City: Bengaluru

The literary works of illustrious playwright and poet, Thyagaraja Paramasiva Kailasam or TPK, are, without doubt, the best among the modern day writings in Kannada to date - a captivating mix of humour, poignancy & relevance. His works have an essential realism and meaning that are valid to this day.He remains the soul of Kannada theatre and resides in the heart of every connoisseur of Kannada theatre and poetry. Thyagaraja paramasiva kailasam-hailed as a great humourist and one of the doyens of kannada literature A peek into Kailasam's life:The saga of T P Kailasam (1884 to 1946), begins in southern…

A Bangalore of leisurely afternoon siestas, trees in abundance, monkey tops adorning grand bungalows, joyous celebrations unrestrained through the night and cycle rickshaws that got you about town. How do you celebrate the best years of your life? Artist Paul Fernandes does it with a series of 50 paintings that relive vibrant Bengaluru of the 70s. While the series currently reflects life in the Cantonment areas, Paul hopes to extend this in the coming months. aPaulogy opened on 21 December 2011. Paul Fernandes. Pic: Christina Daniels The paintings themselves are not easily classified into any genre, as humorous caricatures meet…

Puttenahalli Neighbourhood Lake Improvement Trust's (PNLIT) "Nurturing Puttenahalli Lake back to its pristine glory" project cleared the December round (Round 4) of Mahindra Group's "Spark the Rise" social campaign. The campaign is a platform to help put ideas into action to drive positive change in the nation and the winners are awarded grant money to put those ideas in to action."We're delighted", says Usha Rajagopal, chairperson of PNLIT in a note to Citizen Matters. Banner on display at the lake asking people to vote. Pic: Swaminathan O P. After the fourth round victory, PNLIT is now eligible for Rs 4…

"If they try, visually impaired are no less than anybody, (sic)" says Soundarya Kumar Prathan, 12, the youngest player from Orissa, among the visually challenged participants. A four-day rated National Level Open Chess Tournament for blind was conducted at Kanteerava Stadium from 1 - 4 January.   71 people participated in tournament. Pic: Deepthi M S The Fédération Internationale des Échecs (FIDE) or World Chess Federation is an international organization that connects the various national chess federations around the world and acts as the governing body of international chess competitions.The tournament was conducted to mark the Louis Braille Day by…

It was a warm Sunday morning and a sizeable crowd listened in rapt attention to Dr B N Vishwanath at the Celebrity Paradise Club house in Electronic City on January 8th. Dr Vishwanath, the organic kitchen garden evangelist, was talking about the importance of growing one's own food. Apart from health benefits, especially for children, the physical exercise of gardening outdoors also keeps you fit, he said. Visitors buying plants, seedlings and tools. Pic: Meera K. Vishwanath presented some facts on the food that we eat today, emphasising on the dangers of pesticide-laden food. He and his colleague S Laxminarayanan…

The third edition of the organic gardening event, Oota from your Thota (OfyT) will be held on Sunday, January 8th at Electronic City. The event is to support aspiring gardeners grow gardens in their homes. An introductory workshop on organic terrace gardening will be held, along with a special session on waste management and composting practices. A mela is also planned for sale of plants, seeds, garden tools, compost, organic food, ecofriendly cloth bags etc, along with an open forum for discussions.The event is supported by NGO Garden City Farmers Trust (GCFT) and Apna Complex. Citizen Matters is media partner…

We, the Proud Indians, are a group of young, regular Indians with regular aspirations who deeply believe that an honest and strong India will be possible only when each of us is willing to strive in that direction. Proud Indians is a small group from Hyderabad from varied backgrounds. Through the walk they aim to inspire citizens to be honest at a personal level, to help tackle corruption. The group started their walk from Kanyakumari on December 18th. In the first segment of the walk from December 18th-31st, they covered 500 kms in Kerala . On January 1st, they started…

    The newspaper write-up for Dustin Bayi describes the play as "the complex relationship of a Christian family with local rituals and belief in spirit worship". Further "a powerful plot, reputed artists, authentic sets, music, and colorful costumes make this play a must-watch". This write-up seemed exciting enough, particularly in the light of the recent incidents with churches in Mangalore and Bangalore. Also, the play being staged on Christmas Day seemed symbolic as the occasion to watch it. The plot Pic: Kriyative Theatre Dustin Bayi is a short story by Gopalakrishna Aithal. It is adapted for the stage by…

Jan JD-S Bangalore city corporator Diwaan Ali shot dead.Feb Anita Reddy, Founder, Association for Voluntary Action and Services, wins Namma Bengalurean of the Year Award, 2010, instituted by Namma Bengaluru Foundation.Mar High Court dismisses midnight tender case, clearing the way for BBMP to initiate works like road widening, signal free corridors etc worth Rs 22,000 cr.Provisional census data shows population density in Bangalore district increase by 147% in the last decade, literacy goes up by 6%.Apr Bangalore Traffic Police joins Facebook, becoming the first government agency in the city to have live interactions with citizens online.HC rules that all Bangalore…

Wastewater collection and treatment Wastewater collection and treatment was a rather poor show in 2011. Though underground sewage lines are being laid in the periphery of the city and some decentralised wastewater treatment plants sprang up. Bellandur lake covered in froth due to pollution. File pic: Meera K This will be a real tough challenge for the city because the resource recovery from polluters is also very poor since domestic households who send in the sewage to the lines pay the equivalent of 50 paise a day. Fixing and collecting the right price and making the polluter pays principle will…