see the change “20’s CLUB” TOO DIRTY? Why youth Upcoming artists you just don’t enter politics can’t miss!
What’s WRONG with India? p14
Letter from the Editor: THE CREW: Yashaswani Sehrawat Vishnu Gopinath Anuragh Shaukat Moomal Rathore Mahesh Kongara Vrutika Shah Shaminder Kour Mansi Chouksey Shristhi Patra Nirupama Viswanath Sneha Dey Sreedevi Jeyaraj Shruti Mahajan Yuvraj Sakhare Krati Joshi
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We are the fast food generation. We’re defined by thirty minute deliveries, late nights spent drinking, coffee-driven mornings and a sense of easy detachment. These definitions let people classify and categorise the young as reckless and indifferent. What we see every day is an entirely different picture. Social media driven lifestyles void of meaning? The same boy who posted ten videos of himself on Facebook is the one banding together with other twentysomethings for a flood relief effort. The girl partying hard on Saturday night spends her days working for policy change and making paintings. We’re open to new ideas, experimental offshoots of intellect, exploring the fringes of thought, cynical and hopeful all at once. We’ve learned that we have an unquenchable thirst for knowledge and novel experience. Swami Chinmayananda once said that the youth aren’t useless, but simply used less. Lawyers, activists, musicians, volunteers, people..... Each and every one of them stands testimony to this. You and I don’t read about these everyday heroes. We work hard, play hard, drink hard and live every moment like it’s our last. We aren’t the first and we won’t be the last.
The 20’s Club Young, talented and brimming with energy, these 20-something artists are pushing the envelope and redefining the boundaries of art. Vishnu Ramprasad (20) Musician “There are plenty of wannabes and the industry is full of them…they think by mixing a traditional Indian song with electric guitar and drums creates fusion music…it requires a very serious approach – to create original fusion music… it’s not a joke to mix cultures…it’s music not a cacophony.” This is Vishnu Ramprasad; 20 and full of confidence he teaches music to other young students who are eager to learn how to sing. Surprising his parents-who are artists of traditional music- Vishnu took to Rock and Carnatic music and loves to explore the capabilities of his guitar; a guitar, custom built to make the movements of his hand effortless while playing. Vishnu has had major concerts since the past five years, starting in 2010 where he performed at a fund raiser by Prakriti for Tsunami victims to playing at Justice Rocks in 2015. Visit the website www.vishnurmusic.com to know more about him.
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Divya Rao (24) Painter/Lawyer Divya studied law from Symbiosis Pune and is currently working with HSP Partners at Teynampet. She has done some pop art series, sketching, and is currently working on a Beach series. Still new at the current art scene, Divya describes her style as mostly experimental. She loves to surf and enjoys various kinds of physical activities. Her maiden show based on her Beach series will be unveiled at Surf Turf in Kovalam on 21st February. You can see more of her work on her Instagram handle @the_happyrabbit
T3K Graffiti artists
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T3K or The Third Kind is a group of four- ‘A kill’ and Dibs 132, who are full time artists, and Epoch and Siken2 who are college students. Falling in love with the art for different reasons, the four of them came together as a crew in 2015, though individually almost all of them started spray painting by 2013. “For me it was watching a documentary on Discovery, and Akhil fell in love with the art at a spray can expo and for the boys its hip hop culture… and we all love hip hop”. The recent works of T3K can be found on various walls near Besant Nagar Beach. Though they have many projects line up in the near future in Chennai, they believe that people do not understand it anymore. Follow the group on their Facebook page, The Third Kind Graffiti Crew - T3K to know more about what they do.
I try to translate whatever I’m good at into something more commercial and lucrative.
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Chaaya Prabhat (22) Graphic designer She has interned with popular brands Chumbak and Fluid, an adagency based in Hong Kong. The young designer has also contributed to the Hitrecord’s Emmy win for Outstanding Creative Achievement in Interactive Media. Hitrecord is an open collaborative production company owned by Joseph Gordon Levitt. Chaaya also won the Savannah College of Arts and Design bookmark contest. She has designed several posters, book covers, a board game, and children’s book illustrations. She has studied Literature from Stella Maris and is currently pursuing her Masters in Hong Kong. She’s currently working on a picture book biography of Steve Irvin. You can check out her work at www.behance.net/Chaaya
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A GAME TOO DIRTY
The youth prefer not to involve themselves in the politics of the country. Mahesh Kongara & Vrutika Shah find out why
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wami Vivekananda says“I have faith in my country, and especially in the youth of my country. My hope is in you. With an immense amount of feeling and enthusiasm in the blood, will come heroes who will march from one corner of the earth to the other, preaching and teaching the eternal spiritual truths of our forefathers. And this is the great work before you.”
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With 356 million 10 to 24-year-olds, India has the world's largest youth population, a latest UN report said today. India has more than 50% of its population below the age of 25 and more than 65% below the age of 35. The youth is not interested in politics for various reasons.
Youth view Whoever crosses the age of 18 can choose their representative in parliamentary democracy through the franchise vote. Unfortunately, the youth below 35 who are the majority in population are far away from the politics. Most of the youngsters prefer refraining from the politics and are interested in other things like films and cricket. In Chennai, the urban and capital of Tamil Nadu, most of the youngsters are not interested in Politics. They may know some leaders but they don’t know anything about the latest government policies or latest developments.
Karthik S, 24. Karthik, a 24-year-old from Adyar, says, “Politics is a dirty game and I don’t want to get involved in it. That’s why I prefer not even voting. I would rather interest to know about new gadgets in the markets and about new movies than thinking of politics.” Opportunities for youth to engage in governance and be a part of political decision-making processes depend largely on the political, socioeconomic, and cultural context. And these opportunities
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are provided in our country. Every political party has its youth wing including the AIDMK, DMK, PMK, DMDK along with national parties BJP, Congress and Left parties. These wings seem to be to show up their presence not in active mode. There are exceptions to this of course, but in Chennai, the youth have showed no activities in political issues. Due to rapid corruption, the youth chose to vote NOTA or ‘None Of The Above’. This isn’t a problem solver, but none of the youngsters want to get down in the pit and try to be the change they wish to see. This is only characteristic to Chennai, as in other states like Maharashtra, the Shiv Sena party sees the youth participating in big numbers and young leaders like Aditya Thackrey have a prominent presence and influence.
“To express our anger on these age old and corruptible politicians, NOTA is the best weapon for us” Pawan Kumar, 31 Both formal and informal engagement can be understood as political participation, and both are beneficial for a vivid and resilient democracy and should be supported. There is strong evidence that the participation of young people in formal, institutional political processes is relatively low when compared to older
citizens across the globe. This challenges the representativeness of the political system and leads to the disenfranchisement of young people. “Even if we want to be actively involved in Politics, I can’t do anything other than be a part of some youth wing of a party, to even contest elections, you need an experience in politics of 10 to 15 years, no wonder all the leaders are older,” said a 23-year-old, Aditya Mahesh.
Aditya Mahesh,23. Being a politician is hard. You have the responsibility of a lot of people and they expect you to take care of them. Politics in India is all messed up, you end up making too many memories. I honestly can’t even think of a single political leader that I genuinely appreciate. So why would I want to put myself in a place where I’m never appreciated.” - Kinjal Shah, a marketing student. “Even if I want to be a good politician and do good things, I will be dragged down by all the bad people that are already there. What’s the point? Corruption flows deep into the veins of our country.” Said Nidhi Kamat, an advertising professional.
A STREET FOOD AFFAIR TO
Romance with the best street food in Chennai
North Indian Street Food
From Pani Puri to Aloo Tikki Sowcarpet has it all Sowcarpet is the right destination for the lovers of spicy and mouth watering North-Indian street food in Chennai. Exclusive restaurants-cum-street food outlets like Kakada RamPrasad and Novelty Tea House offers delicious Aloo Tikki, Pani Puri, Khaman Dhokla, Jalebis and Pav Bhaji.
Sowcarpet Coconut Poli
Hot Coconut poli served at Rajpal’s snack shop
Street Sea Food
An import from Maharashtra, Coconut Poli adds to the diverse street food available in Chennai. It consist of a refined flour roti , folded from the centre and filled with jaggery , coconut and cardamom. It is available at Rajpal’s snack shop, near Adyar bakery.
Adyar Variety of fried fish and shrimps available at Elliots Beach
The masala laden pan fried fish is a street delicacy native to Chennai beaches. Flavoured with a plethora of spices and coconut oil, Chennai’s sea food has a distinct identity of its own. Savour a plate full of fresh deep fried shrimps on your next visit to Elliots Beach.
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REMEMBER
Parrys Burmese Street Food
Vendors at Parrys (right) ;Atho (top left), which is served with masala eggs (bottom left) When Burmese migrants came to Chennai in post independence era, they brought along their rich street food. A number of street vendors at Jahangir Street in Parrys serve Atho, a burmese version of noodles. It is a mixture of thick noodles with shredded raw cabbage, which is served cold. Boiled eggs with fried onions and a very interesting hot banana stem soup are served as sides.
Elliots Beach
Mansi Chouksey
Politically active in the public sphere - Anirudh Belle
I speak, You speak, We speak When you speak with Anirudh Belle over the phone, you are immediately caught by his unwavering voice and stellar diction. He speaks clearly, enunciating each syllable emphasizing the importance of young people’s engagement in public affairs. His square cut glasses, closely cropped hair and an average frame do not give anything away unless you have heard his “My Dream for India” speech made at an event organized by U.S. Consulate General Chennai and You Speak India, a voluntary forum he co-founded in 2013. A Loyola College Economics graduate, at 23, Anirudh has apprenticed with Dr. Rajiv Gowda as ‘Political Action Intern’ in Bangalore in 2013. His role was to understand the voting pattern of his own generation. He was confounded to write a blog about his shock and dismay at abysmal number of young voters. “Many young people seldom vote. Even if they do, it’s al-
ways a result of their family’s inclinations and not because they are interested. They barely know anything about politics,” says Anirudh. Youspeakindia.org was born two years ago to raise political consciousness amongst the new generation. “A lot of my friends feel strongly about LGBTQ and feminism related issues but not many show any interest in politics,” he says. His ambition is only strengthened by the fact that he grew up listening to his grandmother and father talk about history, literature and politics. He intends to do his masters in law this summer and definitely sees a future in Indian politics. He asserts that his aim is not to be a ‘token’ young politician as the current landscape of Indian politics reflects. “I want to be in politics but not just a well read visionary; I want to be rooted in the reality of our youth,” he adds thoughtflly.
Shaminder Kour 9
BORN WITH A SILVER Phone As the baby boomers make way for the start-up generation, entrpreneurship has taken a creative turn. The team behind ‘Helpr’ talks about what makes an app click
Nirupama Viswanathan
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hat happens when a group of tech savvy young lads who are sick of their jobs sit together for a cup of coffee? A start-up, of course. But for the team behind Helpr, an app that has clocked more than 10,000 downloads in the Google Playstore since it was launched last year, it was mor than a happy accident. Vijayramkumar, co-founder, said that he and his friends and co-foundersVignesh Rengasamy and Rajesh Sankarappan had been observing the facility management space for over two years before they decided to take the plunge.
Helpr, the team said, is built to deliver hassle-free home services that include cleaning, pest control, electrical, plumbing and carpentry services- all with just a few clicks. With a team of over 22,000 employees to back them, Helpr has carved a niche in the facility management sector. Helpr is partnered with Avon FMS and serves in Chennai, Bangalore, Mysore and Coimbatore. Since finding the perfect handyman comes with a host of problems, the household services segment is teeming with apps that claim to help you find your way but the Helpr team said it breezes through
competition because their employees are recruited after a thorough background check. “Knowing that the men go through a thorough background verification makes it easier for them to let them inside their houses and trust them,” Vijayramkumar said. The team has worked with two other start-ups before they decided to start one of their own. “We were behind-the-scenes guys all these days. Now, it’s our turn at the helm,” said Vijayramkumar. Household facility management is one area where the’ uberization’ concept will not pass, the group
believes. They’ve also decided to work with a hybrid market model after carefully weighing the pros and cons of open and closed markets. “We’ve seen apps with an open market model fail in other countries and we couldn’t afford to have 20,000 employees on our payroll. So, we thought a hybrid model would work best for us,” said Vijayramkumar. And it did. Their customer base is expanding at a rate that their algorithms could not have foreseen.
App to look out for
SNAP SWIPE DRAWER Access your widgets without having to navigate to the browser
Tech Speak Uberize : Applying Uber’s business model to your start up B-to-B: Business to Business model which does not deal with the end user
B-to-C: When the company deals with the consumer directly
Exit Strategy: Would you bleed the company dry? Who would buy it and would you get your money back?
Vignesh,Vijayramkumar and Rajesh- co-founders of ‘Helpr’ app 10
UNITED FOR A CAUSE
In conversation with RJ Shyam, RJ Syed and RJ Sano- a peek into the united efforts of the youth during 2015 Chennai floods
Shristhi Patra
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RJ Shyam distributing food
We received a call from a mother desperate for help with her baby in deep knee water. Radio being the only medium up and about during the floods, we felt responsible.” All the RJ’s at Fever 91.9 pooled in money and they started with distributing 4000-5000 packets of hot food. They got a truck filled with milk packets from Karnataka.Information regarding distribution of food and other supplies was being intimated continuously by the Fever team on-air. Fever Chennai collaborated with NDTV and came up with lists of ‘people stranded’ and ‘people with resources’. “Our idea was to put them in touch for rescue. Help line numbers were constantly being flashed by NDTV. “Our posts were trending on Twitter with the #ndtvfeverfmchennai.” “Our focus was to keep updating whatever was being done by us and the other volunteers to maintain transparency.” It was also ensured that people who asked for help over whatsapp, were put in touch with the NGO’s closest to their area. He concluded by saying, “We as the youth of Chennai were being the mediators in bringing about our city back to normalcy.”
Relief efforts by Fever 91.9 FM
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To extend physical help during the floods came as a reflex to all of us. Being radio jockeys, we had the power to interact with the whole city, and we wanted to put that to good use.” From curating food to informing people about existing traffic conditions, they did it all in an organized fashion. A collaboration with Savera hotel, Mylapore, was established to gather food. It also acted as a drop point for important supplies. Fever 91.9 also collaborated with Namma-Chennai, in curating the list of stranded Chennaities in various locations. The gathered database was shared with NDTV and National Disaster Response Force for tracking stranded people in the worst affected areas. “We mainly targeted slums outside of Chennai as they were the worst affected being on low lying areas.” Food, sanitary napkins and baby supplies were made available to these areas. “one thing tat we constantly did was to ‘calm people down. Panic would have made the situation even worse.” “We were the middle men between the ones stuck and the ones that had the resources to provide relief.”
RJ Sano: Youth icon 2015
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I got several calls from people asking for help.”Limited communication and rumors about the Chembarambakkam lake overflowing, created a situation of panic.” With the little help provided by the Vadapalani Police station officials, on information regarding traffic and stranded citizens, Sano and her team could keep their listeners aware and updated. With limited communication available, the government or the police could not be contacted. Hence no help was received from them. “The disaster managment kicked in with supplies like biscuits and water to be circulated all around the city.” Considering most areas had sufficient supply of food, Fever Chennai focused on procuring supplies for mothers and babies. “Items including sanitary napkins, under wears and baby milk powder came in really handy.” For her efforts, RJ Sano was bestowed with the Youth Icon award, an initiative by the Take care India., an NGO. Asked about her message to the youth, she said “I would be the last person to provide any advice. The floods saw an overwhelming majority of youth volunteers. And they knew what they were doing.”
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The Madras Walkies Shruti Mahajan
Three trails that give you a taste of Madras... P.C Lonely Planet
The Turtle Walk Do your bit for the endangered Olive Ridley sea turtles by signing up for this walk. Organised by a Chennai based student group, it includes a night walk on the beach and rescuing turtle eggs. The 7 km walk, starting from Neelankarai and ending at Besant Nagar, happens every night from Jan till March. It’s unique to Chennai as these turtles migrate from far and wide to Chennai’s beaches during winter. This could be your BEST Chennai experience. To join the turtle walk, write to: The Students’ Sea Turtle Conservation Network at sstcnchennai@gmail.com
A hatchling at Elliots Beach.PC ashq.wordpress.com
Entrance of the Armenian Church located at Georgetown PC Chennai Past Forward
Kolam competition in Mylapore. PC Mygola.com
Heritage Walk Thinking of old buildings in Chennai? Think Georgetown. This walk takes you on a journey through one of the busiest and oldest areas of the city. Churches, bazaars, statues, Victorian buildings...you name it, Georgetown has it. The walk is a treat to your eyes and there’s a plethora of subjects to be photographed here. So don’t forget to take your cameras along and turn it into a photo-walk. Book a guided tour with ChennaiMagic or Chennai Past Forward or if you feel up to it, set forth alone and get a taste of Madras. To go on a guided walk with Chennai Past Forward, shoot a mail at walks@chennaipastforward.com or contact@chennaipastforward.com
Kapaleeshwar temple. PC Marskarthik.com
The Peacock Trail Don’t be misled by the name. The peacock trail organised by Story Trails, is a walk through the cultural hub of Chennai - Mylapore. A Brahmin dominated area, Mylapore boasts of being one of the oldest settlements in Madras. Take this guided tour and discover the stories behind the ancient custom sand rituals kept alive here. Why is it called the Peacock Trail then, you ask? Go on the trail to unravel the mystery.
Olive Ridley at Neelankarai. PC ezoneindia.co.in
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Ground of Armenian church PC Chennai Past Forward
Book your spot for this peacock trai in Mylapore, online on their site storytrails.in.
HAMMERING IN TRENDS We reviewed Toast Central, a new deal guide app that lets you try out new places in the city for chump charge. Sreedevi Jayarajan What is Toast? How would you like a pint of Kingfisher for 40 bucks? Impossible, you say? Well, with Toast, it might just be possible. This is a unique deal guide app started by 24 year old Viresh Reddy that lets you reverse bid on items and buy them for a pittance. The idea is to promote places – restaurants, fitness centres, gaming lounges and spas- in the city and Toast users get to experience them for dirt cheap prices.
How the app works? Based on your location, the app suggests places to try out. Scroll through deals and hammer down prices. Remember, you can only reduce the price of an item once a day. An item once bought, is off the list for the day. On making a purchase, you will receive a voucher in the “bought” section on your profile which you can redeem when you visit the place. Toast also leaves an initial balance ofRs100 in your account to get you started. Subsequent purchases will require you to recharge.
The app doubles as a game as you earnpoints every time you bid down prices. Every few points earned helps you move to the next level. A “leaderboard” keeps track of user activity and scores.
The look Get more details on a dealby tapping on the image in the listings page. You will seethree options on each image: a hammer, a share sign and a phone icon. Tap on the hammer and BOOM, the prices drop!Click on the share button to ask your friends to reduce your item’s price. The phone icon is, of course, self-explanatory. Once you reduce the price, the hammer changes to a “buy now” option. Click on it and pay in the next 15 minutes and the item is yours.
Garlic fries from That Madras Place for -Rs 30. PC Toast
Our Verdict Great concept, terrific deals.Could get chaotic if user activity rises
Cookie shake from Juice Pump for Rs 20. PC Toast
Toast central user interface
Leaderboard of Toast
Crispy chilly corn from Orange Wok at Rs 30. PC Toast.
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Corruption: Almost everyone was prompt to say that the biggest problem in India is corruption. R. Radha, a 2nd year B.Com student From Sathak college says, “From tehsil office to PMO every government office is full of corruption’’. The rate of corruption is raising high and high with the passage of time in India.
Casteism: Casteism leads the members of one caste to exploit the members of other caste for their own vested interest in the name of superiority or inferiority. Vivek Anand a student of Presidency College says, “I think, by encouraging inter-caste marriages, the feelings arising out of casteism can be minimized as these marriages bring two families of different castes closer to each other.”
Unemployment: In India 92% people are in unorganized sector, which makes difficult for government to give job opportunities to all of its citizen. T. Ashok from Madras Christian College says, “The problem of unemployment could be solved if we youths unite and start small scale industries where people could work for their welfare.”
Poverty: One-third of India's population lives below the poverty line and India is home to one-third of the world's poor people. S. Meenakumari, a student of Bharthi College Says, “ To reduce the poverty we have to accelerate human resource development for which we should invest in educational facilities such as schools to promote literacy, technical training institutes and vocational college.
WHAT’S WRONG WITH INDIA? With the largest youth population, India's problems remain unsolvable. Yuvraj Sakhare interacts with students to penetrate the issue
ILLUSTRATION BY SUGANDHA MUKHERJEE
“We shall not cease from exploration And the end of all our exploring Will be to arrive where we started And know the place for the first time� T. S. ELLIOT