City: Bengaluru

"After studies, all I want to do is dance,"says Rohini Prabhath, 19, from Gandhi Bazaar, who is learning Kathak at Abhinava School of Dance for the past 12 years. Rajendra and Nirupama at their dance studio, where classes are conducted. Pic: Deepthi M S The dance school is founded by internationally acclaimed Kathak and Bharathanatyam dancers, Nirupama Rajendra, 41 and TD Rajendra, 44. Abhinava Schools of Dance along with Abhinava Dance Company are initiatives of Abhinava Arts Center, a non-profit Trust in Basavanagudi.Both Nirupama and Rajendra have been trained in Kathak and Bharathanatyam by renowned gurus and are in the…

Doctors have a busy schedule, so if you proactively provide them with information about your health, rather than have them fish it out of you, so much the better. Here are some tips: Electronic medical record. Pic: Wikimedia commons Be specific about what brings you to doctor. Explain the symptoms, mention duration of symptoms, any precipitating factor that you think has brought it up, if chronic then for how long it has been persisting. A few examples...Pain in the abdomen: site of pain, whether acute or chronic, whether it shifts from where it started from, or radiates to another region,…

What shall he do this summer? That's the question I have been asking myself now that March hits the midway mark. The temptation is to answer, ‘nothing.' But who am I kidding? I am not strong enough to withstand the now near compulsory pressure of having to enrol the tyke in a ‘Summer Camp.' River rafting at Frolic Boonies. Pic: Frolic Boonies These days not fixing up a summer camp is almost like denying your child an important developmental milestone. Doing nothing is no longer an option, almost up there in the banned list as sleeping late.Even if you are…

The words 'Scientific Research Foundation' paints a picture of brightly lit, sterile environment filled with scientists in white overcoats doing important but inaccessible work. It doesn't seem like a place where people from outside the science community can be admitted. But the Vittal Mallya Scientific Research Foundation stands out by making this very space accessible to lay people. Participants at the workshop. Pic: Anisha Nair The foundation was set up in BTM Layout in 1987 so that they can communicate with the people easily about their researches and findings and also keep in touch with the residents of Bangalore.The Vittal…

Last month, Kaikondrahalli lake on Sarjapur road had a distinguished visitor, Nobel Prize winner for Economics, 2009, Elinor Ostrom. She was here to see the results of collective action in Bangalore lakes. Dr. Ostrom planting at KK Lake. Pic: Priya Ramasubban. Elinor along with Harini Nagendra, an urban ecology coordinator, ATREE, Bengaluru, has been working to understand when exactly communities step in to conserve. Having heard of citizens initiative at Kaikondrahalli lake, Elinor who was in Bangalore for the Khoshoo Memorial Lecture at ATREE, decided to visit the lake and plant a tree.Citizen Matters caught up with the Nobel prize…

While summer classes are de rigueur today, the last few years have seen a gradual shift from the art and craft classes to exploring wilderness and hands-on science. Absorbed in activity at Hippocampus. There are established players like Rangashankara that specialise in arts and theatre, and conducting classes for nearly eight years which are still popular with parents and children.Uma Bharath, mother of a 10-year-old daughter who is attending Rangashankara classes, believes that workshops which are rooted in the Indian context or are truly multicultural, will help improve her child's understanding of her own country or another's. Many of the…

Bangalore-based Environment Support Group was given the 2012 UN-Water "Water for Life" Best Practices Award for it unprecedented legal work on protection of Bangalore's lakes. ESG's trustee and coordinator Leo Saldanha received the award at a ceremony held at the headquarters of the UN Food and Agriculture Organisation, at Rome on 22nd March, World Water Day. As some readers may already know, ESG has been on a major initiative for several years to protect Bangalore's lakes. Its litigation work has led to direct supervision of local government protection efforts by the Karnataka High Court itself. Leo Saldanha (right), Coordinator, ESG,…

Last month, around 400 residents under BESCOM's S6 subdivision, JP Nagar, were in for a shock. Their bill reflected a penalty ranging from Rs 4000 to Rs 1.1 lakhs. Upon enquiry, they found out that the penalty was for not entering into an agreement with BESCOM at the time of shifting into LT3 consumer category. The overall penalty charges amounted to around Rs 43 lakh. From left to right: Kashinath, Pradeep Nagaraj, Sunita K S. Pic: Abhishek Angad In May 2010, there was a major shifting of electricity installations from residential (LT2) to commercial (LT3) in the S6 subdivision of…

National Games Village (NGV) was built in 1997 and fire safety equipments were installed at the time. But 15 years on, most residents still do not know where these are located or how to use them.According to the Karnataka Fire Force Act, 1964, it is the responsibility of the fire department to check whether equipment are being maintained in good working condition.  Ghataprabha block of National Games Village. Pic: Anisha Nair Meera Rajesh, a resident of NGV says, "I am not aware of any fire safety equipment being installed in our society. I don't think there are any at all."…

Women in Bengaluru are asked to fend for themselves when it comes to protection from sexual harassment. With more working women moving in from other cities, many Paying Guest (PG) accommodation and hostels have come up in areas like Jayanagar and Koramangala. These young women are complaining of sexual harassment closer to where they live.Ankita Mehta, 24, a media employee and a resident of Koramangala says, "we face a lot of harassment problems in our lane, specially because there are fewer street lights working. Also sometimes the our PG caretaker brings a lot of men (friends)inside. We are always in…