New buffet on the block

“Greet all those who rule over you,” reads a slogan on the walls leading to the cellar... click to read on.

The tragi-comedy of choice

I don't get it! Why on earth was Amma cribbing over the Chennai Central seat (CPM was dying to have it) so much, when her party isn't even campaigning for it? D. Pandian, CPI’s state secretary and Chennai North candidate, may have had a better chance here against a candidate that can match his arrogance.

The Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (DMK) isn't splitting too many hairs on the seat because they are sure of victory; the All India Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (ADMK) candidate S. M. K. M. A. Jinnah is sticking to his pocket borough of Triplicane while the Desiya Murpoku Dravida Kazhagam (DMDK) is going berserk printing pamphlets in English.

The BJP, which has forgotten Sukumaran Nambiar, hasn’t even fielded a candidate and the BSP’s Yunus Khan remains content with sending a campaign jeep into Triplicane Mosque in the dead of the night.

The Youth and Students Party, which seems strangely familiar to the Syrian Christian Youth Club, is parading its pathetic slogans on a tempo on Uttamar Gandhi Salai. As if all this wasn’t enough, Nungambakkam residents found themselves staring at Pyramid Party of India pamphlets (with a flowing white bearded Maharishi peeping out), as they started their vehicles in the morning.

I am sorry to say that I may have ended up voting for Hyder Bhai of the Manithaneeya Makkal Katchi (MMK), if I had a vote in the constituency. The joke that the Chennai Central campaign has been reduced to, has made even a party like MMK seem ideal to the few incurable romantic socialists that live in this constituency. No, there’s no sign of the Socialist Unity Centre of India (SUCI).

Coming home, to vote in Krishnagiri constituency, was fun. The Election Commission has played the perfect party pooper (literally) from the hinterland to the state capital, ensuring nobody has any campaign kondattam except the BJP.

This is the only party I find actually campaigning in Tamil Nadu. Kovai to Krishnagiri is dotted with saffron flags and banners with images of Advani, Karthik and Sarath Kumar and Subramanian Swamy on them. What a sangam;D

The flags don’t seem to bother either of the squabbling Dravidian twins, who are busy clashing from Luz Corner to Anchetti forest, apart from stoning the Central Industrial Security Force in Krishnagiri. The vinyl banners though, are a comic relief.

Much to the chagrin of my photographer roomie Kapil Ganesh, the election stalls of the DMK in Hosur are attracting more crowds than any others. I think I spotted late Com. Mohit Sen’s United Communist Party of India flag, among the many others, decorating a DMK stall opposite the town’s police station.

T. Rajendharr’s Latchiya Makkal Katchi’s teeny-weenie stall lay barren beside it. I actually appreciate the man for not joining the bandwagon of ‘election-parties’ that are the NDA in TN this time, but he really does push his luck to ensure the joke is on him doesn’t he?

The UPA may not be so lucky in Salem, where the Marumalarchi Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam’s mobilisation coupled with the Vanniyar loyalty to the PMK is punishing poor Mr. Thangkabalu. Yes, all you Tamil nationalists, I actually like Mega TV :)

Nowhere have I seen the DMDK so popular, as in my district. The night before polling two bubbly gentlemen came home to give our voting slips with the ‘Murasu’ (DMDK’s drum symbol) on it. These courageous poll code violators seemed like excited little children stealing mangoes in the dead of the night.

Despite their charm, I violated the Party line and pressed the ‘Udaya Suryan.’

Poll Punch:

1. All you Dakshin Kannada voters who think you did a favour to the cause of pub-going by voting for BJP rebel Ram Bhat, think again; he's backed the the Sri Ram Sene.

2. Ever visited Kerala's Left Democatic Front website. There's only CPM, CPI and Kerala Congress (Joseph). See, Mr. smarts pants RSP and AIFB, the CPM finally gave it to you tit-for-tat for South 24 Parganas and Dinhata. Long live Left Unity!

The rise and fall of public health in Tamil Nadu

“Tamil Nadu has always been the leader in immunization,” says Dr. T. Jacob John, virologist at the Christian Medical College, Vellore. Though small pox was eradicated in India in 1974, Tamil Nadu had already accomplished this almost a decade earlier, in 1965.

In 1977, India accepted the World Health Organisation’s (WHO) Expanded Programme on Immunization (EPI), without the measles vaccine. But, in 1978, Tamil Nadu introduced the Measles vaccine against national policy. In 1984, the Planning Commission acknowledged this as a “fantastic success” and by 1990 it was introduced all over the country, says Dr. John. Tamil Nadu also became the first state to conduct laboratory investigations of measles outbreaks. There are no more deaths to due measles in the state.

Dr. John attributes these strides in public health to the state’s former health minister Dr. H. V. Hande. In 1986, Hande mandated five doses of Oral Polio Vaccine (OPV) for infants. The national policy only mandated three doses, so Hande got Rotary International to sponsor the additional doses. Tamil Nadu became the first state to eradicate Polio.

Sadly, this trend is in reverse. The second National Family Health Survey (NFHS-2) in 1998-99, recorded 89 per cent complete vaccine coverage of children between 12 and 23 months old. This has fallen to 81 per cent, according to the NFHS-3 in 2005-06.

Nowadays, only the first OPV dose is given free and peopled are forced to spend Rs. 500-600 on vaccines for infants, says Dr. Shanmugavelayutham, Professor of Social Work at Loyola College, Chennai. He adds that the poor spend upto 40 per cent of their income on medical expenses in states like Tamil Nadu, where health awareness is high.

After the deaths of four babies in Tiruvallur district, close to Chennai, in April, last year, due to a mix up of the measles vaccine, the state government ordered that vaccines only be given in primary health centres (PHCs).

Before this tragedy, health workers went to individual households and vaccinated infants. As a result of the government order, daily wage earners, who cannot afford to take a day off to travel to a PHC, are not getting their children vaccinated. This has lead to the number of vaccine recipients decreasing by almost 50 per cent, says Dr. Shanmugavelayutham.

Immunity from communicable diseases can be achieved by vaccinating up to a critical threshold of 80 to 85 per cent of the population and hence it will take two to three years for the immunity to fall below the threshold and diseases like measles, diphtheria and polio to make a comeback. Diphtheria outbreaks have already been reported from Vellore and Tuticorin districts of the state.

Where were you...

Pachaiyappa’s and Nandanam boys fight pitched battle at Choolaimedu subway

Students of Pachaiyappa’s College and Government Arts College, Nandanam pelted each other with stones in the Choolaimedu subway, on March 5.

As part of the annual ‘Bus Day’ celebrations, Arts College boys rode in a decorated bus on route 41D. The bus passed on Periyar EVR high road in front of Pachaiyappa’s College, on Thursday morning. In the previous years, celebration buses have taken Nelson Manickam road, to avoid trouble. When the bus was returning on Nelson Manickam road, in the afternoon, it was stoned in the subway.

According to local resident Thyagarajan, around 100 Pachaiyappa’s College boys came walking along the railway tracks at about 12.30 in the afternoon. As the 41D route celebration bus passed through the subway under the tracks, they began stoning it. Nandanam College boys got out of the bus and threw the stones back at them. This fight went on for about an hour. He added that a police officer then came in a jeep and warned them to leave, brandishing his revolver at them. They threw big stones and broke his jeep’s windows, before fleeing.

The police haven’t yet traced the culprits and no arrests have been made. A case will be filed against Pachaiyappa’s students, said Inspector U. K. Pasupathy of Choolaimedu police station. Pasupathy suspects the motive behind the attack to be past enmity between students of both colleges.

The officer, whose Tata Sumo jeep was damaged, is a crime branch inspector of the Aminjikarai police station. He was on his way from Metha Nagar, when the incident occurred.

Traffic came to a standstill on either side of the subway for more than an hour. Trains also did not run for more than 20 minutes.

Railway officials said that the Railway Protection Force is also investigating the attack.

Murugesan, an auto driver sustained minor injuries on his head and leg. “They were fighting like mad men. They didn’t listen to us when we asked them not to injure bystanders,” he said.

Speaking to the Daily Word, Rizwan, a student of the college, boldly said, “We won’t relinquish our rowdy-ism to any other college,” as he nursed a 100ml bottle of Mcdowell's brandy under his arm.

Annual ‘Bus Day’ celebrations of men’s colleges, in February and March, have become a recipe for disaster, leading to violence, traffic jams and damage to public property. A ‘Bus Day’ poster in Pachaiyappa’s College reading “Dil Irundha Vaa” (Come, if you have the guts), clearly spells out the stuff the revelers are made off.

CPI mum on Lok Sabha candidates for TN

The Communist Party of India (CPI) remains tight lipped on its candidates in Tamil Nadu for the general elections this year. Speaking to the Daily Word, the party’s assistant secretary C. Mahendran said it would be unethical to leak the list before coming to an understanding with the All India Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (AIADMK). The AIADMK is the Left’s main ally, in Tamil Nadu for the elections.

The Party has announced that it would be contesting from 50 seats all over the country. The first list of 33 candidates has been released. The lists for Kerala, Tamil Nadu and Andhra Pradesh are to be announced after consulting local allies.

CPI’s main left front ally, the Communist Party of India (Marxist) will be contesting for 80 parliamentary seats.

Refusing to talk about ideological differences between the AIADMK and the CPI, Mahendran said that the objective was to form a government without the Congress or Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP).

The AIADMK has not been participating in the agitation, of which the CPI is a part, against the conflict in Sri Lanka. R. Thirumalai, state secretary of the All India Students’ Federation (AISF), the party’s student wing, said, “Alliance partners may not be of the same opinion. The Congress led government is supplying arms to Sri Lanka.”

The CPI(M) is also not part of the agitation. “The CPI(M) stand is wrong. They have failed to understand the emotions of the people for Sri Lankan Tamils,” said Thirumalai.

Mahendran emphasized that his party has no electoral understanding with the Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP). “The BSP has a policy of no pre-poll alliances, hence we are not having any seat adjustments with the BSP,” he added. The CPI and CPI(M) are fielding 8 and 6 candidates, respectively, from BSP ruled Uttar Pradesh. CPI’s Atul Anjan is contesting from Ghosi.

Thirumalai explained that though some of the party’s supporters may temporarily shift to the BSP, they would come back to the party in the long run. “The party will continue to be the vanguard of the downtrodden,” he added.

Autos fight bikes for parking space

Parking space on Usman Road is a scarce commodity due to thousands of shoppers that throng its huge retail outlets. The area below the half-year old Usman Road flyover has provided succour to vehicle owners. This area is also used by auto-rickshaw drivers who woo customers at the entrances of shops. The quest for parking space is now a contest between non-commercial vehicles and auto-rickshaws.

The situation is manageable on weekdays but fights over parking space can get ugly on weekends. “Auto men refuse to let us take out our bikes from below the flyover. They claim the area opposite Saravana Stores as theirs, though it is for two-wheeler parking,” says Raja, an IT professional from Perambur.

On condition of anonymity, an auto- driver points to a line of autos occupying the entire parking space opposite Saravana Stores. “They are T- Nagar autos. They even chase us away.” This driver is from Egmore but comes to Theagaraya Nagar for business.

He says that autos aren’t allowed to park on Usman Road, though it’s good for business. They flee when the police raids or they are fined Rs. 100. This reporter witnessed a traffic head-constable on duty, not bothered about auto-rickshaws parked under the flyover.

Stands allotted for all major auto-rickshaw driver unions are almost empty, as all the autos stand on the road, to solicit customers. Two wheeler and car owners struggle to park or take out their vehicles, as many auto-rickshaw drivers leave their vehicles unattended and blocking movement.

According to G. Suresh, traffic sub- inspector at Mambalam police station, the area under the flyover is a no-parking zone. “As per a Supreme Court directive, no vehicle can be allowed to park there. It is a security risk. Anyone can leave a bomb in the vehicles and go.”

Usman Road is a sea of humanity during weekends and festivals and the flyover has a constant flow of traffic. Any explosion in this area would be devastating.

Suresh says that since the shop owners have not provided parking space, the police is forced to relax enforcement of the directive. “We regularly seize autos violating rules,” he says.

There are 45 traffic police personnel in Mambalam, an area which has a very high flow of traffic. Suresh says that despite paucity of staff, they try their best to keep traffic flowing in the worst of conditions, like peak hours, festivals, rallies and so on.

Many prominent retail outlets on Usman road are in violation of building norms. On 31 October 2006, the Chennai Metropolitan Development Authority had cautioned seven establishments on this road for improper construction. These establishments had illegally added several storeys to their palace-like shops.

A fire that broke out in Saravana Stores on 1 September, last year, exposed the lack of safety measures taken by the owners.

Despite the government regularizing many such violations, shops have not even spared their basements for their customers’ vehicles. Apart from the fight for space between autos and others, this carelessness by the shops, increase the vulnerability of the city to terrorist attacks.

Into the great wide open

If you want to go to Pulicat, also known as Pazhaverkaadu, do not go online. The transport, tourism and forest department websites, of Tamil Nadu or Andhra Pradesh have nothing to offer.

Pulicat Lake is a backwater on the Andhra-Tamil Nadu border, 90 km from Chennai. Most of it is in Ponneri taluk of Thiruvallur district in Tamil Nadu. It is known for Flamingoes, Painted Storks and Pelicans. The route is motorable, as most of it is on National Highway 5.

It is on route 58C of the state’s transport corporation. Five buses go there from 8.15 a.m. to 8.45 p.m. One can also go to neighbouring Ponneri town by bus or train, and take a connecting bus from there. Public transport from Chennai and back only costs Rs. 28.

On Sunday morning, the 15th of February, The 8.15 bus pulled out of the Koyambedu bus terminus with the mild golden sun and thin mist creeping through its windows. The noise of vehicles horns and the smell of petrol fumes fade away as the driver changes gear and darts onto NH5. Dry wild grass lines the highway. The drowsy muffled roar of the bus has caressed most passengers into blissful slumber. The bliss does not last.

An infant sitting beside me wakes up to a distant hammering of an engine piston. The hammering gets louder and soon a rapture of hammering roars past the bus. Men in grey t- shirts race along NH5 on beautifully painted and polished Yezdi motorcycles, with the words “Roaring Riders” emblazoned on their backs. Gazing at the bikes riding off into the horizon, the young father of the infant turns away from his wife and smiles, slowly.

After Ponneri, the bus turns right onto State Highway-104. The road gets bumpier and a lady vomits out of the window. State transport buses desperately need to be cleansed. Ground nut shells and dirt are all over and betel spitting colours the windows.

At 10.40 a.m. the bus reaches Pazhaverkaadu bus stand which is in a garbage dump cum open toilet, opposite the 400-year-old dutch cemetery. The smell of dry fish overwhelms me.

The cemetery’s entrance is a stone arch with skeletons sculpted on both sides and a skull on top. A haunting air prevails in the cemetery. A beggar lies drunk under the dome of a mausoleum. Another beggar, who looks like Hagrid from Hogwarts, melts way behind a tomb. There are 20-feet-tall pyramids atop two tombs. Graves bear coats of arms of Dutch nobility.

The Dutch Fort Geldria at Pulicat, traded with the East Indies, from 1606 to 1690 A.D. Locally woven coloured (check-pattern) handkerchiefs and lungies were the chief items of trade, apart from medicinal herbs, silk, diamonds, spices and donkeys, procured from the hinterland. Only ruins of this fort exist.

The town is quite dirty and there are no public toilets. Avoiding restaurants is advisable. If hunger overpowers you, the safest cooked meal is Sambar rice at Jamaal’s.

SH104 ends at a jetty-under-construction on the Buckingham Canal. The place is filled with blue metal and rusty iron rods. The earth is carpeted with shiny silver fish, drying under the blinding sun. The Yezdis of the Roaring Riders line the entrance of the jetty.

Boats offer to take groups of people around the million-year-old lake, for Rs. 500. I choose to walk along its banks to reach the sea.

A tall fair chap wearing a Roaring Rider t-shirt stands beside a petty shop in the shade. He looks like Aurobindo Ghosh. He is Sachi, moderator of the riders.

“We are a club of Yezdi and Java riders from in and around Chennai. We ride to places near Chennai, once a month, besides meeting at 7.30 every Sunday morning on Elliots Beach. There are a 157 of us,” says Sachi.

The riders are a colourful bunch wearing hats and stylish helmets. They offer me a banana which energises me for the walk ahead.

I pass through quiet streets lined with trees until a reach a quieter bank of the lake. I only see the cloudless grayish blue sky above and hear bay lashing in the distance, behind the row of palm trees that appear like matchsticks. Tom Petty’s song “Into the Great Wide Open, Under them skies of blue” plays in my head. The mind is clear and the joy of escaping Chennai lifts my heart.

Three young men appear with a packet of ‘Hide n Seek’ biscuits and bananas. They jump into a boat. One of them puts the rotor in the water and spins the engine into throttle with a thin jute rope. Thick black diesel fumes burst out and they roar off into the lake. They wave me goodbye. I walk on.

The bank is never ending and I decide to walk across the lake at a point where the remains of some old concrete cylinders stretch across to the other bank. My feet sink into the clay. With each step, black earth mixes with the transparent water, like rain clouds appearing on a white sky. The water is shimmers in the sunlight. Little balloon like organisms dot the brownish-yellow bed of the lake. A stork trots gracefully beside me as I struggle through the clay. A mild breeze cajoles me on and I reach the bank.

I stumble through a small settlement. A huge Peepal tree growing on top of a ruined Hindu shrine marks the entrance of the settlement. There is a lot of construction activity. A worker hums a hypnotic tune, while two little boys lie in a concrete basin flying a kite.

As I sneak out my camera, some kids in the distance yell out “Police!” The boys in the basin scoot across the sands, into the settlement. “I’m not a cop,” I shout back. They slowly come back and pose for the camera. I move on along the shore.

Villagers catch fish with little bags woven with palm leaves. The bags are immersed in the water. The fish slip into them and the water drains out. This lunch time activity goes as I continue to seek the sea like a deer thirsting for water. I reach the Arni River which is too deep to be crossed on foot.

The earth is caked with salt. There is a burnt cactus beside me. I am dying of hunger and thirst. I contemplate whether to eat red berries growing off a shrub, as a Grey Heron comes and perches on it. My slippers are pierced with thorns and I turn back, defeated.

I walk in the shallower part of the river to cool my feet. Weeds below crunch under my toes. I reach the settlement. Wade waist deep through the lake and find my way back to town.

As I stagger back to civilization, I see an old temple which looked like a piece of the Angkor Vat. The concrete entrance to the temple which led to its iron-studded gate and coconut trees all around is like a scene from ‘Apocalypse now.’

D. R. Mani, the caretaker shows me around. “This temple was built during Krishnadevaraya’s reign. It was closed for a hundred years. I git the jungle around it cleared 15 days back and held Poojas. We plan to hold a temple festival soon,” he says.

The Adinarayana Perumal temple is awe inspiring. It is made of brick and supported by rock pillars. There is a shrine inside this complex which is a chariot carved in stone. Mani shows me an inscription, on a rock beam supporting the ceiling of the chariot. The script looks like ancient Telugu. “This is a mystery,” he says, pointing towards it. “I cannot understand it. If someone from the archaeological department could come make sense of it, we will be satisfied.”

I thank him and rush to the bus stand. I pass through neat rows of streets populated by muslims, said to be of Arab descent. It is 3 p.m. and everything here is closed. I get a bus to Ponneri and eat to my hearts content.

There aren’t any buses to Chennai, so I decide to take a train. People around ask my to walk to the railway tracks and keep walking on then till I reach Ponneri railway station. I stumble along the tracks with unburnt diesel of the trains sticking to my toes. Finally, beyond the glare of the blazing sun, I see Ponneri railway station.