Articles by Deepa Mohan

Yesterday (Sun, 1st Jan 2017) , at about 7.30pm, we drove on to the NICE Road (now it's the NECE Road) at the Mysore Road junction,  and there were long queues of cars waiting to pay the tolls. We found two men standing in front of the toll gates, collecting tolls. Thinking that they had devised a good way to speed up the process, we decided to pay the toll to them. Our toll from Mysore Road to Bannerghatta Road was Rs.58. To our surprise, they asked us to pay Rs.60. When we  challenged them as we knew the exact…

We often nail signs to our trees, loop cables over them, and of course, think nothing of choping them off for the flimisiest of reasons, for example if one obstructs a hoarding. But even when the trees are allowed to live, all may not be well. I saw this tree with its leaves all lit up by LED lights. "An unnatural green!" I thought to myself, and decided to click.   At this point, my friend Sarrah Reshamwalla raised a valid point. "Trees carry on photosynthesis in their leaves when exposed to light," she pointed out. "Does this mean that…

On Christmas Day, I went to the 4th Sunday outing of BngBirds, which I had organized this month at Hoskote Lake. It was foggy, and I got some mist-erious shots: Amongst other things, I noticed this godman getting ready for his day, donning the accoutrements of his trade (sorry, religion seems to be as much a profession these days as any other more-usual one!)   He had an assistant, who did not seem to need as much adornment as he did.   I asked them if I could take photographs, and he and his assistant nodded and carried on with…

I bought some gulab jamuns at Shanti Sagar in Jayangar 4th T Block today, and I got a bag that says this: Truegreen 'biodegradable' plastic. Pic: Deepa Mohan Are such bags truly not made of plastic, and completely biodegradable? I googled for the website, here. The company name is Greendiamz Biotech Ltd., and they list, amongst their products..."Garbage Bags Roll, Flower Pot, Dog Poop Bag". However, I am not able to learn what the raw material is, and how it is biodegradable. Their "manufacturing process" page is...blank! So I am still left wondering if this, or is not, a plastic…

There are some eateries in Bangalore which have become quite renowned. Veena Stores is one such eatery...and I'd never visited in all the years that I have lived in this city I call home. So today, after our birding outing in Institute of Wood Science and Technology and Sankey Tank, even though Mrs Maneesha Sharma, whose husband is a scientist and who lives on the campus, had given us a delicious breakfast, we decided to go to Veena Stores. I was very glad to find that the eatery has not fallen for its own hype as has happened to many…

Last week, my group of nature-lovers and I visited both Lalbagh and Madivala kere. At both places, which are also public parks, entrance is clearly marked as free; up to 8.30am at Lalbagh, and 9.30am at Madivala lake. Visitors who enter before this time need not pay for their entry or for their cameras. However, ever since the collection of entry/camera fees has been given to private contractors, visitors are facing harassment. Rude, rough-speaking agents of the contractors ride up or walk up to unsuspecting visitors, and demand money for their cameras. Some people unsuspectingly pay up and this has…

It's always very enjoyable to watch the colours and festivities at a temple, whether or not one is reliigiously inclined. Standing across the road from the Sai Baba temple in Jayanagar 4th T Block, I caught the saint looking out over the votive bell and the heads of devotees.   Vishnu and His consort, too, were decked up for the festive occasion.   The temple looked beautiful in the chilly night air.   In the kalyana mantapa next to the temple, I spotted this beautifully decorated idol of Alarmelu Manga, the consort of Tirupati Venkateswara.   The flowers, the colours,…

On Sunday, the 10th December, 2016, the Lake Census effort across the lakes(kere) of Bangalore got under way with an orientation program for those who had registered to take part as volunteers in this month-long initiative. The event was held at the Venkatappa Art Gallery on Kasturba Road, from 1.30pm to about 5.30pm.   Dividing the lakes that could be observed and documented under 22 different areas, those who are organizing this year's effort welcomed the gathering, introduced the sectors and the lakes falling in each of them. At this stage, a lot of the water bodies came under discussion…

All schools have festive occasions when the parents and children celebrate with the school. But at Magic Puddles, a playschool in J P Nagar in Bangalore, the annual mela this year, on the 5th of December, 2016, recycled a lot of stuff that would otherwise end up in waste dumps."This year, we decided to set 'Skills' as the theme," says Nandini Rammohan, of the playschool. "Rather than an activity which the children started just before the mela, we decided that we would teach them some skills throughout the year, and have them teach it to the parents, and instruct them,…

A moth that looks like a tiny bird! India does not have Hummingbirds, those tiny creatures of the light and air that so delight those living or visiting abroad, especially the western coast of America. Our smallest birds are our Sunbirds and Flowerpeckers. However, even in urban gardens, one may find oneself looking at something that seems remarkably like a Hummingbird, and yet seems different. In India, this probably means that one is looking at a Hummingbird Hawk Moth! The scientific name for this small creature is Macroglossum stellatarum. They belong to the family called “Sphingidae”. Pic: Deepa Mohan In…