City: Bengaluru

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…

Is it snowing in Bangalore this winter? No, but something just snowballed into a major event!What started as a simple outing that a few friends wanted to do together has now got all the makings of a major sports fixture. Let's see how the Tour Of Nilgiris (TFN) event that some Bangalore cyclists have put together, grew from small to large..... Pic: Aravind Teki of Bangalore Bikers' ClubThe whole idea was triggered in March of this year, when Ravi Ranjan Kumar, a software engineer, thought of organising a holiday ride for some friends. He posted the idea on Bikezone, one…

The December Music Season is considered to be a prestigious event much like its counterpart in the north, the "Saptak Music Festival'. A setting which boasts of the best of the performers to the best of the rasikas leaves no stone unturned to create the best of the ambience. The annual event held at the carnatic music capital of India, Chennai, draws huge crowds from the world over. Chennai, often considered as the elder cousin of Bangalore, brings in its elements to make a formidable pair with its younger tech city to entertain millions in a variety of spheres. The…

Government Minister and bureaucrat unaware of each others' names. Minister for Animal Husbandry Revu Nayaka Belamagi is known for his innocence. He is uneducated but respected by people. Speaking at the inauguration of a national seminar on animal husbandry, the minister said that he could speak neither English or Hindi. He was unaware of the correct name of his own department's Principal Secretary Shamim Banu. The latter too just addressed him as 'Honourable Minister' in her speech. This strange ignorance was a matter of discussion in the seminar. (Vijaya Karnataka, Monday, Dec 15) ATS chief on long leave In this…

If you have ever been on the Victorian Trail on MG Road or sent your child as part of a school trip on the Bangalore walks Jr, you will know Roopa Pai. Roopa and Arun Pai conceptualised and executed ‘Bangalore Walks', the heritage-based city walks that introduces both Bangaloreans and tourists to the history and culture of Bangalore. Roopa Pai.Roopa is a third generation Bangalorean, an integral part of the walks and also a veteran writer. She has written several articles for magazines as varied as Business Today to Travel Trends. She has been awarded by Children Book Trust for…

The Ambedkar Community Computer Centre is situated in a slum area in the New Guruppanapalya, off Bannerghatta road, Bengaluru. In this IT city of multinationals, it is only one of the many slums in the interiors of Bangalore that is not well known outside. On the 13th December, the slum had a unique visitor who is well known in every part of the world as the founder of the Free Software Foundation. Richard M Stallman's visit turned the attention of IT professionals and media persons to the otherwise not-so-well-known slum. The Ambedkar team with Stallman. Pic: Aravind.Ambedkar Community Computing Center…

"The city is getting beautiful," says the A K Gopalswamy, Engineer-in-Chief of the Bruhat Bangalore Mahanagar Palike (BBMP). Amidst all the criticism, he believes that the on-going road widening drive, the newer malls under construction, new roads, Metro rail, and so on are part of this ‘beautification'.Granite slabs dug up on Seshadripuam Main Road (pic: Supriya Khandekar)The recently dug-up Seshadripuram Main Road in northwest Bengaluru is evidence of this. The granite footpath on this road has been removed by the BBMP as part of work to install a new concrete pavement. This road, like most of the lanes and roads…

We all often read in newspapers about various raids that the Lokayukta of Karnataka does on various officers and catches them red-handed taking bribes. And most of us wonder how do they get to know of this. If one of us comes across an officer who readily accepts bribes, how do we tell the Lokayukata about that? Where do we complain? Will the Lokayukta consider the small complaints that do not involve a one crore-rupees scam?Well, the answer is yes. And filing a complaint is not as daunting as it may seem, considering our collective experience of access to government…

If nature cures, why do we need Naturopathy? We live on planet earth, under the sun. We still breathe the common, available air, we still use water for drinking, bathing, washing. What could be unnatural about that? Dr S Mahadeshwara Swami (pic: Manjushree Abhinav)The fact is, in the last four decades, our lifestyles have changed dramatically. In the following interview, Naturopath Dr Mahadeshwara Swami tells us how this change directly affects our health. Dr S Mahadeshwara Swami has founded a Naturopathy center in Yelahlanka New Town, called Prakruti Arogyadhama. He graduated from SBM College of Naturopathy and Yogic Sciences. You…