When the Tamil Nadu Government declared a holiday on Sep. 15, I thought I would take a chance and see if the TNEB office is open to collect the bills as it was the last day for payment. (By the way, why do we keep it till the last date? I resolve to pay it early next month, but somehow it gets dragged till the last date every time!)
I had to make a trip to the EB office on Sep. 16. The counter at Besant Nagar opens at 8 am. So most office-goers stop by at 9 O' clock and make the payment. If you can be there around 8.30, you can be the first or second in the queue.
But on Sep. 16 at 8.15 am the counters were overflowing. Apartment watchmen and maids were seen holding bunch of electricity cards and each one took more than 15 minutes at the counter. I was getting late for a consultancy session and wished if there was an alternative mode!
But I could reach the counter at 9 am and paid my bill. On way back I saw a board getting ready - Payment will be accepted on Sep. 17 till 2.30 pm!
I do spend most of the time online. I had earlier checked out online bill payment facility - Bill Junction - when we were residing in Bombay till 2004.
I was wondering if TNEB itself would come out with an online payment facility!
Yes, my wishes came true. This facility was inaugurated by the Electricity Minister Arcot N. Veeraswami yesterdaty. Read here-
I am now waiting for the next month's electricity bill to pay it through www.tneb.in!
Thursday, September 18, 2008
Monday, September 15, 2008
Holiday for Anna Centenary in Tamil Nadu
Yes, it is a holiday today. A bonus holiday for the government employees.
Bankers too have a day off as it is a holiday under Negotiable Instruments Act.
Private institutions were also asked to declare a holiday considering "the importance of the day".
It was declared last evening and The Hindu's news update service put up the information at 7 pm yesterday.
The school kids whose exams are going on spent an hour's time (or more?) calling up their classmates and teachers to find out if it was really a holiday and how the day's exam was going to be rescheduled. When I saw the neighbour's kid walking around with the telephone handset calling up friends I told him to check up his school's website - he studies is a school which uses LCD panels instead of blackboards!
He did go to check up the website but could find nothing up there! He began his round of calling his friends from where he left 10 minutes ago!
I tried googling to help this boy out so that he could leave the phone out and get back to his books. I did not find even a single school in the city updating information on its website. Leave alone the day's announcement, the info on the websites were at least a month old in many cases.
But I came across a surprise.
A school in Salem had updated their website with all the information a student needs to know of the surprise holiday declared on a Sunday. Clear information of what happens to the day's Computer Science exams and what is up on Tuesday, after the holiday.
All this at the same time The Hindu published online - at 7.02pm!
The city schools do have an edge over the others in infrastructure, the technology, the resources and geeky teachers and students! But not the dedication and the dutifulness of a school outside the city. That's what I could think of!
Bankers too have a day off as it is a holiday under Negotiable Instruments Act.
Private institutions were also asked to declare a holiday considering "the importance of the day".
It was declared last evening and The Hindu's news update service put up the information at 7 pm yesterday.
The school kids whose exams are going on spent an hour's time (or more?) calling up their classmates and teachers to find out if it was really a holiday and how the day's exam was going to be rescheduled. When I saw the neighbour's kid walking around with the telephone handset calling up friends I told him to check up his school's website - he studies is a school which uses LCD panels instead of blackboards!
He did go to check up the website but could find nothing up there! He began his round of calling his friends from where he left 10 minutes ago!
I tried googling to help this boy out so that he could leave the phone out and get back to his books. I did not find even a single school in the city updating information on its website. Leave alone the day's announcement, the info on the websites were at least a month old in many cases.
But I came across a surprise.
A school in Salem had updated their website with all the information a student needs to know of the surprise holiday declared on a Sunday. Clear information of what happens to the day's Computer Science exams and what is up on Tuesday, after the holiday.
All this at the same time The Hindu published online - at 7.02pm!
The city schools do have an edge over the others in infrastructure, the technology, the resources and geeky teachers and students! But not the dedication and the dutifulness of a school outside the city. That's what I could think of!
Sunday, September 07, 2008
Young people and Chennai's heritage
I believe in passing on the rich culture, heritage and values of one generation to the next so that they are perpetually preserved. In any community or any country!
I felt glad that the Madras Day movement too believed in it , when I became part of it in early 2005.
Vincent D' Souza and I chalked out contests that would make the young people participate and worked on simple rules for the contests. Among the contests, one was on Chennai's heritage for the school kids which required them to make models of landmarks and they kids told the story on the spot to the visitors. This contest was part of the Madras Day events of the previous year, when the celebrations were first initiated by the trio - S. Muthiah, Vincent D' Souza and Sasi Nair and was supported by INTACH. (The quiz was another and is being continued from 2004.)
I observed that kids from far away schools were bringing the models, charts and other materials to assemble at the spot, by autorickshaws, cars and school vans. I thought the monitors and mouse would fascinate the kids as they fascinate even people like me and thought of making it a presentation on the computer by the next year.
But, we weren't very sure of the gizmos in 2006 and wanted to test it before we make the kids do the presentations. So we took another year to make it happen.
It was a pleasure to view the presentations on the LCD screen in 2007. Now the documents on CDs would live on forever, we thought!
For the second year, the multimedia presentation contest on Chennai heritage was held this year at Sastri Hall in Mylapore on Aug. 19.
Twenty teams from schools across the city - from Tiruvottiyur to Tiruvanmiyur participated in the contest. The school teams presented their work one after the other. All the other teams watched them with interest and curiosity. This is the power of visual medium!
By the end of the week, we received a report at YOCee's small office on the presentation contest from one of the participants. Read the report, straight from the horses mouth!
Another event was not a contest but an experience!
Two schools - P. S. Senior Secondary and Sri Sankara Vidyashramam from south Chennai travelled to the northern part of the city. On the Fun Bus (courtesy : Ashok Leyland) guided by Swahilya.
A young boy took down notes of all that they saw during their trip and mailed a report. Wonderfully neat and nice! Here's his report!
I am happy for two reasons - one is for being part of a movement which gives me hope that all is well at the hands of the youth and the other is that I could provide a platform for the reports by the kids on such events that would be documents forever.
I could be present and be part of the events in a very limited way this year though, due to personal reasons.
I felt glad that the Madras Day movement too believed in it , when I became part of it in early 2005.
Vincent D' Souza and I chalked out contests that would make the young people participate and worked on simple rules for the contests. Among the contests, one was on Chennai's heritage for the school kids which required them to make models of landmarks and they kids told the story on the spot to the visitors. This contest was part of the Madras Day events of the previous year, when the celebrations were first initiated by the trio - S. Muthiah, Vincent D' Souza and Sasi Nair and was supported by INTACH. (The quiz was another and is being continued from 2004.)
I observed that kids from far away schools were bringing the models, charts and other materials to assemble at the spot, by autorickshaws, cars and school vans. I thought the monitors and mouse would fascinate the kids as they fascinate even people like me and thought of making it a presentation on the computer by the next year.
But, we weren't very sure of the gizmos in 2006 and wanted to test it before we make the kids do the presentations. So we took another year to make it happen.
It was a pleasure to view the presentations on the LCD screen in 2007. Now the documents on CDs would live on forever, we thought!
For the second year, the multimedia presentation contest on Chennai heritage was held this year at Sastri Hall in Mylapore on Aug. 19.
Twenty teams from schools across the city - from Tiruvottiyur to Tiruvanmiyur participated in the contest. The school teams presented their work one after the other. All the other teams watched them with interest and curiosity. This is the power of visual medium!
By the end of the week, we received a report at YOCee's small office on the presentation contest from one of the participants. Read the report, straight from the horses mouth!
Another event was not a contest but an experience!
Two schools - P. S. Senior Secondary and Sri Sankara Vidyashramam from south Chennai travelled to the northern part of the city. On the Fun Bus (courtesy : Ashok Leyland) guided by Swahilya.
A young boy took down notes of all that they saw during their trip and mailed a report. Wonderfully neat and nice! Here's his report!
I am happy for two reasons - one is for being part of a movement which gives me hope that all is well at the hands of the youth and the other is that I could provide a platform for the reports by the kids on such events that would be documents forever.
I could be present and be part of the events in a very limited way this year though, due to personal reasons.
Friday, September 05, 2008
Four months and counting . . .
When I mentioned 'three months' to a friend last month, he smiled at me through the edge of his eyes! I smiled too sheepishly. But the truth is I am counting and will do so, not till the ninth month, but all through my life!
The first month after I took a break from my routine was really tough. I spent most of the time convincing myself of the rest I needed the most at that time. Over three months I am almost back to the routine. Yet, I hesitate to decide on resuming the old time table.
Many things kept me busy all these four months.
I could get the kids' website YOCee a database driven site and could link the bylines of the young authors to their brief profiles.
I could host the student reporter programme for the website just by sitting in front of my computer.
I could get another website up and running for a friend (two?)
But what really brought me back to near normalcy was the Madras Quizzes - the Tamil and the English quiz. Making the presentations / slides and organising the questions, rounds, scoring and playing the stills and videos brought my energy levels back to the original point.
Now, what next, ask my energies!
And am back to blogging!
The first month after I took a break from my routine was really tough. I spent most of the time convincing myself of the rest I needed the most at that time. Over three months I am almost back to the routine. Yet, I hesitate to decide on resuming the old time table.
Many things kept me busy all these four months.
I could get the kids' website YOCee a database driven site and could link the bylines of the young authors to their brief profiles.
I could host the student reporter programme for the website just by sitting in front of my computer.
I could get another website up and running for a friend (two?)
But what really brought me back to near normalcy was the Madras Quizzes - the Tamil and the English quiz. Making the presentations / slides and organising the questions, rounds, scoring and playing the stills and videos brought my energy levels back to the original point.
Now, what next, ask my energies!
And am back to blogging!
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