City: Bengaluru

Starting April 5, citizens in different parts of the country will fast for five days demanding implementation of Jan Lokpal Bill, to fight corruption. The campaign is organised by India Against Corruption, a coalition of NGOs, activists and other social organizations. In Bengaluru, 51-year-old Mahendra Kumar Gandhi, a marketing professional, has gone a step ahead - he plans to go on an indefinite fast until the Bill is implemented. He has decided not to consume water also during the fast.Jan Lokpal Bill is a modified version of the draft Lokpal Bill 2010 mooted by anti-corruption activists. The amended version gives…

Residents of L&T South City in Bangalore have taken their fight against their residential complex's builder L&T, and original landowner Dinesh Ranka, to the open. On April 1, about one thousand residents from the apartment complex assembled in Freedom Park and held a demonstration against L&T and Ranka. Court cases are already going on between the apartment owners' association SUGRUHA, L & T and Ranka. Over thousand South City residents including children demonstrated at Freedom Park. Pic: Navya P K The issue is that L&T and Ranka had relinquished 12 acres of land within the 34-acre apartment complex to the…

Even after winning a court case against the builder for misappropriation of open spaces in their layout, residents of Reliaable Tranquil layout near HSR layout, off Haralur Road, are a long way away from getting any justice. Residents had found that a park and a Civic Amenity (CA) site, which were originally part of the layout plan, was actually someone else's property. Reliaable Developers (RD) is the builder of the layout, with offices at Museum Road, Bengaluru. (Civic Amenity sites as per town planning rules are meant for public utilities like banks or recreation centres, and are open to public)  …

Shutterbugs of Bangalore have reason to rejoice. 'Weekend of Photography', a three-day event is being organised by two photographers based in the city- Mahesh Bhat and Mahesh Shantaram. The event kicks off on 8th April. Speaking to Citizen Matters, Shantaram said that Weekend of Photography is an event of events which will unite photography enthusiasts, professionals who specialise in different kinds of photography such as wildlife, lifestyle fashion and many more. "Paris has a whole month for photography and we felt we could do something on a small scale," says Shantaram. The event is open to anyone interested in getting…

Prathibha Prahlad. Pic: Jyotsna B Rao. The sound of the beeja mantra echoes in space as the dancer  appears in an abhang posture. The shloka seamlessly woven into a jathi marked the beginning of the dance recital devised by dancer Prathibha Prahlad to trace the origin and  evolution of worship in Bharatanatyam through centuries. In the stage designed to look like a temple courtyard, Prathibha praised the divine feminine forms of Shakthi (untamable), Sri (domesticated) and Tara as invoked during the vedic times. This recital was presented  at the JSS auditorium on March 20th, on the occasion of Nirantara Narmada…

Moliere's "The Miser" was staged as "Kuberanigenirabeku" on 17th March at Rangashankara. Aneka, a Bengaluru based amateur theatre group, presented the play. Suresh Anagalli, a well-known name in the Bengaluru's theatre circle, directed the play, translated by Bhagavati M. Kuberappa venting his displeasure on his domestic help. Pic Courtesy: Aneka The original play is a satire and it had created a revolution during Moliere's time for questioning many French practices and traditions. Being a comedy actor and director himself, Moliere had written this play perhaps to ridicule the French society and its ways, back in 17th century. One of the…

In a desperate bid to provide a playground for more than 700 children living in L&T South City, residents of the apartment complex in Mico-Arakere Layout on 19th March hired a bulldozer to level a part of the 5.5 acre land that was meant to be developed as a playground. The layout is located off Bannerghatta Road roughly opposite IIM-Bengaluru.  No cricket match, this one. Hulimavu Police had a brush with residents of L&T South City on Mar 19. Pic: SUGRUHA. The event witnessed high drama as Hulimavu police, BDA officials and officials from even the BBMP were at the…

Residents of Dollars Colony in J P Nagar 4th phase are complaining of increasing traffic jams at the 8th main road-2nd cross intersection. The cause they say is the M K Ahmed super market located at the intersection. Sign at the entrance (8th Main Road) of the basement restricting parking to two-wheelers. Pic: Yogaraj Mudalgi. K V R Somayaji, at IT consultant in his fifties, who lives opposite the store on 2nd cross says that the store is not allowing car parking in the basement, leading to customers parking on busy 8th Main. A city no-parking sign prohibits parking of…

Peace, solitude, glimpses of mythological past and a touch of divinity are what you get when you head for a trip to Mulbagilu. We set out from Bangalore by eight in the morning on Bangalore-Hoskote route. It was just me, my 5 year old and my husband. We reached Kurudamale by 10 am and covered both Maha Ganapathi and Someshwara temple. Chat with the Someshwara temple priest for some time if you can and he will gladly furnish you with details of the temple architecture and its history. Mulbagilu - View from Lav-Kusha hill. Pic: Usha Hariprasad. Our next stop…

From 26th March onwards, thousands of citizens in Karnataka and lakhs all over India under the banner of ‘India Against Corruption (IAC)' will hold a series of campaigns that will converge into a final ultimatum to the Central govt. on April 5th in the form of a fast unto death by revered social activist Shri Anna Hazare. In Bengaluru, on 26th March, citizens will come together to launch Dandi March II, a non-violent protest against lack of willingness of Central Govt. to ACT against CORRUPTION. Acknowledging Loksatta party's strong support to this patriotic movement, Karnataka Loksatta party President, N S…