City: Bengaluru

“I’m suffering from the empty nest syndrome. Help!” A mother whose daughter has just left for university abroad commented recently on a Facebook group I belong to. In less than two minutes, there were other mothers in similar situations commiserating with her. Mothers with children who had just left home to attend college in another city or country; Mothers with children who had started working elsewhere or were about to take off soon, whether for college or work. As I read the comments, I realised that precisely at that moment, I was rather thrilled to have the children out of…

Residents affected by the realignment of Metro track near Jayadeva Hospital claim to be harassed by the land acquisition and survey officers, even before the Phase-II is officially finalised. One of the residents, Anil Kumar (45), Freelance Consultant in Strategy and Project Management, has been living opposite to Jayadeva since 1986 with his mother who is affected by Parkinson’s disease. He says, “Two officers named Venkat Raman and Gopal Swamy, who claimed to be the survey supervisors from Bangalore Metro Rail Corporation Ltd. (BMRCL) visited us in order to verify and procure copies of property documents, Khata certificate and latest…

In spite of the new rules introduced by Bruhat Bangalore Mahanagara Palike (BBMP) to address the issue of Municipal Solid Waste (MSW), Bangalore continues to be plagued by the problem of uncollected waste in the neighbourhoods. The rules instruct the citizens to segregate waste, but they do not deal with the burgeoning quantities of solid waste generated. More rich you are, more waste you produce! A research carried out by the United Nations Environmental Programme (UNEP) in the field of behavioural economics has shown that the per capita generation of MSW is directly proportional to affluence and consumption patterns of…

It’s official. The higher you want to stay, the more you will have to pay. This concept has been officially introduced by the Stamps and Registration Department, in the new guidance values issued on 12 August, 2013. Though the concept wasn’t explicitly publicised, it has been in existence for a few years now. Those who wish to buy flats or apartments were being charged extra by builders, depending on the amenities and the floor on which they want to buy the space. The guidance values published in 2011 had a flat rate for all floors in any given apartments. Now…

Most of us in our city would have gone to Lalbagh (or any of the other lakes)  at some time or the other... but the next time you do, do go to the lake and look at one very common bird...so common that we often do not see the incredible beauty it is! Purple Moorhen with Waterlily. Pic: Deepa Mohan This is the Purple Moorhen, or the Purple Swamphen. The colours of this purple bird shine iridescently in the sunshine, and it looks as if it’s got bright red lipstick on! You can find these birds in large numbers, clambering…

Citizen Matters had published an article on the death of Meghala, a girl aged six and weighing 12 kg, at D J Halli. This article throws light on the extent of malnutrition in Karnataka and how various recommendations to combat the same were ignored by the government, resulting in a death that could have otherwise been prevented. Meghala's death and the subsequent reaction in the media and political corridors is reminiscent of the furore after the death of five-year-old Anjaneya from Raichur in late 2011. Anjaneya was diagnosed as being severely malnourished in 2010 and yet, thanks in no small…

A few months ago, I was going through the ‘Bangalore District Gazetteer.’ The 'oldness' and the 'dustiness' of the Gazetteer just seemed to add to the authenticity of a ‘gazetteer.’ The stories were mostly likeable, bringing in a sense of wonder and revealing a past that I did not know. I looked for ‘markets’ and ‘bazaars’ on its index page. I’m sharing here some excerpts from it. The ones that I found most interesting were the ones with names of localities in the city that we know today but are so completely transformed from the old days. For instance, it…

Garden City Farmers (GCF), Bengaluru, is delighted to celebrate World Kitchen Garden Day with the 8th edition of Oota From Your Thota, Bangalore's only urban organic gardening fair. The one-day event will be held on Sunday, 25 August 2013, from 10am to 5pm at the Durga Parameshwari grounds, Opposite Rangashankara, JP Nagar. Over the past few years, while Bangalore has lost countless trees, the patches of green in its houses are growing, slowly, yet steadily. Bangaloreans have begun turning their spaces, however small, into lush gardens and the kind that provides food. The number of vegetable terrace gardens in the city have grown to…

On 1 August 2013, within a month of state budget being presented, tenders have been called for five signal-free corridors. It has stirred a hornet’s nest again with speculations about land acquisition and traffic problems while the work is on. The last date for submission of tenders is 4 September 2013. These five corridors cover approximately 55 km inside the city. They are: 1) Identified stretches of Hosur Road, including Central Silk Board Junction to Vellara Junction2) Identified stretches of Outer Ring Road (ORR), from Mysore Road Junction to Central Silk Board Junction (13.4 Km);3) From Government Soap Factory junction…

Maraa invites you to Blue Print of a Park Imaginarium this Sunday, Aug 18th | Cubbon Park Bandstand 3 pm - 6 pm. We invite artists of all age groups to come and paint, sketch, draw their imagination for a park. Maraa in collaboration with other groups in Bangalore will be submitting a joint proposal to consider revitalising Cubbon Park with better access, and for diverse uses. The sketches made at the event will be submitted to the department as well. Call for participation to the Public How many times have we been in an open space, and imagined what could have…