City: Bengaluru

Vijay Cavale was lunching with his boss and a Chinese client at a 5 star restaurant in Bangalore when the conversation veered towards money and motivation. The Chinese contended that man would go to any lengths for money, and Vijay laughed. But the former threw a challenge at him: “The Chinese offered 10 dollars for every salute I made, standing at the door of the restaurant, to any person who walked through” says he. Vijay laughed at him, but the man kept increasing the stake, and when it came to 1000 dollars, Vijay actually started considering the possibility, he says:…

In the past, Bangalore's infrastructure projects have been plagued by cost and schedule overruns. From the metro to grade separators/flyovers at Yeshwantpur junction, Gali Anjaneyaswamy temple, Malleswaram etc. to the elevated superway on Hosur road...We hope 2009 sees a change for the better.⊕

WE BELONG is a group of friends, mainly software engineers who are dedicated in bringing a sense of belonging to two of the most neglected communities- orphans and elders. Pic: AuthorIt is a shame that people who have lived their entire life for the sake of their children have been abandoned in old age, and children abandoned are devoid of love and security at an young age. They miss out on an environment of love and care, and thus have no idea of the value of relationships, and do not cherish their being. Old age homes tell another grim story.…

The Karnataka Chitra Kala Parishat is hosting an exhibition of selected collages, oil paintings and writings of late Dr. Venkatraman Balu, artist and peace activist, from December 26 to 30. Eminent poet and MLC Chandrashekara Kambara inaugurated the exhibition and released Peaceful Images, a special book on Dr. V Balu. The book is a visual feast, and presents a collage of his work and its impact on people. It is a compilation of articles, artifacts, tributes and reactions that provide an overview of Dr. Balu’s personality. Peace from the horse's mouth: art by Venkatraman BaluThis exhibition saw 60 of his…

In 1995 when I first visited the Kathriguppe main road at Banashankari 3rd Stage, it reminded me of RK Narayan's description of a sleepy town. But today it boasts of everything that a city needs, including a retail store fresh@banashankari just 200 m from our residential complex with 72 apartments. I was informed the founder of Heritage Foods was none other than N. Chandrababu Naidu, former Andhra CM.I am a 65 year old who loves fruits. I used to be a regular customer at fresh@banashankari since it opened. I shifted my source of purchase from the road side fruit vendor…

Business Now- an agency to safeguard vacant sites! Safeguarding a vacant site is a big task in Bangalore, especially if you live outside the city. The demand for land is so huge that encroachments have become common. So who will take care of your site if you are not in Bangalore? Vruddi Infrastructure Private Limited will! It is an agency that is providing this innovative service... for a nominal fee the agency will maintain your site and give you monthly updates. For details contact; 42994399, 42434445. (Udayavani, Monday, 22 December, Namma Bengalooru)Government Cops get trained for policing, opt for teaching!…

I knew it - MNCs are no better, if not worse, than desi ones when it comes to after sales service. This painful truth was revealed to me when my Whirlpool Quick Chill became a hot case, so hot that even the company didn’t want to touch it with a barge pole. It happened last summer. I wanted to impress a client of my husband with a tall chilled glass of lime juice from my Whirlpool, just like the ads showed, and reached into the deep freeze for ice, and, what do you know, I felt water sloshing about in…

Thursday morning saw a subdued start to the wonderful & propitious day. The sun was tricky to sight through the thick drape of fog, and as the morning opened up, the visibility reduced further. As people decorated their Christmas trees with lights and snowflake decorations, to welcome Santa Claus with his goodies bag, nature had its own plan. It created its own Christmas trees for those who can not afford one. It decorated its trees across the periphery of the city, with frost.Frost over cobwebs and leaves (pic: Saurabh Mittal) The frost settled on all the roadside plants to create…

No, museums are not boring. Take them to the Viswevaraya Science Museum and enjoy their grey cells perk up. It’s a wonderful and fun way to learn science (and we mean not just the kids). From Aviation, Principles of Electronics, Optics to Space Exploration, it can keep them and you interested for hours together. The younger ones will enjoy the Dinosaur section.Contact details: 22864009 10-5.30 PM, Website: vismuseum.org.in Movies – Your kids will love you if splurge on a mall-movie-ice-cream day, friends in tow. Ice-creams at Corner House, Koramangala/Sheshadripuram/Jayanagar 9th block will work fine too... your halo will shine for…

Have you ever wondered why Rajajinagar and Jayanagar are well planned, but Madiwala is not? Why Malleswaram is planned while Srirampuram is a mess? How so many people lived crammed into narrow streets and bylanes in some areas with little or no drainage and roads, while relatively swanky 80ft roads run through HSR Layout? Why does Bangalore have so many illegal layouts? Why does the city fall apart during even a moderate downpour? What happened to all the drainage channels and valleys that originally used to carry water away?Illegal Layouts[Citizen Matters sat down with H B S Aradhya, former Deputy…