City: Bengaluru

Cops were wiring me up with two tiny hidden video-cameras, two audio recorders, stuffing thousands of rupees in my pockets and briefing me like a military commander does his cadets prior to an offensive. One pocket had 1,000-rupee notes sullied with detective powder that would turn pink as evidence if dipped in treated water. A cameraman was recording this process. Had it not been for missing flood-lights and makeup artists, it could have been mistaken for a 007-style film shooting.This was on Wednesday, February 3rd. Inside the Lokayukta building, with instructions from Additional Director General of Police Rupak K Dutta…

Religious faith in a country like India is not a matter to be trifled with. If it doesn't actively move mountains, it does manage to move millions in population- physically and emotionally. India's multireligious identity provides for its secular political outlook, one that is questioned and turned upside down everytime communal tensions take over the public psyche. But we have to just look around us to see the things people d,o to assist their relationship with the divine. Fawzan Husain has done just that; in his exhibition of photographs at Tasveer, Kasturba Cross Road. He successfully captures the essence of…

Governance Should you care about this plan? Read our news report here.1. Create new Bengaluru legislation that supersedes /encompasses all Bengaluru/Municipal body legislations like BWSSB Act, BBMP act etc - Bengaluru Region Governance Act, (BRGA) 2009.2. Establish the Bangalore Spatial Information Centre (BASIC).3. Strengthen the Lok Ayukta Act. 4. Amend the Karnataka Transparency Act.5. The Bengaluru City Report card to be presented by the BMRDA/MPC with Chief Minister as Chairman.6. Launch official city website www.nammabengaluru.gov.in7. Establish the Institute of Urban Planning and Governance (IUPG).  Roads, Traffic Management and Transportation1. Establish ongoing transport demand growth study and research.2. Make a single…

Bengaluru’s homegrown music bands have always created a buzz. Swarathama, Raghu Dixit Project, Thermal & a Quarter, Galeej Gurus are some of them.One such young band, which aspires to be big is Solder. Formed in 2009, this band is already riding high with number of shows lined up. They also walked away with the runners up trophy at the NLS Strawberry Fields. Formed in 2009, this band is already riding high, with a number of shows lined up. Pic: Madhu Shweta. Within this one year, Solder has had played in venues such as Opus, Kyra, Furtados (along with the band…

Citizens tend to be skeptical if not cynical of hearing about plans for Bengaluru, especially when even the most elementary projects get caught up in bungles and delays. Recently it was the turn of the Chief Minister B S Yeddyurappa's ABIDe task force to release its own grand plan for the city's development. Release of Plan Bengaluru 2020. From right, ABIDe member R K Mishra, Chief Minister B S Yeddyurappa, ABIDe Convenor and MP Rajeev Chandrasekhar, ABIDe member A Ravindra. Pic courtesy: ABIDe. On January 14th this year, Rajya Sabha MP and Convenor of the Agenda for Bengaluru Infrastructure Development…

Come February 16th and it will be a crucial day for the first Bus Rapid Transit System (BRTS) proposal for Bangalore. Karnataka's Directorate of Urban Land Transport (DULT) has called for a meeting of the BDA, BMTC, Rail India Technical and Economic Society (RITES) and Infrastructure Development Corporation ( Karnataka) Limited (iDECK) on that day to discuss the BRTS proposal. In BRTS, BMTC buses will run higher speeds than usual in part because of dedicates bus lanes, allowing commuters to reach destinations faster. If the BRTS gets the Cabinet nod, it will first be implemented along the Outer Ring Road,…

Rural idyll is not too far from the city and sometimes almost inside. A relative of mine told me about Mallaiah and his scenic farm just on the periphery of the city and how the land was under threat as the city greedily expands. Mallaiah with family. Pic: Varsha N Achar. Mallaiah lives in a small village called Gongdipura which comes under Kodigehalli taluk, about 5 kms away from Magadi Road-NICE Road junction in Bangalore city. I drove on the narrow road leading to Kodigehalli from the Sunkadkatte main road. Small houses on revenue sites and petty shops dotted on…

An experience at Matteo, a new coffee house on Church Street will guarantee you much more than a hot beverage. Matteo is a modern coffee and tea joint started by the Sterling Mac group (Mac fast food) and is already attracting a sizable group of people. Their walls are plastered with boards explaining the coffee harvesting process and their pillars have facts about tea. Pic: Meghna Raghunathan.This coffe house opened on December 21st and it boasts of some of the best coffee in the country with imported varieties from all over the world and tea in silk sachets. According to…

I walked into the auditorium in Bal Bhavan, Cubbon Park, to a stage full of little people dressed from head to toe in black, wielding puppets over half their size. Hope for the flowers performed by students of Ananya school. Pic courtesy: Ananya Trust. It was a puppet show organised by Ananya Trust, which runs a school called Ananya Shikshana Kendra to educate underprivileged children. Students complete their 10th standard and also undergo internship at companies like Printo. The school educates first generation learners and has a life skills program which integrates teaching and real like experience. The puppet show…

“The Lost Lakes of Bangalore” is a project to document Bengaluru’s many tanks and lakes. The organisers are Arghyam, a non-profit foundation that works towards wise water management. They run the India Water Portal, an online resource base on all water issues in India. A special website  has been set up for the purpose of this contest and to mark World Water Day. Entries must be submitted by March 15th as a CD with the movie in a standard file format, sent to India Water Portal Lost Lakes Contest599 12th Main Road, HAL 2nd Stage, IndiranagarPhone: 080-41698941/42 The contest is…