City: Bengaluru

Theatre changed her lawyer dreams Ranjitha Surya Vamshi talks about how, when and why she got into Theatre even though her childhood dream was to become a lawyer. She talks about the various people who encouraged and supported her through her journey. She also shares her views on why women should not limit themselves to the four walls of their houses.   For the love of acting Nayana Sooda, a native of Dakshina Kannada / Karnataka has lived in Bangalore for over 20 years. She shares how she entered the world of theatre. Many people encouraged Nayana to take up…

The Kengeri Satellite Town adjacent to Mysore Road is now a busy township. Kommaghatta road is one of the major roads in this area. It connects this region with Tavarakere in Magadi Road. If you go along this road, or on any of the adjoining roads, past NICE road, you will see the latest site development project of BDA called Nadaprabhu Kempe Gowda Layout. Look a little deeper, and you will see that it is an environmental disaster in the making. Pic: B V Rajarama Bhat This has been a green belt providing valuable oxygen supply to the city and it is…

Rains in Bengaluru summer bring the greatest joy in us, they also create traffic woes, and have people stranded all over the place, often creating utter chaos. A recent spell of torrential rain reminded me of a day when I had gone to Ridhani's production unit and was going to be late from work. A perfect sunny summery morning had changed to a dark cloudy afternoon and within an hour or so, it started pouring - so much so that in about two hours there was waterlogging and severe traffic jams along the way. It was around 8.30 pm and…

The National Green Tribunal (NGT), in a hearing held on April 12 2017, has warned of passing restraining directions against the State of Karnataka, if discharge of untreated sewage into the Bellandur Lake in Bengaluru is not stopped immediately. The NGT also directed the Chief Secretary of the state to be present before the Tribunal during the next hearing. The Tribunal also pulled up Karnataka Lake Catchment Development Authority (KLCDA) for allowing the situation to reach a stage where lake catches fire. The State government, KLCDA and other authorities have been directed to apprise the court of the measures taken…

Mysore Bank at the Mysore Bank Circle is a thing of past - it's going to be just State Bank henceforth! Pic: Malempati Ravi/ Google Local Guides After 104 years, the name State Bank of Mysore was relegated to history. “Mysore Bank” which held a place of pride among Bengalureans no longer exists. There won’t be any boards dotting the city with the blue symbol. And like with many establishments, the name will continue to live on in Bengaluru, hiding in plain sight among other spots of history – in the city’s bus stops and junctions. The latter cannot be…

Sights and sounds at Yediyur Lake I am not immune to FB posts, so when there was a sudden rush of bird sightings from Yediyur kere, I realized that I'd not visited for many years. When Padma and Ramaswamy suggested going there this morning, I was very happy to join them. So many trees have fresh leaves right now, like this Peepal tree: This lake is maintained well. However, the fact of its being completely fenced around, and having all growth stunted to bush size except for a few spots, made it feel more "manicured" than I am comfortable with...but…

Trifene, a student from Zimbabwe, came to Bengaluru, to study in Christ College in Bengaluru, after she was promised of cutting-edge technological opportunities and new multi-cultural experiences. But as she was soon to find out, the process of assimilating into Indian society would be much harder than she expected. She says she faced racially motivated encounters that she would shy away from to avoid any conflict; sometimes it was unavoidable to participate in such conflicts when they occurred inside her hostel. In the video below, she narrates an incident where another male student who lived in the same hostel as…

In the first part of the interview, you saw Bengaluru City Police Commissioner Praveen Sood speaking about various issues related to traffic management in the city. In this second and last part of the interview, he makes elaborate comments about issues such as the most challenging type of crime that Bengaluru police face, the drug menace, of the conflicts between foreign nationals and local people and how prepared are police for the election year. Bengaluru City Police Commissioner Praveen Sood. Pic: Akshatha M How is the nature of crime changing with changing times? What is the most challenging type of…

On the new year’s eve the State government appointed senior IPS officer Praveen Sood as the Police Commissioner of Bengaluru. On the same night, incidents of 'mass molestation' were reported in the city, showing Bengaluru in a bad light. Now that the dust has settled, and the police chief is completing three months in his office, he says he is working with an agenda which he terms as “citizen empowerment.” In a detailed interview with the Citizen Matters, the Police Commissioner tells why it is important for city police to shift from citizen awareness to citizen empowerment - to make…