these things not important because our political worthies see no 'returns' from such national scale actions?

Thirumazhisai in Chennai to have NRI city

I learn that tomorrow's The Hindu Property Plus will have a big advertisement for a gated community in Thirumazhisai, a suburb off Poonamallee and Sriperumbudur.

Apparently, this town which is famous for Thirumazhisai "Alwar" and many temples of antiquity, has been chosen because it is proximal to the emerging automotive and IT hardware belt.

The second advertisement is for Alliance Bougainvillea, about which I have posted several times.

Chennai Corporation's 'mud'dled clean-ups

In April 2006, The Hindu reported that the Chennai Corporation is supposed to remove the silt deposited during clean-up operations by Metrowater immediately from the site.




People in Chennai have discovered these past few weeks that the Corporation is not willing to clear its own silt removed from the storm drains, not to speak of the filth deposited along the shrinking city sidewalks by Metrowater. That is something pedestrians have to live with even in the 21st century. As I have come to believe, Chennai's managers want only able-bodied, young, fully sighted, intrepid and rich men to use the vehicle-choked roads and broken down, trap-like sidewalks. There is no place for women, children, old, sick and disabled people here!

Today, The Hindu carried a photo of the indifference of the Corporation, on G.N.Chetty Road, T.Nagar. The story is the same in Zone Eight of the Corporation, in Kodambakkam (from Brindavan Street to Rajnikant's Raghavendra Kalyana Mandapam). Incidentally, this road is used by blind people to reach a hostel located near the Kalyana Mandapam.