City: Bengaluru

Almost 10 months ago, we had a mini-event.  Our car turned 3 years old!  Is that a good thing?  Well it is, considering that the loan was fully paid off.  A month or so down the line, I got a letter from the car loan guys - duly filled in Form 35, NOC and Covering Letter.  All that had to be done now was the removal of hypothecation from the RC book.  Called up the loan guys and, no surprise, they firmly and politely told me that I'd have to get this done by myself. Now, I don't know about…

For most of us, our domestic help are critical to managing our household work better and many of us recognise their importance. We also wish their wellbeing and often, we try to help them by contributing, over & above monthly wages, with tea, food, old clothes, festival gifts etc. Sushila Amma with her Insurance card (left) with Urjita Lolla. Pic courtesy: Urgita Lolla. However, not many of us are well aware of the major difficulty they face in managing their and their family’s health care. Since the conditions under which they live, make them easily susceptible to illness and they…

Vijay Diwas was observed on December 16th in Bangalore by placing wreaths and paying homage to the statue of Unknown Soldier at the National Military Memorial Park premises. The day marks Indian victory in the war over Pakistan in 1971 which resulted in the liberation of Bangladesh. 65-year-old Bakya Mary, widow of late Sapper Philomina Raj, being honoured by Lokayukta Justice Santosh Hegde. Pic: Flag of Honour foundation. The Flags of Honour Foundation honoured families of martyrs from Karnataka - Rifleman K.S. Ravindra who was killed fighting terrorist in Jammu & Kashmir and BSF Constable Bheema Shankar Hadapad, who lost…

The civic club members of Cambridge School, K R Puram, Children's Movement for Civic Awareness (CMCA) organised an awareness campaign on Active Citizenship, in a two-day campaign, last month. Children signing a pledge to be active citizens. CMCA campaign at Cambridge School. Pic courtesy: CMCA. The aim of this awareness camp was to spread the message that the time has come for us, the citizens of Bangalore to snap out of our apathy and engage in local governance An awareness stall was set up in the school on the concept that for our city to transition from a ‘bad' deteriorated city to ‘good'…

Despite Bengaluru's cosmopolitan nature, safety in public spaces is still a problem for women in the city. Opinions vary about whether Bengaluru is safer compared to other Indian cities, but most women agree that the city has a long way to go in terms of accommodating women. Citizen Matters and Justfemme present Is Bengaluru women-friendly? A panel discussion Dec 18th, 4-5.30pm @ NGMA Auditorium, Palace Road, Bangalore All are welcome. The Bangalorean panelists (in alphabetical order) Prakash Belawadi, a well-known journalist, theatre enthusiast and a filmmaker. Mithila Jha, an Urban Planner, currently working with BMTC. Suneel Kumar (IPS), is Additional…

National Gallery of Modern Art (NGMA), Bengaluru, in collaboration with Bangalore Film Society and Just Femme present the inaugural edition of pEtE maatu. The three-day event will comprise an international film festival of short films and documentaries, a digital photo exhibition and panel discussion on the theme Women and the City. There are many things for which a woman steps outside her house in a city -- be it to go to work, or drop a child to school, meet friends, or go grocery shopping. What happens when she steps out? Does she feel safe; what kind of hurdles does…

A couple of weeks back, bored on a Sunday morning, I set off on small exploration trip. From JP Nagar 6th phase Nandini Hotel stop, I took a 215C to Jambusavari Dinne (JP Nagar 8th phase) -the ride took about 15 minutes for the 5 km stretch. As the bus stopped at Jambusavari Dinne, a bus on route No. 378 passed by with the LED board showing "Electronic City" with reasonable crowd. I enquired with someone standing nearby and learnt that bus had a good frequency. In about two minutes, I noticed another 378 came on opposite side, bound for…

Padmashree P T Usha was the chief guest at the sports day celebrations at The Samhita Academy, a school in south Bangalore off Bannerghatta Road. The students were abuzz with excitement at the second annual sports and athletic meet on December 11th. Also present were the school's Permanent Trustee, S D Shibulal, COO of Infosys Technologies and Managing Trustee, Kumari Shibulal along with proud parents. The school spread over a six-acre campus, has close to 200 students, stresses on a holistic approach to learning. The school also has a 25 per cent quota for under-privileged children in each class and…

A few days ago, a small first step was taken by members of Puttenahalli Neighbourhood Lake Improvement Trust towards a garbage-free Puttenahalli. Before Cleanup Pic: Arathi Manay Yajaman There is a spot on Puttenahalli Road, in front of Brigade Millennium Mayflower Block entrance which has been used for dumping. The cleaning up was assisted by the cobbler Chakravarthy who has a shop behind the dump and is also responsible for some of the garbage in the first place and a few others. The rubbish was enough to fill a large sack which was willingly carried away by the garbage truck,…

Indian Youth Climate Network (IYCN) organised a workshop on "Youth and Conservation of Lakes" for students of Jyoti Nivas College on December 4. Several prominent Bangaloreans were invited to speak at the event, which was followed by a trip to Parapanna Agrahara Lake. Dr. Yellappa Reddy, noted environmentalist, a trustee at the Bangalore Environment Trust and former Indian Forest Service Officer was the chief guest. He explained the importance of conservation of lakes. He said that lake is truly a living entity; due to the dissolved oxygen content in it that supports various aquatic flora and fauna. He suggested using…