Articles by Deepa Mohan

Deepa Mohan is a freelance writer and avid naturalist.

Wildlife Workshop

  WRRC presents "Whispering Wilderness" - a unique education workshop to introduce the concept of bio-diversity and its conservation.The nine-weekend program starts on April 30th in Bangalore and features expert talks, team building activities, mind control, nature camps, photography and more!We request you to go through the attached poster and if it interests you, please hurry to register.About the Program (see attached image Whispering Wilderness 1280x800.jpg)The program will run for 9 weeks on the weekends. The schedule will be as follows:Weekend 1: Expert-Talks (2 hours each on Sat and Sun)Weekend 2: Nature-Camp (full 2 days on Sat and Sun)Weekend 3: Expert-Talks…

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  One of the pleasures of the summer is certainly....mangoes! From the most unripe to the most ripe, we can enjoy mangoes in a variety of ways...and with unripe mangoes, we can make a variety of pickles.It suddenly occurred to me that right now, I've got three different mango pickles in my kitchen...all home-made!When the mangoes are tiny, they are called (in Tamizh)...mA vadu. This particular pickle is made by a process where the juices of the tiny mangoes flow out with the salt in which they are soaked. With proper preparation and storage (and frequent "shaking up"), this pickle can…

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Birdwatching, or birding, as it is referred to, seems to have become a very popular pastime in Bangalore. In this context, it's interesting to find out just how it's organized and carried out in the city...and I decided to talk to several people who've had more than thirty years of experience in this activity A team at the HSBC Bird Race. Pic: Deepa Mohan. There are no "professional" ornithologists, as far as  I can gather, in the city. Most of the experienced birders of Bangalore are those who pursue birding as a weekend or holiday activity. Their professions might or…

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High as a kite..

...That subject title is literally true, since a Black Kite floated past on the thermals, at eye level, as I took these pics! Some of them are through very dirty glass, so I apologize for the marks across the sky.I went to conduct an interview yesterday, and from the 11th floor of the building (guess which one it is!) I took these shots of central Bangalore as it is today (or was, yesterday...maybe a couple more buildings have mushroomed!!)It's lovely to see the various landmarks...Chinnaswamy Stadium, Utility Building, the various convent schools, and so on.Prof Ramani of TTK says that…

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Duniya Sabkia theatre workshop for childrenfor children between 9-12 yearsFrom 7th May to 14th May 2011, 10:00 AM to 12:00 PMAt Rhythm School of Fusion, 14, Kaikondanahalli, Sarjapur Road(Near Total Mall, Sarjapur Road)For registrations and enquiries -Write to warafiki@yahoo.com, orCall Ravindra on 99863 71543.Note:rafiki is offering an eight day theatre workshop for children between 9 and 12 years. The workshop is titled Duniya Sabki, and is based on a poem (by the same title) written by the poet and theatre artist, Safdar Hashmi.Employing theatre games, exercises and our own experience of working with children - the workshop will aim to…

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  I saw in Citizen Matters that I could volunteer for Bus Day this month:  here's the announcement So I've registered myself....let's see what I am asked to do, and what happens! It's going to be interesting, and I am rather tickled by the concept that "celebrities" cannot take the bus without assistance!      ⊕

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Rage…

   At 8.30 pm on the 4th of April, I took the BIAS Vayu Vajra (BIAS 12, to KuVemPu Nagara)nfrom the airport to my home.On the way, a group of four passengers got on,and asked for tickets. They paid Rs. 60( four tickets of Rs.15 each) , and the conductor said that the tickets would cost Rs.20 each. The young man who was one of the group protested, saying that he had taken the Volvo yesterday and had paid only Rs.15, and he would not pay the higher amount.The conductor insisted that the amount was correct. The passenger demanded that the…

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This year's Ranga Ugadi at Ranga Shankara celebrates the seven Jnanapeetha Award Winnersof Kannada, in a daylong festival on Sun, Apr 3. While Karnad and Anantamurthy read fromtheir works ("Hoovu" and "Suryana Kudure" respectively), the works of Kuvempu, Bendre,Karanth, Masti, and Gokak will be represented in the form of plays directed by well-knowndirectors, theatre songs and a film.Ranga Ugadi is a tradition at Ranga Shankara. On the Sunday before Ugadi (falls on Apr 3 thisyear), Kannada theatre, literature, folk arts and food come together for a daylong celebration.Special folk arts from various parts of Karnataka will be performing too. The…

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   Every morning when we open our newspapers, they scatter in a leaf-fall cataract...the little pamphlets that advertise all sorts of products and services.It is much cheaper for the advertisers to pay for such insertions in the paper, rather than pay for advertisements in the paper itself, which may also be missed out by the less-attentive page-turner! But alas, I have a mental block towards these ad-pamphlets, because they usually provide services that I am not interested in, and also, the putting in of these tracts by the newspaper agent occupies time, and delays the delivery of my newspapers. And since…

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   The Government of Karnataka in association with Karnataka StateArchery Association is organizing "Archery Camp" on 19th & 20th March,2011 inthe premises of Sree Kanteerava Stadium, B'lore. This is to encourageArcheryand create awareness in the game of Archery in the State. This camp is primarily meant for the beginners/amateurs withoutage limitations. 1. Open to groups of IT and BT employees/Journalists. 2. Open to other individuals. 3. Open to groups from Educational Institutions. 4. No age restrictions. 5. No entrance fee or any other fee. 6. Professional Archers are not eligible. Interested persons may attend the practice/coaching session on19-03-2011 between 10.00 AM…

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