Development and beautification of traffic island, Chennai

A very interesting project that we worked on with Spark Welfare Association, Adyar, Chennai, where we sponsored the redevelopment and beautification of the triangular island next to Elliott's Beach, as part of the Chennai Municipality's “Nammakku Naame Thittam” of 2021 – 2023.  The triangular traffic island was developed to reflect the bio-diversity of what was called Neithal Nilam, (water, marshy land, marshy forest and sand dunes), one of the five types of land defined in ancient Tamil texts. The main occupations of people who lived here were fishing and producing salt. The flora and fauna in the Neithal area were sharks, crocodiles, sea birds, water lilies, thorny plants, and trees such as the Punnai (Alexandrian laurel). Ancient stone inscriptions, dating to the 9th century, found in Ambur tell us that the coastal area of Chennai was once known as Aamaiyur. Olive Ridley turtles used to lay their eggs here for many centuries and we need to be more attentive towards environmental conservation in this area.