Tiruchian

The TN govt is pitching for IT investments in the state with some seriousness. The news reports last week hinted that the TN govt is promoting tier II cities in TN to establish IT companies. The collectors and corporation officials from Trichy, Madurai, Tirunelvelli, Coimbatore, Hosur and Salem are in Bangalore promoting their cities and its infrastructure including educational and industrial strengths to big IT industries. Land has been identified and earmarked in all these cities.

The IT parks may be of either type – Tower Type like TIDEL park in Chennai or Campus Type Like the one in CBE which hosts Cognizant. Coimbatore is getting more attention in this and it already has 1 Million Sq. Feet alloted for a joint venture between ELCOT and TIDEL Park Ltd.

Hosur, which neighbours Bangalore has a leg up on competition with proposed a 2,500-acre SEZ and a 200-acre IT park. The district administration has also identified a 150-acre plot and a 750-acre piece of land for two IT companies. Land allotment will commence in two or three months.There is no information which IT companies have shown interest in this. But with the bursting of seams in Bangalore and chennai, it is a step in the right direction to promote other cities to keep the investment within the state. It also helps to have an active person like Dayanidhi Maran in Central Govt who can sway the decisions towards TN.

An added advantage to this investments is that the infrastructure in these cities will be improved but the cost of living will go up dramatically especially in Trichy and Salem.

Source: The Hindu Business Line, Business Standard ,Money Control

• Department of Social Work-Bharathidasan University and Foundation for the Rights of the Young Child-Chennai: Workshop on `Disaster preparedness,’ Ashish Vachhani, District Collector, delivers valedictory address and distributes certificates, Convocation Hall, 3.30 p.m.
• St. Joseph’s College: C. Thangamuthu, Vice-Chancellor, Bharathidasan University, confers `Rev. Dr. Paul C. Jesuraja Best Social Worker Award’ on T.K. Senthil Kumar, Founder, Anbalayam, Rev. R. Rajarathinam, Principal, speaks, Rev. S. Lazar, Rector, presides, 6 p.m.
• Ma Foi Management Consultants: `Job fair 2006,’ Cauvery College, 10 a.m. to 6 p.m.
• Institution of Engineers (India)-Tiruchi Local Centre: G. Ravichandran, Deputy General Manager, BHEL, speaks on `Advanced testing and evaluation of pipe line welds,’ Institution Building, BHEL Township, 5 p.m.
• M.I.E.T. Arts and Science College: Book exhibition, 10 a.m.
• HEED Manikandam, District Blindness Control Society, SHARON, Worth Trust, Rane TRW Steering Systems and Joseph Eye Hospital: Free eye screening camp, Sr. Rita of Tirukudumbam Hospital, inaugurates, hospital campus, Fathima Nagar, 9.30 a.m.
• Lions Club of Tiruchi Rockcity: Meeting, Hotel Shaans, 7.30 p.m.
• Nehru Memorial College-Puthanampatti: Department of Biotechnology, special lecture on `Nobel Price 2006 in medicine: an overview’ by R. Selvam of Bishop Heber College, 10.30 a.m.
• National HRD Network-Tiruchi chapter: K. Thambidhurai, Director- HR, Cethar Vessels Limited, speaks on `Out sourcing – emerging trends,’ Hotel Femina, 6.30 p.m.

Source: The Hindu

• Department of Social Work of Bharathidasan University and Foundation for the Rights of the Young Child, Chennai: Workshop on `Disaster preparedness’, C. Thangamuthu, Vice-Chancellor, inaugurates, Convocation Hall, 10 a.m.
• Centre for Women Studies of Bharathidasan University, T.N. Women Entrepreneurs Welfare Association and TIDITSSIA STED: Meet on `Opportunities in IT industries and silk manufacturing’, K. Srinivasan, Faculty from NIT-T, C. Sam Devados, Assistant Director of Sericulture speak, TIDITSSIA STED office, Bharathiyar Salai, 10.30 a.m.
• Tamil Nadu Veterinary and Animal Sciences University: Department of Biotechnology, Programme on `Custom hatching unit and bird cage unit for rural women’, B. Murali Manohar, Director, Centre for Animal Health Studies, Chennai and R. Prabakaran, Director, Centre for Animal Production Studies, Chennai, speak, S. Loganathan, Regional Joint Director, Animal Husbandry, distributes chicks, Akilandeswari Marriage Hall, Mutharasanallur, 10 a.m.
• Nehru Memorial College: Department of Biotechnology, M. Vivekanandhan, Faculty from Bharathidasan University, speaks on `Application of microbes in environmental cleanup operations’, Puthanampatti, 10.30 a.m.
• Ma Foi Management Consultants: Job fair 2006, Cauvery College for Women, 10 a.m.
• M.I.E.T. Arts and Science College: Book exhibition, A. Mohamed Yunus, Chairman, inaugurates, 10.15 a.m.
• Rotary Clubs of Tiruchi: Kamala Anandam, Educational Consultant, Weston, United States, speaks on `A NRI look at America and India’, Hotel Femina, 7 p.m.
• Hindustan Petroleum Corporation: Launching of new diesel engine oil brand, Hotel Ramyas, 6 p.m.

Source: The Hindu

Trichy is connected by Air to Madras, Sharjah , Columbo, Fujairah, Ras al-Khaimah (United Arab Emirates) and Kuwait. The city is serviced by Indian Airlines and Air Deccan, the latter starting the service this year. The airport is at Sembuttu about 5 kms from the city. It is a small airport with a runway capable of supporting 737s and maybe a couple of hundred passengers at a time. As the majority of the airtravel happening during the midday, it will be a sleepy place most of the other times.

When I landed there early this year from Madras, I was surprised to see the lights being switched off after all the bags are picked up by the passengers which put the baggage claim area in semi darkness. There is no need switch off the fans as only one was working and others looked as if they are idle for a long time. Coming from a busy airport, it took me completely by surprise. The police constable went to his slumber in his chair and the arrival lounge was devoid of any human presence. The surprising fact is the aircraft in which I came from Madras was still in the airport taking in passengers on its way to Sharjah.

The departure side is bit more lively and people are going in and out giving a busy atmosphere. The departure side has Sri Krishna Sweets stall and a couple of other coffee shops. The Xray machine in the arrival lounge did not work, so we just walked straight into the airport. The people in the airport are very courteous and replies to you in English even if you ask them something in Tamil. (airportile Irrukuromuule) That is a trend I am seeing gaining ground in Tamilnadu now. ( I will delve into this later in a post. I have some interesting moments and conversations in this). Before entering the Gate Area, all handcarry laguages have to go through a X-ray screening. People are scanned and the allowed into the seating area which is surprisingly spaciaous and brightly lit. As there are no boarding tunnels, passengers have to walk to the aircrafts with their luggages. Those who require assistance will get it promptly as the people are very helpful there.

The Trichy corporation is doing something to improve Trichy airport. Looks like there are plans to get 11 AirIndia Express Services into Trichy connecting to destinations in Far East and Middle East, coinciding with the modernisation of airport at a massive investment.

Not only it should be connected to International cities but should be connected to the nearby cities like Coimbatore, Hyderabad and Bangalore to attract more inflow into the city.Hopefully we will see this direction soon.

• Bharathidasan University: Centre for Adult, Continuing Education and Extension (CACEE) and Institute for Entrepreneurship and Cancer Development (IECD), UGC seminar on `Population education and youth development,’ C. Thangamuthu, Vice-Chancellor, inaugurates, B. Vijayakumar, Director, CACEE, Kerala University, delivers key-note address, Khajamalai campus, 10 a.m.
• National Institute of Technology-Tiruchi (NIT-T): UNESCO Club, Programme on `memory tips’ by C.S. Karuppan Chetty, Head of the Department of Mathematics, A2 Hall, 5 p.m.
• MIET Arts and Science College: Department of Computer Science, special lecture programme on `Software testing and quality,’ K. Rajesh and Sivasankar speak, A. Mohamed Yunus, correspondent, MIET institutions, felicitates, A. Shaik Dawood, Principal, presides, 10 a.m.
• Tamil Nadu Science and Technology Centre (TNSTC), Chennai and Anna Science Centre-Planetarium: Awareness programme on `Detection and prevention of food adulteration,’ R. Muthukrishnan, CEO, inaugurates, P. Iyamperumal, Executive Director, TNSTC, presides, 10.30 a.m.
• Centre for Women’s Studies of the Bharathidasan University and UNICEF, Chennai: Gender sensitivity training programme, valediction, C. Thangamuthu, Vice-Chancellor, delivers valedictory address, Devasish Dutta, Project Officer, HIV/AIDS Intervention of Out of School Youth, UNICEF, Chennai, presides, Alaihal Don Bosco, Manikandam, 3 p.m.
• Kurinji College of Engineering and Technology, Manapparai: `Kurinji rolling cup’ inter-schools ball badminton tournament, college ground, 3 p.m.

Source: The Hindu

Now that Deepavali has come and gone, the city will sigh a breath of relief with the floating population reducing and normalcy returning. But one aspect that will be bursting in its seams is the local and inter city transportation systems. Police and transportation authorities will have their handsful in juggling the location where the buses are parked for passenger boarding and deboarding. The Hindu reports that between Oct 22 and Oct 25, a lots of travel arrangements for reduce congestion due to buses parked in the Main Bus-stand area near junction in effect.

• The buses proceeding to Coimbatore, Tirupur and Karur  should be parked in front of Femina Hotel, and from there, proceed through Williams Road, Othakadai, MGR statue to Coimbatore, Tirupur and Karur.
• Buses bound for Thanjavur, Kumbakonam, Nagapattinam and Velankanni should stop near Abirami Hotel and take the passengers from there and proceed through Kalaiarangam Theatre, Head Post Office and the TVS Tollgate.
• Buses bound for Chennai should halt at the first bay in the bus stand, where Thanjavur and Kumbakonam bound buses are halted at present.
• All omni buses should stop near Roshan Mahal Kalyana Mandapam on the VOC Road and pass through Aristo roundtana. These buses are to be parked outside the Central Bus Stand.

But this kind of Traffic planning is only a temporary measure and it will increase confusion to he public. Those who are in a hurry to catch the buses and those who did not read about these changes are bound to get confused and look at the buses inside the central Bus stand.  I think they should permanently move the buses plying towards Madras, Coimbatore and other destinations North of Trichy to Sathiram Bus Stand and leave the buses plying to South in Main Busstand. Sathiram Busstand will burst in seams if done like this but atleast it can be expanded and not Central Bus Stand.  Advantage with Sathiram Busstand is it is in the border of the city and the buses will be out of the city’s main thoroghfare very quickly.

I am not even talking about the local townbuses here. Put them in this mix, the result will be chaos in gargantuan proportion. But this is a part and parcel of enjoying the festival in Trichy. People are so used to it, now a days they take this in stride.

Mainguardgate , the hub of trichy’s shopping experience is filled with people now. As I write this it is Deepavali eve and the place will be packed with shoppers, vendors, hawkers and petty thieves. All the former three has to be careful about the latter as they will be very busy as well tonight. Police will be in full force today in NSB road, Periyakadai veethi, Nandhikoil Street, Singarathopu and Super Bazaar. But they can do only so much. They have installed a security camera in NSB road to monitor the situation there from a distance. There is a police booth setup near the temple to assist the shoppers, who waited this last minute to dash for a pre deepavali purchase. According to The Hindu, Traders and the public, carrying large amounts in cash, could avail protection from the police free of cost (??) by contacting the following telephone numbers:

Assistant Commissioner, Fort – 2713488/9443173282;

Inspector (L&O), Fort – 2704355/9994472725;

Assistant Commissioner (Crime),Fort – 2712288/9443367897;

Inspector (Crime),Fort – 2417832/9842482081

Control Room at 100.

But anyway, MainguardGate will be going crazy now until late tonight. In yesteryears people will line up in the Maris Complex to get into the first show for a movie ( usually Rajni and Kamal fans will go crazy with cutouts and Aarthi etc..) Of course, there used to be a crowd to watch the crowd, clogging the already narrow Bridge. But now, Maris Theater itself is reeling with reduced customer base and hence the glitz and glamour is gone from deepavali releases there.

With the first Pattasu at tomorrow 06:00 AM , the Mainguardgate will return to normalcy. Many will find their refuge in their couches watching the “Deepavali programs” in Tamil Cable Channels so that they can curse the producers of the shows for inept programming and stereotype nigalchigal.

Appada Deepavali vanthacchu……………………

Crackers are for Deepavali like gifts are for Christmas in West. There are groups who painstakingly explain that crackers are waste of money and so are Excessive gifts for Christmas. There are certainly lots of merit to their arguments , but for kids, crackers for deepavali and gifts for Christmas are a requirement. They wait for them the entire year and when time comes the thrill in showing off is far greater than anything.

But like anything in life a little care will go a long way in making the deepavali accident free for the people who burst crackers and for those who enjoy watching them. ( Don’t have to worry about rockets zapping through someone’s house or someone’s dhoti )

The TN Pollution control board has taken several steps to educate public on the effects of crackers on the environment. District Collectors have been requested to create awareness among public, highlighting the environmental impact of bursting fire crackers through schools, colleges and local bodies.

The police have been asked to ban firecrackers which were above the 125 db `A’ level, between 10 p.m. and 6 a.m.

I am not sure which crackers fall in this decibel levels.

It would have been very useful for law enforcement and general public, if instead of dB levels, the commercial names of the crackers were released.

If any of you reading this know the commercial names, please let me know. I will update this post.

Fire and Rescue department has given some tips to follow while bursting crackers.

• Crackers should be burst in open places
• A bucket of mud and water should be kept nearby while bursting Crackers.
• The crackers should not be stuffed inside a tin or bottle to burst it.

I can’t believe that many will follow the second tip but nevertheless, they are very sound advices.

One thing I am not sure why no one talks about is the potential fire hazard due to sangu chakram, bosvaanams, sattai and Pambu muttais. Mostly these are enjoyed indoors ( except bosvaanams) and the potential for fire hazard is very high with these not to mention the health effects due to inhaling the vapours released in close spaces.

Anyway, Everyone have a Great and Safe Deepavali with lots of sweets and smiles.

For yummy deepavali recipes, refer to a this page in a blog.

[Deepavali Crackers Diwali Safety]

During Deepavali season, ( the entire month preceeding Deepavali) some places in Trichy like MainguardGate and its sorrunding areas are specially crowded.

MaingaurdGate

This place is the Times Square of Trichy during festival season. Flashy Billboards in shops screaming for attention is a common site. Although Mainguardgate looks as if it has more “Jowli Kadais“, in reality it has a lot of many things. The people from nearby villages throng mainguardgate to buy their jowlis and have a good time during their day of purchase. ( eat at one of the many restaurants, buy sweets in sweetshops, eat icecream in icecream parlors etc.) The custom of buying Jowlis for the entire family by the entire family can be seen very commonly. The people with cosmopolitan background may be shopping individually, but people from nearby villages can be seen in family groups doing their purchase. The decibel level in their shopping experience will be high due to excitement and the Jowli salesman will have a tough time in controlling their enthusiasm and still making them buy within their money. Some shops like Saratha’s has crowd control measures in effect for the past one month. The guide bars in the front of the showroom has come up a month ago and usually will remain till karthigai festival. Although Saratha’s has perenninal Sales ( “Thallupadi“), deepavali season’s thallupadi is always special and people are attracted towards that like a moth to a light. As they sell jowli to cater the entire family, the group of family members can finish their jowli purchase in one place. I wish they had a restaurant inside so that people who come in to thier world can have something to eat as well after their exhausting experience. Another shop which is famous for Jowli in maingaurdgate is Thaila Silks. Although they have multiple shops to cater the entire family, the original shop which caters only Silk sarees is the highlight. The crowd is so heavy in the shop you can see the sarees that need to be billed will be transferred by air between strategically placed people to the kalla petti. It is a fantastic work of logistics. It takes an effort to go in and get out of the shop without sweating due to urasals.They also have Thallupadi and people love that. Although new shops like Chennai Silks is attracting a lot of attention and crowd, the shops in NSB road is still packed.

It is not only the shops in NSB Road that are popular, but all the shops in Chinna Kadai veethi, Periya kadai veethi, Singarathoppu, SuperBazaar and shops in St.Joseph’s ground, Nandi koil street will also be packed. The banks in Nandikoil Street will be busy catering to the monetary needs which will be spent in the adjacent streets. The traffic ( which is usually one way) in NSB road is completely stopped and people have to walk to different shops. This gives more sales customers for road side sales people, who when allowed by police will be doing their brisk business, keeping an eye for customers and the police. You can see street hawkers holding on to their dear goods to their bodies and making it a walking shop.

Burma Bazaar ( I am not sure why we have this name for those shops) will be as usual catering to the taste for the foreign goods. Although it has lost its lusture due to the relaxed import restrictions, it still a busy place during this time.

It is not only the jowli shops that scream “Thallupadi” but also the electronic shops in Super Bazaar, Singarathope and furniture shops in the maingaurdgate area will be screamin’ as well. Offlate, with more disposable income, people started buying New Furnitures and Electronic goods also during the deepavali time.

To sum it up, Mainguardgate is the place to be during this time to enjoy the crowd , that is …if you don’t get caught in it and pulled along with it.

[Trichy]
[MainGuardGate]

Deepavali is a major festival for people in Trichy. I think it adds a special dimension to the life in this city. The ubiquitous cloth shops in Mainguard gate ( a world of its own) will be packed with people who travel from all around the city and as far as kumbakonam, mayavaram, karur, perambalur to buy clothes and gifts for this grand occasion. The shops will be lighted and decorated to a large extent to attract customers. There will be Sales events with lots of discounts from the mega Cloth stores like Saratha’s and Chennai Silks. As we move towards deepavali, the crowd in the stores will increase and peak during the eve of deepavali. Lots of vendors who come from nearby villages selling items like handkerchief, crackers, utensils on the road side will try to push as much as possible so the price will fall tremendously as night rolls on the deepavali eve.

The main attraction on Deepavali used to be crackers and Deepavali Movie releases till last decade. But now due to high prices of crackers ( not to mention the govt restriction on the timings ) and the escalating prices of movie tickets along with the ubiquity of movie information in TV, the attention has turned towards dresses and food during this festival. Temples will be thronged by young and the old who go there to get the blessings of God among other attractions. Special poojas will be conducted in all the temples. Due to the high volume of floating population in Trichy during this time, the businesses including the bus services will make lot of money. ( not to mention the fleecing of auto drivers) As deepavali approaches, bus services will extend their operating hours just like the shops.

The restrictions on the timings to burst crackers, has made this festival unobtrusive and a joy for everyone. If only the papers and the Kuppai can be collected effectively after the festival, it will be even better.

In effect, With or without crackers , deepavali is a great time to be in Trichy.  Have a great time Tiruchians.