City: Bengaluru

There's something about living in this city for a long time that makes it impossible to not be a loud and brash bigot. There is a wordless demand that you don't simply love this city but be a little proud, a little overbearing, and become an insufferable little mobile advertisement for your part of town. It is with the same sentiment that we took part in Hunt For The Past - INTACHís Heritage Hunt held in the Basavanagudi area last week. The event was an sms-powered treasure hunt that took one to different parts of the old South Bangalore area,…

Bangalore has many residential projects coming up for occupancy this year, and the most popular location seems to be South Bangalore. Citizen Matters got details of around 45 new projects from a property bazaar organised by realtor Magicbricks.com last month in the city. In addition to popular builders, lesser-known companies are also introducing many projects. Most projects are located in the outer limits of the city. Many new residential projects are coming up this year in South Bangalore. Pic: Navya P K Of all projects, 11 are located along Hosur Road. While many of them are coming up near Hosur…

The Indian Christian Cemetery on Hosur Road has been the stage for some of my more memorable wildlife moments in Bangalore; readers will be familiar with my encounter with a Praying Mantis going about its daily life. While I was waiting for the drama with the mantis to unfold I also noticed a lot of bird activity in the tree under which I had taken shelter. And during the long pauses that I encountered with the mantis, I kept myself busy observing the birds. Among the birds that I saw was a personal favorite - The Great Tit.  Pic: Vikram…

With I am, film director Onir, still best known for his debut film My Brother Nikhil gives us yet another piece of thought provoking cinema. The film is also a landmark venture for independent film making in India, with the financing for the film being raised from over 400 individuals, many of whom made their donations through social networking sites like Facebook.The film's narrative takes the form of four stories that explore the themes of women's choice in artificial insemination, separatism in Kashmir, child molestation and homosexuality. These are the stories of "Afia", "Megha", "Abhimanyu", and "Omar" - all of…

On Friday, April 29, by 10 am, BBMP Council had decided its next Mayor and Deputy Mayor. Sharadamma Ramanjaneya (45) and S Harish (42) were the only candidates who had filed their nominations. BJP activists were in a celebratory mood soon after. But the events that followed showed the constraints that the new Mayor will likely face. Sharadamma and Harish were nominated this year as the Mayor's post was reserved for SC-woman and Deputy Mayor's post for Backward Class A category.  'Minister will be consulted' Mayor Sharadamma and Deputy Mayor Harish at a press conference after they officially took charge…

There has been a considerable rise in the waste production of Bengaluru in last 2 years to about 3000-5000 tonnes per day. Also due to limited budget allocated by government for waste management, approx 80% of the waste gets littered away, by some estimates.  BBMP's efforts to keep the city clean are just not enough and hence few responsible citizens have decided to take the necessary initiative. Meera Rajesh, an association member of Tungabhadra block of National Games Village (NGV), Koramangala, and an ecological enthusiast, with assistance from the Association for India's Development (AID is a US headquartered non-profit organisation)…

Shettihalli Corporator Sharadamma Ramanjaneya is Bengaluru's new mayor. Pic: Navya P K. Shettihalli Corporator Sharadamma Ramanjaneya and Nagapura Corporator S Harish are now Mayor and Deputy Mayor for Bangalore in 2011-12. Elections held on Friday April 29th were smooth as the ruling party had already reached a consensus and no additional nominations were filed. When asked about her plans for the city, Sharadamma said, "The city will be beautified. Managing garbage and managing storm water drains to prevent flooding during rains, will be priorities. Welfare measures will be introduced for women, disabled and other minorities." Sharadamma flanked by BJP women…

Bangalore Traffic Police (BTP) has answered a long pending question in citizen's minds on its newly launched Facebook page.  BTP has started engaging the English-educated citizenry of Bengaluru on Facebook. BTP's maiden Facebook post today raised and answered this question: Why don't police shift bus stations away from junctions? Bangalore Traffic Police on Friday, April 29, 2011 at 9:26amA: Firstly, installation or removal bus shelters does not come under the perview of traffic police.  Unfortunately, each of the bus shelter is a revenue spinner through advertisements for the agency which installs these.But we have taken initiatives to shift this bus…

Music lovers in BTM Layout and surrounding localities were treated to a grand flute concert on Sunday 24th April organised by the BTM Cultural Association at the Ramana Maharshi School for the Blind in 3rd Phase J P Nagar. The looming clouds had kept many from attendance but close to a hundred people turned up to listen to flautist Mysore A Chandan Kumar. Mysore Nagaraj accompanied him on violin, B C Manjunath on mridangam and Giridhar Udupa on ghatam. The oohs and the ahs from the audience, appreciating the flautist's intricate rendering of musical compositions indicated a gathering a connoisseurs. …

Set in the territory of the gang lords of Goa, director Rohan Sippy’s Dum Maaro Dum is a traditional entertainer from Hindi cinema. When the film works, it does so primarily on the might of high production values. This is the first Hindi film to be mixed in Dolby 7.1 Surround Sound, and the hard work shows. One would expect no less from the maker of Bluffmaster and Kuch Naa Kaho. But while Dum Maaro Dum suceeds with its production, it fails on the count of shortcomings both in original screenplay and performances. While the rest of the cast plays…