City: Bengaluru

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…

Variable Message Signboards (VMS) have been installed to inform the motorist about safety messages, traffic diversions and road accidents to enable the motorist to plan their routes. Right now they have been installed at ten locations such as Hebbal Road - Towards Bengaluru City and Towards BIAL, and Basaveshwara Circle on Race Course Road The traffic police plan to install VMS at another 10 locations in the city. Bengaluru's traffic police department has collected 36 crores as fine amount between January to September 2010 compared to 23 crores in 2009 for the same period, registering an increase of 50 percent.…

Despite continued protests from residents for over two years, an illegal building in Amar Jyothi layout in Domlur has almost finished construction and is going to be occupied soon. The building located at site no. 371 and 372 along the Koramangala-Domlur Intermediate Ring Road, is in violation of the sanctioned plan from BBMP as well as many building bye-laws. An outlet of the sanitary ware major Roca is to open here soon. Trouble started two years ago, just as the construction began. Residents nearby complained that the setbacks of the building were insufficient. The building is supposed to have setback…

Many in India watched with curiosity as Julia Roberts filmed for Eat, Pray, Love in India. Now, many months later, the film directed by Ryan Murphy and filmed by Brad Pitt is finally here. Eat, Pray, Love, based on the bestselling novel of the same name by Elizabeth Gilbert, tells the story of Elizabeth's (Julia Roberts) journey around the world to find herself after a painful divorce. As the story unfolds on celluloid, the traveler in you can't help responding to moments in the film with a sense of deja vu. For her part, Julia Roberts brings alive the role…

If you've traversed 100 Feet Road in Indiranagar, as you get close to the flyover, you've probably seen a signboard saying the ants cafe. Perhaps you've breezed by with a smile, quirkily imagining a column of ants industriously marching about. If so, you wouldn't be far off the mark. There is a small army of human ants in there, working diligently. Their aim: to bring out positive stories from the Northeast. Kelhe. This Naga pork is cooked with dried bamboo shoots and king chillies. Pic: The ants cafe. Ah the Northeast...isn't that where they eat a lot of pork? Where…