City: Bengaluru

It is a sign of increasing resentment in settled residents over continuing permissions given to townships and commercial complexes in the city’s neighbourhoods. While many recent protests have been against illegal constructions (bye-law violations), one case in JP Nagar has come to light where citizens are protesting the construction of a BDA-sanctioned apartment complex. Residents in JP Nagar 1st phase are protesting against Sobha Dewflower, an up-and-coming apartment complex located in a plot measuring 31,160 square meters along Sarakki main road. Residents say that once the 231 new apartments in the complex are occupied, the traffic in the already narrow…

I tried to balance myself very carefully as I took each step with great caution. No, I was not performing any acrobatics or balancing trick. I was just walking on a busy street in the city. I could not walk on the footpath as the slabs of the pavements were removed and piled up in a half hazard manner. Some parts of it were dug up and the remaining parts, occupied by the vendors. It was impossible to walk on the road, as the traffic was very heavy. Walking on the streets of Bangalore City is indeed a great feat.…

Between Jan 1 and Sept 4 this year, BMTC buses were involved in 81 deaths, 12 major accidents and 318 minor accidents.  Last year, the BMTC Accidents Division recorded 28 deaths, 20 major accidents and 126 minor accidents. File pic. According to the records, Yelahanka recorded the most accidents, 16, from Jan 2010 to Apr 2010. In the previous year, for the same period, it was Subhashnagar with most accidents. Records show 18 accidents. More than 3,000 buses crisscross the city out of 36 bus depots, says Nithin Hegade, a division traffic officer. 31 thousand drivers operate these buses. Hegade…

Abhivyakti! (An expression!) - an exhibition of photographs taken by amateur photographer Ashwinikumar Maslekar, a resident of Brigade Millennium, was held on October 23rd, at Mayflower Block. Ashwinikumar with his pictures. Pic: Arathi Manay Yajaman. Maslekar, 40, is a self-taught photographer, whose travelling assignments with Wipro have given him the opportunity to pursue his passion. The exhibition was held by Ashwini family as a small effort to encourage his passion. It is said that a picture speaks a thousand words and it is probably the only way to capture and freeze a moment in time with just a click! Maslekar…

Less than three weeks ago, my friend received a phone call from the constable at Hulimavu Police Station (off Bannerghatta Road), informing her that her police verification form for issue of her passport had reached the police station. She needed to go in person with photos and id-address proof. All of us have heard of tales of requests for "coffee money" (amounting to a few hundred rupees) at the time of police verification. A bit anxious and unsure of how to tackle the situation if it arose, she requested that I go along with her. The police station is located…

The 60-feet Avenue Road that cuts across the 22-acre Brigade Millennium apartment community has become a matter of major concern for residents. Even though the road was initially supposed to be for the use of residents, it has become a fully public road now. But residents continue to pay for its maintenance through Brigade Enterprises Limited (BEL). Rs 80,000 every month is spent on it from a corpus fund of which nearly 86 % comes from the residents. Guards at the entrance of Avenue Road now do nothing more than collect toll occassionally from a heavy vehicle. Pic: Navya P…

Dance in Indian cinema is unfortunately been labelled Bollywood dance. Films in the early nineties evolved with performances from artistes from indigenous art forms. Many actors, dancers and musicians who were bred in regional theatre moved their performances from stage to screen to find a larger audience and explore a new media of expression.  On the sets of Pancharangi. Pic: Nritarutya. In recent times  senseless ‘item' numbers rule the big screen where it is all about the jhatkas , matkas and the jing chak music that sell the film as a commodity. Seldom does one come across meaningful choreography where intelligent conceptualisation, beautiful…

Jackie (Kannada) Jackie has been amongst Kannada cinema's eagerly awaited films of October, if for no other reason than the coming together of director Suri (Duniya fame) and Puneet Rajkumar. Yet before the film is half complete it quickly becomes clear that if all the problems of the Indian film-making could be highlighted in one film, it would be Jackie. The film that is reminiscent of an 80s Hindi cinema potboiler seems confused on whether its intention is to be an entertainer or a film with a socially relevant message. In the end it winds up between the devil and…

The morning's paper said Bengaluru was "among the fastest growing cities in the world". On inside pages there were glowing accounts of Dasara celebrations, our 400-year-old tradition of Jambu savari, and the 150th anniversary of Sir Visweswariah. Reading all that felt good - and then my day began, with a bus ride, from Majestic to Jayanagar. I was Jayanagar-bound after a weekend in north Bengaluru, to pay my BESCOM bill for my flat in south Bengaluru, the last date for which was just a day away. Bus no. 2 that I waited for at Majestic (specifically so that I could…

The next time a tree in your neighbourhood is cut, you may actually be able to track it online. NGO Sattva Welfare Association has created a website www.vruksha.com, which aims to make details of all trees in the public space in Bengaluru available online. As a pilot project, the association has completed the tree census of Hampi nagar ward. Around 3000 trees belonging to 39 species were identified in this ward, which has an area of only 1.11 sq km. They covered 102 roads within six months - the main roads had 100-300 trees while the smaller cross roads had…