Parimala S Rao

Former journalist with BusinessLine. Fascinated with the unknown, the unsaid. Moved by empathy.

[Chenthil @jcrajan00]

India's grid just hit 277 GW. New all-time record. The May heatwave is now worse than April, and we have 3 more months of summer left.

Here is what happened in the last 48 hours that nobody is talking about. 19 thermal power plants are running on critical coal stock — less than 4 days of supply. Rajasthan imported 6 GW from neighbouring grids, 50 percent more than its allocation. Two states issued load-shedding orders despite the Centre telling them not to.

The grid frequency dropped to 49.75 Hz three times yesterday. For non-engineers: below 49.7 Hz, automatic load-shedding kicks in to prevent cascade failure. We are 0.05 Hz away from automatic blackouts.

Solar is doing its job during the day — 62 GW at noon. But the evening ramp is becoming unsurvivable. Between 5 PM and 7 PM, the grid needs to add 55 GW in two hours as solar drops off. That ramp rate did not exist in any planning document.

India's power planners assumed 277 GW by 2030. We hit it in May 2026. The gap between planning assumptions and reality is now 4 years. Every infrastructure investment thesis in India needs to be rewritten starting with this number.

[Parimala S Rao @parirao07]

@Music_Goddesss Thank you for this. Truly an interlude of poignant beauty and peace. Could you name the piece, please?

[Parimala S Rao @parirao07]

@Geetashloks Jai Jagannath!

[Rajiv Mehta @rajivmehta19]

Chinese high-altitude photographer Ma Chunlin captured an incredible two-minute and twenty-six-second #video filmed in a single take with a drone, showcasing the journey from #Everest Base Camp (EBC) to the summit.

Remarkably, Chunlin made this ascent in just fifteen minutes! The footage was recorded between 6:55 and 7:10 a.m. on May 19, after he identified the ideal window of opportunity based on the perfect combination of #space, time, and #weather conditions.

Typically, permission to fly #drones from the north side of Everest (Tibet) is not granted, but Chunlin managed to overcome this challenge. In a previous #attempt in 2024, his #drone had been destroyed by a heavy snowstorm near Camp 3, but he refused to give up.

Enjoy this breathtaking video!

[Parimala S Rao @parirao07]

This delightful tale by @lokeshwarri , fashioned like an edge-of-the-seat whodunit, weaves through smoke and mirrors to reveal the culprit who unwittingly killed sanity in the market. #AgathaChristie would have been proud!
@businessline @stockmarket

https://t.co/ui0K4LnSTu

[Omjasvin M D @omjasvinMD]

Once choked with encroachments, garbage, and debris, the Cooum River bunds between Island Grounds and Sathyavani Muthu Nagar have transformed into a lush green stretch.

Six years after Greater Chennai Corporation (GCC) and the Water Resources Department (WRD) cleared one of the city's biggest encroached sites, removing 2,100 families and planting saplings, the area now boasts thriving trees, adding fresh appeal to the riverfront.

The GCC planted Gulmohar, Neem, Tamarind, and Karuvelai Maram, among others, in the riverbank stretch of about 200 metres. Now, the trees have grown so much that the surface of the bunds, where houses once existed, is no longer visible. Now, the place is also home to several birds.

[Supriya Sahu IAS @supriyasahuias]

Chennai you are looking at the newly planted fabulous mangrove green belt in the heart of the city at Adyar ! As part of our passionate Mangrove Mission drive, the Tamil Nadu Forest Department has planted 5,000 mangrove saplings across 5 hectares, adding a shining green jewel to city's biodiversity heritage.
At the Adyar Estuary near Broken Bridge, the Chennai Forest Division has created a fishbone with three main canals and 62 distribution canals across the Battle of Adyar Island. To protect these from grazing 582 metres of fish nets and even used sarees have been fixed as barriers. This initiative will contribute to shielding Chennai’s coast from cyclones and sea-level rise. Kudos to Chennai DFO and his dedicated team #TNMangroveMission #TNForest #Mangroves #Climateaction

[Bijoy Ghosh @bijoyghosh70]

Bessy beach in Chennai has become an eyesore with litter everywhere. The GCC has been ranked 38th among Urban Local Bodies with a population of over 10 lakh in the Centre's Swachh Survekshan 2024-25 report released last week. @businessline @chennaicorp @kgbias @PriyarajanDMK

[Bijoy Ghosh @bijoyghosh70]

The 138 year old Victoria Public Hall is all set to be open after renovation. Finishing touches are now under way. The restoration works was taken up under the Singara Chennai 2.0 scheme at a cost of around 32 crores. @businessline @chennaicorp @mkstalin @kgbias @PriyarajanDMK

[Siddharth's Echelon @SiddharthKG7]

Sanjiv Khanna will be 51st Chief Justice of India.

His father Dev Raj Khanna was a judge in Delhi High Court. His uncle Hans Raj Khanna was judge in Supreme Court.

I wanted to make a thread of Nepotism, but an ounce of integrity stopped me.

Rather, it is a 🧵 of good Karma. Why?

Read how Sanjiv Khanna’s appointment will be a penance of a historical injustice.

1/

[The Paperclip @Paperclip_In]

She chose courage over comfort—a reminder for all of us who often overlook injustice in our own backyard.

Today, we remember her on her death anniversary.

18/18

[The Paperclip @Paperclip_In]

Source and references

Brijbhushan, J. (2003). Kamaladevi Chattopadhyaya: Portrait of a Rebel. Abhinav Publications.

Slate, N. (2009). ‘I am a colored woman’: Kamaladevi Chattopadhyaya in the United States, 1939–1941. Contemporary South Asia, 17(1), 7–19. https://t.co/AsqYq5jR0E

Wikimedia Commons @Wikimedia

[Omjasvin M D @omjasvinMD]

Beach Grabbing rampant in Besant Nagar Elliot’s beach as @chennaicorp fails to remove encroachments. Shops have now reached the shores and next, don’t be surprised if they’re on the water too.

From about 100 shops in 2013, shops have now increased to over 600+.

Originally, the shops were allowed in the beach only for local community members from Urur and Olcott Kuppams but in the last few years, many people from outside came and started keeping shops, and it’s become an illegal business as beaches are rented out by mafia now. Each stalls have 30-40 chairs on both sides perpendicular to the beach.

#Encroachments #Beach #BesantNagar #Elliots

[Mahima Jain @theplainjain]

Here's my latest story from the @pulitzercenter supported project on how India's hospitals treat survivors of gender-based violence. Here, I examine why we need a different approach of providing support to domestic abuse survivors. An initiative from Gujarat shows the way:

[Kaushik Basu @kaushikcbasu]

The level of youth unemployment in India is worrying. This is not where India should be (see chart). This is hurting the future of middle class youth & needs policy change. India has many strengths but denying the weaknesses is a recipe for failure.

[Parimala S Rao @parirao07]

@chandunair @Trevornoah 👌👌😅😅

[Parimala S Rao @parirao07]

@ndcnn @businessline @Kamathcometh @teekaytee @meenaambwani @srirags @AaratiKrishnan And the wonderful, engaging conversations led by you are just as stellar, @ndcnn ! As are the contributions from @kamathcometh himself, as also @SajeevKumarV2 @naga_hbl @MatthamRamesh @RichaMishraBL Such fun working on this @businessline project! #TableTalk

[William Dalrymple @DalrympleWill]

The most impressive politician in the United Kingdom in the last week of horror and crisis in the Middle East has been, without exception, @HumzaYousaf.

While @RishiSunak, @Keir_Starmer and especially the shameful @SuellaBraverman have all been grandstanding for political self-interest, and almost competing to egg on the Israeli right to commit genocidal havoc in Gaza, @HumzaYousaf, whose own mother-in-law is bravely, despairingly, running a clinic in Gaza, and personally having to decide how to save her patients ordered to evacuate the North of the city before Israel flattens it, Humza has been busy comforting and reassuring the Scottish Jewish community, as well as the Scottish Palestinian Muslims and Christians, and assuring them them all that they will be safe and welcome and protected in Scotland.

I am not a Scottish nationalist, and never voted SNP. But I can't think of a time I've been prouder to be Scottish. Thank you Humza and hats off and your bravery, poise, calm, compassion and humanity.

[lokeshwarri sk @lokeshwarri]

Indian households donated an average of Rs 935 to charity last year. Total amounts to 27,000 crore. But almost all of it went to religious institutions.