City: Bengaluru

A news item, dated June 5, 2013 said: “Wall pulled down to alter minister’s chambers.” A partition wall connecting two rooms allotted to Forest Minister Ramanath Rai was demolished in order to make the minister’s chambers bigger. Minister Sir, it was not just the wall that was demolished, it was the wall of hope that the people had erected, about better governance, when they elected your party to govern the state last month. Just last year, the then chief minister’s political secretary had ordered demolition of walls in his office to make it bigger – and this same Congress that…

17:39:38 Water water everywhere! Pic: Shree D N It was while hurrying back from Vijayanagar to Malleshwaram that we happened to meet this ‘all-time high,’ ‘10-cm’ record rain for Bangalore. Such a rain is not new to me personally - it was a regular during my childhood days, in my village in Kerala. And trust me, there were no unwanted incidents or accidents there, due to rain, except for occasional breaking of Areca trees. Both my husband and I, though stuck in a traffic jam, were enjoying the rain, sitting in the car. After 20 minutes, I got the first…

H S Doreswamy inaugurating the event. Ministers Ramalinga Reddy and Dinesh Gundu Rao too are seen. Pic: Kedar Nadella Namma Bengaluru Foundation (NBF) which spearheaded the campaign ‘Govern Right, Govern Responsibly’ presented the citizen’s manifesto to the newly elected 28 MLAs on 7th June 2013, at the Town hall. This manifesto/charter gives voice to the woes of Bengaluru’s citizens and also outlines their demands and suggestions about what should be done for the betterment of the city.   The charter was formed after days of discussions and deliberations with more than 300 Residents Welfare Associations and various citizen groups who…

Cartoon: Sridhar comaravalli Kavita D, 31, Sheeba Kumar, 29 and Anitha R, 31, have been friends for some years now. Despite diverse backgrounds, they have almost same requirements when it comes to finding a life partner. The guy should be of the “same wavelength,” with “similar interests, mindset and values” and “reasonably liberal.” Being from the same religion is important to Anitha, as it would “ease things out on the parental front” but the community doesn’t really matter to her. And while “well educated” and “established career-wise” are given, what matters most to these women is that the guy should…

A purple moorhen feeding on litter. Pic:Anvitha This time, I turn this column over to a friend, Anvitha, who is 17-years-old, and who is utilising her post-exam holidays to good effect, watching birds. Alas, it’s not always a thing of joy. Here’s her report from Lalbagh, in Bangalore: The fragrance of flowers attracts bees; so do the birds in Lalbagh attract bird watchers. Birdwatchers from all corners of Bangalore have always been drawn towards Lalbagh, but today the situation has  changed for the worse. Over the years, the number of  birdwatchers visiting Lalbagh has reduced due to the dwindling number…

The dust has settled down after the Karnataka elections. According to the pundits, BJP was booted out for corruption and Congress elected, for lack of any other options. Now the voters wait to see if their mandate pays off. In the midst of this, it is my job to ask - how did the women candidates fare in the election?First, the numbers. There were 2939 candidates contesting for the 223 of 224 seats. Little over six per cent of the candidates were women - 170. Out of them, only 58 were from major political parties. 13 of them contested from…

For the members of the Kannada television industry who were present at Kanteerava Studio on 4 June 2013, it was like a family reunion. The muhurtha of tele-serial director, actor and cultural icon, T N Seetaram’s next venture, Mahaparva, saw the presence of a large number of actors, directors, associates, litterateurs and a few politicians as well. Many actors who had been a part of Bhoomika Production’s (T N Seetharam’s production house) earlier projects felt it was a homecoming of sorts while for a few others, it was a walk down memory lane. Srinivas Prasad, Revenue Minister, A J Sadashiva,…

The precious ground water, which is utilised for washing utensils, clothes, bathing and ablution purposes in each household, finally ends up as sewage inside Bengaluru’s sewerage lines. With the risk of acute water shortage at our doorstep, can we afford to waste so much water? How much of this water can be reused? Are there ways to reduce and redirect our waste water for better purposes? Plants such as Papaya grown using human waste compost Pic: Kedar Nadella Ecological Sanitation, or Eco-San, is a relatively new philosophy that refers to low and high tech processes of an economically sustainable waste…

Disclaimer : Some autos are rented by the driver hence some of the logic explained below may not apply. However it is always the combination of these factors. These guidelines are for me and my type of folks, rest need to customize it or discard it. Obviously this isn't a scientific study and many are stereotypes created with my biases. But these are empirical observations which have worked for me. This is written with a need of self-preservation, of peace of mind and dignity and not to offend anyone. Finally this writing assumes the driver to be a male as…

Bangalore consumes 2000 MW of power. What does this mean? We often see in the news that so much of MW of power is required for the city, and so much is the shortage. What is it all about? How is this calculated? This is a highly simplified attempt to explain it. So, please don't compare it with what you read in textbooks!  Electricity means, flow of 'current' in a metal-wire (conductor). 'Current' is flow of electrons. It's like a series of cars moving at the same speed on a highway. Does it mean that for a given size of…