Auroville and the Adyar Poonga

I must admit I knew very little about the Adyar Poonga project, apart from seeing the beautifully painted murals on Greenways road. I noticed that these were similar to the ones at the ECR tollgate, and on further inquiry found that they were done by Auroville based artists. But what were they doing at such a busy junction? I asked around and was informed that they were part of the Adyar poonga project (and which planet had I been on?)

It is an ecological park being set up in a joint venture between the Tamil Nadu Road Development Corporation (TNRDC) and the Tamil Nadu Government - planned and executed by Auroville's Pitchandikulam Forest Consultants. There didn't seem to be much real information online, until I stumbled across this article on Auroville Today. Please take a few minutes to read it, as it is an interesting chronicle of the long journey from conception of the idea in the mid 1990's to actual work beginning on site in early 2008.

And although it is still a work in progress, the change is already very much apparent. Residents in the neighbouring apartments now open their windows to greenery, fresh air and the sound of birds - rather than keep them shut to keep out the stench, as they used to do just a few years ago. A reminder that positive change is possible - even here in Chennai.

Post Office Panache

I must admit that until last year, Chennai's Post Offices were buildings that didn't even register in my consciousness. They were all housed in unremarkable buildings and I hardly ever noticed them. However, the vast majority of people in this country do use their neighbourhood post office on a daily basis. Not just for post, but for a variety of other services as well.

So, while driving around in T Nagar some months ago, I was pleasantly surprised to see a lovely, gleaming white building with red accents on North Usman Road. And I was even more surprised when I realized that it was the local post office. I was bowled over by the simplicity of what they had done. It was the same old building that had always been there - they had simply painted it white and highlighted the edges of the sunshades in red. It looked neat and modern and very atttractive.

While I was impressed with one, I was completely blown away when I came across two more such 'metamorphosed' buildings. One in Adyar, the other in Alwarpet (picture above). Is it really possible that the postal department understands concepts like 'image' and 'branding' and 'presentation' ? Is it possible that they even care about such things? Well, it looks like they do! And it makes me more happy than I can say :)

I checked out their website as well, and though there's a lot of work to be done, it looks like they're genuinely trying to raise their standards. Kudos to them. Do you know of any other post offices that have received a makeover? I would love to hear about it - drop me a line at childofchennai@gmail.com or leave a comment on this post.

I like....countdown signals

True, there's probably no traffic light in Chennai that looks as good as the one in this picture. They're usually a sorry, weather beaten bunch, whose lights don't always work. But that's a story for another time. On Wednesdays, I'm trying to remain positive.

So - on the days that they do work, I find I'm rather fond of these countdown signals. Except for those inevitable few who try to zoom past in the last few seconds, I think it does create some calm and order among most people. Motorists are no longer revving their engines and blaring their horns while waiting for the lights to turn green.

But my most favourite bit about them is the fact that some of them tell you to "RELAX" when the lights turn red. With all the maddening traffic around me, it somehow always makes me smile :) There's some typical Chennai wisdom for you.