Articles by Deepa Mohan

Everywhere, as people park wrongly, we find the police towing away the parked cars, but I find a refreshing interlude when I spotted this van outside IIM, Bangalore: Perhaps they tow two cars at a time?

I went to Langford Town, and was saddened to see another beautiful heritage home hit the dust on Oleff road. This lovely bungalow, typical of old Bangalore architecture, set in small, lovely garden, was already half gone. I tried to see if the year of construction was marked anywhere, but could not find it. The solidity of the construction, and the high ceilings, can be seen: How I wish I had the money to buy up such old homes, and maintain them in the old style! I could sit in them and dream about days when space in the city…

The underside... The underside... The underside...I know that cars today come with all sorts of adornments and detailing, but yet found it strange that someone would want the underside of the car to be lit up like this! Is this common? Bangalore, 260414. 

Why the veil? 260414   Driving along the NICE Road, I found the usual huge poster of a certain well-known personality, associated with this road, with a "veil" over it. Speculating over the reason, my friends said it was probably because of the election under way. If so, we can look forward to the unveiling of the portrait in a short time...!

When you're facing the summer sun When your skin burns and it's no fun To walk in the sunshine, it's too bright The summer glare hurts your head and sight... You've got mangoes on your mind....     You pick up the fruit, scattered all round Or in the market they can be found. Small and raw, or with golden ripe sheen Or any of the stages that happen in between, You've got mangoes on your mind....   Made into pickle or eaten with salt Made into milkshakes or a thick juicy malt Any of the numerous varieties you get…

In Bangalore in the early 90's, I was very impressed by one very young dramatist who wrote plays in English that showed a talent and an ability to mirror social issues well beyond his physical age.I watched every production of Mahesh Dattani's plays that I could, and bought the book of his plays to read the rest. I have also grown up in Kolkata, enjoying the vibrant Bengali theatre scene; to me,there was no greater  accolade of a person's creative talent than the words, "O theatar korcche" (He is into theatre).  So when my friend Shangon told me that a…

One of the things that I find very difficult about travelling by BMTC is the fact that most of the bus stops do not display the route numbers of the buses that service the stop. When BMTC (or BBMP, which, I think, holds the land on which the bus stops are constructed) can use so much space for advertising, why can there not be a mandatory display of the routes touching the particular bus stop? This would make life far easier for commuters. In other countries, and indeed, in other Indian cities, this is a standard feature of a bus…

Voting is a process of showing the (correct) finger to the various issues that spoil our country...and ushering in a true democracy.     Do vote, even if it is a NOTA vote!

My response to someone who asked about how to capture a snake and "rehabilitate" it: 1. In my experience, even common non-venomous snakes are identified as cobras by security guards and, indeed, many panic-stricken people, In 8 cases out of ten, we find that it is a non-venomous snake (a keelback or a rat snake). However, I do not rule out the possibility that it might indeed be a venomous snake such as a viper, a krait or a cobra.   2.Catching the snake is itself a very risky procedure, and there is no guarantee that there will be only…

The first meeting of Eco-volunteers (those who took the Volunteer Training Program, or VTP), was held at ThoughtWorks, Koramangala, Bangalore, on 120414. It was as if Ganesha, the Elephant God, had waited in the foyer with a gesture of benison!     Raju KV took up the job of co-ordinating the meet, and conducting it:     Over 40 people turned up, showing their interest in volunteering for wildlife conservation:         Raju welcomed the gathering, and while the two Prasahanths set up their video presentation.     N C Mohan talked about patches of fragmented forest, which…