Mowbray's Road (Alwarpet) - Name Reason

:: Chennai Factoids ::

:: Name reasons behind famous roads / streets in Chennai ::

:: MOWBRAY'S ROAD - ALWARPET ::

It has been quite a long since I posted about the name reasons. Now I am back, and today I am going to share the name reason behind the "MOWBRAY'S ROAD" in Alwarpet. Many of you might wonder on seeing this name and eager to know where it is located. Those who passed by the Music Academy should have known about this road. Yeah am talking about the same road where Music Academy is located. This road has been renamed as TTK Road now. It is good to have a old name board with the name "MOWBRAY'S ROAD" near Music Academy. It is there exactly in the Music Academy Bus Stop. This is one such busy road which connects major locations - Triplicane, Royapet, Mylapore and Adyar. Also, it has two famous halls (SABHAs) to its credit - Music Academy & Naradha Gana Sabha. Before talking much about the road, let me post about the person behind this road name.

Mowbray's Road is named after Mr. George Moubray who owned the city's first beautiful garden house "Moubray's Cupola" / "Moubray's Garden" on the banks of Adyar river in 1780s for an annual rent of Rs. 800/. 

Madras Club in the place of Moubray's Cupola.
Image Courtesy: Skyscrappercity.com

The house was a spacious colonial bungalow set in 105 acres of parkland and later became the Adyar Club in 1890 and now it has been taken over by Madras Club in April 1963. 

Moubray arrived in Madras in 1771 and was the first Accountant of Fort St. George, later became the Accountant General and a member of the first Board of Revenue in 1785.

The Moubray's Road, the long road leading from Royapet to Moubray's

Gardens (which is now Madras Club) was a cart-track in 1798. 

TTK Road (Mowbray's Road) - Earlier and Now

By 1816, it was a well-kept thoroughfare, avenued for the greater part of its length. And now it is renamed as Thiruvallur Thattai Krishnamachari Road (TTK Road). 

Landmarks in & around Mowbray's Road (TTK Road) :

• Music Academy
• Naradha Gana Sabha
• Focus Art Gallery
• Hotel Raj Park
• Spoonbill restaurant
• Park Sheraton / Adyar Gate Hotel
• New Town Cafe
• Univercell Head Office
• Chettiar Hall
• Ethiraj Marriage Hall
• Crossword book store
• Lifestyle and many more

Locate Yourself: 

Source: Google Maps

Source: Vestiges of Old Madras by Henry Davison Love, Under the fire star Blog, The Hindu, British Council website etc.,

Pulse Polio Immunisation Campaign 2014 - Phase 1

Pulse Polio Immunisation Campaign 2014 

Phase 1

If you are a parent of kid below age 5, Don't forget to immunize your child with Polio Drops tomorrow. The polio immunisation camp is scheduled for tomorrow (19th January'14) across the nation. 

As we all know, Polio is such a deadly disease. It can be prevented if we immunise ourself with the polio drops till the age of 5. Most of us are aware about this disease these days, but still hesitating to take the kids to the camp. Eventhough our country has proved to be a Polio-Free nation for the past 3 or 4 years, it is necessary to safeguard the kids. Better to be safe than sorry. It is just a matter of 15-20 minutes, do take your kid to the nearest camp and immunise them with the polio drops. 

Since we all know about the disease, I am not going to write about the disease and its severity. Instead I will be posting the excerpts of the GO issued by the TN Government regarding the Polio Immunisation Schedule.

• Immunisation booths will function from 7am to 5pm
• All children in the age group of 0-5 years should be given 2 drops of Polio vaccine in the first round (19-1-2014 Sunday) and again in the second round (23-2-2014 Sunday)
• Children immunized recently under Routine Immunization Schedule should also to be given Polio drops on the campaign days
• Children of Migrant labourers are also given polio drops on the campaign days.

As I told earlier, It is just a matter of about 15-20 minutes, and since the camp venues has been large in numbers, there won't be much crowd. So don't hesitate to take your kid to the nearest booth. 

Also requesting the readers who belongs to any FLAT ASSOCIATION to take a printout of this post or some other related post / newspaper article and paste it in the notice board. 

Do share this with your kits and kins. Join hands in making the healthy tomorrow. 

In a Nut-Shell : 

Date of Immunisation Camp
19th Jan’14 (Sunday) - 7 am to 5 pm

Age Group to be covered 
0-5 Years

Camps being held at
Nearest Corporation schools / Govt Hospitals / other Public Health Centers / Bus Stands / Airport / Railway Stations etc

Phase 2
23rd Feb’14 (Sunday)

With Cheers,
Deepak Raghuraman

Ration Card On-line Renewal - Procedures and Due Date

Ration Card On-line Renewal 

Procedures and Due Date

The households with the "Yellow" and "White" ration cards ("N" Ration Cards) should renew their cards as their existing validity has ended on 31st December 2013. The Ration cards issued by the TamilNadu Civil Supplies department will be of many types, but majority of them belongs to the below four categories: 

1. Green Card : All Commodities Card, which are issued to those who opts for all the commodities from the ration card. ie. Rice + other essential commodities.

2. White Card : Sugar Cards, are issued to those who opts for sugar instead of Rice as in Green Card. Ie. Sugar + Other essential commodities (No Rice).

3. White Card : No Commodity Cards, are issued to those who don't want any commodities from the Public Distribution System (PDS).

4. Yellow Card : Tatkal Card issued only for the address proof. 

For category 1 & 2, the renewal has been done at the same ration shop where they are procuring the commodities. An additional sheet has been annexed at the end of the ration card. 

There has been a problem for the cards pertaining to category 3 & 4, who are just using the card for the address proof. Since they are not purchasing any commodities from the ration shop, it is obvious that they are under no obligation to come to the ration shop. And many of them were unaware about the validity of their cards. It came into light only when the other officials / authorities rejects these cards as invalid when it has been submitted as address proof. 

Now it is the time for these 2 categories - White (No Commodities Card) & Yellow (Tatkal Cards) cardholders to renew their cards so as to use it as a valid address proof. It just a few minutes work, we can renew the cards online . The procedure is explained below: 

How to renew Online: 

1. Click here to go to the Online Renewal portal.

2. A window like this will open

3. Enter the card number and fill the necessary details.

4. Once we submit the form and our form got registered, Validity extension slip with letter "N" will be generated.

5. Take a print of this extension slip, sign it and paste it in the ration card. 

Last date for renewal : 

The cards should be renewed on or before 31st January 2014. 

Note : This on-line renewal is only for the category 3 & 4 mentioned above (White Card - No Commodities and Yellow Card - Tatkal Card) and not for the categories 1 & 2 (Commodities card). 

References: www.consumer.tn.gov.in

Since the due date is getting nearer, requesting all the White & Yellow Card Holders to renew their cards at the earliest. Share this with your friends so that they can also be aware.

Meet you all in my next post.

With Cheers,

Deepak Raghuraman

Chennai Tenants Information Form - Procedures & Deadline

Chennai Tenants Information Form 
Procedures & Deadline

In a move to create a database of tenants in Chennai, the Chennai Police has issued an order that every landlord in Chennai should submit the details of their tenants in the specified form to the police station of their jurisdiction. It can be submitted by person or through courier / post. 

The Chennai police commissioner has issued an order on 5th December 2013 in this regard. The main purpose of this order is to have a control over the anti-social and undesirable elements which occupies various residential premises in the City. It has also mentioned in the order that, all landlords / house owners / lessors under the jurisdiction of Greater Chennai shall furnish full particulars of their tenants in the prescribed form to the

Police Station in their jurisdiction. 

The order has been passed on 5th December 2013 and came into immediate effect. As enunciated in the order, It is mandatory for all the landlords / house owners / lessors of greater Chennai to submit these details in the prescribed form (The link for form has been given below) within 60 days from the date of passing the order. That is, we should submit the form on or before 3rd February 2014. 

Those landlords who lives at the other city / country than where their property is being let out can send the form by post / courier. The links to download the application forms are given below : 

1. Tenant Verification / Information Form in English - Click Here
2. Tenant Verification / Information Form in Tamil - Click Here 

For those who login by mobile and want to know the details needs to be furnished in this form : 

Details of Landlord : 
1. Name of the Landlord
2. Occupation Details
3. Residence Details 

Details of Tenant : 
1. Name
2. Father's Name
3. Mobile No
4. Present Address
5. Previous residential address
6. ID Proof Details (Passport / Driving License / Arms License / Ration Card / Voters ID / PAN card)
7. Date of occupation of the premises (Date from which the tenant occupies the house for rent)
8. Photograph of the Tenant

Signature of the Landlord

It may be noted that a seperate form needs to be filled & submitted for every tenant individually.

For those landlords who rent the property after 3rd Feb'13 (ie. after 60 days from passing the order) should submit this form within 15 days from the date in which the rental agreement is processed. Those who fail to submit the forms within the stipulated time will face legal action. 

In Crisp : 

What : Submission of Tenant Verification / Information Form 
Should be submitted by : Landlord (Details to be furnished by the Tenant)
To Whom : Police station of their jurisdiction
Mode : By person or through post / courier
Deadline : within 60 days from the date of passing the order (ie. on or before 3rd Feb'14)

To find the Police Station in your jurisdiction, Click Here

Conclusion :

The details to be furnished are simple and It would be better if we can submit the forms at the earliest. Even though there are some confusions and debates over this forms, it is better and safer to fill this form and submit. Request you all to share and spread the word about this to your neighbours as well. 

Disclaimer : 

The informations provided above were based on the details found through TN Police Website and you can have a look at the order issued by the commissioner in this regard by clicking here.

Thanks for reading, meet you all in my next post.

With Cheers,
Deepak Raghuraman

Up Above the Lights So High !!! - A Visit to Light House, Chennai

Up Above the Lights So High !!! 

A Visit to Light House, Chennai

It's 2:30 in the evening and my mobile started ringing to confirm about the meet-up planned at light house. Since it started raining, people doubted whether the plan is on. Thanks god that there is no change in the plan and not much rain too. 

We the Gang - Snap by Prasanna

It was a plan to visit the Light House at Marina Beach by few members of Chennai Bloggers Club. The date and time were fixed in advance so that there won't be any confusion and it was on 1st December, the Sunday @ 3 PM. Guruprasad Rao was the first one to reach and as usual I went there by a 15 minutes delay. One became two, two became three and finally we had 10 people joined together to have the Bird's eye view from the top of the light house. The gang consists of Me, Guruprasad Rao, Sunder Rajan, Subramaniam Thirunavukkarasu, Kaushik, Bragadheesh Prasanna, Shashi sir, Uma Shree mam with her Husband & Daughter. 

The "Q" - Snap by Guruprasad

It was a breezy evening and It all started with a Chukku kaapi ! Who says no to the Chukku Kaapi, that too on this wonderful climate. Then joined the long Que to have the Bird's eye view . The que was too long that it started from light house till Kamarajar statue. Doesn't matter, We started the photo session in the meantime while we are there in the que. Had some fun chats, discussions, samosas, kadalais etc., during the 20 minutes time which we spent on the que. 

Then enters the destination - The Light House. We must appreciate the efforts of the guards who works doubly hard to manage the crowd. The Light house is kept open for public between 10am and 1pm and 3pm to 5 pm. 

The Destination - Light House
Snap by Kaushik 

Ticket : 

Rs.10 per head for adult 

Rs.5 per head for children, 

Rs.25 for Camera,

Trianglar Stairs - My Snap

Rs.5 for museum.

The light house has 10 floors and we are given the option to use lift or stairs. Wiser to use stairs not just because it burns calories but because of the que which was there for using the lift. And we chose to go by stairs. It was beautifully constructed and the stairs gives a triangular view. Each and every floor has an emergency exit and are under the CCTV surveillance.  Those who come by lift can come till 9th floor and should use the stairs to reach the 10th floor. 

Bird's Eye View - My Click

Here comes the destination - the bird's eye view from the top of the light house. The breeze, the view, the nature makes us to stay there for a longer time. But we were not allowed to view beyond 10 minutes because of the crowd. Time for us to get down. Had even more discussions about the further meet up and the place has been finalised. Umashree mam has left for the day.

We at Beach

The climate was too good as it started drizzling and we the remaining bloggers have decided to go to the sea shore. Cool Breeze, Drizzle and a sea shore - What else is needed !!! Spent some time over there and glad to know more about Shashi sir and his book. He has asked us to contribute to his book "Blogging by Bloggers" and I would like to be a part of it , if time permits. I always love the rain, who won't ! Hence decided to reach home by walking in the rain with umbrella in hand. It took almost half an hour for me to reach home but I loved walking in the beach road during the rain.

Overall , it was a great evening spent with the Chennai Bloggers !! Hope to have such meet up often.

Group Snap by Prasanna

With Cheers,

Deepak Raghuraman

ABC Nee Vaasi ! - English is never a stumbling block for the rural kids....

ABC Nee Vaasi ! 

English is never a stumbling block stone for the rural kids....

There has been a stigma over the years that the rural kids can't learn English and it is an uphill task for the kids and people in village to interact in English.  Theoretically , many things has been told like English is not a difficult language, it is just another language etc.,. But when it comes to practical, only a few works towards what has been said theoretically. 

" It’s kind of fun to do the impossible " - Words of Walt Disney. How many of us see it as fun, is a million dollar question. There is always a risk involved in trying to do the thing which is impossible. But those who are ready to take the risk, can bring the change. 

I Went to an unusual event yesterday by the name "ABC Nee Vaasi" at Pitty Tyagaraya Hall, Chennai. As the name suggests, this is an event related to English by the Eureka primary school students from the "Vembakkam" village in Kanchipuram. I used the term "Unusual Event". Yeah, truly it's an unusual event for me or modestly I can tell, I have never came across any such event. This event showcased the students' abilities in English in all the verticals - Reading, Speaking, Analytical, Reasoning etc., It has been exhibited in the form of game shows and competitions. 

The games has been categorized and the questions are set based on the standards in which the students studies ranging from 1st standard to 5th standard. I personally amazed on seeing the performance of these kids. First thing was their stage presence. The children did't show any sort of stage fear at all. They are very much confident in what they do. In my opinion and my experience, the first step in learning English or any foreign language is to eliminate the fear of that language. These kids have handled it exceptionally well. They are very confident, even if they are wrong - they are not showing the hesitation. That too in front of 100+ audience. 

I must honestly admit that few of the questions have made me to think a long time to find the answer, but these kids have replied at a lightning speed. Even for some questions, I wondered that how the students of this age can answer , But yet again these children proved it. The confidence and the speed at which they are answering were really amazing. 

One thing which needs to be appreciated is, the school not just brought the students from that village, but also brought their parents. I am sure that their parents were proud of their kids and it is a kind of enlightenment which can make them think like we too can interact in English. As an audience, I observed the feel of the parents. Also for some questions, the parents started mumbling the answers... 

The teachers are playing the huge role in it and also the management. It is an uphill task but not an impossible one. They also had a book-stall at the event and I have gone through their materials. Only a stronger basement can bring the stronger building. As such, the materials are too good and provides the stronger basement. They have also shown the video of how they teach the students and also some volunteers have spoke about their teaching methodology. It is truly amazing and an eye-opener for all other schools even in the city !

The speech of Mrs.Vasanthi Devi, Mr. Balaji Sampath who are the backbones of these Eureka Schools have revealed that they want to be the MODEL school in all the ways. And this event has proved that it is going in a right direction. There is no media coverage, no publicity, no hype. But this event being an eye-opener, should be made known to the people and hence I am writing this post in my blog. I am eager to witness their next event and kudos to the entire team who is behind the success of this event "ABC Nee Vaasi". As I usually say in my posts, Be the change and make a difference, here is one change which can make a difference. 

You can get to know more about this school by visiting their website : http://www.eurekachild.org/

With Cheers,
Deepak Raghuraman

Apply for Voters ID Card Online

:: Apply for Voters ID Card Online ::

We all know the importance of Voters ID and its usage. But when it comes to applying for the new voters ID or making corrections / additions to the existing the cards, we are still hesitant to go to the booths  to get it done. Over the years, it has been like this. We need to go to the specified booths in our area, they will take our snap and verify the other details. But since we are little hesitant to go to the booths because of the crowds and other reasons, the officials have come up with the online mode. Yes, now we can apply for the Voters ID online. Either it is for fresh application or for the modifications in the existing cards like address change etc., we can do it online... I will post the step by step details on how to apply online below. 

Pre-Requisites : 

Before proceeding to the online form, we should keep the following things ready with us.

• For Fresh Application : Your Photograph (Less than 350 KB), 
• For Modifications : Your Voters ID Number (Which was at the top of the ID Card above your photo) and Your Photo if you want to change the existing photo in your ID card.

Step 1 : 

Click here to apply for voters ID online. A page like this will open.

Step 2 :

It shows four options .

1. Form 6 : For Inclusion of Name (Fresh Application)

2. Form 7 : For objection to inclusion of name (Deletion of Name)

3. Form 8 : For Corrections in the existing card (Modifications)

4. Form 8A: For transposition of entry in the electoral roll (For the transpositional errors made in the card earlier)

Select the appropriate form and proceed. Form 6 & 8 were popular since they are for fresh application & modifications respectively.

Step 3 : 

For Fresh Applications (Form 6) : 

• A window like above will open.
•  Fill in the necessary details.
•  I personally feel that the details in Tamil shouldn't be made mandatory since most of us don't know how to type the texts in Tamil. This site itself tells that they have provided for transliteration whereby we can type the text in English and it will transliterate into tamil, but unfortunately it is not working when I tried. Anyways, I found an alternative.
• Click here to go the transliteration site. 
• Type the Tamil text in English. For Eg: for ABC Street, Type as ABC Theru it will provide the output in Tamil font. Just copy it and paste it in the require field. 
• Upload your photo which should be less than 350 KB
• Then comes the tricky part, where we are asked to enter details about the ID of our family members (If they have one). We know the Name, the relationship and Photo Identity Number (Which is nothing but the Voters ID Number). But how to find the Part Number & Serial number ? Here is the solution. 

           How to find Part & Serial Number : 

          1.Click here  to get the details about the Voters ID of your family members.

          2.Enter the ID number in the box provided (ID number is at the top of your Voters ID Card)

          3.After entering the ID, we will get the complete details, and there we can find the Part &                Serial number. 

• Type that numbers in the respective fields in our application form. 
• Then click on Submit
• A mail will be sent to your mail ID which you provided in the application form with the link to confirm / modify / delete your application.

For Corrections in existing Voters ID (Form 8) : 

• Click on form 8 at the entrance page.
• Then type your ID number which was found at the top of your Voters ID card (Above your photo)
• Update the necessary details. If you want to update the new address, type the new address in the address part.
•  I personally feel that the details in Tamil shouldn't be made mandatory since most of us don't know how to type the texts in Tamil. This site itself tells that they have provided for transliteration whereby we can type the text in English and it will transliterate into tamil, but unfortunately it is not working when I tried. Anyways, I found an alternative.
•  Click here to go the transliteration site. 
• Type the Tamil text in English. For Eg: for ABC Street, Type as ABC Theru it will provide the output in Tamil font. Just copy it and paste it in the require field. 
• Photo should be uploaded ONLY IF you want to change your photo in the existing ID . Else, leave it blank.
• Then click on Submit
• A mail will be sent to your mail ID which you provided in the application form with the link to confirm / modify / delete your application.

Step 4 : 

• Once you received the mail, click on the confirmation link. Only after you click on that link, the data will be sent to the official database. 
• The officials will be coming to your doorstep to verify the correctness of the data provided in the application form. So please be ready with the necessary ID & Address proof to provide the authorities when they come to your house. 
• Thats it !!!!!!!!

Why this post ?? 

I just read this article in Deccan Chronicle and it is a good effort by the EC which has not reached the ears of many people. I must tell , its the good initiative and they have also trained few licensed internet cafe people to help the residents of their locality. A good move and it just takes few minutes to fill in the necessary details. 

Conclusion : 

It is the good initiative by the election commission and request you all to make a good use of it. No more "Q"s... Please spare few minutes to apply for the voters ID and be a responsible citizen. As like my previous posts on Aadhar card, not many people are aware about this.Request you all to please share and spread the awareness. For any doubts / clarifications, call 1950.

With Cheers,

Deepak Raghuraman