City: Bengaluru

In one of the many public appearances that Ramalinga Reddy, MLA, (Congress-BTM Layout constituency) is making these days, he visited the ST Bed area on 21 June, Saturday. The residents of ST Bed area organised a meeting comprising of all the officers from the different government departments including the BBMP, BWSSB, BDA, Police, etc. The stage was decked with around a dozen people including the Reddy. Around a 100 people attended this meeting. Citizens listing to officers at the meeting. Pic: Author. Before the meeting Reddy had already been visiting the area, since his victory in the elections. He recently…

On a sleepy Sunday afternoon of 29 June, Bengaluru made history of sorts. A 400 strong crowd made its way from Basavangudi's National College to the Town Hall, marking the city's first ever Pride Parade. For the uninitiated, the Pride Parade is an annual march held by queer communities around the world, as an expression of pride for their sexual identities and, in India's case, a demand for equal rights. The four-km rally was organised on Sunday, 29 June, to coordinate with the anniversary of what is commonly believed to be the beginning of the queer rights movement in the…

Whenever we see roads being laid anywhere, we see concrete or tar with bulldozers and big mixers. As some of you will be aware, Bangalore now has plastic-blended roads, which have been proven to be stronger, smoother and less bumpier. In fact, all the new road constructions happening in the city (including the contested road-widening project), will be using plastic, according to the BBMP. BTS 7th Main Road off of K H Road, is plastic blended. (Outside Shanthinagar Bus Stand) Pic: Author. But what are these plastic roads all about? I had the same question in my mind when I…

There was soil dumped into one of the empty houses on the J P Nagar's 15th Cross Ring Road, a critical artery in the southern side of the city, at the intersection with the 24th Main Road. People were talking about soil testing happening in the area when suddenly the road was blocked and the traffic was diverted. It was after two weeks that a board was put up by the BBMP and it was understood that an underpass was being constructed. That was on 11 May 2008, another magic underpass under construction. The residents till then were clueless about…

The morning of Sunday, 22 June, saw a motley bunch of people assemble at the entrance to Bangalore Fort. Architects, housewives, techies, photographers, writers and scientists, among others, gathered to learn more about Bangalore's heritage and its past from one of the city's leading historians, Dr S K Aruni. The event was organised by the Bangalore chapter of the Indian National Trust for Art and Cultural Heritage (INTACH) as part of its Parichay (meaning ‘introduction') programme, an initiative aimed at raising awareness of Bangalore's heritage among its citizens. Participants in the INTACH Parichay event at the Bangalore Fort. Pic: MB…

On the morning of 25 June, residents of Malleswaram, accompanied by ACP Krishnappa, took a different kind of walk. About 30 of us joined Krishnappa and Inspector Aslam at 7.30 AM to walk around a few streets of the area, to highlight the problems of traffic created by garbage, debris, cement blocks and lack of street lights. The walk was a result of a citizens' meeting that took place on 23 June, again at the behest of ACP Krishnappa in his police station. During the meet, some of us met up with officials of BESCOM, the forest department and a…

In his report placed before the Karnataka High Court on 23 June 2008, the Principal Chief Conservator of Forests, Karnataka Dr P J Dilip Kumar has observed that the privatisation of lakes in Bangalore would be detrimental to the eco-system, the fallout of which would most affect communities living in the surrounding areas. Kumar heads the state's forest department and is the state's highest ranking forest official. The 91-page report was compiled at the order of the High Court in response to a writ petition filed by the Environment Support Group and others against the privatisation of lakes. Notice Board…

The Karnataka Quiz Association (KQA), breeding ground for some of the best quizzers in the country turns 25 this year. Around 200 quizzers from across the country will meet in Bangalore on 28-29 June (Saturday and Sunday) to celebrate the occasion with a special two-day version of its anniversary quiz ASKQANCE. Round one In 1983, the late Wing Commander GR Mulky along with seven other quizzing enthusiasts- Deepak Murdeshwar, Rajeev Gowda, Thomas Uthup, KN Mahabala, Tribhuvan Kumar, P Raju and Jagadish Raja, founded the KQA. Mulky (or Wing Co as he's fondly called) explains on the KQA website that the…

26-year old Sarika R, an IT professional from Bangalore, is anxious about her 10-month old son Ganesh while she prepares to go back to work after a year's extended maternity leave. As her parents live in a different city, she doesn't have any one to take care of her toddler while at office. "I have been looking around for options of day care for him," she says, "but there are so many things that need to be taken care of for a child - it's a difficult choice." Fun time at Kara. Pic: author. This feeling is familiar among working…

What can be more soothing for a person, in the latter part of life, than to sit back and reminisce on bygone days? Some people are indeed lucky to be blessed with very special memories, and Ramadevi is one such person who has had the fortune of meeting literary stalwarts in her lifetime. Today, at 78, golden memories and thousands of books are her best companions. Her life is full of interesting happenings but she modestly dismisses them, saying that she has achieved nothing that deserves to be written about. Writer Ramadevi at her residence (pic:author) On entering her simple…