Articles by Deepa Mohan

One of the conveniences of living in an Indian city is that one can get excellent value for money. Let's take the example of coffee...if one wants a quick shot of the drink, there's always the ubiquitious neighbourhood Darshini to provide a "baitu" thimbleful. But if one wants some freshly roasted and ground coffee powder to take home, there are plenty of shops to cater to that, too. Here's the signboard of one shop in the Jayanagar 9th Block market area: I go in, and the shop owner asks me which kind of coffee powder I want, and whether I…

I was travelling back from Delhi when I saw a young man, also boarding for the same flight, who had an interesting looking trophy with him: I said hello to him, congratulated him because he had obviously won something, and asked what it was about. "This is the trophy that Karnataka won this year, for the best float in the Republic Day Parade," he replied. "We've won it a few times in the past, and if we win three years running, the rolling trophy will become ours." Having, rather uncharacteristically, missed watching the Republic Day Parade this year as I…

Two unusual plants in Lalbagh are in bloom again, and those interested can go and view them near the Office of the Deputy Directorate of Horticulture. The first one is the exquisitely-coloured, and beautifully-shaped,JADE VINE:and the other is the CROWN OF THORNS (Euphorbium milii)which is a kind of banana plant, but much taller:The infloresence, indeed, resembles our own plantain flowers:The third lovely plant is what is called the "Shrimp" Plant, which has lovely ballon-like flowers:All these plants are within a few feet of each other...go and enjoy the sight of the blooms! ⊕

On a mailing list for cyclists, that I belong to, I received this analysis,from Chidambaran Subramanianb, of why road-widening is not a sustainable option:"Cut down the trees, widen the roads , make them signal free if possible. Good, I am pretty sure that there will be no congestion for a week. Then, with the added cars everyday in the city and the new cars that are coming/going to come, there will be congestion and much more pollution than before. Now people will take another road which is pleasant and tree-laden. Identify that as an arterial road , widen it and…

  We had gone to Bannerghatta early in the morning, but on the way back, the bandh caught up with us.....it seemed to be nothing but traders downing their establishments in fear, and miscreants blocking off the main road with stones in order to burn old tyres.... Here are the toxic fumes rising from the tyres:The irony was that these anti-social elements stood around in the fumes themselves, unaware of how they were poisoning themselves as well as the air around.We had to take the small roads to get home, the traffic was completely choked up, and chaotic...Why do the citizens of…

Of the 47 teams that took part in the HSBC Bangalore Bird Race, I am only talking about Team Black Stork.... comprised (in alphabetical order) Gayathri, Mani, Saandip, Uma...and me.We certainly had a wonderful time that day, and we certainly never had any expectations, as bird-sightings are so much a matter of luck! Our list had 123 birds, and I never did photograph most of them. I'm hoping that the others will put up their bird-race photographs up soon! We started at my top favourite birding location, the Bannerghatta Zoo area. A bird that I enjoyed seeing was the handsomeLARGE CUCKOO-SHRIKE:The Zoo…

  When I go for my morning walk around the Mini Forest, it's often dark, and so it's easy to see the magic of the cobwebs that the spiders spin, to catch the insects that are drawn to the light....That's the way the web starts...on some lamps, the creation is quite impressive:In the dark, the filaments of the web seem to be made of light themselves....a light-trap, to catch the unwary, that the predators build of gossamer....just look at the strength of the web, that can trap so much debris and hold it up without breaking!  ⊕

  At our front door, my kolam greets you with good wishes: and when you enter, Surya Narayana is there to bless you with happiness, health, and prosperity:And if you are not too late, you will get "shakkarai pongal" and "ven pongal", to eat, as the puja prasad!Wish everyone a happy Pongal...or, if you are not celebrating it, a happy weekend!  ⊕

  Magic Puddles, a learning centre for younger children in J P Nagar, had a 3-day stint of telling the children all about the Harvest Festival.  Nandini talked about how Sankranti is celebrated in Karnataka, and Geetu talked about how it is celebrated in Tamil Nadu and Maharashtra.Here are some of the children, listening to the various fact and myths surrounding the festival!Shreya talked about Lohri, as it is celebrated in Punjab, Haryana, and Himachal Pradesh. Many of the children (and adults!) came wearing colourful, festive clothes...and we all joined her in singing one of the Lohri songs!  Sweet Pongal, sugarcane, and…

 Here's the email I got from Santosh: Dear Friends,Running, cycling and exercising has many benefits for a healthy lifestyle and anyone can develop a passion for it. The first step to exercising - running, walking, cycling, swimming etc. is to just get out and do it!! It doesn't matter for how long, how far or how fast - You are already a champion for gritting it out once you start! Welcome to Strides of Hope ( www.stridesofhope.com ) - this is the second edition of the first of its kind ever organized in India - a 48 Hour Endurance Run and…