City: Bengaluru

Last Monday (20th April) afternoon was witness to an inflow of people into the Bhageerathi auditorium at BNM School, Banashankari II Stage. The reason, Jnanajyothi, the Senior Citizens’ Forum of the locality had organised a one hour talk by S Shadakshari of the ‘Kshana Hottu Aani Muttu’ fame. An opportunity that many senior citizens of the locality were not willing to miss despite the threat of imminent rain. Pic: Deepa Vaishnavi Jnanajyothi has been, for the past 9 plus years, organising monthly meetings of its members with the intention of enabling a common meeting ground for Senior Citizens of the…

The Bangalore Metropolitan Transportation Corporation has for years allowed hundreds of drivers to get back behind the wheel after causing bus accidents that killed pedestrians, cyclists—and in some cases their own passengers, an IIJNM investigation has found. Watch the story here.   Records and interviews show the massive agency fires a small percentage of the drivers it concludes were fully “at fault” for the fatal wrecks. Most are put back to work, in some cases with punishments no greater than if they had been involved in fender benders. And in a number of cases, the pattern of leniency backfired: drivers…

Ashraff Unnissa of Alahalli vanished two years ago. So did Shanthamma, who was last seen in and around rural Yediyur. Then there's Geetha HR, who has clean vanished from her place of employment in Kodihalli. Pic courtesy: IIJNM All three are members of an elite yet dubious Karnataka club: Bangalore government school teachers with some of the worst absenteeism records in the state. They are gone, forcing their colleagues to pick up their long-forgotten class load. Never gone But in the twisted logic of the educational bureaucracy, they are not forgotten. Since their bosses in the district offices haven't purged…

A cluster of banyans that are home to seven thousand bats A 150 foot tall araucaria tree from New Caledonia! Gnarled and irregular trunks of ancient tamarind trees that are around 800 years old in a Devarakadu (god’s grove) near Bangalore! A keelback snake just about to swallow its breakfast in Lalbagh. These are extracts from Heritage Trees and Green Heritage Sites by Vijay Thiruvady, published by Bangalore Environment Trust on behalf of their project sponsors. To say that Thiruvady is a walking encyclopaedia on trees and wooded areas in and around Bangalore would not be far from the truth.…

It's high time our public transport authorities provide bus stops at a convenient place. They are either at the intersection of main roads or at a bend of the road. Even when the bus stops are properly situated, buses do not stop at these places.I live in Geddalahalli Kothanur P.O. The bus coming from Shivajinagar stops near the Reliance outlet where the road from Tannisandra joins the Hennur Main Road. There is a bus stop a little further but  buses do not stop there causing a lot of delay and hardship for other commuters. Why can't the traffic police insist…

Business No demand for photographers Photographers who click pictures for tourists near Vidhana Soudha, Lalbagh, Cubbon park and other places are leading a life of uncertainty these days. The number of tourists during this summer is decreasing. Adding to their woes, digital revolution has reduced the demand for photographers. With digital cameras, people themselves can take pictures. Photographers accept the fact that their income is going south. (Prajavani, Saturday, April 25) Recession ups demand for smaller flats Real estate is the worst hit due to global economic recession, and Bangalore is no exception. The demand for flats is nosediving. Those…

I wish to bring to your notice and hopefully the notice of all Bangaloreans the problems being faced by 10 families in Dodda Bommasandra, Vidyaranyapura Post that comes under Byatarayanapura CMC. About 50 days (9th March 2009) ago CMC workers came to lay concrete slabs on our drains and for that purpose they dug up our drains, removed the stone slabs that were covering them and filled the approach road to our houses with all the debris from this work.  Unusable Road in Dodda Bommasandra (pic: author) They promised that the work will be completed in two days. It has been…

Real estate activity contributes significantly to the overall economic output in India, as it does in most economies across the globe. The sub prime crisis in the US, triggered by the high default rate of sub prime home loan borrowers, has snowballed into an economic crisis that has pulled most of the world into its grip. The co-relation and co-existence of a flourishing real estate sector with a healthy economy has never been more obvious than it is now.  Here’s a reality check on the situation in Namma Bengaluru. (File Pic: Meera K) Cause and effect of the last two…

On 18th April 2009, World Heritage Day, Bangalore City projects – a Bengaluru based group that aims to raise awareness about arts and culture in the city, organised some events, one of which was a heritage hunt. Conducted in three places, this hunt was aimed at throwing light on places of heritage in and around one’s neighbourhood. I took part in the Gavipuram vernacular heritage hunt. The teams gathered at Basavangudi Bull Temple around 3 PM. Very soon, the quiet temple premises were filled with fervour and talk as the teams registered at Rs 50 per person. We were all…

The Adigas fast food joint at Jayanagar 4th block is known to all south Bangaloreans and people of all ages come here to enjoy the food and coffee. But most of them are so busy that they don’t notice a serene art haven called Magnitude Art Gallery, situated straight down the road. Magnitude Art Gallery hosts exhibitions by artists whom they promote. It is one of the few firms that encourage talented yet unknown artists from various parts of Karnataka. The gallery has artists who work only for Magnitude; their work is exhibited and sold here. The artists work on…