City: Bengaluru

A common sight outside Bangalore homes and a fading folk art in some parts, rangoli creation is many times a tradition passed on from generations. Reviving this tradition was attempted by Shree Vidyraranya Yuvaka Sangha (SVYS) through a Rangoli competition on August 8th. The volunteers who organised the event at APS College grounds in Basavangudi put up an impressive show that saw over 600 participants from various parts of the state and city. The rangoli competition in full swing at the APS College grounds in Basavanagudi. Pic: Deepti Sarma "Reviving the dying tradition of rangoli was the main idea" opines…

At a recent meet to discuss the loss of heritage in Whitefield to road-widening , residents of the locality spoke out against the BBMP's plans. About a hundred people attended the meeting which was organised on August 5th by the Bangalore Chapter of the Indian National Trust for Art and Cultural Heritage (INTACH) in association with residents of Whitefield. About 100 citizens attended the public meeting in Whitefield to frame plans to protect the area's heritage. Pic courtesy: INTACH The meeting began with a short presentation about the history of Whitefield by conservation architect and INTACH member Krupa Rajangam. She…

When you live in an apartment block with over 1000 flats, managing maintenance costs, corresponding with neighbours and making decisions for the entire complex, may prove strenuous, especially if you are on the management committee (MC). This was what drove S Parthasarathy to start Onesolution, an apartment management software tool. Parthasarathy founded OneSolution to ease the process of managing apartment complexes. Pic courtesy: OneSolution. S Parthasarathy, a resident of Brigade Gardenia in JP Nagar 7th phase, discovered the difficulty first-hand in his voluntary stint as the founder-treasurer of his complex. "Six months down the line there were several issues. The…

In the last few years, Bangalore has seen the emergence of apartment management software tools. Sangeeta Banerjee of Apartment Adda attributes it to multiple reasons. "Bangalore has a higher Internet penetration and is a highly cosmopolitan city. It also has a higher population of younger people in apartment association committees. The average age in most associations we have interacted with is between 35-40." Most software developers think that people would prefer a software that provides value in terms of saving time, effort and providing transparency. Parthasarathy of OneSolution thinks softwares such as these work better in larger complexes and Bangalore…

On the 1st of August 2010, 12 of us participated in a photowalk to the Bangalore heritage temple sites, Kaadu Malleswara and Nandeeswara, in Malleswaram. I organized this photowalk to help a friend, Chandrachoodan Gopalakrishnan, who used to conduct photowalks in Chennai before he went to Bristol, UK to pursue higher studies. His course, Masters of Arts in Archaeology for Screen Media (MAASM), looks at archaeology/heritage and media practices and explores ways in which archaeology can be presented to an audience. He had requested some photowalks to be organised to help him with his thesis. This photowalk was called Ancient…

When the results of the SSLC examination were announced back in May, BBMP schools in the city had fared so poorly it was almost as if the Palike itself had flunked the public examination. The thirty-three high schools under the Palike secured a pass percentage of 33 per cent -- its most abysmal result in the last few years. To put this figure in perspective, the state average was 68 per cent -- more than double of what the BBMP schools secured this year, and a far cry from the ambitious target of 75 percent set in the 2009-10 BBMP…

Came across an article about the worsening traffic situation in India. Badly planned roads, overstretched traffic police, violators get away easy, explosion in vehicle population, and a flood of untrained drivers all contribute to the problem. Wait! There is one more reason; there are a set of unwritten rules that are passed on from driver to driver in the great oral tradition of India! Since this tradition is oral, there is ample scope for misinterpretation and consequent goof-ups on the road. The other unique aspect about these rules is that they don't have to be consistently followed, just understood and…

After a huge slump in prices during recession, the housing market in Bangalore is revving up again, thanks to the newly introduced ‘affordable housing' segment. While there are houses priced at Rs 15-25 lakhs that are targeted at PSU and BPO employees, there are more lucrative options at Rs 25-40 lakhs for IT employees. There are also houses under Rs 10 lakh being planned by non-profit organizations to benefit those who do not have a regular paycheck and hence have difficulty getting loans for housing. These houses are targeted at auto rickshaw drivers, construction workers etc who have total household…

click here to print revised fare click here On August 1, new auto fares came into effect in the city, with the minimum fare being Rs 17 and an extra Rs 9 for every additional kilometer. The previous revision of fares was in February 2008, when the minimum fare was increased from Rs 12 to Rs 14, and the charge per extra kilometre was increased from Rs 6 to Rs 7. The factor of increase for the new fare is 1.28 (9/7). So to calculate the approximate new fare, the thumb rule is to multiply the old fare with 1.28.…

It doesn't take a genius to figure out the reasons behind traffic congestion.  First, a sincere round of applause for all commuters who despite lack of traffic signals at most intersections manage to peacefully negotiate and reach their destinations. People do follow directions as is evident when there is a police officer on the road (trying to do his/her best). This shows that we are very accommodating by nature but we are also deeply frustrated from long delays and a system that does not reward good drivers. Here are some obvious problems seen on the road daily: Pedestrians strolling on…