City: Bengaluru

Think Id and Biryani comes to mind. Think Ganesha and the visual imagery is that of the elephant god with a Modaka in his hand. Food, either abstaining from it or partaking of it, has always been central to religion and community. This could be due to the fact that while men may create rites in the patriarchal societies that most of us live in, it is women who perpetuate them. Within families, the bedrock of any community, women carry on rituals and customs; ensuring that traditions thrive. The food stalls around Swagath Road get busy in the evening as…

It only took 13-year-old Aditya's bragging about how quick and efficient he was at the newly acquired skill of tying flowers, for the girls in his group to take it upon themselves to beat him at his game. What started as a fun contest, turned into a fierce battle with each camp pelting flowers at each other. Your reporter, lips pursed in concentration, attempting to learn to tie flowers from ten-year-olds, was caught in the crossfire. A participant at the workshop making a Ganesha idol using clay. Pic: Siri Srinivas This was the workshop organised by the Environment Support Group(ESG)…

A Children's Magazine, HAM Radio, General Science, Traffic... Yes! A unique quiz that involved all of these - Quiz on Air. Hoopla Club, a monthly children's magazine, in association with Indian Institute of HAMs organised the second annual 'Quiz on Air' on Friday September 3rd, 2010 in Bangalore. After earlier preliminary rounds, ten Hoopla Club member school teams made it to the finals that was conducted and aired ‘live' on HAM Radio. HAM Quiz on air, was conducted on September 3rd. Pic courtesy: Hoopla Club. Why a quiz conducted on the HAM Radio network? Hoopla Club's Reena Mirpuri and Balchander…

Based on a Public Interest Litigation (PIL) filed by Bangalore-based Institute of Public Health (IPH), the Karnataka High Court (HC) has issued notices to the Karnataka state health and family welfare department, and the union ministries of commerce and health. The PIL challenges the sponsorship and participation of the Tobacco Board of India (a Government of India entity established under the Ministry of Industry and Commerce) in the Global Tobacco Networking Forum (GTNF), scheduled to be held at ITC  Royal Gardenia (near Kanteerva stadium) between October 4th - 8th, here in Bangalore. The Global Tobacco Networking Forum is scheduled to…

Over a period of four days, BBMP corporators were given an opportunity to debate and discuss the draft budget that was presented before the council on August 30th. While for the most part the Congress and JD(S) maintained that the budget is "bogus", BJP corporators hailed it to be "bombaat". Unfortunately, what could have been a critical dissection and analysis of the proposed Rs 8488 crore budget, turned out to be, for the large part, like a regular monthly meeting, where ward woes were presented. Leader of the Opposition M Nagaraj makes a point on August 30th when the BBMP…

Vinay Chandra is a man with a mission. What started off as a personal interest in nature, farming and organic agriculture, has for the last year become a zealous drive to help more and more city dwellers like you and me to make our own little patch of green. Square foot garden. Pic courtesy: Vinay Chandra. Before starting his initiative to help set up kitchen gardens, Chandra did a lot of ground work. He spent a lot of time with with organic farmers and activists and read a lot on organic farming. He visited many organic farms in and around…

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…