Articles by Deepa Mohan

  When we are already struggling to contain the traffic on our heavily congested roads, what is the need to have such vehicles?These vehicles do not transport anything or anyone; they take up valuable space, and add to the pollution. Can the government not ban this form of advertising, which adds to the traffic woes of Bangalore? ⊕

Not everyone is capable of starting a revolution, but sometimes, when one person stands up for a cause, many others identify with him.One of the moving scenarios about the slave, Sparatacus,occurs  in the movie of the same name ....when  the Roman masters come looking for him and ask, "Who is Spartacus?" so that they may punish  him, each man in the hordes of slaves stands up, saying, "I am Spartacus!"..identifying with the rebel, and confusing the Romans utterly.The same sense of identifying with someone has occurred recently, all over India....  I hope we continue to identify with Anna Hazare in…

On the roads in Bangalore, you just never know what you are going to see, and when. Yesterday, I was going into Arikere Layout with my friend Jayashree, on her two-wheeler...and....It riveted both of us, and of course, I whipped out my camera immediately!No, it's not a buffalo driving a two-wheeler, just a bean bag that is being transported in an unusual style! ⊕

There seems to be a little confusion as to which day JanmAshtami (the eight day of the lunar calendar, which, in this month, marks the birthday of Krishna) falls. Yesterday at my friend's home, I was told it was yesterday. Today, when I visited my friends Hema and Ganu, she had just lit the lamp and made the little "foot marks" of the baby Krishna: So I offered geetAnjali...I sat and sang "sri krishNam bhaja mAnasa sathatham" in Todi, a majestic kriti, and then "maNi nUpura dhAri" by OotthukkAdu in nIlAmbari...and she lit the karpoora Arathi: Outside her front door,her maid had…

When I knew that Ranga Shankara was premiering a play under their AHA! banner, which promotes theatre for children, I was very keen to attend the first show, and I did so, on the 11th of August, 2011. AHA! is Ranga Shankara's Theatre for Children programme in association with Britannia Industries Ltd., "Dhaam Dhoom Suntaragaali", in Kannada, is a play based on Shakespeare's The Tempest, adapted by T Vaidehi. It  is directed by directed by Jeevan Ram Sulya and is in association with the troupe "Natana" of Mysore. Designed especially for children, the play takes children on a wonderful journey…

Here's a snake catcher in Bangalore city...well-documented and written about by Nishant Ratnakar, in his blog. Read about Shivappa click here for the post. Nishant adds, "He goes by the name 'Snake Shivappa'. If ever you need someone to rescue snakes in any corner of the city, then get in touch with him." As Nishant records, His real name: Devaraj K S His occupation: Snake Rescuer His mobile no. 99808 55720 Area of operations: Any corner of Bangalore City! So, if you see a snake, do not kill it, or allow it to be killed; please call Snake Shivappa. Readers…

The following two blood donation camps will take place at Bangalore this weekend: 1. On Sun 14th Aug 2011 between 11.00am and 1.00pm at Jerusalem Mar Thoma Church, Hebbal Kempapura.( Behind Esteem Mall after Hebbal Flyover en route to new Airport.) To turn right to entrance, one has to go upto Kodigehalli Cross and take U turn and come back to Esteem Mall and take left. 2. On Mon 15th Aug 2011(Independence Day) at Shiridi Sai Cultural Centre, 2, Syndicate Bank Colony, opp Kamakshipalya Police Station, Basaweshwaranagar Post from 10.00am to 1.00pm. Those staying in and around those areas and…

Hailing from a State where politicians are often figures associated with writing, folk theatre and entertainment (Tamil Nadu), I was intrigued to see rafiki, the Bangalore theatre group, advertise their production of “The Memorandum”, a play by Vaclav Havel, the first President of the Czech Republic. The translation was by Vera Blackwell. Here’s the information I got on the net about the play: “The Memorandum is one of Havel’s best known and most popular plays. Inspired by the absurdities of life in Eastern Europe under Communism, Havel began writing the satirical play as early as 1960. Rewritten many times over…

Explore the dark caves, enjoy the art of rock climbing & experience the misty morning camp at Jogimatti Peak. Nisarga is conducting this adventure packed camp with loads of activities & an amazing camping program during the long weekend on 13, 14 & 15th of Aug 2011. “Jogimatti” is one of the highest peaks at a height of 1323m above the sea level & surrounded by the reserved forest with huge rocks all around. The activities conducted during the program are Trekking, Rock Climbing, Rappelling, Cave Exploration, Water Sports etc. For more details please Click here -- Karthik G.K. Wildlife…

I went to attend a wildlife photography workshop by Rathika Ramaswamy, for Pixetra...but that's not what this post is about. As I walked to the venue, I saw this old house... I mused on when the house was built, how proud the owner (Mr Vaz) must have been to see this bungalow coming up in the beautiful city of Bangalore....here, you can see his name in the gate-post, and the name of the present owner... I can say, "It Vas a very nice house once!" Today, the house is taken over by weeds, and in the grip of Strangler Figs:…