City: Bengaluru

On July 31st, Seema (name changed) was attacked by the driver of the auto in which she was travelling. Seema's fault was that she took a picture of the number plate of the auto so as to file a complaint against the overcharging driver. The incident occurred in front of Eva Mall in Brigade road.In the Facebook page of Bangalore Traffic Police (BTP), Seema wrote that the driver had asked for Rs 60 to travel from Eva Mall to Austin Town, while the actual fare would be around Rs 20. The incident happened at 7 pm. Soon after, she called…

Dreamscope Theatres’ play ‘The Forest’  was presented at JSS Auditorium in Jayanagar on August 5th. The play was written and directed by Puja Goel; she also is the founder of the group. She wrote the play 15 years ago. The Forest presents a play for children but sends a message to adults making them aware about the depleting forest. This play engages a child’s psychology and her decision to save the forest. The foresters. Pic: Abhishek Angad At the centre, the play is from the last remains of the earth-forest. The foresters, the flowers, trees, animals and butterflies, believe that…

He had seen the paper and started reading the headline before I had a chance to hide it. "M-O-L-E-S-T" he read, pronouncing it as ‘molet' before inevitably asking me the meaning. My six and half year old has developed a new love for reading and I had forgotten how trauma and disaster laden our news was, when I encouraged his attempt to read the newspaper.What do you do when all the media that confronts your child, the TV, newspapers and magazine, not to mention the internet, has nothing but bad news. Do you tell her as it is or do…

The revamp and modernisation of Bangalore’s first and oldest shopping complex in Jayanagar got off the ground on August 4th. Chief Minister Jagadish Shettar laid the foundation stone. Deputy Chief Ministers K S Eshwarappa and R Ashoka, Vijaya Kumar B N (BJP MLA, Jayanagar), BBMP Commissioner Shankarlinge Gowda, Mayor D Venkatesh Murthy were also present. The much awaited project being inaugurated by Chief Minister Jagadish Shettar. Pic: Sankar C G The project has been under discussion for four years even as shop owners resisted, fearing loss of their livelihood.On the day of inauguration, N Narasimha Raju, vice-president of Traders Association…

For people like me who have made Bangalore their own ooru in the recent past, it is fascinating to discover that there were once more than 300 lakes that were engineered to connect with each other and serve as water sources for this beautiful city that stands at elevation of 2953 feet. Bangalore Lakes meeting: A glorious past and a promising future-Dr Ravi Ralph CEO, Lake Development Authority (LDA)-Mr Brijesh Kumar Chief Conservator of Forests, BBMP-Dr Ashwin Mahesh, One Bengaluru, Loksatta; Urban Expert-Shri N.S. Mukunda Citizen Action Forum; Abhyudaya-Success stories and lessons learned - group discussion-Sharing best practices10AM to 1PM,…

A curator is usually a caretaker of cultural heritage like museum and art galleries but Latha Heble, curates a park. She looks after the Koramangala 3rd block park. People call her the curator of the park. Originally from Mangalore, Latha who has lived mostly in Bangalore, got married to Suresh Heble in 1964. After her husband retired as Air Vice-Marshal from Air Force, they settled in Koramangala 3rd block.A graduate from JJ school of arts, Latha paints her walls with murals when she is free. Latha Heble at the park How did you end up being a curator of the…

Will living in Bengaluru ever be a cup of tea? Or coffee, if you will? Book launch Saturday, 4th August 2012, at 5 pm, Reliance Timeout, Mantri Mall, Malleswaram. R K Misra, member ABIDe, will release the book. Vatsala Dhananjay, well known lawyer, will talk about things to keep in mind while buying property in the city. In the past decade or two, Bengaluru has grown from a quiet, pleasant place to a vibrant and bustling city. Lakhs of new homes have been created, and millions of citizens from all over India have become part of the city's growing economy.…

Drive down any of the roads in the central part of Bangalore and all of them have a river of stinking sewage flowing on one side of it. The breakfast will rise in your throat, as you walk, ride or drive down Richmond Road, Residency Road or Hosur Road. Worst sufferers are the pedestrians including children walking to school, as they are splashed with the foul and dangerous muck, which flies up from the tyres of careless motorists.On Hayes Road, the sewage is bubbling up in resident's gardens and there is a sense of desperation pervading the area. The Bashas…

In line with developments at New Delhi, where Team Anna declared they will get into politics, India Against Corruption group campaign in Bengaluru will call off its fast at 4pm, Friday August 4th. "The ten fasters will likely continue to fast till 4pm tomorrow, even though they do not have to", said Ashwin Mahesh, one of IAC's coordinators in the Hazare-led nationwide campaign against corruption. IAC Bengaluru is conducting the campaign at Freedom Park is to support Anna Hazare's fast at Jantar Mantar, New Delhi for the Lok Pal bill.In an noteworthy development, just hours before the Team Anna announcement…

Based in a small, neat campus, Asha Niketan, located in Koramangala, is truly the ‘Abode of Hope’ that its name says it is, as I’ve learnt from occasionally visiting it over the last several months. Its charter describes it as a community of people ‘with and without intellectual disabilities’, sharing life together, and ‘celebrating the value of every person’ based on ‘mutual relationships and trust in God’. Chikku and Chris, live at Asha Niketan. Pic: Yoginder Sikand Home to a community of some forty amazing people, around thirty of Asha Niketan’s members are ‘intellectually challenged’ adults, the rest being assistants…