Articles by Marianne de Nazareth

This is the second, no, the third time I have had problems with invaders of the pedestrian pavements in Bengaluru. And this time I have had the most painful experience which I blame solely on the cops for not controlling. I have a huge and painful gash on the front of my shin where there is hardly any flesh and what makes it worse is I am a chronic diabetic. Digging on the other side of Richmond Road. Pic: Mariane D Nazarath Three scooter-borne jay riders were racing down Hayes Road on the wrong side of the road while I…

Hayes Road in Richmond Town is considered one of the better addresses to have in town. Yes, the homes are posh, the residents keep excellent, photo worthy homes, the gardens are lovely, but the condition of the road is a total and absolute mess. The road is a despair of the residents  who have been trying desperately to get the corporation to do something to alleviate their suffering. Take a look at the pictures; you need to go no further. At the end of the road, there is a house which residents say has been locked up for years. In…

A few days ago we decided to take a break at a home-stay in Coorg, and so had to take the Mysore Road out of Bangalore to Coorg. To avoid getting caught in a traffic jam, we always get out early in the day and that day was no different. The road was in an excellent condition which was a happy surprise for us, as most roads in Bangalore are in a mess, and we are used to pot holes remaining for even a decade. The only worry we had was the road humps, because we had hit one the…

Drive down any of the roads in the central part of Bangalore and all of them have a river of stinking sewage flowing on one side of it. The breakfast will rise in your throat, as you walk, ride or drive down Richmond Road, Residency Road or Hosur Road. Worst sufferers are the pedestrians including children walking to school, as they are splashed with the foul and dangerous muck, which flies up from the tyres of careless motorists.On Hayes Road, the sewage is bubbling up in resident's gardens and there is a sense of desperation pervading the area. The Bashas…

Have you ever told the driver using a hose to clean the neighbour’s car that he is wasting fresh water, and his response is “Borewell Madam!” with the emphasis on the word borewell? And in a tone suggesting you are so dumb it’s a free and plentiful supply?  That is the crux of the water problem being faced in Bangalore today. That is where education comes in. Where care should be taken by owners of borewells, to be judicious in their use of the water, just like they are with corporation water which they pay for. The Karnataka Ground Water…

Drive across the roads of Bangalore today and see mounds of filth, mud, plastic and stones removed from across the city’s drains and just left in heaps along the drains. It happens day in and day out. Men are hired to manually scavenge and clean the drains which get blocked through the year with dirt and debris either deliberately thrown in by the surrounding houses or swept into them by the sweepers, keeping the area clean. Instead of immediately sending in trucks to cart away the dirt, the mounds are left alongside, to slide right back, from where they initially…

Is it already six months since I began my iBrowse book club in the Catholic Club (CC)? The months seem to have flown by and there are a lot more readers coming in to enjoy a discussion and listen in to the guest author of the month! Author Gita Aramvudan with her books. Pic Courtesy: Marianne de Nazareth It all began really by default. Schonali Rebello began a book club called 'On the Same Page' and I joined along with other friends. Since the club did not have a fixed venue to meet in and was having the meetings in…

"Be pleased! Your area has been moved up into the commercial zone," said a builder to us. "What you paid for your house in the `80's has now jumped to more than ten times the price." Should you be pleased? If you plan to live in the same house, get ready to see a slow and steady decline into a nightmare - just like what happened to us. Castle Street was a little quiet street in the ‘80's with bungalows and small families that happily knew each another and enjoyed the peace and quiet of being in the heart of…

Ripples of excitement ran through the assembled gathering when Margaret Alva, the governor of Uttarakhand came to inaugurate a little plant fair in Bangalore. Simple and unassuming in her trademark silk saree and bindi, the governor who has been associated with The Association of people with Disability (APD) for years, inaugurated the sale without any fanfare. Sale: The Association of People with Disability,  6th Cross, Hutchins Road, Off Hennur Road,  Lingarajapuram, St. Thomas Town Post, Bengaluru 560 084. Ph:  25470390, 25475165 "Margaret Alva is on a visit to Bangalore and supports anything that can help people with disability, as well as the environment of Bangalore,” says…

As I stood in a queue in the town centre in Swansea, Wales (UK) waiting for my bus to arrive, I over heard two women in front of me grumbling angrily about having to speak to some person in Bangalore who actually knew nothing about her TV  complaint and she was not sure if anything would finally get done over the weekend. Ooh, typical white metality I thought till I got slammed by the same problem by Airtel.Well I have been ‘Bangalored’ by the Airtel  Broadband service in the so called silicon valley of India. I suddenly woke up yesterday…