Exclusive Interview with Sundance Winner Director
Nemmeli Desalination plant violates a number of environmental rules
Pg. 3
From the team Photo Courtesy: Milan George Jacob
In this issue of Life 360, Chennai, we have tried to capture the local sentiments attached to the beach- in and around the city. The beach is our favourite place in the city too and we have tried to make this experience better. So the next time you are at Elliot’s or Marina- you will remember to do more with your time there. Get involved in environmental drives, throw a Frisbee around, go check out the local gym or try
Life as it goes for a hawker at Elliot’s beach
a freshly fried fish- it is all there. And while you are relaxing, we recommend-reduce, reuse and recycle! Stay soaked,
Contents
Love, Life 360, Chennai team!
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The Arc
Collective efforts towards the horizon Fitness enthusiasts gain more than we predict
Photo Courtesy: Milan George Jacob
Feature What the beach means to people
The search is on...
The Intersection Interview with Bharat Mirle, winner of Best Short-film director at Sundance 2015
Pg. 6 Photo Courtesy: Deeksha Sarin
Pg. 3
Exclusive story
Photo Courtesy: Kennith Rosario
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The Arc
Photo Courtesy: Anand Jayaram
Photo Courtesy: Rahul Pandey
Inhuman Effects of the desalination plant
tone age, Iron age and Garbage'
There are fish that there local
that was the statement of a T-
fishermen catch but it’s not enough.
shirt I saw in a local store at the beach
Massive cleanups take place every
to focus the current problem at hand.
alternate weekend. But the cleaning in
It’s a message to wake us up from a
this sense means that the garbage is
slumber. It's not the lack of awarness
picked from a place- beatified- and the
that's the problem but
morning
Right: Heavy-weight lifting
Three years ago my brother brought me to this gym and asked me to channelize energy into machines. Since then I have been living a healthy and a peaceful life
Collective Efforts Towards the Horizon
Anand Jayaram
S
Left: Physical Training early in the
Rahul Pandey
T
his gym is a part of our life. We cannot afford to go to expensive gyms. Half of us are taxi drivers by profession.” Naryanan didn’t
contemplate much before saying all this. Within seconds he pondered his thoughts out. Beaches around the world have always been an ideal places for fitness
collected garbage is dumped
the lack of care
in place that becomes the
enthusiasts. Elliot’s beach provides them an extra option which other
and how little
new wasteland; the
beaches in Chennai do not. It has an open gymnasium. With minimal
we regard our public spaces; For example: our beach. Unless we
Keeping in view the fact that the parents lost their sons or daughters, who were undergoing
pay attention
Unfortunately, it’s hard to trace of its inception as no official is ready to
in.
talk about that.
We need a
For Mahesh this gym has been a turning point in his life. He recalls the
change, a changing
days when his anger caused him a lot of trouble. He says, “Three years
wave, a new
ago my brother brought me to this gym and asked me to channelize energy into machines. Since then I have been living a healthy and a
me who understand
doing, our Now there is the Swacchh Bharath
It belongs to the Chennai Corporation and has been there for decades.
fisher folk reside
lifestyle. It’s you and
to what we're environment is going to suffer.
infrastructure it is helpful for people like Narayanan.
same wasteland that
peaceful life.”
what is like to sit on Marnia
Narayanan, an employee in MRTS (Madras Rapid Transit System)
with garbage crowding our sight. We
believes that this gym has given many great things to all of them. They all
campaign started by the Prime
attitude and start with the easy-
have learned something from each other. He reiterates that they do not
Minister Narendra Modi in order to
recycle, reuse and reduce. Let’s do it,
need any trainer as they have trained themselves quite efficiently and can
bring about public awareness about
guys!
take care of each other.
garbage, it’s merely transferring it from one place to another. One such place is the Broken Bridge area in Beasant Nagar where the Cooum brings the garbage from resident areas to the place at hand.
Photo Courtesy: Anand Jayaram
need to develop a new consumer
Unfortunately, the Chennai Corporation doesn’t think much of the gym. They do not provide any monetary help for buying any of the gym gears. All its members contribute and buy whatever equipments they need. These fitness enthusiasts gain more than we predict. It wouldn’t be wrong to describe it as a collective effort towards the horizon which keeps them human and practical.
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Photo Courtesy: Facebook Page of 175 Grams
Intersection
Kids from around the slums of Elliot’s Beach throw frisbee every evening.
‘175 Grams’ Score At Sundance Tanvi Jadwani
Exclusive Interview with the Director of ‘175 Grams’, the movie that made waves at the 2015 Sundance Film Festival. He talks about his movie based on a team that plays Ultimate Frisbee at Elliot’s
B
harat Mirle and Aravind Iyer’s “175 Grams” was one of the five winners at 2015 Sundance award for Short Film Challenge program held in Utah
United States. The movie is about an Ultimate Frisbee team from
Q.How long did it take to shoot the entire film? A. *Laughs* It was actually a weekend project. We just came to Chennai without any camera man or an editor. I directed the
Chennai called Flywild who plays at the Elliot beach. The team members have managed to change their lives after getting associated with the sport. In an exclusive, Aravind talks to us about how his first debut, 175 Grams happened.
Q. How did you find out about Ultimate Frisbee? A. I am an Ultimate Frisbee player. I have played for
Aravind has done his MSc in Automobile engineering and is a theatre alumnus from City Academy, UK. He has performed theatre in both UK and India
the Bangalore Air Benders for two years. I love the game and have played a lot of tournaments. I started developing interest in the game first by watching Youtube videos after which I started playing in the neighbourhood. That is actually how I found out about the Flywild team, when I was at the Auroville Hat tournament in Puducherry last year.
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movie and the concept was mine, so we just went ahead with it. I had some camera knowledge; my friends Lokesh and Bharat had helped with direction and editing.
Q. Had you planned on making a movie for the Sundance specifically?
A. We were sure that the movie had to go to Sundance and knew that we could experiment. We shot the movie on a Canon 5D Mark 3.
Lokesh is a friend of mine who first told me about Sundance Festival; he is an active Kannada film actor. But the movie- making all happened at random. I had this story idea in my head and I knew I wanted to make a movie with a social message. Then we read about the Bill and Melinda foundation and though it fit our purpose perfectly.
Bharat Mirle (Front row Green Shirt) in a
selfie with team ‘175 Grams’
Q. Do you think your movie will inspire a global conversation?
Photo Courtesy: Benny Kuriakose
Photo Courtesy: Anand Jayaram
Photo Courtesy: Siddharth Hande
Music @ Spaces
Spaces Kalari Arena
Spaces: A Cultural History Anand Jayaram
B
esant Nagar beach fondly known as ‘Bessie’ is also known for SPACES- A place
where artists from all over the country perform and make arts. It was originally
A. Yes, I know that Ultimate already has a close knit
brought in by three artists famous in their respective fields. Chandralekha , late dancer
community. The film has delivered a very important
and choreographer , the late Dashrath Patel co founder of NID Ahmedabad and
message about how sports teach us to challenge ourselves
Photographer Sadanand Menon.
at every step. It builds the stamina to tackle problems on
The history of spaces can be traced back to the 1980’s when it was first set up, the arena was later made into an Arts academy in year 2000. Since Chandralekha was
and off the field.
Q. How did the Fly-Wild team feel about getting international recognition?
performing at the time so she needed a space to practice her ideas. There is also an arena present for Kalripayuttu classes and an arena that was built for the same as per the requirments of the martial art form. The hut was made undeground so as to cool the body and the architecture of the arena was done by Benny Kuriakose. Classes for
A. Oh, the team is over the moon.
the martial art started in 1999. The theatre space was called Mandala and after her
They have become popular over
death it was renovated and renamed Chandramandala. The Kalari space is called
night. This is the first time that Ultimate sport was used to pitch a social message. A lot of people are talking about it; they are getting calls from the
We play together from time to time. They recently came to Bangalore and we played together.
Chandramandapa. The mandapa is not only used for the art form , it also serves as training ground for other art forms such as Music, Yoga and Bharathanatyam that has around 50 students each irrespective of kalari that has 140 students. Programs for the Children and needy aren’t charged but if the person is a sponsor or backed by one it will be charged. They try their best to encourage experimental programs. Mr Menon who doesnt participate in the events, holds an annual event
Ultimate teams in Mexico,
where he invites artists from all over the country to spread culture art and dance from
Canada, and United states to
29-30th of December to commemorate the death anniversary of Chandralekha;
come and play there.
exposing Chennai to rich and cultural taste of India.Securing permanent recognition to
Q. Tell us about your future project?
three State run institutes in Bidar plagued by teacher shortage will be top the agenda for the Chief Minister Siddaramaiah when he arrives here on Thursday. While the Bidar Institute of Medical Sciences (BRIMS) has around 30 percent vacancy
A. There is actually a lot in the pipeline. Sundance has
for teachers, Vetenary college has 50 percent and College of horticulture has over 70%.
given a perfect start. Right now I am on a tight shooting
Earlier, turning down a plea of the engineering institute to modify or recall its order
schedule for a Kannada and a Tamil film, where I am
to pay an interim compensation of Rs.2.5 lakh to the families of each victim, the High
acting. This is why I could not even attend the Sundance
Court had directed the college management to refund the amount of tuition fee of the
festival. There is also another short-film lined up. My
students within two weeks.
intention always has been to pick something local; it adds
“Keeping in view the fact that the parents lost their sons or daughters, who were
so much flavour to movie making. My next project is
undergoing engineering course and were expected to be at least engineers, which is so
about the Yakshagana dance-drama performance from
painful and cannot be redressed by any relief, rather no substitute is available”, the
Karnataka, India.
bench had observed.
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Photo Courtesy: Deeksha Sarin
Business is brisk, said Venkat, draining a fresh batch of molaga bajjis from a deep wok of sizzling oil. He is one of the more than 1,000 food vendors who earn their livelihood on the Marina.
Photo Courtesy: Milan George Jacob
Kerela native Manivel
Photo Courtesy: Deeksha Sarin
“
Eating seafood at the beaches is a cheaper alternative to going to a restaurant or cooking at home
Deeksha Sarin
With their large variety and more than reasonable pricing, the seafood stalls on Marina and Elliot’s Beach can give any specialty restaurant a run for its money.
A
place where you can have eggs done your way- the sunny side up, spread
on the Marina, back in the 80s. “When I was dating my wife, we would often
over a dosa or as a bread-omelette slathered with green chutney. A place
drive down to the beach and eat ice cream from the pushcarts and munch on
where you get multitude varieties of crispy kelangas fishes, stir-fried shrimps, hot and puffy prawns, golden discs of onion and potato slices, roasted corn-on-
sundal,” he said. A place where you can have eggs made your way, that too sunny side up,
the-cob rubbed with lemon-chilli paste and diced raw mango dusted with red
spread over a dosa or as a bread-omelette slathered with green chutney. A place
chilli powder.
where you get myriad variety of fried and crispy kelangas fishes, stir-fried
Sounds like a beach, you say? Spot on! Marina it is!
shrimps, hot and puffy prawns, golden discs of onion and potato slices, roasted
Various stalls of food items including murukku, sundal, ice-cream and other South-Indian snacks are located
Photo Courtesy: Deeksha Sarin
in its vicinity to curb the
Business is brisk, said Venkat, draining a fresh batch of molaga
cravings of the foodies. Spicy, marinated and succulent fillets of seer fish, red snapper, sardine, anchovy, shrimps, crab and
Few years back, number of samples were collected from 536 food stalls on the Chennai beach for informal testing of shelf life, rusted covers on soft drinks, ‘carcinogenic’ cooking oil, use of colouring agents, and quality.
corn-on-the-cob rubbed with lemon-chilli paste and diced raw mango dusted with red chilli powder. Sounds like a beach, you say? Spot on! Marina it is! The Marina Beach, covered with glittering golden sand and a clear strip of blue sea, is among the most magnificent beaches in India. The reasonable prices add to the charm of eating fish fry to the sound of waves in the background. Various stalls of food items including murukku, sundal, ice-cream and other South-Indian snacks are located in its vicinity to curb the cravings of the
squid are some
foodies. Spicy, marinated and succulent fillets of seer fish, red snapper, sardine,
scrumptious
anchovy, shrimps, crab and squid are some scrumptious added delicacies on the
added delicacies on the list. Narayan, a banker in Oriental Bank of
list. They continue to cater to people from all walks of life. While weekends are for family outings and large-scale get-togethers, on weekday evenings, the beaches are the refuge of college students and young office-goers in pursuit of some privacy and romance.
Commerce has fond memories of evenings
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Full Circle An Escape to Paradise - Nettukuppam Last June, I planned to discover a new beach in Chennai. Google maps
sea level, stretching 50 meters along the shore and 100 meters into the sea.
attracted me to the northernmost tip of Chennai in Ennore—Nettuuppam. I
Where the Ennore creek opens into the Bay of Bengal, the warm creek stream tickles your cold feet. You feel caressed. The view of local fishermen
took a train to Chennai beach station, then a bus to reach Nettukuppam.
fishing in their catamarans amid the waves is picture-perfect. I felt emotionally
If you plan to ride or drive, don’t plug in headphones; else you’ll miss the
relaxed away from the urban hustle.
waves’ background score on the Ennore expressway. The rocky streaks break
The shore is a clean paradise, thanks to zero vendors and troublemakers.
beautifully into the sea along the road. Half a kilometer walk from the Nettukuppam bus stop through a
You own the moment and the sea. The destination has a magical capability to
fishermen’s hamlet unveils a whole new panorama. It stretches from the North
revitalize us for a busy routine.
Chennai Thermal Power Plant across a massive broken bridge standing right in the middle of the sea. I immediately took off my slippers.
So if you are looking forward to a quick escape to the Bay of Bengal, don’t get down at Light House or Chepauk station next time. Go further to Chennai
The Nettukuppam pier or the ‘broken bridge’ is a gigantic concrete skeleton
Beach station; it has a thread to tranquility.
Photo Courtesy: Gulshankumar Wankar
installed for a dredger. The abandoned pier stands at around 10 feet from the
The Search is on! Photo Courtesy: Sraddha Jandial
“For whatever we lose (like a you or a me)
Graphic Courtesy: Tanvi Advani
Shraddha Jandial Pema, a Bhutanese who has come to Chennai to study.
cream. But in India you see people all dressed
it’s always ourselves we find in the sea.”
up even on the beach,” said Lewis a PhD
― E.E. Cummings
student from Brighton, England.
We Chennaiyians hold a special place for our beaches. Let’s hear stories from people
“We come to the beach to relax, not feel uncomfortable. It is a known fact that people
who share our emotions about the city
in Chennai poke fun at foreigners who walk
beaches.
on the beaches in bikinis, we neither want to
“We come to the beach to relieve ourselves
do that nor think twice before coming here
of the stress from our routine. Work can get
with family,” said Sultan and Sarina, who
quite hectic sometimes, beach gives us the
often come to the beach to eat fish and enjoy
perfect retreat we need”, says newly-wed
the sea breeze. However, many local residents
Priya who visits Chennai’s Marina beach
think otherwise.
twice or thrice a month. “For us beach means swimming and ice
“Although I reside right next to the sea, I have not had any chance to look at the sea in peace. It is only when my distant family
“This is my first visit to a beach, and I came here with an intention to swim, but when I realized that beaches in Chennai are not the same as they portray in the movies, I put my shirt back on and started enjoying the breeze.”
comes down that they take me along. So beach for me has always been synonymous with business,” said Alameru who sells junk jewelry at Marina beach for past twenty years.
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“Things have changed with time, many educated people prefer to be in shorts and skirts when they come here. It is us who have been brought up in this way. So everybody is free to wear what they feel comfortable in.”
Durga Devi, Perambur
“My house in Brighton overlooks the sea, and it gives me a feeling of calm and quiet, but here, the noisy crowd and stalls add to the existing stress.”
Photo Courtesy: Gulshan Wankar
Lewis Spencer, U.K.
“I have not had any chance to look at the sea in peace. It is only when my distant family visit me that I go there. So beach for me has always been synonymous with business” Alameru, Jewellery
Front Cover Photo: Milan George Jacob Back Cover Graphics: Anand Jayaram
Courte sy: Rah ul Pand Photo Photo Courtesy: Shraddha Jandial
Photo Courtesy: Anand Jayaram
ey
Seller, Marina beach
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