City: Bengaluru

One of the most important projects of Rotary International is to eradicate polio from the face of the earth. In 1985, Rotary International launched 'Polio Plus', a time bound commitment to eradicate polio. The Polio Plus is one of the most ambitious humanitarian undertakings ever undertaken by a private entity. On the immunisation day, in India more than 1,00,000 Rotary volunteers and their families  join hands with Government and all concerned to facilitate administering polio drops to the children below five years, signaling the largest public health event ever in the world.Philanthropists worldwide including Microsoft Founder Bill Gates are taking…

BBMP, state government and political aspirants may be gearing up for the elections on February 21st 2010. But with campaigning yet to start, the elections are not a hard reality yet for many residents. Resident Welfare Associations too are waiting and watching for the candidates to be announced. We spoke to a few people from JP Nagar, Ward 177 in south Bangalore to find out what are the improvements they wished to see around their neighbourhood. JP Nagar ward map. Credit: Google Maps.K M Handyal, a retired engineer has lived in JP Nagar II phase, for 27 years now. He…

Art can grow out of the most mundane and unexpected situations. Who would think that two girls diligently working on their French and discussing the intricacies of environmental conservation would hit upon a plan to make art installations?This is exactly what happened with Ramya Upadhya and Aisha Siddiqa, both currently associated with the Alliance Francaise de Bangalore. An initial enthusiasm to experiment with recycling and utilise discarded materials as a means of generating public awareness and discussion somewhere along the way turned into a full-fledged exploration into the aesthetics of art making and enquiry into the simultaneous existence of imperfections…

“Allidde Namma Mane – Amerikeya Swamiobbara Atmakathe”, the Kannada translation of ‘The Journey Home – Autobiography of an American Swamy’ was released at Prism Book Shop, Jayanagar, on January 13th. While Shri Radhanath Swami is the author of the original work ‘The Journey Home’, Chaitanya Dasa (of ISKCON) has translated it into Kannada. (Left to right) Mattur Krishnamurthy, G Venkatasubbaiah and Radhanath Swami. Pic: Deepa Vaishnavi. The simple function had Kannada Writer, Shri S Diwakar, as Master of Ceremonies. Shri G Venkatasubbaiah, 96-year-old Kannada lexicographer and author, released the book in the presence of Padmashri Mattur Krishnamurthy, the well known…

“You always need an occasion. We need something to ignite”, says Major P Kapur, a resident of Bangalore South's Koramangala area. Major Kapur is referring to the coming together of citizens of Koramangala to form what is called the Koramangala United Citizens Council or the KUCC. This federation has been set up to take up common causes of all the eight Koramangala blocks, Jakkasandra extension, ST Bed layout and Nirgun Mandir area. “There are common areas of concern for the whole area like water, roads, drainage. We can tackle them together”, says Major Kapur, who is the convenor of KUCC.…

50-year-old Shalini is a software engineer, working at a Bangalore-based IT company. On January 18th, she took off from work to attend an event. A special event where she walked the ramp. Well, what was so special about the event? It was the auditions of the Bangalore leg of 'Indian Super Queen', claimed to be India’s first ever hunt for the most talented transgender. Yes, Shalini is a transgender. A cross-dresser, to be specific. “I’m participating just for fun”, she says, dressed in an elegant black saree, black halter and a clutch to match. “This is just one of my…

Pride Apartments Owners Association situated at Bilekhalahalli, opposite to State Bank of Mysore, Bannerghatta road planted 59 saplings on the way to their apartment and within their compound on January 9th, in collaboration with Trees for free, a non-profit that takes up tree planting initiatives, and sponsored by Yahoo, the technology firm, and the Rotary club of Koramangala. 59 tree saplings planted in front of Pride apartments. Pic: Sangeetha Ramakrishnan. Each plant is adopted by a child of the apartment complex. This will make them “aware about the value of trees in our environment”, explains Minu Mehra, joint secretary of…

Aneesh Vidyashankar, 18, is a violin player and student of architecture based in JP Nagar VI phase. He gave his first violin solo concert (classical carnatic style), when he was just eight. Aneesh Vidyashankar. Pic: Ramesh. He has given solo violin concerts at ISKCON, Chowdiah Memorial Hall., The Bangalore Club., Bangalore Gayana Samaja., The Bharatiya Vidya Bhavan, Indian Institute of World Culture, and many more concerts.Vidyashankar has won several prizes in competitions held by various sabhas like The Gayana Samaja and Academy of Music, and the first prize at Prestigious national level Classical Music Competition-Instrumental Violin 2009 held by Prasara…

I stepped into the famous ‘Food Street’ in VV Puram and I was at once flooded with smell of hot vadas, and roasted Averebele. “Food Street” as the local community calls it, had been transformed into a culinary Mela in honour of Averebele, or cow beans. Averebele is a staple in Kannadiga cuisine and is extremely popular in winter season. The Mela is on till January 17th. Pic: Meghna Raghunathan. This Mela is organised every year by Vasavi Condiments, a store selling sweets and savouries in VV Puram. They hire street vendors from the area to make food items centred…

For many of us cooped up in offices and working against punishing deadlines, the ultimate dream is of quitting the rat race to follow our passion and be one’s own boss. But, for most, it remains just that: a chimera that we hesitate to translate into action due to life’s practicalities. Fortunately, there are some – like Aniruddha Gharat, Vijay Kumar and Aparna Tomar – who left their comfort zones to plunge into the unknown. (Left to right) Aniruddha Gharat, Vijay Kumar and Aparna Tomar. Pic: Theresa Varghese. Franchisees of Little Italy (managed by Shubham Foods – the company they…