Articles by Deepa Mohan

A workshop on "Wikipedia and the Indian Wilderness" by Shyamal Lakshminarayanan, was organized on the 1st of March, 2014, at ThoughtWorks, Koramangala. Shyamal's presentation started with a short history of Wikipedia, and how the present structure of Wikipedia and its administrators has evolved. He narrowed down the field to contributions to the field of natural sciences, particularly in India, and pointed out how contributions by each "ordinary person" could somehow add value to the information available on the net. He fielded several questions from the audience, and proceeded to demonstrate how people can contribute both content and images on Wikipedia.…

Having watched Adishakti Laboratory for Theatre Art Research (what a mouthful, I'll call it ALTAR for short!)'s earlier production, "The Tenth Head" at Ranga Shankara, and reviewed it here, I was prepared for an interesting evening when I went to watch "Nidrdravathvam". The play is about two brothers of the protagonist and the antagonist of the Ramayana: Lakshmana and Kumbhakarna. They are connected in having received boons that, in the words of the excellent brochure provided by ALTAR, "dramatically alter their cycles of sleep and wakefulness." Kumbharkarna's tongue is tied by Saraswati, and instead of asking for "Nirdevatvam" (destruction of the Devas) he…

Bangalore enters the summer with the flowering of the Pink Poui (Tababuia rosea)...you can see here about Tabebuia. Watch out for these blooms on many roads, and especially at the Jayanagar Shopping Complex!

The familiar face of wrongdoing...two scooterists who are caught breaking a one-way rule are being nabbed by the policeman. I could not wait to see what the outcome of this encounter would be. Would the people on the scooter pay the required fine? Would they try to bribe the cop?   Would they be successful if so? Or would they try to "beg forgiveness" and plead to be let off this once? Or would they try to intimidate the cop by dropping the names of bigwigs they know, or are related to? I had to move on, but did not…

The Vayu Vajra Volvo service is specifically for commuters to and from the airport. However, on 31 Oct 2013,  when I came out of the airport terminal after a 30-hour plane journey,  hoping to take the bus, at 1.30am. I was told that since the "demand  kadimeyittu" (demand was low) , the Vayu Vajra service up to 4.30am had been withdrawn. BMTC is making good profits; why should they withdraw a service precisely when it is most needed, just because the number of commuters is low? Is profit the only consideration when it is a matter of public transportation?   I was forced…

The play, "The Tenth Head", written by Vinay Kumar KJ, directed by Veenapani Chawla, and staged by Adishakti Laboratory and Theatre Art Research, Puduchery, has a very interesting central premise: that all the heads of Ravana are not alike, and that the tenth head is quite different from the other nine.   Intrigued by this, I went to watch the staging at Ranga Shankara, on the 18th of February, 2014. I found myself both interested and puzzled at different times during the play.   The on-again-off-again power situation took its toll on Ranga Shankara's usual punctuality, and the play started…

My passport was expiring by May 2014, and I realized that one must apply for a renewal within 6 months of its expiry (Most countries require that the passport be valid for a period of 6 months after the dates of the proposed visit, which means that if a passport has less than 6 months' validity, you will not be able to visit a country even if you have a valid entry visa.) Not expecting much, I applied for the passport renewal online. Filling up the various forms took a long time, as I had to be very careful wihile…

*Bangalore Bus Prayaanikara Vedike*The 50paise Campaign!!*Rs. 5 for 10 km!**Rs. 15 for 11-20 km!**Rs. 25 for anything above 20 km!*Bangalore Metropolitan Transport Corporation (BMTC) bus services, the transport of Bangalore's 'common man', have become increasingly unaffordable over the years. Over the last year and a half, the bus fares have gone up by a steep 50%, increasing the economic hardship for Bangaloreans. If a garment worker or a pourakarmika, who earns Rs. 5000 a month, buys a monthly pass for Rs. 725 (Rs. 925 for red board buses), she shells out 15-20% of her income just for commuting, which increase…

I had posted about an unpleasant incident here. I am very happy to say that a concerned citizen activist, Mr S R Venkatram, followed this up, and just now, he sent in this report: "This afternoon I visited Basavanagudi Police station and learnt that the Auto driver was summoned,cautioned and made to sit for the whole day and fined Rs.600. This will act as a deterrant to others as the news spreads. Regarding the behaviour of two police constables, I trust the police Inspector has adviced them suitably. I could not meet the Police Inspector as he was away on…

On the 2nd February, 2014, some of the residents of Adarsh Palm Retreat, a residential complex near the Devara Beesana Halli Lake (D B Halli Lake, a small lake located in the Bellandur Ward in south-east Bangalore) , celebrated World Wetlands Day at the lake, with a variety of events. A part of the gathering at D B Halli Lake, 020214     The residents had noticed the deterioration of the lake some months previously. Four cleanup drives were  organized, in September and October, 2013.  By May 2013 a core group of seven residents of Adarsh Palm Retreat (Devarajan,Chandramouli, Jenny,…