City: Bengaluru

The young and dynamic P Manivannan is currently Managing Director of BESCOM, Bengaluru's power supply provider. He took over in October 2010. Manivannan, 38, is a 1998-batch IAS officer and has served as Commissioner of Hubli-Dharwar Municipal Corporation and Deputy Commissioner of Mysore City Corporation. Media reporting of Manivannan's work has given him a reputation as a tough and upright officer in his previous postings; he has also been called ‘demolition man’ for his stand against illegal constructions. Citizen Matters caught up with Manivannan to discuss BESCOM's 2011 plans for Bengaluru. This interview was conducted via email. Is the rate…

In 2000, it was still BMP managing 100 wards. How have things shaped up since then? The quiet bean town became the centre of world's attention practically overnight and since then the city's infrastructure is only been playing catch up. Hasty road-widenings with arbitrary plans of TDRs, relocation of slums without a though tto the urban poor's basic needs, large-scale corruption by local civic bodies in land allocation and building rights are all in the recent memory. In 2000, it was still BMP managing 100 wards and Prema Cariappa was the Mayor. Ward Committees existed briefly, but were not very…

South Bangalore happenings Metro work, road-widening, underpass construction and new Corporators were the most prominent happenings of Jayanagar, JP Nagar and BTM Layout this year. In June, the Karnataka High Court disposed a writ petition relating to the construction of the station at South End, Jayanagar, Bangalore, giving the project a shot in the arm. Residents of south Bangalore came together to form the Ring Road Property Owner’s Association (RRPOA) to fight against road-widening. They were protesting BBMP’s road-widening plans from Central Silk Board to Mysore Road (14.5 kms). This was one of the first instances of a citizen’s collective…

Rewind 2010 While the first five films are the big budget films that either rocked box office or created a buzz amongst cinema lovers across India, the next 10 films either stretched the boundaries of their genre or are significant from a historical perspective. Major Box office hits Dabangg (Hindi)Inception (English)The Social Network (English)Endhiraan (Tamil)My Name is Khan (Hindi) Interesting films of the year Peepli Live (Hindi) - Kanasemba Kudureyaneri (Kannada)  Autograph (Bengali) Pranchiyettan and the Saint (Malayalam) The Japanese Wife (Hindi) Aptharakshaka (Kannada) Do Dooni Chaar (Hindi)Phas Gaya Re Obama (Hindi) Pancharangi (Kannada) Legend of the Guardians: The Owls…

As we go into Citizen Matters’ special list of developments for the year that was for Bengaluru, how about the year that was not?But before that, some context: Bengaluru is touted as global powerhouse in the West for its IT-prowess! US President Obama often raises the spectre of Bangaloreans stealing American jobs. A top American columnist even warned US children to pay attention to their studies or else Bangalore’s students would take their jobs of the future. Such is the fear Bangalore evokes in the West.Still, look at the inside picture. Some important events never happened in 2010, that should…

Residents of the apartment complex L&T South City in Puttenahalli, south Bengaluru,  have got a stay on BDA auctioning the Civic Amenity (CA) site in their complex. The stay order came on November 11. The residents had filed a writ petition in the High Court after the BDA put up a notice on the 2-acre CA site on October 15 inviting tenders to build a shopping complex. There are already cases going on about ownership of the complex - residents had challenged the relinquishment of 12 acres of the land to BDA. BDA board in the CA site publicising the…

Anjali Sapra's "Timeless travel" exhibit done in Egg Tempera style is on display at Mahua Gallery, Sadashivanagar. Egg tempera paintings by Ajnali Sapra Anjali Sapra is an artist who is greatly influenced by Mughal architecture and the rich traditional heritage of India. She has been trained at Triveni Kala Sangam and has specialised in the art technique of vegetable dyes and other natural pigments .She has hosted a good number of shows from 2003 and some of her works are in private collections in London, Germany, USA etc. Most of her works in the "The Ephemeral Playground", "The Timeless travel"…

Primrose Marthoma church, Bengaluru has opted for eco-friendly coconut leaves, old newspapers, dry vegetables and grasses for the Christmas decorations at the church. When they first used recycled materials in 2008, church members were apprehensive since decorations were made out of plastic bottles and old tyres. Daniel Thomas who runs an ad agency and is a church member, says "the end product was so beautiful that everybody was delighted."  Daniel is one of the people behind the eco-friendly initiative. In 2009 they used videotapes and plastic bags. Daniel says people call to find out what is special on Christmas every…

End of the year, and all that, plus the festive season, and perhaps for a change we can look at something positive, instead of the quotidian litany of cribbing-complaining-and-reading-about-corruption - Which reminds me, there were rallies earlier this week, to mark an initiative to say "enough" to the growing menace  of corruption. Attendance and participation was modest, in a city of 60 lakhs, in a state that was described by the Congress chief  a few days ago, as one of the most corrupt. The Lokayukta has been addressing a series of public meetings on the subject, and at one that…

Kathakali is an art form from Kerala that tells a story with  two or more  performers. It is a form of sanskrit dance theatre that was traditionally practiced and professed by male actors.[1] Prabol Gupta in stree vesham. Pic: Prabol Gupta. For many centuries men have been responsible for upholding and passing on the classical art forms from one generation to another especially during times when women were forbidden from entering the world of performing arts. Hence it is not surprising that men have taken on women's toles in these traditional art forms. Guru Lalitha Ubhaykar, renowned Hindustani artiste and Guru Usha…