Articles by Vaishnavi Vittal

It was the beginning of a new chapter for artists in the city as the Southern Regional Center of the National Gallery of Modern Art (NGMA) was inaugurated in Bengaluru on 18th February. Located at the heritage site of Manikyavelu Mansion on Palace Road, the gallery was inaugurated by Union Minister of Culture and Tourism, Ambika Soni. The event was presided over by leader of Opposition, Government of Karnataka, Mallikharjun Kharge and Minister of Medical Education, Ramachandra Gowda. Spread over 3.5 acres, the gallery has been designed to be a cultural institute. Prof. Rajeev Lochan, Director, NGMA, says, "This gallery…

The residential hub of Jayanagar was once known for its nurseries. But where have all those nurseries gone today? Is the era of neighbourhood nursery over? Asha Nursery, Jayanagar 1st block (pic: Vaishnavi Vittal) As you take the one-odd kilometre walk from Siddapura all the way up to NIMHANS, you can see a number of nurseries on your way, interspersed with buildings and houses. But, if you were taking a stroll down that path five years ago, all you could see were nurseries. The nurseries took up more than 200 acres of land then. But today the number has dwindled…

Members of Sri Ram Sene got their share of limelight this fortnight. For beating women, tugging at their clothes, matrimonial threats... And Bangaloreans aren't taking this quietly. On 8th February, students of the Srishti School of Art and Design organised a peace march protesting against this moral policing. With the slogan 'I am an Indian, this is my culture', more than hundred people took to the streets with banners and placards. Students in a peace march against moral policing on Sunday, 8th of Feb (pic: Sastry Vadlamani) The march started from Rest House Road park, through Brigade Road, and ended…

The Agara and Iblur junction flyover project kick-started in October 2008 and is scheduled to be completed in a span of 18 months. The project includes three flyovers - two at Agara and one at Iblur. Dedicated bus lanes and grade level roads are also part of the project. BDA officials say that this project is to ease traffic between Iblur and Agara junctions, and also part of the BDA's dream project of making Outer Ring Road signal-free. The combined cost of the project is Rs. 93.94 crores. Construction drill material for the flyover seen at the Outer Ring Road.…

Some like it mapped For Design Engineer Ashok Vasudevan, using a mobile phone to tell you which route to take is a nuisance. Ashok prefers using a map. Yes, how can one forget the good ol' map? How many of us have even used a map apart from our geography classes in school? Ashok says, "I'm crazy about maps. I use the Eicher map. It's easy to use as it first provides a complete map of Bangalore in two pages which is then divided into several numbered parts. These parts are then magnified in subsequent pages. It's a handy tool…

As a woman I have no country. As a woman my country is the whole world - Virginia Woolf Meet Jyothi Ganesh, editor, publisher, writer, mother, wife, all rolled into one. From helping her maid get a recurring deposit in the nearby bank to sweetly coaxing her young neighbour to fit a silencer to his noisy bike, Jyothi believes in 'doing and giving'. Founder-editor of Frazer Times, a community newspaper of areas in and around Frazer Town in north Bangalore, this woman runs the show single-handedly. Soft-spoken, passionate, endearing, patient, these are but a few words to describe this dreamer.…