City: Bengaluru

Doctors are wary of asking someone a simple question like "How are you?" in a social gathering. The reason is, the moment this question is asked , the person starts off with all his medical complaints. The doctor is definitely not interested in professional consultation in social get together. Strangely enough, when the same person goes to a doctor's chamber, he is not so forthcoming. Often the doctor has to ask probing questions to get the symptoms out of patient. The result in both cases is dissatisfaction. It is so easy to blame the doctor. However, it stands to reason…

The ‘modern' Metro stations in the city will not have any public toilets. BMRC appears to be shirking responsibility by saying that the government has to take initiative for this. Byappanahalli terminal station in reach 1, proposed to be open soon, does not have toilets. Pic: Navya P K   "As Metro is a short distance train for travel within city, it will take only 2-3 minutes to go from one station to another. It cannot be expected to provide facilities given by long distance trains," says Metro spokesperson Y B L Chavan. "There is a proposal to have toilets…

Directed by Rishikesh Nadkarni, California Suite was performed to an appreciative audience, on Saturday and Sunday, May 7th and 8th, 2011. This bittersweet comedy written by playwright Neil Simon was presented by Barking Dog Productions with an all-youngster-cast and crew. The audience peeked into the lives of five couples that stay in a suite in The Beverly Hills Hotel in California. Clever dialogues about a divorced couple fighting for the custody of their daughter, a man trying to hide an unconscious prostitute he had just found in his bed, from his wife, two couples who end up fighting on a…

Anna Hazare, who led the indefinite fast for Lokpal Bill last month, will visit Bangalore on May 27-28. This is part of IAC (India Against Corruption)'s continuing campaign to have the Bill passed in the monsoon session of Parliament. Bangalore is one of the five cities that Hazare is planning to visit in the first round of the campaign. Promotional Artwork put out by India Against Corruption Banalore group. "After Delhi, the highest response for Jan Lokpal Bill was from Bangalore, which is why Hazare wanted to visit," says Anand Yadwad, who had participated in the indefinite fast in Bangalore.…

Think about libraries, and what comes to mind are long, dusty rows of somewhat mangled books, and grumpy librarians. But new generation libraries in Bengaluru are far different. These libraries are not too high-brow, nor are they content with being collectors of classics or most popular reads alone. They engage with readers, consider their preferences while expanding collections, and are easily accessible with online book catalogues and door delivery options. Suman H M, 19, second year degree student at Jyothi Nivas College, has been a member of Just Books library for the last one year. "They are convenient as I…

American Economist, Bernard Baruch once said, "Age is only a number, a cipher for the records. A man can't retire his experience. He must use it. Experience achieves more with less energy and time." Well here is one person to prove just that. Risaldar Major Hariram lives, breathes and sleeps horses. With 65 gold medals and uncountable silver in show jumping, Hariram retired from the Indian army in 1980. News about him spread like wild fire and the then-Maharaja of Mysore got him to Bangalore to train people at the turf club. Risaldar Major Hariram teaches mostly at Bangalore's Turf…

Vasantha Natarajan (name changed) and her husband reside in JP Nagar and have heard about the Aadhaar or Unique Identification (UID) scheme. Recently, they saw a press report about the launch of the scheme for Bangalore in June. They are worried that because they were going to be abroad that time, they will miss getting their UIDs. "We will be out of the country for about 6 months. I do not know whether they (UID staff) will come again if the occupants are not in the in their houses when they visit", wrote in a worried Natarajan to Citizen Matters.…

Day before yesterday, I was driving back home from work. At the Silk Board signal, the lights had turned green. I was crossing over, suddenly an auto rickshaw comes out of nowhere, cuts across, breaking all rules and I had to hit the breaks but couldn't stop myself from hitting the auto rickshaw. Still from promo film on road accidents, made by the Bangalore Traffic Police. It was a minor hit. I have a Maruthi 800, my bumper got dislodged a bit and the auto rickshaw's right mudguard had a dent.I know many people who would just drive off. The…

Abhinav Mugunthan is like any other 10 year old. He loves going to school and playing with his friends. But on Saturday, the 21st of May, he was more than just a young boy. For the first time, he was an athlete competing against kids three years older than him. He won the first place in the Under-13 shot put event with a distance of 5.15 metres. Taking the high road. Pic: Smit Zaveri. Like Abhinav, there were many other first timers who proved that experience wasn't everything. Determination and hard work was. 12-year-old, Nikitha M V from Sapphire High…

Music is an integral part of everyone's lives. Is there a man or a woman, who does not, at the very least, hum the latest hit song as he or she goes about her daily work? But though it's all-pervasive, the learning and teaching of music in Bangalore presents a varied and interesting picture. How do people, especially children choose what kind of music to learn? What keeps them going to the music classes, what makes them stop, and what makes them take to it as a profession? I talked to a variety of people to find some answers. Guitar…