City: Bengaluru

In 1983, United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organisation (UNESCO) declared April 18 as World Heritage Day to celebrate and preserve the shared heritage and history of the globe. On this day, countries around the world salute all that is left behind by generations before them for a continuity to their way of life. But 75-year-old Devendra S isn’t interested in global affairs.  He is more worried about the fate of legacy his community has preserved for centuries now. Devendra belongs to the Thigala community - the keepers of Bengaluru's oldest festival - Bengaluru Karaga. The pride of old Bengaluru,…

Citizen Matters in the past has explained how khata can be transferred without paying bribe. This post explains the experience of khata bifurcation/transfer done for a newly built apartment by a few of the residents, after following old examples. March 2017: We initially heard that Khata transfer can’t be done without paying bribe. Many of the fellow owners of the apartments were under the same impression. Initially around 15-18 owners got it done with the help of builder by paying huge amount of bribe. Their khata was done in 2 months only. We, the rest of the owners, thought we…

"I can do it with my eyes closed now. I can tell you what medicine is placed where, which doctor comes in when, and where my patients are at all times,” Leelamma says with a smile. Leelamma, the nurse staff-in charge at the St. John’s Medical College and Hospital in the Bengaluru hails from Kottayam. She has spent 22 years of her career here after stints in Assam and Saudi Arabia. Her faded, yet neatly pressed, white gown speaks of her longevity in service. This time around, she has a new challenge: handling panic. “Everyone with a fever is suddenly…

“Modi Modi! Modi Modi!” “Twinkle twinkle little star, Yeddyurappa superstar!” Activists belonging to Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) kept chanting and demonstrating, even as the initial trends showed BJP leading in 112 and more seats, on the counting of Karnataka Vidhan Sabha Elections 2018, on May 15, 2018. https://youtu.be/4ttqO4v-lMs  The members were ecstatic about their party’s perceived majority. Temple Street in Malleshwaram, where Jagannatha Bhavan, BJP’s State Headquarters is located, was full of a sea of flags. Cardboard cutouts of Modi and Yeddyurappa were raised and the party members danced with pride and joy, leading to road blockage near the office.…

The ceremony to announce the selection of Bengaluru’s first ever Bicycle Mayor was held at The Park in Bengaluru, on Monday, May 21, 2018. Mr. Jaap Werner, Consul General of Embassy of the Kingdom of the Netherlands declared Sathya Sankaran as Bengaluru’s newly chosen Bicycle Mayor. Sathya came to the stage along with his bicycle, to receive the recognition. Everyone working in the field of sustainable mobility is familiar with Sathya Sankaran. He draws inspiration from every citizen who is dedicated to the cause of cycling and pedestrianisation, and those who depend on cycling to earn their daily living. “They…

Bengaluru's first Indie Comix Festival (ICF) showcased a host of self-published, alternative stories from over twenty comic book artists. The free, all-day event was held Bengaluru on May 20th, 2018, at the Rangoli Metro Art Centre. Art in Transit project of the Srishti Institute of Art Design and Technology collaborated with ICF to host the festival. On display were a wide range of comics from tiny 10 rupees pop-up comics to original comic covers costing up to 3000 rupees. Started by a group of volunteers with aim of bringing independent, self-published comic writers and readers together, the event was dazzling…

The start of 2018 has seen a slew of announcements for the Bengaluru Suburban Rail Project, a project that was first proposed way back in 1983. The Government of Karnataka and Ministry of Railways, Government of India announced their official approval and slew of works to kickstart the actual suburban rail services in the city. Though it could be argued that the timing of the announcements which coincided the State Assembly elections was about political capital, it has put the project on an irreversible northward trajectory. On January 31, 2018, Government of Karnataka came out with its announcement for setting…

Ever since the Karnataka Assembly Elections results were announced on May 15, the State has seen high political drama about who would form the next government. With the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) short of nine votes for simple majority on the floor of the House, where it has to prove its majority on May 19th, every vote becomes important. Though the Governor of Karnataka gave Yeddyurappa 15 days to prove his majority, the Supreme Court stepped in on May 18th and directed a floor test for the BJP to prove their majority on Saturday reducing the grace period awarded. Among…

26 constituencies in Bengaluru went to poll on May 12th, and here are the winners. First, some data on the trends: There are no women.Kelachandra Joseph George, 68, from Sarvagnanagar is the oldest MLA.Zameer Ahmed Khan, 51, an 8th pass and six other candidates who have mentioned schooling in their education qualification have an average net asset of 80 crores. Five other MLA's (Shivanna B, Ravi Subramanya LA, Krishna Byre Gowda, Dinesh Gundu Rao and N A Harris) with post graduate degrees have an average net worth of 43 crores. The average net assets of all the 26 MLAs is 53 crore, and the…

So we are all finally done with exercising our franchise on Saturday, 12th May, and been through the truly exhilarating ballot counting process and the results. A good to time to pause and reflect on the last few weeks and the run up to the assembly elections. My constituency Mahadevapura saw candidates from the top three parties (INC, BJP, JDS), many other smaller parties (APP, Swaraj, et al) and individuals in the fray. We have many issues in the constituency which is home to many IT parks, the world famous frothing Bellandur Lake, the choc-a-bloc outer ring road and a…