City: Bengaluru

Nandi Betta or Nandi Hills, 60 kilometres from Bangalore, is a favourite and convenient picnic spot for all kinds of Bangaloreans – young or old, with or without families, with girlfriends or grandmothers. ‘Nandi nodade iddavaru handi ginta kade’ (Those who haven’t seen nandi are worse off than a pig) is a popular old village saying. But try to avoid the trip on a public holiday since there are more footfalls here than in your nearest mall. If you do visit on a weekend or a holiday, reach the hills in the early hours. Walking across the fort and in…

The road widening project started by the Bruhat Bengaluru Mahanagara Palike (BBMP) sees yet another development. Two NGOs, the Environment Support Group (ESG), and CIVIC Bangalore have created an online petition to a BBMP committee overseeing tree-cutting decisions on the project. The petition is urging them to involve Bangaloreans in planning and decision making processes, in order to help prioritise safety of cyclists, pedestrians, senior citizens, children, differently abled and so on. The petitioners feel that with intelligent road design it is possible to safeguard lives, livelihoods, homes, heritage and green cover of the city, which is largely provided by…

Navaratri, or the Nine Nights, are celebrated by the Bengalis as Durga Puja, or ‘Pujo’, for short. Over a period of years, several community Pujas have sprung up, and a roundup of a few ‘pandals’ (shamianas) over the five days of the Pujo brought some interesting vignettes of Bengali culture in our city, between the 5th and 9th of October. Abstract at Ulsoor pandal (Pic: Deepa Mohan)Rites and ritualsDurga, in her aspect of Mahishasura Mardhini (slayer of the Buffalo-Demon) is fondly addressed as ‘Ma’, and the mother is invited with pomp and celebration as she is supposed to be coming…

Arts and Culture Kannada books go go hitech Nallur Prasad, President of Kannada Sahitya Parishad, a supreme body of Kannada literary works, said that a proposal to computerise the administration and digitalisation of all Kannada books is submitted to the government. Work on the website has also begun.. Mr Prasad opined that Kannada books should be made available on the internet so that anyone across the world will have access to them. (Kannada Prabha, Saturday, Oct 11) Civic Not a bus in sight The rapid development of the city has surprised many. However there is a village in Bangalore which…

When it comes to buying, renting or selling property, people often take help from estate agents. But who are these real estate agents? Where to find them? The usual answer with most of us is the our typical neighbourhood ‘smart man’, who sits in his one room office with a tin sheet banner proclaiming his real estate agents profile. He will have some helpers (not always) running around on their motorbikes showing the best property available in the neighbourhood. If you do rent the place, he'll (it’s usually a ‘he’) charge you a month's rent as fee, and, if the…

Prasun Bandyopadhyay is 35 and a senior scientist at a major multinational firm in the rapidly developing Whitefield area of Bangalore. He and his wife Punam, also a scientist, have two children and they live across the Whitefield Railway Station, in north-eastern Bangalore, beyond the Sai Baba Ashram. This is the extended Marathahalli-Whitefield road that goes north to intersect the Hosakote/Kolar highway. A number of private residential layouts have mushroomed here over the last few years. A whole host of young, as well as middle-aged professionals have started settling down here. The Bandyopadhyay couple, like many of their fellow-residents are…

PANEL DISCUSSIONCONFLICT AND THE FUTURE FOR BANGALOREANSFacilitated by Hosted by 4:00 pm, Sunday, 19 October 2008Alliance Francaise de Bangalore. No 108, Thimmaiah Road, Vasanth Nagar, Bangalore All are welcome!The panel discussion is part of a weeklong festival of films and discussions, facilitated by Meta-Culture, a conflict resolution centre. The panelistsM Narasimha is the founder-secretary of the Udayabhanu Kala Sangha, a Bangalore-based volunteer-driven cultural and social organisation, founded in 1965. He was formerly Assistant General Manager at Hindustan Machine Tools. He has been a social worker for four decades in the area of Kannada literature, culture and education.Dr Ambar Abdul Qaiyum…

PERCEPTIONS and PERSPECTIVESDispute and Resolution In CinemaA week long festival of films and discussionsOctober 13 – 19 To celebrate Conflict Resolution Day, October 16th, Meta-Culture Dialogics, Center for Dispute Transformation and Dialogue, in collaboration with Bangalore Film Society, and Alliance Francaise de Bangalore, and with the generous support of Arghyam, Citizen Matters and Visthar, are presenting a week long Festival of Films on Conflict and Resolution. After a very successful launch in 2007, with over a thousand viewers, Meta-Culture Dialogics is renewing its effort to reach out to the Bangalorean public, offering alternative ways of looking at disputes and conflicts…

 Cartoon by: Narasimha VedalaSetback spaces specifies the space left between a building and the boundary of the plot. It is meant to ensure sufficient light, air and privacy to the occupants of the building and to the immediate neighbours. Space should allow for movement of vehicles around the building in case of an emergency, like a fire.Recommended setback rules according to the BBMP byelaws.BBMP byelaw setback According to a retired senior BBMP official, it is estimated that 50 per cent of properties show more than 75 per cent deviations from the sanctioned plan. ⊕

MASTER MIND GROUP is a group which meets every week at 5 P.M. at Koramangala club. It is open to members between 35 to 55 years, though we are not rigid about the age. Members discuss their aspirations, goals, doubts etc. about any topic that concerns them - finance, career, relationship, weight loss, etc. It could even be small goals like getting a secretary, cleaning up a cupboard, etc. This is followed by brain storming sessions and feed back sessions. The atmosphere is non-critical and harmonious. Every member takes away something of value each time. The member himself can set…