ping

hah, id actually forgotten that i even had a blog. i’m in my final sem of engineering and ive been vacationing big time, so much so that i think i need a break from my vacation.

for all those who havent been following my twitter updates, ive had quite a few things happening around me lately. whenever i think i should write about it, something new pops up and me todo list only gets bigger. its about time i started pruning that list and finished off all my pending tasks. a whole bunch of emails and comments that need replying will be attacked first. incase i havent followed up your mail within the next 2 days, i’d appreciate a reminder since ive lost track of it all and more

Kickstarting the Chennai bus route mapping project

This is one thing thats been a long time coming and much needed for Chennai. The MTC may be good at increasing their fleet, but they dont seem to know 3 paisa about giving its users usable information or even trying to do so.

You cant always use a bus to make your trip, and knowing weather you can or not is what helps you decide. In the current scenario, not only is there no information about where the bus stops are located, but no one even knows what buses will stop there or what route the bus will take. Even today, the most reliable  guide is the conductor of your bus and nobody else.  Even after three years of religiously using the buses, i have to confirm if the bus goes to my destination with people on the bus before boarding.

The Chennai wikipedia academy and Jimbo Wales’ visit

Well what do you know, the founder of wikipedia – Jimbo Wales is in town to take part in India’s first wikipedia academy in Chennai on 12 Dec 2008. Kiruba is setting this up after the debut workshop last month.

The funny thing here is that nobody seems to know about this, which is quite strange considering this is on a level similar to a visit of a foreign head of state as far as the webworld is concerned. Maybe its the heightened security around, but it gives me the impression that Jimbo is being moved around the country in a sack so that nobody notices. If it wasnt for a little twitteavesdropping this whole thing would have gone right over my head. Any info on when and where this academy is going to be held is appreciated.

Free detailed Chennai Divisions map

And more map goodies that you cannot find anywhere else on the net. The one thing that i love about being a wikipedia contributor is the research and net digging you do for the topics you write on and subsequently the knowledge that you gain from the process. I’ve always been confused by the different agencies and units that i’ve come across for managing the city, so after a year of collecting data from various sources, i have finally managed to piece the puzzle together. This is an extension of my previous work with the chennai corporation map . If you have ever wondered how the city of Chennai was divided, here is the answer in one simple graphic, ok three.

Chennai District Civic, Administrative and Revenue divisions map

Its ok if you are confused, so is the government, and the government doesnt even have such a map to help them out Look closely and the 10 corporation zonal offices and the 5 taluk offices are also marked, but ive yet to verify the locations. Appreciate any help with that.

Im still cleaning up the list that goes with the numbered map, everything including sources should be up on wikipedia soon. Work licensed under CCbySA3

Living in troubled times

From the papers, its evident that world is facing a drought of good news. Now, thanks to some idiots who wanted to prove a point that didnt exist, the city is not as free as it once used to be. Its a shame that the one thing i love so much about living here is slowly disappearing. I can no longer walk around with my camera in hand without being looked at suspiciously or stopped. Who knows, maybe all this fear might make things safer, or it wont. But i do hope that the day will return when i can take a climb up the high court and enjoy the breathtaking view of Madras when im feeling bored at home.

Madras' most famous landmark. I still havent seen a complete photograph of it

One thing i have always wanted to do was take a full facade photograph of central station from the General Hospital across the road. This, along with many other things that i have wanted to do and have done, may never be possible again.

This photo was taken after a reluctant nod from an inspector outside Central, November 30th 2008.

Back..

after a much needed break to bangalore and trivandrum. I thought i’d resume my online activities once my exams are over, but thanks to the rains my last paper has been pushed back by another 20 days and so has my vacation.

Thank you rains, now if only you would wash Anna University away by a few kilometers east, there would be much rejoicing for a few hundred thousands students whose answer papers would be fed upon by the starved fish of the bay of bengal.

In the meantime, i’m finally going through the mails accumulated in my inbox and replying to those that need replying and bin-ning those from madam veronica and her gang of relatives from the ivory coast and neighbouring states. Im having a case of reply blues so expect me to take another couple of days till i get back to form.

And twitter has been the best thing that has happened in my life (right after parachute advansed coconut oil), now i have a wonderful way to stay occupied and unproductive at the same time. Bye bye boredom.

Suspended till Nov 28th

thanks to university exams. bleh
Catch my twitter updates on the right till then.

Diwali of gloom

People can call me an old granny, but i’m sick of it. The litter, the smoke, the sound, burn accidents. Is this what Diwali is all about? Firecrackers isnt part of tradition by any means, and its been doing more damage than good.

Chennai is right now one huge gas chamber with air filled with a nice mix of things your lungs arent particularly fond of.  People are going to suffer for their actions tonight and hopefully they will blame themselves and not nature for their breathing difficulties. Boycott the fireworks, you might as well donate that money to a charity and light up someones life instead.

Going public

You reach a point when you can no longer remain anonymous. What im going to do, will eventually change a lot of things for me. PlaneMad is Arun Ganesh. If you see it somewhere, let it ring a bell.

Chennai city corporation zone and ward map

Its just amazing the amount of gaping wide holes you find in the infromation that is made available to the public by our govt agencies. The lowest level of governance happens to be the civic agencies and the public is provided absolutely no information on how to approach them.

The city of Chennai is divided into 155 divisions or wards in 10 zones. All the civic works in an area is carried out from the ward office of the ward it falls in. In this office sits the councillor that you elected(or in most cases, you didnt bother to vote at all) who is supposed to listen to your grievances, the junior engineer who manages all the work and a host of other people who are paid tax money to walk along the corridors, drink tea and do nothing particularly productive. Why? because no one knows where the godamn office is! Why, people dont even know what division they belong to, the constituency, councillor, mla or even if they are within chennai city or not. Its really not a surprise that our cities are in the sad state that they are in, there just isnt anyone who tries to find out if the people who are supposed to be working for us even exists. And to top it all we groan about problems day in day out blaming the people in charge(but we dont know who they are or even bother to find out). I’m not really sure who’s to blame here.