City: Bengaluru

The National Gallery of Modern Art (NGMA) is suddenly becoming a hub of cultural activity with the ongoing adult and children’s workshops on art, and the curtain raiser for the Dhaatu Puppet Festival taking place on its premises. This activity perhaps coincides with the instating of a Director for the Bangalore NGMA, Sobha Nambisan (IAS, Retd).A small audience on May 6th had an introductory glimpse into the ongoing Puppet Festival which is being held at different venues around Bangalore from May 7th to 16th. Dhaatu is a non-profit organisation which began in 2004 with an aim to bring about awareness…

Brookfields/Whitefield-Informer & Shopper (BWIS), a community neighbourhood yellow pages based in Whitefield in partnership with the Rotary Club of IT Corridor, Bangalore and Sahyog, an organisation working on social and legal issues, came together for a cause on a Sunday morning of April 25th. Their messengers were on wheels seeking hidden treasures.This initiative was a call to pledge your eyes by the Sankara Eye Bank, Sankara Eye Care. The message was clear: Miracles cannot cure the blind. You can, by pledging your eyes. Bhaskar Rao (second from right), flagging off the event. Pic credit: I-Light studio. The participants covered a…

On a hot Saturday in April, BBMP demonstrated its responsive side. Earlier that morning when my husband told me about a dead ox body opposite our building at Benson Town, I thought he was joking. A little later, I was shocked when I actually noticed the ox lying along the roadside. Brushing aside questions of "Who, why, when and how", I presumed that one of our proactive neighbours would have reported the issue. But when I rang the BBMP's 24 hour helpline (22221188 and 22660000) around 10.15 am to check, I realised that no complaint had been lodged. Curious children…

Almost everyone who visits or moves to Bangalore is captivated by the blooms that add colours to the city, all around the year - flaming Gulmohur in summer, pleasing Jacaranda in spring, sparkling Copper pods in autumn. Walking through roads and lanes where these trees have survived the metro and road widening constructions, it is hard to imagine that the man behind these is a German, Herr G H Krumbiegel to be precise. City under Siege. Pic: Maragathavalli Inbamuthiah Goethe Institute located at Indiranagar recently remembered and honoured this "Economical Botanist" who, under the rule of  Krishnaraja Wodeyar, imported many…

On April 21st late afternoon, there was a very heavy downpour with hailstorm and very gusty winds. On my way home at Vijayanagar at about 5.30 pm, while it was still raining, I found the skyline near my home looking different I looked up to see a few trees were broken in the middle and fallen over houses.Right in front of my house, two trees had fallen. On the main road behind, I found eight electric poles and three trees had fallen on 11 KVA power lines. This caused the complete stretch of electric poles and trees fall flat on…

S Vishwanath is a pioneer in rainwater harvesting. He is the founder of Rainwater Club, a city-based group that promotes and provides information on rainwater harvesting. Vishwanath has been working in the areas of urban planning, ecological architecture and water management for the past 25 years. Rainwater Club was one of the winners of the 2009 Namma Bengaluru Awards. In this interview with Citizen Matters, Vishwanath speaks about the desperate water scene in the city and suggests what immediate measures can be taken to address the issue of shortage.S Vishwanath, Rainwater Club. Pic: Vaishnavi Vittal When you hear of water…

With taps running dry and citizens left crying hoarse for want of water, the state government and Bangalore city council have gone into damage-control mode. Mayor S K Nataraj recently announced that borewells will be drilled in each assembly constituency and water will be supplied through tankers. A borewell being drilled in Yamalur in North Bangalore, by Maanasa Drillers and Borewells. Pic: Vaishnavi Vittal According to BWSSB's Public Relations Officer (PRO) A N Prahlada Rao, starting last Sunday, the water board will be drilling two borewells a day in each division of the city (North, South, East, West). Rao says…

The Bengaluru Infinite 2010 marathon photography contest culminated in a lively exhibition and award ceremony on the 1st of May at the very unusual creative center Jaaga. A motley crowd of amateur, hobbyist and semi-professional photographers gathered there on a lazy Saturday evening shared camaraderie and discussed the pictures on display and their own experiences during the photo marathon. The Bengaluru Infinite 2010 photography contest - award ceremony at Jaaga. Pic: courtesy: InfinityF. Contestants submitted upto eight pictures shot between 8 am and 8 pm in Bengaluru on April 25th which focused on the changing face of the city. Shutterbugs…

Nitin Dubey had never been so scared in his life. As he watched the deadly smoke engulf the top two floors of Carlton Tower in Bangalore, he could see people leaning out of windows trying to escape the blinding smoke and hear their desperate screams for help. He was acutely aware that he could very well become one of the victims, being trapped with them, but somehow he had been spared their fate. One of his colleagues had not been so lucky. By the time the fire was extinguished nine people were dead, some asphyxiated and some having jumped to…

With the new city council taking over and the Mayor being elected, it is now time for Bengalureans to look forward to the budget that will be presented to the Council in the next fortnight. While focusing on issues like infrastructure, it appears this time round the budget will also allocate money towards one of Bangalore's pressing concerns - water. In an interview with Citizen Matters, recently-appointed BBMP Special Commissioner K A Niranjan explains the workings of the administration in tandem with the council while gearing up for the budget. He throws light on the much discussed financial condition of…