City: Bengaluru

The Salvinia Molesta covering the surface of our little Puttenahalli Lake has not deterred all the birds! Our regulars, the purple swamp hens, purple heron, pond herons among others had refused to leave the lake even though the invasive aquatic fern was spreading on the water. They have now been joined by a Grey Heron, a couple of Cormorants and king fishers! These were just a few of the birds we spotted in the midst of what seems like a 1001 tasks we have to do at the lake. Not that we are complaining about the tasks since we mooted…

The year ends with a big bang for Hindi cinema. Just about two weeks after Jab Tak Hai Jaan and Son of Sardar played to 'Housefull' cinema halls, Talaash released to audiences. A week later Khiladi 787 wooed the crowds, and by December 21st it will be time for Dabangg 2. So while it has been a spectacular closing at the box office, what does it mean for Hindi cinema? Clearly, it's the first week's performance that determines the commercial success of a film. But while Talaash may finally emerge as the least successful of the year's final releases, it…

By now you've probably read, discussed and formed your own opinion about the case of the Indian couple arrested in Norway and sentenced to 18 and 15 months jail respectively. Their crime? Of physically abusing their son by beating him with a belt and burning him with a hot spoon as punishment. It seems the child was ‘hypersensitive' according to newspapers here. The psychiatrist treating the child has termed it Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder(ADHD). If the reports are true, instead of understanding the condition, his parents resorted to beating the child and threatening to send him back to India. Pic:…

Aashayein Foundation organised 'UDAY 2012',  an annual cultural meet for children from the city on December 16th at Mt Carmel College, Palace Road. Uday brought together children from government schools and orphanages on a common platform to showcase their talent in performing arts. A total of 230 children from six government schools and four orphanages participated in the event showcasing their talent in classical dance and singing.While the children in government schools and orphanages are powerhouses of talent, they seldom get an opportunity to showcase and develop them. The idea is not only to encourage the children showcase their non-academic…

After my husband got our constituency and ward details from our neighbour, he filled in the voter registration form online. The last instruction of the online process was to post a copy to the Election Office located at the BBMP Headquarters. He did not trust the BBMP to mail us back our acknowledgement so I was to take the forms to the BBMP office. Though I anticipated a long queue and quite a lot of running around, I agreed, if I had to convince people to vote I had to be on voter's list in the area of our new…

In January this year, the High Court of Karnataka had ordered that commercial activities should not be allowed in residential areas in Bengaluru. But even after this, BBMP continued to give sanctions in violation of the verdict. Many shops had come up without any BBMP sanctions at all also. Citizen Matters had reported on these violations earlier. Pic: Sudha Narasimhachar However, in a hearing on November 22nd, the court ordered BBMP to submit the list of all such sanctions that it gave in residential areas after the January order. Surprisingly, BBMP informed court that it had cancelled all such sanctions…

Saroja, a domestic worker staying in Ambedkar slum in Ejipura, spends much of her time waiting near a public tap every day. There is no individual water connection to her house, and the only sources are two public taps nearby. The tap gives water for 2.5 hours everyday, but this could be at any time during the day. Saroja checks up on the tap every now and then to collect this water, even though she knows that it is mixed with sewage. Both she and her 24-year-old daughter Mangala, are responsible for collecting water for the household. This story is…

In order to develop sports activities in Bengaluru and around the country, more and more sports management companies are engaging directly with schools.Attribute it to the lack of playground or lack of space in the schools or sports in itself being not inclusive, various schools have employed a cluster of companies like Edusports, Leap Start, Khel Point and Sports Mentor to kickstart sporting activities. These companies primarily provide sports coaches and train in various sports to students. Pic courtesy:edusports.in Bengaluru-headquartered Edusports which started in 2009, feels that the kids around the country are not playing up because the sports is…

Pandit Ravi Shankar's farewell to Bangalore a while ago brought back old memories of the great musician's concerts I attended in Bangalore and elsewhere. The first time was a late evening concert in the Town Hall in the late '50s. I was supposed to escort my sister and her friends back home after the concert. I reached a half hour before the concert was supposed to end. The side doors were kept open. I was in college. I had put on a Gandhi cap (we used to wear it for the PT classses) and that too with a hole in…

In recent times, there has been frequent leadership change in BMTC. It's new Managing Director Anjum Parwez took charge only about two and half months back. Parwez, 43, is an IAS officer of ‘94 batch. Parwez joined as BMTC MD in September end. Pic: Navya P K Before BMTC, he had been posted in various departments like Urban Development, Land Revenue and Rural Development. In this exclusive interview with Citizen Matters, Parwez talks about BMTC's new plans, and also explains the rationale for starting new services, limiting Volvos to certain routes etc. Here are excerpts from the interview: What are…