City: Bengaluru

On Sunday August 29th , the Kannada translation of Prof. S N Balagangadhara's book, "The Heathen in his Blindness"...Asia, West and the Dynamic of Religion (1994) was released at the Kannada Sahitya Parishat in Chamarajpet. The book titled 'Smriti, Vismriti: Bhaarateeya Samskruti', translated by scholar-historian Dr Rajaram Hegde, was released by writer-journalist Ravi Belegere. Published by Akshara Prakashana, the book is priced at Rs 415. An introduction to the book was presented by Prof. Sivarama Krishnan, retired Sociology Professor, Bangalore University. Centre for the Study of Local Cultures (CSLC), Kuvempu University organised the event with support from Nagasri Book House,…

I was lucky to avoid myself and family getting mugged on Monday late night near Devanahalli. It was around 1:15 am last Tuesday. I was on my way to my in-laws place, after picking up my cousin from the Bangalore International Airport. I took a turn from National Highway-7 towards Devanahalli. I wasn't sure of the exact turn towards H-Cross (This is the junction where four roads – Devanahalli, Bangalore, Kolar, Chintamani – meet. It is around 22 kms from Devanahalli). So I stopped near a Tata Indica and asked my wife Sandhya to lower her window to ask the…

Located in Kammanahalli in east Bengaluru, Jal Vayu Vihar or JVV is a residential colony of 540 houses spread over 22 acres. Built in 1990 by the Air Force Naval Housing Board, the apartments were meant for officers of the Indian Air Force and Navy, after they retire from service. The East gate entrance of Jal Vayu Vihar. Pic: Captain M V Prabhakar Whilst in service the men in the Indian Air Force and Navy lived in government accommodation and paid less attention to life after retirement. This was a very serious shortcoming and in the late seventies the Air…

The XSEED Preschool, Sarjapur Road, Bangalore, celebrated a children's carnival on Saturday, August 28th at their school premises. The carnival was primarily aimed at creating an awareness in the young minds the importance of going green. The preschool emphasizes appreciating and protecting the environment through the principles of the 3 R’s –Reduce, Recycle and Reuse.  To put these into practice, the school has a vegetable garden, a vermicompost  pit and a bird bath.XSEED Preschool was formally inaugurated by Manjul Gupta, parent of the first student of the school followed by the lighting of the lamp by parents and Dr. Harini…

Mud Ganesha. Pic: vinita. Ganesh Chaturthi marks the start of the Hindu festive season that continues through the rest of the calendar year.  Due to its relative lack of rituals, it is also said to be less of a religious and more of a social event.  Building on the social nature of the festival, Chetan K S and his wife Vijayalakshmi, founders of The Living store (Chamarajpet) are attempting to spread awareness on being more ecologically sensitive on Ganesh Chaturthi, this September 11th. Last year they held a workshop at their premises to make clay Ganeshas and the overwhelming response…

G Manjunath Raju. Bangalore's city budget, presented by the BBMP at the city council session on August 30th raises more questions than answers. The steep revenue projections BBMP has cited are themselves a whole topic. Citizen Matters spoke to G Manjunath Raju, corporator of Kadu Malleswaram (Ward 65) and member of BBMP's Taxation and Finance committee that prepared the budget. Discussion on the budget at the council is scheduled for September 2nd. There is a several fold increase in revenues compared to last year. How are you planning to manage that? There are total 15 lakh properties in the city.…

Radish grown in Manikandan's terrace garden. Pic Courtesy: P Manikandan. P Manikandan used to garden during his school days. After a break prompted by preoccupation with higher education, he restarted in January 2008, at his fourth floor apartment on Bannerghatta Road. So gardening, he says, has always been a passion. He now grows his own vegetables using organic methods so that they are pesticide-free. He also has ornamentals that include roses, Crotons, Coleus, Dahlia, Zinnia, Rudbeckia, Oleander and Jasmine. P Manikandan. Like most planners and gardeners, Manikandan first decided on a few key aspects like the size of the garden,…

Government Notification on Senior Citizen ID card. Click on image to enlarge. Directorate of Welfare of Disabled and Senior Citizens, Department of Women and Child Development, Government of Karnataka has authorised Dignity Foundation, an NGO promoting welfare of the senior citizens, to issue "Government ID Cards" to senior citizens of Bengaluru. Those who are 60+ can apply for ID cards producing simple documents like photocopy of age and address proof along with their two recent passport photographs, with a processing fee of Rs 25 and also furnishing blood group. The ID cards will be issued within a fortnight of submitting…

While unrest continues over roadwidening in the city, including a pending court case, the BBMP is widening 23 roads that are former BDA layouts. Work has already begun and is expected to finish in a year. The BBMP is widening, strengthening and asphalting 23 roads in Bengaluru, under grants given by the Government of Karnataka. Sources in the BBMP say that work on these roads began six months ago and is expected to be completed in the next one year. These 23 roads are not part of the 100-odd roads that are stuck in the Karnataka High Court, due to…

The BBMP  has proposed an expenditure of Rs.8488 crores for Bengaluru in its maiden budget session today. The same figure for last year (2009-10) when the city administration was running without an elected council was Rs 3582.02 crores. P N Sadashiva (BJP), Chairperson of the Taxation and Finance Committee and corporator of the Sunkenahalli ward, presenting the BBMP budget on August 30. BBMP Commissioner H Siddaiah, Mayor S K Nataraj and Deputy Mayor N Dayananda share the dias. Pic: Navya P K. However, BBMP's opening balance for 2010-11 was a mere Rs 424.72 cr. The administration proposes bridge the gap…