Are we living in an unsafe environment?  I would think so. Pollution levels in designated no smoking areas in Chennai are three times greater than in Kodungaiyur dumpyard and Manali industrial area, suggesting that the ban on smoking was ineffective, according to a survey. It said no smoking areas in various 'hospitality locations' like bars, cafes and theatres in the city were largely polluted by people who smoke.
The survey was conducted by Smokefree Chennai, city based Mary Anne Charity Trust and Rosewell Park Cancer Institute, New York. They conducted an air quality study by measuring particulate air pollution from second hand smoke in 30 different locations, mostly during business hours in the July to August 2009 period.
The highest pollution levels were observed in theatres (even greater than highest pollution levels noticed in bars), which were over 50 times higher than the safe threshold set by World Health Organisation (WHO), the study said.
As someone put it, Pollution is the forerunner of perdition.

The arrest of a senior journalist of a leading Tamil newspaper over a report about a prostitution case has sparked off friction between the local media and Kollywood, the Tamil cinema industry.  Some remarks made by film stars in their ‘protest’ meeting proved provocative and the journalist body has filed a complaint with the Chennai City police Commissioner against the film stars.
The entire bitterness could have been avoided had the Government been a bit discreet in dealing with the issue.  Police in plain clothes barging into the office of "Dinamalar" and "dragging away" the News Editor, without a search warrant or an arrest warrant and without revealing the purpose of his detention, is by any standard too much to stomach.
I will share one of my experiences with you. Long back, when Mr Senthamarai was the Commissioner of Chennai Police, I did a Nagarvalam programme on prostitution in the city for All India Radio. After I finished interviewing Mr Senthamarai, he told me to meet some of the women arrested the previous night. After interacting with them, when I took leave of them, one of them – obviously the chief among them handed over a sheet of paper containing their addresses with a request to mention them in the programme. She said, they invariably gave this information to the newspapers, some of which carried them!
Incidentally, in the protest meet, Rajini was heard saying that they are into prostitution only to make both ends meet, ‘for two meals a day’, to quote him. Does this mean that in Kalaignar’s rule people don’t get even two meals a day? And does Rajini mean that if someone indulges in such immoral acts for a livelihood, there is nothing wrong? I expected better sense from Rajini.
In the Press club, Mr Devanathan said that if  Rajini believes in what he says, let him use his influence with the State Government and make prostitution a profession so that no paper would write about it. Nakkeran Gopal said it is the films and film stars who are responsible for the erosion of our values.

"Were it left to me to decide whether we should have government without newspapers, or newspapers without government, I should not hesitate a moment to prefer the latter."
Thomas Jefferson, 1787.

Chinmayi, who won the Tamil Nadu Government award for the best female playback singer for music chart-buster 'Sahana' in Rajinikanth-starrer 'Shivaji' is not only a vocalist but wears several hats in varied fields. Multi-tasking seems to be the key word for this 24-year-old as she squeezes in time for her diverse interests--singing, dubbing, hosting TV shows and running her own company and, of late, learning to play the 'sarangi' (stringed musical instrument).    
It was a childhood dream of sorts to sing for A R Rahman and 'perhaps the Universe conspired to make it happen as it is said for all wishes that are fervent!
If you can't ride two horses at once, you shouldn't be in the circus.

Twenty specimens of Intangible Cultural Heritage of India have been nominated by the country this year for the first time to UNESCO for recognition.  These include the Kolam ritual of Tamil Nadu, where designs are drawn on the porches of houses.

It was Mark Twain who said, "India is the cradle of the human race, the birthplace of human speech, the mother of history, grandmother of legend, and great grand mother of tradition. Our most valuable and most instructive materials in the history of man are treasured up in India only."

We have courses and lessons for almost every subject under the sun. Madurai Kamaraj University (MKU) would offer P G Degree course in parent education from the coming academic year through its distance education programme in vernacular language.  MKU would be the first university in the country to introduce the course which would focus on various aspects that parents should know including legal issues that parents should know while sending their children to school, family transformation, relationships and child psychology.
Before I got married I had six theories about bringing up children; now I have six children, and no theories.  ~John Wilmot

There are agonies and agonies. Dejected over not getting a caste certificate for the last four years, a youth, who has converted to Hinduism from Christianity, recently appealed to the district Collector, Coimbatore for 'mercy killing,' or arrange for the certificate. Being the weekly grievances day, Prakash (30), a resident of Koundanpalayam submitted a memorandum to the Collector, P Umanath stating that he had converted to Hinduism four years ago and applied for the Hindu Adi Dravida community certificate.
However, the concerned department was not issuing the certificate, without which he could not even apply for a passport, Prakash alleged.
Prakash should understand that ‘Success is not built on success. It's built on failure. It's built on frustration. Sometimes it’s built on catastrophe.’

Recently read: I have always been among those who believed that the greatest freedom of speech was the greatest safety, because if a man is a fool the best thing to do is to encourage him to advertise the fact by speaking. Woodrow T. Wilson