7 Films That Got an Oscars Boost

7 Films That Got an Oscars Boost From the Critics Awards — and 5 That Didn’t

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“Spotlight” emerges as the favorite among collective critics, who shut out Jennifer Lawrence‘s “Joy” entirely

“Spotlight,” “Mad Max: Fury Road” and “Anomalisa” are among the films that got a boost from the first wave of film critics awards, while “Joy,” “The Martian” and “The Hateful Eight” are among those that didn’t.

But that doesn’t mean that the first three films are home free, or that the last three are in trouble. Critics sometimes agree with guild and Oscar voters (“The Hurt Locker,” “12 Years a Slave”), but just as often they don’t: Last year at this point, remember, “Boyhood” was the big leader in critical plaudits. It ended up losing to “Birdman.”

Still, the critics can draw attention to overlooked performances, or push a film to the point at which conscientious voters know they need to pick up that screener. Here are a few films that were given a boost from the first round of critics awards (including the National Board of Review, which is not a critics organization), and a few that didn’t.

Also Read: 'Spotlight' Named Best Film by Los Angeles Film Critics

Films that got a boost

“Spotlight”
Tom McCarthy’s drama about the Boston Globe’s investigation into sexual abuse in the Catholic Church is by far the big winner in the early going, picking up three different critics’ awards on Sunday: LAFCA, Boston Society of Film Critics and New York Film Critics Online, as well as the Washington D.C. Area Film Critics on Monday. The trick is for the journalism movie to keep winning when the voters are no longer journalists; for now “Spotlight” is in the same position as, say, “The Social Network” and “Boyhood,” which dominated the critics’ awards but lost the top Oscar.

“Mad Max: Fury Road”
George Miller‘s adrenalized “Mad Max” reboot won over the critics in Cannes, and they haven’t forgotten. Not only did it surprisingly win the National Board of Review, but it took three awards from the L.A. Film Critics Association, including best director, and ended up as a runner-up to “Spotlight” in that group’s best-picture voting. That won’t be enough to make the Academy vote for it, but the film and its director are certainly in the conversation in a new way.

Also Read: 'Mad Max: Fury Road,' 'The Martian

“45 Years”
With Brie Larson, Saoirse Ronan, Jennifer Lawrence and Cate Blanchettseemingly likely to land Best Actress nominations, and the category facing potential disruption if Oscar voters decide that Alicia Vikander and Rooney Mara belong in lead rather than supporting, there’s not a lot of room for other challengers. But Charlotte Rampling has now won a couple of critics awards, which could put her on voters’ radar at a time when she’s competing for a spot against the likes of Carey Mulligan and Lily Tomlin.

“Anomalisa”
Sure, the Oscar animation race has been all but ceded to Pixar’s “Inside Out.” But critics have done a good job reminding voters that Charlie Kaufman‘s idiosyncratic and moving stop-motion film belongs in the conversation, both inside and outside the animation category.

“Amy”
In a crowded and even race for Best Documentary Feature, a couple of films have started to assert themselves. Joshua Oppenheimer‘s “The Look of Silence” was expected to do well, but Asif Kapadia’s “Amy” is neck and neck, entering an Oscar race that has a habit in recent years of going for the music-themed film.

The Weinstein Company

“Carol”
Todd Haynes‘ exquisite period drama needs the critics to keep reminding voters of its quality, because the film is too subtle to scream “watch me!” So far it’s a distant second to “Spotlight” in critics awards, but its four nods from the prestigious New York Film Critics Circle gave it a needed boost.

Also Read: 'Carol' Filmmakers Fight for Long-Overdue Awards Recognition

Paul Dano in Love & Mercy”

“Love & Mercy”
Bill Pohlad‘s adventurous biopic on Beach Boys mastermind Brian Wilson won raves, particularly for Paul Dano‘s performance as the ’60s-era Wilson. But Dano’s appearance as a best-actor winner in Boston and New York online voting was unexpected, particularly since he’s being campaigned as supporting.

Also: “Room” has done enough to stay in the conversation after a disappointing showing at the Gotham Awards and in Spirit Awards nominations; Michael Fassbender‘s best-actor win with the L.A. critics was a needed jolt for “Steve Jobs“; and Saoirse Ronan‘s lovely work in “Brooklyn” is showing up just often enough to reinforce that she and her film are real contenders.

Films that didn’t get a boost

“The Martian”
The problem with the critics’ embrace of “Mad Max” is that it suddenly thrusts another big, satisfying commercial movie into the awards picture, and puts forth another director who is skilled at crafting exciting entertainments but has yet to be recognized by the Academy (except for his animated film “Happy Feet”). “The Martian” and Ridley Scottsuddenly have a muscular competitor — and while their film fared pretty well with the National Board of Review, the critics have thrown their weight behind George Miller‘s movie instead.

20th Century Fox

“Joy”
David O. Russell‘s offbeat biopic starring Jennifer Lawrence was one of three films that didn’t screen until very late in the game, and he and Lawrence are such Academy favorites that the film’s road to Oscar glory doesn’t really need a bevy of critics’ prizes. But a shutout, particularly for Lawrence’s lead performance, was unexpected — and a tweet that revealed she didn’t get a single vote in the L.A. Film Critics balloting must have stung.

Also Read: Jennifer Lawrence, Bradley Cooper Unveil 'Joy' to Oscar Buzz

“The Revenant”
Another latecomer, Alejandro G. Inarritu’s grueling frontier tale also seemed likely to pop up somewhere on a list, but didn’t. As the reigning Best Picture and Best Director champ, Inarritu will no doubt get the benefit of the doubt from Oscar voters — but so far he’ll have to do so without the help of the critics.

“The Hateful Eight”
Quentin Tarantino‘s widescreen chamber western did get a mention from the National Board of Review, but none of the critics’ groups singled out the film, the third of the three late-breaking entries. The movie is a true ensemble piece featuring Samuel L. Jackson, Kurt Russell, Walton Goggins and Jennifer Jason Leigh, among others, but it’s likely doomed for SAG’s ensemble award because Weinstein didn’t send screeners to the nominating committee — so a little critical love would have helped.

“Star Wars: The Force Awakens”
The critics didn’t mention it because they haven’t seen it. And Disney doesn’t care. Who needs critics when you’re “Star Wars?”

Also: “Sicario” and “Beasts of No Nation” both could have used more love from the critics to push their candidacies. And while the brutal “Black Mass” was never going to be a real critics’ favorite, it’s something of a surprise that Johnny Depp‘s performance as Boston gangster Whitey Bulger was bypassed by the hometown boosters in the Boston Film Critics Society.

Indians are shifting from physical to financial assets

Indians are shifting from physical to financial assets, and why this bodes well for economy - 

The Economic Times
By Malini Goyal, ET Bureau | 6 Dec, 2015, 07.23AM ISTPost a Comment

Sanjay Jain, 46, thought he knew the real estate
sector well. Because that's what he had done most of his life. His family is in the construction business. They take up residential projects on contract. And, for the Delhi-based civil engineer, nuances of the construction economy came naturally. 

Understandably, that's where he invested all his savings. "I thought I had good knowledge of the sector," he says.

About six years back, nudged by his financial planner, he started experimenting with equity. Incidentally, just around that time the real estate sector had begun to hurt and Jain's bias for equity steadily rose. 

Today, he is a convert. From 95% of his savings in real estate in 2010, 60% is in equity. "Real estate has been doing badly. I also realise it is a very opaque and unregulated sector. The equity market in contrast is quite well regulated, thanks to Sebi (Securities and Exchange Board of India)," he says. This shift was not easy.
Initially, stock market volatility bothered him. Adverse news reports on companies would sway the stock market overnight and spoil his mood. "With real estate, you don't get such daily updates," he says. However, over time, he has got better at dealing with the swings. And now, even if the real estate sector bounces back to previous peaks, he's unlikely to return to it. "Equity is an important part of my portfolio," he says.

Realty, Gold Lose Shine

For India's over $2-trillion economy, such a shift is significant. The greed for gold in the world's largest market is abating. Real estate hungry Indians are doing a rethink. And what Jain in Delhi is experiencing is now beginning to show up in national data, too.

The household savings rate in India has been slowing down over the last few years. More significantly, the buckets in which Indians are salting away their hard earned money are changing. 

Breaking a three-year slide, savings in financial assets — bank deposits, stocks, insurance, mutual funds and pension funds — are rising. 

After peaking at 12% in 2009-10, financial savings as a percentage of India's gross national disposable income (GNDI) had dipped to a low of 7% in 2012-13. That trend has now reversed. 

RBI estimates that the savings in financial assets in 2014-15 moved up to 7.5%. And by all indications, the uptick continues in 2015-16 as well (see Household Savings in Financial Assets are Once Again Rising).

In contrast, savings in physical assets (like real estate and gold), an old favourite among Indians, are down. From a high of 14.8% in 2011-12 it came down to 10.4% in 2013-14 (the latest period for which government data is available). 

Even gold demand has been ebbing — from a high of 1,006 tonnes in 2010, it came down to 842.7 tonnes in 2014, according to data from the World Gold Council. Gold as an investment class is losing shine too. Between January and September 2015, demand for gold as an investment dipped by 10% vis-a-vis the previous year — from 150 tonnes in 2014 to 134.4 tonnes in 2015.

While in numbers the savings shift from physical assets to financial assets may look marginal, there are many reasons why analysts, the government and economists are giving the trend a warm welcome. 

"This is a significant shift," says Rashesh Shah, chairman, Edelweiss Group, a financial services conglomerate. Instead of putting money in relatively idle physical assets (land and gold), Indians are now opening up to putting their money in more productive financial assets.




Availability of domestic capital will reduce Indian economy's dependence on foreign capital. "It will contain the impact and volatility that money from foreign institutional investors brings in," Shah adds. 

Experts see this as just the start of a longterm shift. "We expect this shift (from physical to financial assets) to gain momentum," says Mahesh Nandurkar, executive director, CLSA, a brokerage and investment group. There are both cyclical and structural reasons why Nandurkar says so. But more on that later. First, here's why the growth of financial savings is so critical for the Indian economy. 

More Than Just Savings
The Economic Survey this year talked about the structural problems in the Indian banking system. It worried about how high inflation since 2007 had led to negative real interest rates, resulting in sharp reduction in household savings. 

Historically, the Indian economy has leaned heavily on household savings for gross capital formation or, simply put, investment. Household savings have two components — financial and physical. While savings in physical assets are relatively less efficient and not easily available to the banking system, financial savings are more productive and critical for the economy. Hence, a reversal in household financial saving trends is a welcome progression for the Indian economy.

To be sure, domestic savings play a critical role in catalysing growth in developing economies. "Most Asian Tigers have grown their economy on the back of domestic savings," says Abheek Barua, chief economist, HDFC Bank. China, a big saver, has always had a current account surplus.

The importance of foreign capital in boosting growth in pre-industrial economies was examined in detail in a 2006 research paper done by Raghuram Rajan,(now governor of the RBI), Eswar Prasad (a professor at Cornell University and senior fellow at the Brookings Institution) and Arvind Subramanian (India's chief economic adviser).

The conclusion was that developing economies (such as China, Korea and Malaysia) that relied less on foreign capital — and more on domestic capital — have grown faster in the long run. 

And that excessive reliance on foreign capital may also have harmful consequences for the economy, it highlighted. "We know that economic growth fuelled by domestic savings is more efficient, less volatile and more durable," says Barua. 

And it is for these reasons that the relative shift of household savings towards financial assets is being cheered all round. There are two important reasons why this trend will likely gain momentum in future. One is cyclical and the other is structural. Let's look at the cyclical factors first.

Welcome, Low Inflation
Over the last two years, some critical macroeconomic shifts — thanks to some deliberate steps by the government and the RBI — have helped. 

Amid high inflation, the average real rate of return on deposits has been on a downward spiral — often negative — since 2007 till about early 2013 (see India's Economic Environment has Changed). 

"In a high inflation climate it makes sense for people to invest in physical assets that give better returns. Low inflation has reversed that," says DK Joshi, chief economist at ratings and risk firm Crisil. 

Unsurprisingly, taming inflation has been one of the most important agendas for RBI governor Rajan. Today, the real rate of returns has bounced back to around 3.56%.

The divide in the urban-rural economies may have, at least in part, contributed to the shift towards financial assets. The rural economy has a natural bias for physical assets whereas it is the urban economy that mostly contributes to whatever financial savings Indian households make. "Remember, the past boom in physical assets like real estate and gold also coincided with the boom in the rural economy," says Barua. Now, the trend has reversed. The rural economy is under stress reeling under bad monsoon and droughts.

Relatively, the urban economy is faring well with even car sales looking good. "This impacts financial savings positively," says Barua. 

Almost simultaneously, real estate and gold — Indians' favourite asset classes — have been hurting and giving poor returns. 

Somasundaram PR, managing director (India), World Gold Council, says today India has over 22,000 tonnes of gold in household savings, which would be worth over Rs 60 lakh crore. Gold prices have been on an upward spiral since 2002 when they were hovering around Rs 4,836 per 10 gm.

Prices peaked in 2012 at Rs 28,639 before beginning to decline (see ...As Physical Assets like Real Estate and Gold Begin Losing their Shine), indicating demand is on the wane. 

"In the next five years, gold cannot give the kind of returns it gave in the last 10 years," says Ajay Srinivasan, director, industry research, Crisil. If gold is losing lustre, the state of India's real estate sector is worse.

Financial planners across cities are reporting that their clients do not want to make any more investments in property. Delhi-based Rajiv Bajaj of Bajaj Capital and Bengaluru-based Lovaii Navlakhi, founder and managing director of International Money Matters, say their clients are shifting focus to the stock market. 

Mumbai-based financial planner Sujata Kabraji adds that, for a long time, her clients after buying a home would save money to buy a second house as an investment.

Over the last 20 months, many have sold off their second property and put the sales proceeds in the financial market. "They realised that it is not as profitable as they imagined. And the hassle of maintaining a second home is too much," Kabraji says. 

That may explain why the all India Index (residential) of real estate consultancy Jones Lang Lasalle, which stood at 100 in 2008, had moved marginally to 131 by September 2015. "Prices are rising very gently. We expect just a single-digit price rise per annum for the next few years in the residential sector," says Ashutosh Limaye, head (research), Jones Lang Lasalle.

The real estate sector today can no longer absorb black money the way it once used to, says Anirudha Taparia, managing partner, IIFL Private Wealth. 

In many cities such as Delhi, Noida and Gurgaon, governments have raised circle rates (the minimum value at which the sale or transfer of a property can take place).

So much so that in some pockets like Delhi's Defence Colony and Vasant Vihar, market rates today are lower than the circle rates. 

And in others, even if market rate is higher, the gap has substantially narrowed. Three years back, the circle rate for residential plots in Noida sector 105 was Rs 35,000 per sq metre and the market rate hovered around Rs 1,10,000. Today, the circle rate has gone up to Rs 55,000 per sq metre even as the market rate has slipped to around Rs 80,000 per sq metre, says Arjun Kumar of Indus Global Space Solutions, a real estate advisory firm.

The government initiatives around financial inclusion, digital transactions and curbing the cash economy too should channel lot more money into the financial sector. 

India is among the most cash-intensive economies in the world with a cash-to-GDP ratio of 12%, almost four times that of countries such as Brazil and Mexico. 

The government is pushing for a cashless economy. It just announced that under the Digital India campaign, 90% of the financial payments received by the government will be digitised. 

It wants to offer a range of tax concessions to reduce the cost of credit debit cards and online payments. Financial inclusion too will play a role. 

RBI has allowed 11 companies to open payment banks. 

According to a recent report by PricewaterhouseCoopers, thanks to the Jan-Dhan Yojana, India's unbanked population more than halved from 557 million in 2011 to 233 million in 2015. 

True, 36% of the 192 million accounts under the Jan-Dhan Yojana have zero balance and may not be transacting but it can only get better as government perseveres with initiatives like direct account transfer of subsidies. The much-anticipated goods and service tax, too, will help curb tax avoidance and generation of black money. Similarly, the noose is tightening around bigticket cash purchases.

These are critical steps that will boost financial savings in India. But there are some deeper structural changes too that will reshape the way Indians save and invest. India's liberalisation children have been entering the workforce. Over the long term, expect them to bring new ideas about saving and making money.

Structural Shift

Ravi Malik, 54, a doctor by profession, always earned well and saved well and invested mostly in land parcels. "We were passive investors, happy just flipping when price appreciated," he says. 

His son Ritesh Malik, 26, also a doctor by training, thinks differently. "He is not interested in metals (gold) or land and is not happy flipping. He constantly talks about value addition," says the father. 

So on the land parcels in Delhi that the Malik senior bought, the son has built boutique hotels and coaching institutes that generate cash and help appreciate the land value much faster. "They were passive investors. We are more active," says Malik junior who left his medical practice to focus on his startups. "As an investment option, I find real estate very opaque.

There are issues around black and white money. I don't want to deal with all that hassle," he says. 

Besides his own startups, he has invested in a small portfolio of early-stage ventures. He also invests in stock markets, though not much in mutual funds which he finds unattractive. 

He enjoys researching and betting on smaller, undervalued stocks trading in single digits (penny stocks) and exiting when they have appreciated.

Not too far away in Noida, ADA Ratnam, a senior executive in an MNC, and his son Karan Ratnam, 20, are also trying out different things. 

In 2012, when Karan was in class X, Ratnam senior opened a separate account, transferred Rs 5 lakh into it and let his son get a few early and first-hand lessons in making money. 

"My deal with him was — here is Rs 5 lakh. The gains and losses are all yours. Go learn," he recalls. He thought instead of spending time playing those virtual games, which teenagers typically do, his son would be better off playing the real game of investing.

Four years on, and many wins and losses later, Karan has become a pro of sorts in equities. The corpus has grown to Rs 8.5 lakh. 

"That's not bad. I know Karan by now has learnt well how to invest and make money," he says. They will be helped by people like Sudhakar Ramasubramanian, chief executive (wealth & online business), Aditya Birla Customer Services. 

He launched a one-stop portal MyUniverse in 2012 where people can track their portfolio and invest for a small fee of Rs 500. The firm has got 2 million registered users who are not as financially savvy as they are digitally, most of them in the 25-40 age bracket. 

About eight months back, he launched a mutual fund platform called Zip-Sip where it takes just two minutes to create a portfolio and invest.

"We wanted to do what etailers have done to shopping. Make it so simple," he says. The initiative has got a good response. 

ZipSip is doing 8,000-9,000 systematic investment plans (SIPs) every month, becoming the eighth largest SIP seller. With initiatives like this, expect more of the likes of Karan and Ritesh to tread a similar path.

Chennai Floods-Man-made disaster

Man-made disaster: Look how Chennai built its way to floods
INDIATODAY.IN | New Delhi, December 2, 2015 | 20:31







See how Chennai has changed over the years



If there are trees, plants and open areas around, rain water will be absorbed by the Earth, but if we continue to build concrete jungles, flooding should not surprise you. Chennai floods is not a natural disaster, it is solely man-made!


Chennai claimed to be Monsoon ready even before it set in. The Corporation of Chennai ensured more than 6,200 metric tonnes of silt from the 1,860 km-long water drain network was removed. But all the apparent efforts by the corporation seems to have been flooded with the city being in a state of disaster. The problem not only lies with the inefficiency of the civic body but also the unplanned and improper development of the city.

Chennai's original terrain consists of many lakes and marshes which now is covered with innumerous buildings. Over 5,550 hectares of wetlands in the IT Corridor of Velachery, Pallikaranai and Old Mahabalipuram Road (OMR) have been developed into commercial real-estate because of which the rain water has nowhere to go and thus, settles instead on the road. There are areas in Chennai which are flooded even during normal Monsoon season.

The capital city of Tamil Nadu is going through inevitable growth and the situation will remain the same. The only way to stop the flooding is to cut on the construction process which has made Chennai populated and which acts as a hindrance to settling down of water. A cautionary plan that goes well with the original geography of the city needs to implemented by the state government when the officially recognized 'disaster zone' is to saved from the doom.

What resulted in the Chennai floods?

1. Filling up lowlands without proper planning, little space for stormwater to drain and heavy encroachment of the river banks was one major reason for Chennai floods.
2. Illegal constructions, mostly multistorey apartments and huge industries, played the next big part in making way to the floods.
3. Over 300 water bodies disappeared due to this.

Let us take a look at how different was Chennai in 2000s from the present 'highly developed' (read unplanned) Chennai:

Let us take a look at how different was Chennai in 2000s from the present 'highly developed' (read unplanned) Chennai:

Let us take a look at how different was Chennai in 2000s from the present 'highly developed' (read unplanned) Chennai:

(Slide the divider to move between years 2000 and 2015.)

Adyar

Chennai International Airport

Anna Nagar

Madippakam

Pallavaram

Porur

Perumbakkam

http://indiatoday.intoday.in/story/chennai-floods-man-made-disaster-building-construction/1/537094.html


Making of a disaster: 

Satellite images show how Chennai's new urban jungles caused flooding
Once the water recedes, encroachments by the poor will be targeted and the elite ones tolerated and even encouraged.
Nityanand Jayaraman| Sunday, December 6, 2015 - 09:23






India is a country with a rich tradition of rituals. Even post-mortem discussions about lessons learnt from a disaster are reduced to a mere ritual. Every December since 2004, I write articles about the tsunami and the lessons taught by that giant wave. Then there is the Bhopal disaster season of December, the Fukushima nuclear disaster season in March. But with natural disasters becoming so commonplace, we don't but could observe several other seasons.

These include heat wave season between May-June, Odisha cyclone season after July, the southwest monsoon-flooding season between July and September. We could also observe the northeast monsoon-flooding season between November and December, and the Andhra, Nagapattinam or Cuddalore cyclone season between October and December.

In January, when dry weather returns, the floods will be a distant memory. When rains render people homeless, kind-hearted people jump to aid them, house them and care for them. When the Corporation of Chennai renders them homeless by evicting them to beautify the Cooum, we either sit by and watch, or worse, laud the efforts as a necessary move to clear waterways and water bodies.

We can be sure that, once the water recedes and the resolute survivors of this tragedy begin to rebuild their lives, the Government of Tamil Nadu will use the floods as a justification for the forcible but selective eviction of encroachments. Encroachments by the poor will be targeted, and elite encroachments tolerated and even encouraged.

The word "Encroachment" is often only seen in its legal sense -- on whether the structure has legal sanction or not. Nature does not look at encroachments in this minimalist manner. A perfectly legal building with all the necessary papers can still be an encroachment if it is located in an environmentally sensitive area. The MRTS train line, running through the Buckingham Canal is an encroachment. The Madurai High Court premises located inside a water body is an encroachment. Below is a selection of encroachments in water bodies, or on watercourses. Many of the below places were badly affected during this years floods.
1. Indian Maritime University, Uthandi:



(The area in 2002)

Indian Maritime University is an engineering university that is coming up in a flat sandy area, which is part of a floodplain on the western side of the Buckingham Canal and Kovalam Creek at Uthandi. The area is entirely paved. Where sand has a great capacity to absorb rainwater and reduce run-off, paved surfaces will exacerbate flooding through increased run-off. The college is not yet fully open. But when it does open, and when the next unprecedented rains visit us in the not too distant future, students can thank the management, not Ramanan, for the rain holidays.



(The area in 2015)

2. Chembarambakkam:





(The area in 2002)

This lake has been unfairly blamed for causing people harm this monsoon. Indeed, automakers and IT companies have found fault with "namma chennai" and complained that the flooding shows the city in poor light. This is ironical, since it is these companies and the infrastructure that they have demanded that has hurt so many Chennaiites.

In Chembarambakkam, as in Oragadam, auto manufacturers and their suppliers have populated hydrologically sensitive catchment areas with their factories. The road to a watery hell, they say, is paved. Hyundai Motors operates a factory near Chembarambakkam lake.



(The area in 2015)

3. Oragadam:




(The area in 2006)

Renault Nissan, Daimler Benz and Ford operate auto factories on lands that were once water bodies, paddy lands and forests. All automakers have suspended production at their plants until further notice.



(The area in 2014)

4. Kovalam Creek:





(The area in 2002)

Resort tourism and high-end farmhouses have come up along the creek compromising the ability of the creek to mitigate flooding.


(The area in 2015)

5. Okkiyam Thuraipakkam:





(The area in 2002)

The Okkiyam Maduvu is a narrow chicken's neck watercourse that facilitates tidal exchange in the mighty Pallikaranai marshland. Wise planners would have left a healthy buffer around the Maduvu. But Chennai has permitted IT companies, apartment complexes for IT employees, and the Kannagi Nagar colony to come up close to where floodwaters converge to pour into the Maduvu. These areas were badly affected.



(The area in 2015)

6. Siruseri:




(The area in 2002)

The area where IT industries have come up in SIPCOT, Siruseri, was and still is the converging point for floodwaters from two drainage systems entering the Kovalam creek. SIPCOT is under water and inaccessible.



(The area in 2015)

7. Velachery:





(The area in 2000)

If you look at the Velachery area before the MRTS and the explosion of construction that rode the coat-tails of the IT boom, it is no wonder that Velachery was badly hit in this year's rains.



(The area in 2015)

8. Sholinganallur





(The area in 2002)

Sholinganallur has seen local land-use change drastically in the areas between the Old Mahabalipuram Road (OMR) and the Buckingham Canal. The OMR itself has become a multi-lane raised road that cuts across the drainage path of waters headed to the Buckingham canal.



(The area in 2015)

Which are the areas that will see severe water logging when water from water bodies like Adyar River, Cooum or Chembarambakkam Lake overflows?

Which parts of Chennai have the potential of flooding and need to be avoided?

Which are the relatively safe areas that you could move to when rain starts pounding?

These maps have been put together by Sashikumar N of HydroInfotech Solutions, Bengaluru.

They have been designed from data available in the public domain from remote sensing satellites of NASA.

Are they the most scientific and accurate? Well, they might not be, because the data for these maps have been collated from what NASA has made available completely in the public domain. But do they give a fairly comprehensive picture of what Chennai’s flood potential looks like – YES.

How to decipher these maps?

Map 1: Charts out the elevation levels of various areas of Chennai.

Pale blue: The lowest areas when compared to sea level. They have the highest potential for flooding,

Purple: Slightly higher elevation than the blue ones, which means they are still under a risk of flooding.

Green: Higher than the purple or the blue patches, which lowers the potential for flooding.

It is not rocket science to know that water flows from an elevated area to a low lying area. Which means all rain from the green areas is flowing to the blue or purple areas.

When the rivers like Adayar and Cooum or lakes like Chembarambakkam or Porur overflow, the blue and purple areas are worst hit.

These are the areas that need to be prioritized for evacuation and preparation. And evidently, in the current catastrophe, most of these zones have been worst hit.

Map 2: Shows streams in Chennai that are likely to overflow if blocked with construction of buildings.

Look for the thin blue lines all across the maps. The lines might look thin but try obstructing the water flow with a building, and you will see the disaster these streams can cause.

Map 3: The extent of rainfall recorded in various districts of Tamil Nadu that shows the extent of rainfall from Nov 22 to Dec 1.

This throws open a little-known fact -  Pondicherry, Maduranthakam and other districts received more rainfall than Chennai.

Dark red: Highest rainfall

Orange: Heavy to very heavy rainfall

Yellow: Heavy rainfall

The scale in the map will guide you to the amount of rain recorded in each district. 

- See more at: http://www.thenewsminute.com/article/deciphering-chennai-floods-three-maps-and-overview-36559#sthash.OWSNkm2l.dpuf

Siddharth-Chennai Floods-reel heroes became real heroes

Chennai floods: When reel heroes became real heroes
05-12-2015
IANS

Chennai, Dec 5 : With Tamil Nadu reeling under the worst floods to hit the state in a century and with rescue operations getting underway, actors Siddharth and RJ Balaji, popular among Tamil audiences, turned out to help the people.

Siddharth was one of the victims of the rains. His house in the city was submerged, but that didn't stop him from stepping out and helping those in need.

Along with Balaji, who is also a popular radio jockey, the "Rang De Basanti" star formed teams to help stranded people in different parts of the city.

People came forward and lent their cars which were used to rescue people from the flooded areas.

Siddharth was soon joined by actors Vishnu Vishal, Udhayanidhi Stalin, Karthi, Khushbu Sundar and Vishal Krishna Reddy. Popular multiplexes like SPI Cinemas and AGS Cinemas opened their doors to offer shelter.

The two-member team grew bigger with the support of many volunteers, mostly from the common people.

"It was heartening to see Siddharth and Balaji come out and help people. We were touched by their gesture and thus wanted to help too," Ram Kumar, who joined Siddharth and his team of volunteers, told IANS.

The teams went around the city collecting food packets, 50 to 100 per batch, and other essentials and getting them delivered to people.

Those who couldn't come out and volunteer were requested to send donations to Chennai Micro Fund trust, which was used to carry out relief work.

Social media played a pivotal role in this movement, helping the city to get back on its feet.

Rescue and relief operations were carried out with the help of Twitter. Since most telecommunication networks took a hit due to the heavy downpour, people used the social media platform to reach out to one another.

From updating people about the situation on the ground to tracking somebody's whereabouts with the website chennairains.org collating all information, social media played a big role.

Support also came from maestro Ilayaraja who, on learning that the Little Flower Convent catering to visually challenged, deaf and mute children was under four feet of water, immediately paid them a visit.

The 72-year-old insisted on meeting the children, despite being warned of the high water level.

With life yet to return to normal in the state, these stars continue to work round-the-clock doing their bit to help those in need.

The entire system has collapsed’: Kamal Haasan

‘The entire system has collapsed’: Kamal Haasan sends distress message from Chennai

by Dec 3, 2015

The unprecedented rains in Chennai have left the city marooned and helpless.

The rich and privileged have not been spared either. However, Kamal Haasan who lives on the posh Eldams Road in Chennai's Teynampet area is relatively sheltered and safe from the deluge.

But many of his friends and relatives are hugely affected.

Speaking exclusively from his residence in Chennai, Kamal Haasan in an interview with Firstpost said, “To describe the situation as calamitous would be an understatement. If this can happen in Chennai can you imagine the plight of the rest of Tamil Nadu?”


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“It's a nightmare for the poor and the middle class. The rich should feel guilty. I am not so rich and yet I feel guilty when I look outside my window and see how people in my city are suffering,” the actor adds.

He also lashed out at the powers-that-be for neglecting their civic duties. “The entire system has collapsed. It will take Chennai months to get back to normal even when the rains stop. Where is all of the taxpayer's money going? I don't take black money. I pay my taxes. What is being done for me and my people with my hard-earned money?”

Questioning the basic tenet of civil existence, the actor asks, “I have no God. And I definitely won't accept the authority and decisions of the self-appointed Gods- the politicians. The ruling party ,whoever they are, don't mind spending Rs 4000 crore for corporate projects. We are around 120 crore people in the country. Why not distribute all the Rs 4000 crore among us? That would make all Indians tri-crorepatis.”

The actor who is known to stand up for causes is extremely disillusioned by the collapse of the state administration in Tamil Nadu.

He ended the conversation by saying, “I am truly sad and sick. I feel guilty for my being in a comfortable home. I earn very little compared to the government. But now when our state is in distress they are asking for donations to do what we appointed the government to do. 

Of course I will pay because I am constrained to respect the government's authority. The reason I pay is not to be perceived as one the rich who suck on people, because I am not. I love my people truly. All this drama of rich and poor is a farce, though. The politicians give a damn about social equality as long as they remain in power.”
http://www.firstpost.com/bollywood/the-entire-system-has-collapsed-kamal-haasan-sends-distress-message-from-chennai-2531358.html

Sofiya Rangwala-Thriving Muslim Professionals In India. We Have Only Felt Acceptance

Sofiya Rangwala 

Dermatologist

My Husband And I Are Thriving Muslim Professionals In India. We Have Only Felt Acceptance

Posted: 27/11/2015 14:34 IST Updated: 27/11/2015 15:59 IST

Amidst a fake atmosphere of intolerance being created in India in the last one month, I owe my version of what I, a Muslim lady, living and working in India feel like. This has been due from me since sometime. Now, I feel the water has gone above the head and I too need to share my views. So, here it is.

I am an Indian Muslim woman, a practising dermatologist by profession and I run my own high-end laser skin clinic in Bangalore. I was brought up in Kuwait and at the age of 18, came to India to pursue medical education. I decided to stay back in India while almost all my friends left India for greener pastures. Not even once did I consider that being a Muslim could create a problem for me, as my sense of nationalism held me back to my roots and so here I am, living in my country since the last 20 years.

I studied in Manipal, Karnataka. I lived alone like all students do. While I was in college, all my professors were Hindus and almost all the people who I would interact with were Hindus as well. There is not a single incident when anyone showed partiality towards me based on my gender or religion. Every single one of them was kind and in fact sometimes, I felt as though they made an extra effort to make feel like I was one of them. I am ever so grateful to all of them for making my life in Manipal as comfortable as it could get.

"Yes, despite being in Kuwait for the last 40 years or so, my family is still considered as expatriates, with no rights."

After leaving Manipal, I relocated to Bangalore with my husband. By then I had been married and so we decided to make our life in Bangalore. There is a reason why we chose Bangalore and here is where I will talk about my husband. He is a Muslim too, with a very typical first name--Iqbal. He is an aerospace engineer with a M.Tech from IIT Chennai and PhD from Germany. His profession takes him to the most highly secured organizations of India, like the Defence Research Development Organization, National Aerospace Laboratory, Hindustan Aeronautics Ltd, Gas Turbine Research Establishment, Indian Space Research Organization, Indian Institute of Science, Bharat Heavy Electronics Ltd and many others. You name it and be assured that he has visited all of them without any hassles. Not even once he has been stopped or asked for special security clearance or any such bias has been shown towards him.

And NO, things have not changed even after Modi government came to power. Things are in fact more disciplined and streamlined even in government organizations, from what I hear from my husband. As a matter of fact, Iqbal has been strip-searched each time he travelled to the US and was under secret surveillance while he was doing his PhD in Germany, after the 9/11 attacks on US. We literally received a letter from the German government that he has been cleared and is not any more under suspicion. Talk about Muslim paranoia! It's very understandable too, due to the current situations in the world. My husband is highly respected and loved by the people he works with, and all of them happen to be Hindus. None of this has changed even in recent times, so intolerance is just a word for us on a practical basis.

I opened my clinic last year, just before Modi government came to power. I am a law-abiding citizen and I file my taxes like service tax on a monthly basis. I have never indulged in any activities, which could put me into any kind of trouble. I am comfortably running my clinic, which is doing very well, thanks to all my patients and clients, who all happen to be Hindu while a handful of my patients are from other communities. My entire staff is Hindu, and believe me when I say that they take better care of my clinic than I could, any day! I interact with bankers, government officers and with so many people on a daily basis. Not even once in the last 20 years, did I have the need to even think of leaving India! My entire family lives abroad and all that I need to do is just decide that I don't want to stay here. I have open offers of opening clinic in Kuwait, which would fetch me huge amount of revenue and yet why should I stay in India, if I am not happy and if I am facing any kind of bias?

In Kuwait, we are considered as NOBODY. Yes, despite being in Kuwait for the last 40 years or so, my family is still considered as expatriates, with no rights. We need to renew our resident permit periodically and the laws there constantly keep changing, making the life of expatriates only harder. We have to strictly comply with their rules and laws, which is fine but we are openly discriminated. They consider Asians as third grade people, while giving preference to their citizens, Arabs and Whites. We are not unhappy there but we have no sense of belonging either. At least, I never had and never have, even when I visit Kuwait now. We are Muslims in a Muslim country, and yet we are considered as Indians with no special regards.

"How long can I expect majority of Hindus to tolerate this nuisance?"

I figured long back ago, that India is the only country, where I will have a sense of belonging. You are an Indian-American in US, Indian-Canadian in Canada, Indian-British in UK and so on but only in India you are an Indian. Period. Rest can say whatever they want and defend their choices but this is a fact. You can only feel at home in your own home. I have lived in different places and everywhere I stand out but in India. Nobody in India asks me, 'Are you an Indian?', and this is what makes all the difference.

So, what are these celebrities ranting about? An ordinary citizen like my husband and I are not facing any such issues, then what have they faced? Why is Amir Khan's wife, Kiran Rao, feeling so afraid? They are prominent people, living in posh localities, their children study in the best of schools and they have personal security escorting them at all times. I travel alone everyday and yet don't feel afraid.

I want to know as a responsible citizen, from Amir Khan and Shahrukh Khan as well, why did they make such irresponsible statements and spoil the image of the 13 crores of Muslims in India? Who are they to make public statements based on their personal perception? Who gave them the liberty to tarnish the image of my country at an international level, that Muslims are not safe in India? How dare Pakistan invites them to stay in Pakistan? I feel hurt when I read the statements of my Hindu friends about Muslims. I feel afraid that they are being pushed to the limit and the tolerance and acceptance that I have enjoyed all these years, might just vanish! I feel afraid that my own people might shun me and I may get alienated in my own country, because of a handful of delusional people! How long can I expect majority of Hindus to tolerate this nuisance? It's high time that Muslims understand the value of the freedom and acceptance that we enjoy in India and if not, I pray that my Hindu fellow citizens continue to keep their patience.

How the PM dismantled the transfer-posting industry

How the PM dismantled the transfer-posting industry
Postings of key officials are no longer decided in the power corridors or at late night dinner meetings in hotels.

http://www.dailyo.in/politics/modi1-narendra-modi-bureaucracy-ias-pk-mishra-upa-pmo-indian-railways-suresh-prabhu/story/1/4186.html

When former ICICI chairman KV Kamath was appointed chairman of the BRICS bank by the Modi government recently, he was pleasantly surprised because he had not expected it. It was a case similar to that of Subhash Garg, a secretary in the Rajasthan government, who was appointed executive director of the World Bank. It came totally out of the blue to him. And not without reason, because the convention has been that these posts don’t come without lobbying and those in the prime minister's office (PMO) or close to it are favoured contenders. Moreover, even the post of the Union petroleum secretary, which has been, in the past, dictated by corporate houses on a few occasions, went to a man who didn’t expect it at all – KD Tripathi, a straightforward Indian Administrative Service (IAS) officer of the northeast cadre.

Clearly, as the dust settles on the debate over how the Narendra Modi government fared in its first year, the most glorious of its achievements has been missed or has got relegated to the background - dismantling of the transfer-posting industry in the top bureaucratic echelons of Delhi. 

If one goes into history, it has been one of the primary causes of the failure of the Indian delivery system when it comes to results on the ground which the late Rajiv Gandhi had encapsulated very precisely: "When I release one rupee from Delhi, only 15 paisa reaches the end beneficiary."

Such a clean-up of the bureaucracy is happening for the first time in three decades – or to be precise, since 1980 when the then Prime Minister Indira Gandhi after her 1977 debacle decided to put personal loyalty above all and started tolerating corruption as a necessary evil. 

Amid arguments and counter-arguments as to how the Modi government did in various areas since it took over the reigns, this has been its most conscious attempt to clear the delivery system clogged by corruption and nepotism, a step necessary to translate government programmes into results for the benefit of the last person in the society.

The biggest change he has brought about is that the selection of top level officers is now being done by the cabinet secretariat and the PMO and the respective minister’s role is now almost non-existent. 

During ten years of the United Progressive Alliance (UPA), ministers were allowed to choose their own secretaries which was one of the main reasons for pliant and corrupt officers being posted. 

In one case, the National Highway Authority chairman was changed four times in a short span of time at the instance of a minister because the chairmen were not adequately submissive to the minister. 

Former Comptroller and Auditor General (CAG) Vinod Rai said: "The earlier practice of allowing the ministers to choose his top level officers, in fact, destroyed the civil services because it resulted in massive lobbying at the ministerial level forced by extraneous objectives. 

Prime Minister Modi has indeed brought a lot of objectivity by stopping this practice and further showing his own commitment to the cause by getting an upright officer like PK Mishra to oversee postings in the PMO as his principal secretary."

Gone are the days when key postings were decided in Delhi's five-star hotels. This is a major development for India as those who acquire a post through lobbying must either recover the money they have paid for the post or oblige their patrons after being posted. 

Many still believe that corruption in the bureaucracy has been one of the main reasons for India’s backwardness since independence – something that started in a closed economy and went on even after it was opened.

True, postings of key officials are no longer decided in the power corridors or at late night dinner meetings in hotels as used to be the case under many governments of the past, but by diligent hands in the ministry of personnel, the cabinet secretariat and finally the PMO, who work for hours scouting for the right person for the right job. 

That Modi was committed to this from day one became clear when he appointed his former principal secretary in Gujarat and retired IAS officer PK Mishra as his principal secretary in charge of appointments with clear-cut instructions to clear the mess.
Mishra has devised new methods of due diligence for knowing the true worth of an officer before his final selection which go much beyond the usual perusal of the records of the officers. It involves Mishra’s staff making elaborate inquiries from external and multiple sources about the reputation of the officer and his suitability for the job he is being considered for. 

Since the Modi government took over, over 550 postings have been made of officers of the level of secretary, joint secretary and additional secretary and almost all were done with objectivity and without lobbying.

Interestingly, with an eye on selecting right people for the right jobs, some very innovative postings have been made in the larger interest of good governance. 

Take the case of Sanjay Chadda, an officer in the Indian Railways. His expertise in economics came to the notice of the Modi government when he was a member of the committee headed by Bibek Debroy on railway reform. 

Next, he was posted as a joint secretary in the commerce ministry. The praiseworthy part is that even IAS officers posted in states can hope to get big postings in Delhi which earlier they thought they would never get unless they were already serving in Delhi or had the right "pull and push" in the corridors of power in Delhi. 

According to Rai, the objectivity in postings is exemplary. Mishra said: "Merit in the form of transparency and efficiency are the government’s sole guiding factors when it comes to bureaucratic and even other appointments".

The best example of dismantling of the transfer-posting raj is in the Indian Railways, where many posts in the Railway Board and even those of general managers carried a price tag under many past governments. 

It is to the great credit of the Modi government and the PMO in particular, that in a short span, it has helped appoint 26 people as general managers and five members of the Railway Board, including the chairman in the most transparent manner which has no parallel in Indian Railways in the past 35 years. 

Significantly, as soon as Suresh Prabhu took over as the railway minister, he had requested the cabinet secretariat and the PMO to help him in appointing good officers.

Interestingly, the figures that went with these posts as under the table money are mindboggling, according to Indian Railways sources. 

The post of certain general managers carried a price of Rs 2.5 to Rs 5 crore and of certain Railway Board members over Rs 5 crore. The most shocking information is that in the appointment of a Railway Board chairman a few years ago, a political leader allegedly took an unbelievable Rs 50 crore. 

The deal was that the chairman will pay the money in a fixed time frame after taking over. A former Railway Board official said: "By appointing honest officers to these posts in the Railways, the Modi government has curbed corruption of a minimum Rs 1,000 crore so far." 

If Modi is to get maximum results for his initiatives, he has to now find ways to take this clean bureaucracy culture to the states through some innovative methods and innovation to have maximum impact.

History is a great teacher. In 1707, when Mughal emperor Aurangzeb died in Ahmednagar in Maharashtra, virtually losing the 27-year epic war with the Marathas, he had one big regret which he put in his last will and testament: The greatest pillar of a kingdom is the keeping of information. The laxity of my spy network allowed Shivaji to escape from my clutches from Agra in 1666. That blunder is chiefly responsible for my misery now."

Modi appears to have realised that unless he streamlines the bureaucracy and with it the delivery system, his so-called great vision is never going to get translated. 

He also seems to have taken a cue from Chattrapati Shivaji’s life story as described by the great historian Sir Jadunath Sarkar: "Shivaji’s dominion spread first of all through the conquests of hearts of the common people which only a strong and honest administrator can achieve." Clearly, today as in Shivaji’s period, the way to their heart is through good governance, which in turn, is possible only through a good delivery system. And Modi seems to know it.

http://www.dailyo.in/politics/modi1-narendra-modi-bureaucracy-ias-pk-mishra-upa-pmo-indian-railways-suresh-prabhu/story/1/4186.html