City: Bengaluru

For M Abdulla Saleem, his recent appointment as Additional Commissioner Police (Traffic) is a return to familiar turf. He succeeded Praveen Sood a few months ago. "I am basically a traffic man," proclaims Saleem and it is not without justifications. Pic Courtesy: DCP (Traffic) Office The 1993 batch IPS officer previously served as the Deputy Commissioner of Police, Traffic East Division, Bangalore and in 2010 completed a PhD in Traffic Management from Bangalore University. He has held various posts across the state including Assistant Superintendent of Police, Gulbarga, Deputy Commissioner of Police (Law and Order) and Inspector General of Police,…

The Karnataka Volleyball Association (KVA) is conducting a selection trial to select under-16 boys and girls for the 34th Sub-Junior National Volleyball Championship (under-16) for boys and girls which will be held at Perinthamanna (Kerala) from 1st to 6th December 2011. The selection trial will be held on 5th November 2011 at Sri Kanteerava Stadium, outdoor volleyball grounds, Bangalore. Eligibility Criteria a) Players born on or after 01-01-1996 are eligible to participate in the above selection trials. b) Proof of age from Corporation,Municipality or Government hospitals is a must to attend the trials. For further details contact, K Nandakumar -…

Hundreds of bibliophlies, of all ages, flocked the fourth edition of the ‘Pustaka Parishe' at the Volley Ball Ground, on Sunday, 30 October at Netkallappa Circle in Basavangudi. Dr Anasuya Rajeev, in her forties, an astrologer and a resident of NR Colony, was at the parishe for the second time, looking for books on astrology and spirituality. Thousands attended the day long parishe in Basavangudi. Pic: Yogaraj S Mudalgi "They have a lot of books here and it is good for someone to find a book in the subject they are interested in." Thriteen year-old Manoj, a resident of Thyagarajanagar,…

Global travel guide publisher Lonely Planet (LP), owned by the BBC, has listed Bengaluru third in the top 10 cities to visit in 2012. LP calls Bengaluru, ‘Capital of cool' in the article "Lonely Planet's Best in Travel: top cities for 2012", published on its website on 30th October. Lonely Planet is one of the leading independent travel guide publishers founded in the late 1970s. Adopted initially by globe trotting backpackers and budget travellers, it now commands a broader following that includes well-heeled independent-minded travelers too. BBC Worldwide, the commercial arm of BBC UK bought a 75% stake in the…

The media is abuzz with reports of jailed Chief Minister Yeddyurappa's group snubbing national BJP leader L K Advani in Bangalore yesterday by boycotting his anti-corruption rally. It appears the BJP's political roundabout of contradictions and snubbing has also broadened into civil society anti-corruption movement. Advani declined to meet Karnataka's India Against Corruption group, who had lined up a series of demands for him. It appears the senior BJP leader, whose national anti-corruption campaign is widely seen as a way to upstage the UPA, is doing a tightrope walk in Karnataka. The state has been plagued with its own series…

"We should learn Kannada. No Kannada, no respect" says one white cab driver to another. This is a scene from the recent Kannada blockbuster Super. The movie is set in 2030 with Bangalore as a ultra modern city populated with men wearing Mysore petas and where all the cab drivers are white. Hegemony is maintained through language – English and Hindi are considered to be above Kannada. A person may expect you to learn Hindi while not learning Kannada – this causes resentment among Kannadigas. There are many avenues for learning Kannada. For example, Tamil Sangam holds Kannada classes, or…

Over the last few years, Resident Welfare Associations (RWAs) have become a force to reckon in the city. Bangaloreans have been uniting through their RWAs to speak out not just about local issues like civic amenities and khata issues, but also for macro level policy reforms.But this also seems to have made RWAs fresh targets for politicians. RWAs are supposed to be independent and not have political affiliations. But RWA representatives across the city are raising concerns about the increasing control of local elected representatives – corporators, ward secretaries and MLAs – over RWAs. They say that some representatives have…

There was an extra festive element at the Ranga Shankara Theatre Festival this time, as it fell between Dasara and Deepavali. The Theatre Festival started on October 16 and wound up on October 23. Street play at Ranga Shankara. Pic: H V Venugopal This year's theme was "Political Theatre," a controversial topic that brings out debate, and creativity, in people. Keeping with the theme, there were several contemporary folk theatre performances and documentaries screened, with vigorous discussions at the end. Sadanand Menon's workshop on Theatre and Arts Appreciation was very well-attended, as was the seminar on the same theme. "It…

It is a well known fact that Bangalore which was a city with many lakes has been driven to a state of horror with most of its lakes encroached and depleted.Another lake which is facing a near death crisis is the Dodda Nagamangala Lake, also known as the Rayasandra Lake in the Dodda Nagamangala region near Electronic city. This lake is about 28 acres in size and falls under survey number 64 and is under the Konappa Agrahara Gram Panchayath. The lovely Dodda Nagamangala Lake last year. Pic: Neethu Peter We have witnessed a large number of birds, even migratory…

The papers reported that all fireworks and crackers activities should cease between 10 pm and 6 am. KSPCB and the police were supposed to be doing rounds and enforcing the curfew. It's 11 pm in the night, and near Nagarbhavi, some random crackers keep going off at regular intervals. Dealing with continuous fireworks is one thing, but sudden bursts at random points in time is too much to deal with.The dogs, not accustomed to rackets other than their own, start howling everytime one goes off. Aged parents at home, struggling with flu-like symptoms thanks to the weather, exacerbated by the…