City: Bengaluru

With segregation and composting, communities in Bengaluru are successfully making their surroundings zero-waste zones. Sadashivnagar, LIC Colony in Jayanagar and Ferns Paradise – a gated community near Marathahalli – shared their stories at ‘Love my city; manage my waste’ - an event on community composting held by waste management solutions company Daily Dump on February 20th. Citizen Matters and Apartment Adda were partners for this event. Working together, these communities have minimized waste, turned waste into resource and in the process, help BBMP garbage contract workers earn extra money. Green Diamond, Diamond District complex, Domlur Shalini Khanna Charles of Project…

As the summer sets in and college students, who are the primary donors of blood, concentrate on their exams and entrance tests, we have seen in the past that the stock position of blood dwindles rapidly in Hospitals / Blood Banks during the months of March, April and June. We can jointly do something to overcome this. You can help us to organize blood donation drives at Bangalore either in Corporates, Offices, Factories, Residential Areas, Places of Worship, Colleges, Alumini Groups of Colleges, any other Groups, Associations or Clubs. We, from Lions Club of Bangalore Sanjaynagar can co-ordinate and hold…

Gudiya Sambhrama held at Hanumanth nagar , Anjaneya temple on the 13th of March 2011 was organised by Heritage Centre, a non-profitable organization. This performance was part of a series of performances spread over a period of four months at various temples of Bangalore.  Rukmini Vijay Kumar performing Bharathnatyam. Pic: Veena Basavarajaiah It was a delight to see all the children sitting in the front row with their attention glued to a puppet show instead of a television set on a sunday evening. The show presented by Dhaatu puppet theatre on the story of Bhakta Prahalada with colorful properties and puppets had the…

When Thomas Raja, better known as Auto Raja narrates the story of his life, it seems straight out a movie. After becoming an alcoholic and a petty criminal at the young age of 16, he resorted to stealing things from his own home to fulfill his craving for alcohol. He even pawned his mother's silk sarees and her mangalasutra and acknowledges that he single-handedly brought disrepute to his family and almost ruined them financially due to his behaviour. Raja in action during one of his rescue operations. Pic courtesy: Auto Raja. His father, a telephone lineman threw him out of…

The other day I was having a rather interesting conversation/debate with some of my colleagues and friends which I thought was worth reporting here. This was a conversation about equity in Bangalore's BMTC buses. My friends were analyzing equity and accessibility in BMTC buses. Somehow the conversation veered towards the topic of Volvo buses and whether the city needs different kinds of buses, and this is where there was a sharp difference of opinion between my friends' thoughts and my own.My friends were of the opinion that there shouldn't be different kinds of buses for different kinds of people. By…

Did you know that 50,000 people die of venomous snakebites in India every year? Deaths that could be averted if people had access to an effective anti-venom cure. This was one of many startling discoveries at the end of the screening of A Million Snakebites by the Gerry Martin project at the British Council. The Gerry Martin Project is an initiative for wildlife conservation and education, spearheaded by Bangalore based Gerry Martin. In this film made for the BBC, reptile conservationist Rom Whitaker travels across India, from Tamil Nadu to Rajasthan to Assam, collecting snake venom in an effort to…

I was alright with the tokenism of International Women's day. A few political statements, some well intentioned but ill-thought out schemes announced to mark the day - that I could live with. But today's women's day celebrations bother me. In its hundredth year, it has become the biggest gimmick of consumerism. Every single business out there gets set to woo women. ‘Celebrate your womanhood' hoardings scream, mailboxes and phones are flooded with every kind of offer. Beauty salons, cosmetic companies, clothing companies, shoes, lingerie shops, restaurants and even hospitals have offers. What's wrong you say?  All these celebrations are targeted…

International Women's Day celebrated for the hundredth year. It would appear that much has changed in a century. Still, in 2011, it hasn't been an easy time for city-based women who aspire to step out of their homes. Forget about the more 'conservative' rural areas. For all Bengaluru's 'progress', it's still a 'kids or career' choice for most working mothers in the city. They continue to have to compromise on their ambitions; only handful of companies actually accommodate them. Work from Home Elizabeth Rajesh, resident of JP Nagar 5th phase and a mid-level employee in a tech firm, moved to…

At the age of 24, Anita Reddy started her first project to get electricity to Lakshmipuram slum in Ulsoor. Over three decades later, her fight for land, housing rights and basic facilities for the poor has helped thousands of people in Bangalore alone. She has helped re-build around 15 slums in the city. Fighting For Slum dwellers' rights since 1978. Pic: Navya P K Anita Reddy, 57, is part of Association for Voluntary Action and Services (AVAS) and Dwarkanath Reddy Ramanarpanam Trust (DRRP). She won the coveted Padma Shri award this year. At right at her home city, she won…

In the hope of bringing the once common house sparrow back to Bengaluru, Burhani Foundation (India) distributed 500 bird feeders at the Burhani Masjid in Gottigere, off Bannerghatta Road on 6th March. Across the country, fifty-two thousand bird feeders were distributed as a part of centenary celebrations of the birth of Dr. Syedna Mohammed Burhanuddin, Dai-al-Mutlaq (spiritual leader) of the Dawoodi Bohra community. His birthday falls on 6th March, according to the Gregorian calendar. People collecting the bird feeders from the judges of Limca and Guiness Book of World records. Pic: Yograj S Mudalgi The distribution was taken up in…