Articles by Deepa Mohan

The cycling group (Bangalore Bikers' Club) that I belong to has a very active egroup that exchanges notes on everything to do with cycling, and they recently posted the link to this peppy, bright cycling song....song at: http://malwebb.customer.netspace.net.au/bike.mp3The lyrics are here: http://malwebb.customer.netspace.net.au/bike.htmlEnjoy it..and start cycling today!⊕

The well-known wildlife photographer, Sudhir Shivaram (you can visit his photosite athttp://www.thejunglelook.comand see his varied images)gave a presentation-cum-workshop on the various aspects of digital photography, at the Canon Retail Lounge at Brigade Towers on Brigade Road, on Sunday, 18th February 2009.Here's the Canon Lounge:Here's Sudhir, giving his presentation:The audience consisted of a mixture of wildlife lovers and photographers!They were very appreciative about Sudhir's presentation, and said that they found him very approachable.This is part of Canon's ongoing initiative to engage the public in all aspects of digital photography. For more details on this, visithttp://www.canon.co.in/CanonInNews.asp?work=details&NEWS_ID=173&News=press⊕

How many autos do we know, which give the right signals before turning? Yes, that's right, that was the correct number...or non-number!But once in a while, the autos are pretty upfront about it, too...I don't know if this guy switches on his air-conditioning or not..but definitely, no hand signals!But all autos have FOOT signals..you know, when the auto at the back has the driver with one foot out, pushing the auto in front of him....!Thanks to a friend for spotting this one. ⊕

I read this post...http://bengaluru.citizenmatters.in/articles/view/812-safer-footpathsDuring a walk from my home to IIM-Bangalore on Bannerghatta Road, a distance of about 2.5 kms, I met with the following obstacles:1.Open drains2.Missing granite slabs that would decant me instantly into the gutter beneath if I was not careful.3.Large piles of garbage stretching all the way to the road.4. Furniture and other wares set out by shopkeepers.5. Pushcarts parked randomly.6. Two-wheelers parked, and sometimes being driven, on the pavement.7. Transformers of BESCOM.8. Huge dug-up craters, sometimes with cables being laid, sometimes pipes, sometimes nothing that I could see to account for the digging.9. Families sitting and…

Shishu Mandir17/11, Cambridge Rd., UlsoorBangalore 560008. Ashraya Children's HomeJawan's Quarters,BDA Park, Double Rd.,Indiranagar Stage 1, Bangalore 560038.Ph. 080 25241929 Fax 080 25286195email: ashchild@airtelmail.inSociety of Sisters of CharityHoly Angels Convent, c/o Stella Maris Convent,Malleswaram, Bangalore- 560003.Ph. 080 27757235 Fax 080 27757235email: snehalayaabp@vsnl.netM/S Canara Bank Relief and Welfare SocietySevakshetra Hospital Road, 27th Cross, Banashankari 2nd StageBangalore 560070.Ph. 080 26713421/26717080 Fax 080 26719622email: mathruchhaya@hotmail.comSt Michael's Home/ConventGood Shepherd Sisters, 80 Feet Road, Indira Nagar Post,Bangalore 560038.Ph. 080 25282811 Fax 080 25273944email: stmichaelshome@dataone.inVathsalya Charitable TrustNo.717,5th Cross, HRBR 1st BlockBanaswadi, Bangalore 560043Ph. 080 25457360/ 25459366 Fax 080 25452671 email: vathsalya88@rediffmail.comThis list was put up as a…

We've been moaning about the India Coffee House on M G Road shutting down soon, but when I went for the INTACH-organized Heritage walk on Avenue Road, I was astonished by the site of a van vending coffee and snacks to several people, early in the morning! Apparently it's there every weekend morning, I am not sure if it's also there on weekdays:The van is run by the "Coffee Mandali" or Coffee Board...five rupees gets one a china cup of piping hot coffee!Here are several people jostling (as usual, Bangaloreans seem never to have heard of the word "queue") for…

We went on the heritage walk on Avenue Road, organized by INTACH, this morning (watch Citizen Matters for a detailed report on how the shopkeepers of Avenue Road engaged with the walkers..a first-time combination!) and we took a bus back home. On the way home from the bus stop, we were amazed to see an entreprenurial iniatitive...a push-cart with pani puri! The young man, Raju, said that he was from UP and had come here to make a living. Since neither of us was in the mood for a full lunch after the excellent "prasad" of pulioygare and mosaranna provided…

Most of us agree that our tree cover is depleting alarmingly, and we cluck about it....but St Mark's School has done something...er...concrete, to choose an inappropriate word!They have planted 9 badam trees in front of their school in J P Nagar 3rd Phase.They had plenty of excuses NOT to plant trees. The Mini Forest, with lots of trees, is right opposite. There's hardly any footpath in front the school. But they went ahead and planted the trees anyway.And in a short time, the trees are providing shade on the hot street...Long live schools like St Mark's, which put their trees…

It's not a great time to pick for an evening of theatre.... on a Wednesday evening. First, the traffic. Of all our theatre spaces, Chowdiah is the least well-connected by public transport. Leave alone not being close to any bus stop, it is not even convenient for auto-rickshaws. So, one decides to drive, battling the guilt of using the car for only two people. And one realises that the ‘evening of leisure’ will not begin until the wretched having-cars-autos-and-two-wheelers-squeezing-past drive is over, as also the eternal hunt for that elusive El Dorado, the Parking Space. It took us an hour…

One of the things that make our Indian cities vibrant is the presence of several small businesses that eke their living by solving the everyday problems of the citizens, or making their lives easier in small and practical ways.One such tradesman is the locksmith who is found in every market area. Here is Mr Muniyappa of Jayanagar 9th Block:Mr Muniyappa has, he says, been in this spot for over 2 decades now! He has seen Jayanagar 9th Block market developing from scratch into a busy, crowded area.His shop is still on the footpath:But people for miles around know where, exactly…