City: Bengaluru

Feel you waste time at bus stops? Plan your trip with our app, you'll get to the stop just on time for your bus https://t.co/IgAjglMCsC pic.twitter.com/Dq1YOtA2R3 — BMTC (@BMTC_Bangalore) May 22, 2017 Thus said Bengaluru Metropolitan Transport Company (BMTC), in a recent tweet. The tweet was obviously about the Intelligent Transport System BMTC has developed spending crores of rupees. But does the ITS actually work as it should? The official ITS mobile application was released in May 2016 with much fanfare. The BMTC claimed that the app would help commuters track their buses in real time. Initial reviews by the consumers…

Having always been a self-proclaimed ‘dog person,’ Osha Shetty works hard every day to improve the lives of these innocent creatures she loves so dearly. This 30-year-old is currently the Centre Manager at the CUPA Second Chance Adoption Centre, Silk Board Junction. CUPA (Compassion Unlimited Plus Action) rescues thousands of abandoned, ill-treated and sick street animals in Bengaluru and provides them with the care they need until they may be re-homed. Osha’s love extends to other animals too, and she was one of the people behind The Cat Studio, New Tippasandra. Osha has always had dogs and other pets in…

RJ Beula and RJ Vijaya of Radio Active 90.4 MHz were at the fine hand block-printing workshop organised by Tharangini in Sadashivanagar on 13 May 2017. The event was held in celebration of 40 years of the organisation promoting the ideas of Indian artisanship, textiles, and eco-friendly production, one of the very few such initiatives remaining in our city today. All dyes are eco-friendly and made in-house. Many of the artisans have been with Tharangini for nearly 2 - 3 decades. Padmini Govind speaks about the history and various activities of Tharangini - a textile unit that was started by…

Every day we produce tonnes of organic waste – banana peels, potato skins, egg shells, and wasted food – that all get dumped into the dustbin. Most of us give no second thought to where this garbage is going, let alone the people who come to whisk it out of our lives. Pic: Sanaya Katrak A candid chat with the group of garbage collectors doing their rounds in Green Glen Layout, Bellandur every morning, offered a peek into their daily encounters. They were immensely grateful for even the chilled bottle of water given to them as they willingly talked of…

Priya Dilip, a research scholar in the field of Gender and cultural studies, is originally from what she calls a 'sleepy town' in Kerala. She talks about her childhood, her love of reading, and authors who left an impression on her. She 'recognises' herself in the characters of Alice Munro and sways with Carson McCullers. She has travelled extensively for her doctoral research paper on Devdasis of Kerala, and has many an anecdote to narrate. She also talks about the changing academic sphere, the struggles a woman goes through, and life.  

The best feeling that one can have is the happiness that comes from within. Add to that acceptance by family, and the happiness just expands manifold. Karan Kariappa, the founder of Amour, an LGBTQ+ dating platform, talks about how he met Abdul Rahman Khan. Rahman shares his poetry and talks about his coming out, and about how his family accepted his preferences.  

The Karnataka government passed an order on May 2, 2017 capping prices of movie tickets at Rs 200, based on the proposal made in the 2017 budget. A lot of Bengalureans whine about the exorbitant prices of movie tickets in multiplexes, and were happy with this move. Prices of movies tickets were quite high in Bengaluru, sometimes reaching 700-800 rupees for a blockbuster release on a weekend. Though, more commonly, one would have to pay Rs 300-400 for a movie ticket in a multiplex. Many people found this unaffordable as they could not make as many visits to the multiplex…

One of the wonderful things about Varsha Ritu and Grishma Ritu in our city is still the wonderful carpets of flowers that the trees lavish upon the ground beneath them. Here are just three flowering trees, the Copper Pod (Peltophorum pterocarpum), Jacaranda (Jacaranda mimosifolia) and Honge (Pongaemia pinnata). Here is how one of the small roads looks after the Copper Pod flowers have fallen: This is a closeup of the Copper Pod flower and the seed which gives the tree its name: Here is the carpet of Honge flowers: A closer look: Honge carpet: The purple of the Jacaranda is…

With an area of 272 acres, Madiwala lake is one of the three largest lakes in Bengaluru. Located in South Bengaluru, it comes under the administrative control of Karnataka Forest Dept (KFD) who is responsible for its upkeep and maintenance. Butterfly park with the scientist for design and planting butterfly attracting plants. The lake had a lot of hyacinth growth and sewage inflow, directly and indirectly from the open storm water drain (SWD) that runs inside the lake from South-west corner to North-east corner. Karnataka government decided in 2016 to develop it into a bio-diversity park, on the recommendation of…