In a hostel room in Anna Nagar, shared with three others and where space is scarce, Varadhan S. from Cuddalore district prepares for the TNPSC examinations. During the monsoon, he studies indoors, but for most of the year, his go-to spot is the nearby Kambar Colony playground. “Wherever you turn in Anna Nagar, a new private study hall is coming up, but the affordable ones are already full, and the rest don’t really match our budget or allow group study anyway.”
Mr. Varadhan adds that his coaching centre does not have a proper study hall either, and so many like him resort to neighbourhood parks and playgrounds despite mosquito bites, lack of drinking water, and locked restrooms.
M. Subash, a JEE aspirant, has been studying regularly at Tower Park in Anna Nagar for the past two years. He says he prefers the park to his house to avoid distractions. “After finishing tests at a centre nearby, I come straight here to study. Although it’s airy, I keep shifting from one place to another within the park because it gets noisy, as parks do,” he says.
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Seated just a few benches away, Kaviya M., who is preparing for the TNPSC Group I exams, struggles with neck pain from studying with books balanced on her lap. “We just need a small, dedicated space inside the park with chairs and tables under a shed, because this is open and expansive compared to closed study spaces. A shed would suffice, and it would help us during the summer and monsoon,” she adds.
