City: Bengaluru

Team ‘Learning to Fly’ won the Ultimate Frisbee National Club tournament Final at Kanteerava Stadium in Bangalore on July 8th, 2012, organised by Karnataka Ultimate Players Association. Of the 24 teams participating from all over the country ‘Falcons’ and ‘Learning to Fly’ reached the final. In a mind boggling one hour, both teams fought tooth and nail for a win. It looked like it will be a tie with the 7-7. But ‘Learning to Fly’ snatched the winning score at the final moment.  Both teams were from namma Bengaluru. Ultimate Frisbee National Club tournament Final at Kanteerava Stadium in Bangalore…

Bengaluru has historically been known as a badminton stronghold for several decades now. It has been the proud home to the Prakash Padukone Badminton Academy (PPBA) which has groomed several champions at all levels. One only needs to visit Lalbagh or Cubbon Park in the mornings to see several of Bangalore’s citizens engaged in casual but keenly contested badminton encounters. A badminton club in the city. Pic: Dharmendra D Where can you play? There are a number of private and public facilities in the city catering to badminton players of various age groups. Both casual and competitive players can find…

She calls herself a Jayanagar resident for 20 years now, but has resided in different localities across Bangalore, after shifting from Mumbai. A national award winner in journalism, Sakuntala Narasimhan, who is in her 70s, has authored several books on gender and music. She is also known for her activism on consumer rights. She is the only vocalist in the country who holds a grade ranking in both Carnatic and Hindustani classical music. She teaches music and travels quite a bit. Sakuntala Narasimhan - Journalist, author and musician. Pic: Anisha Nair You have won several awards in music. How has…

Bangles made out of leftover woollen threads and plastic flowers. Earrings made from old silk sarees and paper chips. Cute Indian breed puppies for adoption. Stalls full of second-hand clothes, bags and shoes for reusing. The West calls it the yard sale, we call it - ‘Reuse and Recycle mela’!After a successful fourth edition of the flea market, the fifth edition turned out to be even better. AICOBOO Grounds in BTM 1st Stage saw large participation from the buyers as well as the sellers. Around 50 sellers participated while the mela saw over 700 visitors during the day.  Upcycled wine…

Two years ago, a direct selling company, RMP Infotech got its website redesigned adding new marketing initiatives, that subsequently increased company’s visibility to new customers. Likewise there are businesses, mostly Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs) with minimal online presence or totally offline and there is a dire need to bring them online for their growth, says Sangeeta Dilip who was instrumental in redesigning the website.  Sangeeta Dilip. Pic courtesy: Sangeeta Dilip Bitten by the entrepreneurial bug, Bangalore based Sangeeta, 27,  saw opportunity in this segment and found startupfreak.com to help offline SMEs go online. She left Wipro Technologies in 2009…

Adjectives like stinky, smelly, dirty, unhygienic and unbearable suit the status of Bangalore’s public toilets the most. And that is not all. Woes of city’s public toiletsSavithamma, a domestic worker working in the residential areas of BTM layout and Jayanagar, says, “I travel from Gangenahalli (north Bangalore) everyday and come here to work. It takes more than two hours everyday and sometimes during rains, I feel the need to relieve myself but there is no place to go.” Locked doors, severe stench and sometimes, even men, welcome women in public toilets. Pic: Ankita Mehta She adds that she holds her…

You know how it goes. You’re sitting in a movie hall, watching Kahaani and Vidya Balan is almost being pushed in the path of a speeding train when woaaaa, goes the toddler sitting behind you with his parents. And all you can think is, why do parents need to get kids along for movies.  You do have a thought there, but hold on for a second, especially if children aren't part of the picture in your life at this moment. Once they are around, you may often have to eat words spoken in the pre-child era. Here are my top…

In a landmark decision, A S Sadashivaiah, Chairman, Karnataka State Pollution Control Board (KSPCB), has directed BBMP and Ramky Infrastructure Pvt ltd, the private operator of landfill, to immediately stop dumping waste in Mavallipura landfill. This comes a week after BBMP handed over an acceptance letter to Ramky for setting up a power plant which produce power out of waste at Mavallipura landfill. Combust making technology at Mavallipura landfill. Pic: Sankar C G “Stop the supply of waste by BBMP to the Mavallipura Landfill site, at survey number eight, Hesaraghatta Hobli, Bangalore North, immediately till the entire accumulated waste is…

Shridevi Mahadevan quit her well paying software professional job and started a performing and fine arts enterprise-‘Navarasa’ in Koramangala in 2009. 34-year-old Shridevi, dancing since her childhood; she learned Bharatnatyam, and later Kathak. She also had passion for theatre and worked with Bangalore based Script Peoples Theatre for several years. Shridevi Mahadevan. Pic courtesy: Shridevi Mahadevan It was in  the year 2009 when she was doing one-year Executive Management course at IIM, that she decided to channel her love for performing arts into an entrepreneurial venture Predominantly focused on dance, Navarasa also imparts developmental theatre training, experimental workshops in pottery,…

Citizen Matters in association with ‘Second to none’ (220) is organising a ‘Reuse and Recycle mela’ this weekend at BTM Layout. 220 is an online community focused on the concept of Reduce-Recycle-Reduce waste. Flea market, last year. File pic The flea market on Sunday, July 15th, will provide a platform to buy second hand and upcycled articles. Upcycling refers to converting useless or waste into valuable products. There will be a bit of everything from used books, electronic items, clothes and home decor knick knacks. ‘Don't discard, reuse, don’t throw, recycle’ will be the buzz phrase this weekend. 11 am…