Vincent D'Souza is a journalist and media entrepreneur based in Chennai. He is the editor and publisher of two community newspapers, The Mylapore Times and The Arcot Road Times in the city. He is also the executive editor of the largest neighbourhood newspaper in Chennai, The Adyar Times. The three newspapers have a combined circulation of over 85,000 copies a week. [1]
D'Souza began his career as a journalist in 1980 after completing his BS in physics from Chennai's Loyola College. He has reported for The Week magazine of the Malayala Manorama group, and was a stringer for BBC Radio. He covered the 1998 Coimbatore serial bomb blasts, and its aftermath for the Beeb. For a brief while D'Souza was also the editor of Indian Express (Madras) Friday supplement on cinema, art and entertainment.
He also teaches Reporting at Bharthya Vidya Bhavan in Mylapore, Chennai.
He currently edits three freely distributed English community newspapers in Chennai: Adyar Times, Mylapore Times and Arcot Road Times. In 1999 he started the internet website KutcheriBuzz.com, focused on south Indian classical music and dance. Along with the website, he also brings out a monthly 8-12 page Kutcheribuzz newsletter. During the fortnight-long December Music Season in Chennai, Kutcheribuzz morphs into a single-sheet eveninger, distributed for free outside concert halls. Over the last couple of years, Kutcheribuzz.com has added audio and video news reports of popular classical music and dance events such as the Tiruvaiyaru Tyagaraja Aradhana, and the Chidambaram dance festival that takes place at the Nataraja Temple during Shivaratri.
D'Souza's experiment with a free community newspaper in the former French enclave of Puducherry was a short-lived one. He pulled the shutter on the paper, the Pondicherry Times, in 2001.
He also promotes two other major events in Chennai - the Mylapore Festival, held in Mylapore on Pongal eve, and the Madras Day celebrations held to celebrate the city. [2]
Besides fulfilling the unique communication needs of specific neighbourhoods,[ citation needed ] D'Souza's publications have been a training ground for aspiring journalists. Unlike several community papers, Mylapore Times, Arcot Road Times and Adyar Times are professionally run papers with reasonably good production standards.[ citation needed ] Despite being small publications, D'Souza's papers have steadfastly tried to keep the wall between news and advertising intact.[ citation needed ]
The Hindu is an Indian English-language daily newspaper owned by The Hindu Group, headquartered in Chennai, Tamil Nadu. It began as a weekly in 1878 and became a daily in 1889. It is one of the Indian newspapers of record and the second most circulated English-language newspaper in India, after The Times of India. As of March 2018, The Hindu is published from 21 locations across 11 states of India.
Adyar is a large neighbourhood in south Chennai, Tamil Nadu, India. It is located on the southern banks of the Adyar River. It is surrounded by the Tharamani in the West, Thiruvanmiyur to the South, Besant Nagar in the East, Kotturpuram in the North-West and Raja Annamalai puram in the North past the Adyar River. Adyar is one of the costliest areas in Chennai with property values four times the value of similar sized properties in the northern part of Chennai. The Gandhi Nagar region of Adyar is one of the poshest localities in Chennai.
Mylapore, also spelt Mayilapur, is a neighbourhood in the central part of the city of Chennai, India. It is one of the oldest residential parts of the city. It is also called Tirumayilai. The locality is claimed to be the birthplace of the celebrated Tamil philosopher Valluvar, and the Hindu saint and philosopher, Peyalvar.
Thyagaraya Nagar, commonly known as T. Nagar, and historically known as East Mambalam, is a very affluent commercial and residential neighbourhood in Chennai, Tamil Nadu, India. It is surrounded by Nungambakkam in the North, Teynampet in the East, Nandanam in the South-East, C.I.T. Nagar in the South and West Mambalam and Kodambakkam in the West. The stretch between Duraiswamy Road and T. Nagar Bus Stand has some of the costliest real estates in Chennai. It was constructed between 1923 and 1925 by the Madras Presidency government of the Raja of Panagal as a part of town planning activities initiated according to the Madras Town Planning Act of 1920. The town was named after P. Thyagaraya Chetty. The streets, parks and localities in the new neighbourhood were named after important officials in the provincial government.
Chennai Music Season is an event hosted every Mid November–January in Chennai Tamil Nadu. Spanning some 9 weeks, it comprises top-flight professional and amateur musicians. The traditional role of the Music Season is to allow aficionados of Carnatic music to appreciate performances by renowned artists, and to allow promising young artists to display their talent and skill. Audiences and artists come from across India and her diaspora to enjoy the season.
Kotturpuram, also known as Kottur, is a neighbourhood in Chennai (Madras), Tamil Nadu, India and is situated in the Southern banks of the Adyar River. It is surrounded by Nandanam in the North and North-West, Adyar in the South-East, IIT Chennai and Guindy in the South and Little Mount in the South-West. The neighbourhood is served by Kotturpuram MRTS railway station. Centuries old Hindu temples, such as Perumal Koil and Ponniamman Koil are situated in Kottur.
Rukmini Devi Arundale was an Indian theosophist, dancer and choreographer of the Indian classical dance form of Bharatanatyam, and an activist for animal welfare.
Virugambakkam is a residential neighbourhood of Chennai, Tamil Nadu, India. It is an important residential area of and is famous for its schools, market, residential colonies and residences of film artists. Virugambakkam had some of Chennai's oldest film studios.
The culture of Chennai, popularly called the "Gateway to the South India", is distinct from that of any other Indian city. Being a cosmopolitan hub, the city's culture reflects its diverse population that has resulted in a unique blend. Though a modern metropolis, Chennai continues to be traditional and conventional in certain ways. Traditional music, dance and all other art forms of Tamil Nadu are very popular in the city. One can find a peculiar cultural blend in city, from traditional foods to fast foods, from ancient temple architecture to modern high-rises, and from classical music and dance to the growing nightlife.
Triplicane, known in the vernacular as Thiruvallikeni, is one of the oldest neighbourhoods of Chennai, India. It is situated on the Bay of Bengal coast and about 0.6 km (0.37 mi) from Fort St George. The average elevation of the neighbourhood is 14 metres above sea level.
Santhome is a locality in Mylapore in Chennai city in India.
Madras Day is a festival organised to commemorate the founding of the city of Madras in Tamil Nadu, India. It is celebrated on 22 August every year, 22 August 1639 being the widely agreed date for the purchase of the village of Madraspatnam or Chennapatnam by East India Company factors Andrew Cogan and Francis Day from Damarla Venkatadri Nayaka, the viceroy of the Vijayanagar Empire.
Greenways Road is a road and neighbourhood in Chennai, India. It is lined with the official residences of ministers of Tamil Nadu state government and judges of Chennai High Court. It also houses the Tahsildar district magistrate office of the Mylapore-Triplicane taluk. A park and memorial named after B. R. Ambedkar, the Tamil Nadu Dr. Ambedkar Law University, Tamil Nadu Judicial Academy, Jesus Calls Prayer Tower, Kutchipudi Art Academy, Tamil Nadu Government Music College, Tamil Nadu Human Rights Commission, Anna Institute of Management, Dr. MGR Janaki College of Arts and Science for Women are located on this road. Part of this road is now renamed after D. G. S. Dinakaran. After the Eliphanstone Bridge was built a new road connecting Adyar to Greenways Road named Adyar Bridge Road was formed. Meenakshi Cinetone, one of the oldest cinema studios in Chennai and Jupiter Studios was also located on this road.
Narada Gana Sabha is one of the foremost music associations in the city of Chennai, India. It regularly organises programmes during the Chennai Music Season.
This is a timeline of major events in the history of Chennai.
Central Chennai is the part of Chennai city between the Coovum River and the Adyar River. While mostly grouped under South Chennai, Central Chennai is a term which has gained currency in recent times due to the rapid expansion of the city southwards. Covering the eastern neighbourhoods of Royapettah, Chepauk, Teynampet, Alwarpet, Mylapore, Triplicane and Mandaveli and the western neighbourhoods of Nungambakkam, Kodambakkam, Vadapalani, Virugambakkam, Valasaravakkam, Mambalam, T. Nagar, Nandanam and Saidapet, Central Chennai is largely upper class-upper middle class. The eastern part is largely upper class with two of the costliest pieces of real estate - the Boat Club Road and Poes Garden being located here while the western part is mainly middle class. Kodambakkam is the location of the Tamil film industry or Kollywood.
Royapettah is a neighbourhood of Chennai, India.
Thiru Vi Ka Salai, or the Thiru Vi Ka High Road, is one of the main streets in the downtown region of Chennai, Tamil Nadu, India. Running from north to south, the street branches off of the arterial Anna Salai north of the LIC Building and ends at Luz Corner in Mylapore, continuing as the Ramakrishna Mutt Road. The street connects the neighbourhoods of Royapettah, Mylapore and Gopalapuram. The street includes three individual stretches formerly known as General Patters Road, Westcott Road and Royapettah High Road, respectively. The longest stretch, formerly known as the Royapettah High Road, runs to a length of 1.17 km (0.73 mi). The presence of numerous automobile dealers on the northern end of the street resulted in Chennai coming to be known as The Detroit of India.