Tag: பாஸ்கர்

Baskar Seshadri

It was early this morning close to seven am (January 14, 2021). I could see a young cute girl assisting her mother in the pottery painting near the luz corner.

She was bright and energetic to help her mother and she is Tejasvi. She was in full smile and was keen to do more painting all over the Pongal pots but was restricted by her mother fearing she may break by mistake.

She was in her innocence and do not even know what it is to dream about. Her mother was waiting for someone to pick up the pots but there were no big takers. They were sleeping on the pavements since yesterday night to do the sale on the eve of pongal.

Like many others Tejasvi is waiting for the school to open. She is to go to first standard. She should study well and not struggle like her parents and be on the pavement to eke the livelihood.

I wish to see them this evening to give few masks and little money. I am never able to come to terms in life with this inequality among people. In tears

Baskar Seshadri

Almost fifty years ago when I was a lad my father used to make me work on a fascinating equipment which I loved most for reasons unknown at that time. But the fascination for the same is still even today. That simple equipment is the portable coffee powder grinding machine which we had in our house.

My Father with his highest level of technical brilliance used to make something strange and innovative at the drop of the hat. This powder vending machine is normally fitted in a place and we used to rotate the handle to get the best of the powder.

Since I was too young I can apply a little force but my dad in his late forties used to apply such a force to get the powder perfectly ground and I used to get wonderstruck both at the machine and the man. I could never get the way he did it.

He used to get the coffee seeds well roasted in the shop and grind it little every week. For a while he loved chicory but later he dropped the idea and it was plain robusta.

Later he insisted that coffee seeds Plantation A and peaberry be mixed at equal proportion and be roasted to be grounded later in the house, but on the same day.

No fridge those days to preserve it safe in a cool place either.

Coffee is life line since sixties to us like in any other family of Madras.

Today when I chanced upon a bill of early eighties of Leo Coffee time rolled me back to those days of Old Mylapore. And the rate of a half kilogram of robusta was Rs 13.50 / from Leo. Today you can only get just a little chai for that. Much water had flown today under the bridge and I could see the same Leo and The Mada street but not my Father who passed away ten years ago.

A pain no pill can cure.

Seshadri Baskar

There has been some news on the RTO approval of the garbage van being run on battery. The manufacturer (REEP Motors) nowhere claims in any place in the website that it is to be approved by RTO. It’s a battery run rechargeable electric vehicle and since it can be run only at a maximum speed of 25 kmph the question of RTO approval is not needed. It can be used only for a maximum of eight hours if charged fully and Probably the battery designed one (a Mosfet based one) do run at no noise level (its less than 75 Db) and the carrying weight and running speed makes no big difference on the continuous operations for about six /Eight Hours.

The factory has its operations in Tamilnadu and has dealers too all over. It seems big bungalows and theme parks and large housing community has few of them for a short journey within the campus. In fact the vehicles that are being used in T Nagar Pondy bazaar area in smart city project may be the same it seems. And of course the license for the same is also not needed it is learnt. If the prices are brought down drastically it can be a best bet for fuel fired vehicles on the count of pollution/ Noiseless driving and of course for a safe and simple driving for a limited local drive.

Additionally they have a dialysis unit at PIMS. Tanker supports Kerala Kidney research foundation and totally it has eleven subsidized dialysis units in tamilnadu. They extend the best of their services to those who are in need of dialysis . Corporate Hospitals charge a sky high rate for the medical service but Tanker our chennai based NGO is extending such a support which we all should cherish for ever in life . That too at a subsidised rate for the benefit of the poor and needy. Am Glad that i am a small part of Tanker Foundation.

Seshadri Baskar

The Issue of the last mile connectivity between Velachery and St. Thomas Mount has been in the court for almost a Decade and many actions/meetings from the Government, Railways and the affected residents had never helped to see the light.

The court interfered and increased the compensations to those who were affected but it was rejected by the people that it was not at par with the realty value of today. In between few politicians entered the scene who had been too active and tried their hands to drag the matter but the court had made a final say now.

All the people concerned who were affected were given the compensation and the last beneficiary too received the payment as per the court order last week. Now the demolition work had started and the remaining portion of railing is to be started soon and based on the information i had received from a local it seems only a little length of Five Hundred metres work is pending to be completed which it seems may take a maximum of Six months.

Assuming the work goes on at a good pace probably by mid of next year we can have the rail connection to Adambakkam and St. Thomas Mount mid of next year. Ist a real boon to those who live in the belt of Nanganallur , Velachery, St Thomas Mount and Adambakkam. And for a Mylaporean reaching tambaram will be a bed of roses. One can take the train here and alight at Mount only to take the next train to tambaram parallel to the area where he detrains .

Congrats SR, We are waiting . .

Baskar Seshadri

Azhisoor (Azhagiya seyyur) Srinivasachariar is a erudite vaishnavite scholar residing in mandaveli and is a repute teacher practising for many decades. He was conferred Vaishnava Agama Ratna award. By Madras Sanskrit College a month back and was given given a purse for his contribution to the Sanskrit language. He is conducting the classes On Bhagavad Gita , Divya Prabandham and also conducts Kalakshepam regularly batch by batch in his office and house.

He served in Sri Vedantha Desikar Devasthanam (Srinivasa perumal Temple, Mylapore ) for more than twenty eight years and got retired in the year 2000. Today he is one among the authority of the rigid rituals of Agama Sastiram and on Temple consecration especially connected to Vaishnavite Tradition. He has authored several books in both Tamil and sanskrit and still active at the age of 92. My Pranams.

Prime minister who was on AIR on his Ma-ki-Bath spoke about this man and shared how he happy he was to come to know that Srinivasacharya who is 92 is active in doing his scholarly work. At the age of 85 He started learning computer and now types his works on system. He is highly acknowledged for his works on Gita and had authored good number of works.

Baskar Seshadri

St. Luke’s Church building on Mandaveli street junction may not be known to many Mylaporeans Its tucked at the end of Adam street and connect to Mandaveli street near the old Market area. It was an effort made by the renowned Wesleyan Mission long years ago and i have been seeing this building since my childhood days as that was my route to PS High school by walk way back in 1970’s .

The maintenance was extremely bad those days and many did not consider it even for a heritage value and only in early 2000. The building was modernised a bit without any big changes and the appearance of the old version looked like a haunted place before that

Strangely in that part of area there are few more buildings still now which looks even today like a Boot Bungalow. But the Managers here at Church managed to make it look better decades back.

However this place was never put into frequent usage even then. With the emergence of Covid 19 the opening of this place is something rare and you can always find it locked. This comes under the CSI ambit and few historians had wrote about this entity in local tabloids those days. Few Years ago if i remember right that place acted as a good samaritan shop under the head of Rev Sailas Gnanadass and it was MLA Sri Nataraj who presided the shop.

Keeping in mind the heritage value in its entirety it can be revisited by the concerned people to show the glory of the past. This coming January 14th 2021, This church is going to start its 107th Year of its existence. History is to be remembered not just in books but in the minds of the people more in the minds of locals who were part of such installations of those days. Few Photo Courtesy – V Sriram / DT Next. The cleaned tablets were shot by me and Posted here .

Baskar Seshadri

Many of us in Mylapore may well Know Rouf Basha a stamp paper vendor who has been in the trade for more than two decades.

He said when i met him few days back that it was never his idea to start a vending activity but somehow it happened and he feels like working with the same spirit which he had on the first day of his activity. He has his house in the same place where he sells the stamp papers.

As like others he too feels that the Covid had a big brake on the registrations of all kinds and strangely with lock down still in place with a bit of relaxation, the registrations are up for the past two weeks. That means he says “The real estate market had woken up ” Bhoy fondly being called by all is a cool man and he has answer for all the queries and can attend to the needs of the papers then and there.

Even by chance if he doesn’t have he will get it readied the day next and is always ready to meet what his customer needs.

His office is open from Nine in the morning and closes for the Lunch at 1. Again in the noon he vends between 3 pm to Eight in the Night.

He had experienced visitors knocking at the doors even at Eleven pm in the Night asking for stamp papers on some urgency for the registration the very next morning.

He has his shop at 17, Paripoorna Vinayagar koil street near Rayars cafe on Arundale street Mylapore. He can be reached at 044 – 24982427 and his Mobile is 98404 52821.

This energetic Rouf Basha is going to be 75 Next year. He also sells Non judicial stamp, Notarial stamp, Share stamp and Insurance stamp too. His office though a small one has all the best of protocol during this covid Times.