City: Bengaluru

Once a pleasing part of the landscape, Bangalore's lakes have now become scarce and valuable commodities in a burgeoning metropolis. Hebbal lake, which was in the eye of a storm last year over its acquisition by the Oberoi Group of Hotels, mirrors the changing mores of a city in transition. Created in the 16th century to function as a reservoir, the lake's extent is 150 acres. It has since sustained scores of local and migratory birds. The lake along with neighbouring Nagvara lake (which has already been turned into an amusement park) is part of extensive wetlands system in the…

Fire broke out in Uphaar Cinema in New Delhi on 13 June 1997, while screening a matinee show of the movie, Border. 59 movie goers lost their lives because the theatre didn't have adequate fire escape facilities. Ten years later, memories of that day still haunt the survivors. Chief Fire Officer and Senior Supervising Officer, Bangalore, N U Erappa says cinemas are supposed to provide four and a half metres of space around the building so that in case of fire, fire trucks would be able to enter the premises and put it out. In many theatres, this area is…

Civilisations have seen the rise and fall of great empires and cities. In the times of yore, areas of mass congregation were seen mainly in close proximity to water bodies - oceans and rivers, which made navigation and trade and communication possible, like the Harappan civilisation. In recent times though, with the advancement of technology and communication, a completely a different set of factors determine why people move from one city to another. Every large city has distinct characteristics that set it apart from any other concrete jungle no matter how uniform they may seem otherwise. On the face of…

The club culture can be very addictive to most of us who after a hard day's work imagine that instant health and happiness awaits us at the club. They promise to give us untold delights - free access to all clubs, free air tickets to holiday resorts, sites with coconut groves, swimming pools, movie clubs and much more. The reality is shocking. Three disgruntled consumers who were badgered, coaxed and almost forced into becoming members of The Country Club here have had to complain to the consumer forums which have ruled in their favour. Three more approached CREAT, a consumer…

Kadlekai Parishe (Groundnut festival), one of the city's oldest cultural events, takes place on the last Monday of the karthikaa month on the Bull Temple road in Basavangudi. This year it was held on the 3rd and 4th of December. From Top Left, clockwise: Woman removing the bad groundnuts from the good ones, Groundnuts sold in two measure of one litre and half litre, Piggybanks on sale, A family from Dharmapuri comes every year to practice the art of tattooing - a boy gets his mother’s name inscribed (pics: Rushalini Rajkumar) In the 16th century, it started off as a…

Damned if you do damned if you don't. That's the dilemma the high court judges, hearing petitions against the recently passed Karnataka State law on regularization of illegal constructions, seem to be in. The public interest litigation (PIL) filed by citizens' groups from Bangalore and Mangalore seek an injunction and stay against the Sakrama scheme devised under the new law and being implemented by the administration. Sakrama in discussion at the 1 December meeting organised by CIVIC. BBMP Special Commissioner Ramprasad is speaking. "If the amendment is not stayed, violators will get amnesty. But if we stay the amendment, small…

If fools did not go to market, cracked pots and false wares would not be sold. -- Jean Le Malchanceux (in the twelfth century). In India, consumers have had a raw deal in the market place and suffered in the field of health and welfare. Earlier they had recourse to the Monopolies and Restrictive Trade Practices (MRTP) Act. But after The Consumer Protection Act, 1986 came into force, and key amendments took effect in March 2003, consumers have been learning to assert themselves while buying goods and services. As a Bangalorean, what should be the first thing on your shopping…

116 years old and Elgin Talkies still stands strong. It all started in 1896 when the Lumiere brothers introduced cinema to India. From there on, there was no looking back. Elgin Talkies (pic: Amoghavarsha) Elgin converted to a talkie in 1930 and was packed to the brim with movie buffs eager to watch Marilyn Monroe or Sophia Loren. Oblivious to the history around them, hundreds of people still throng Elgin, only to watch Hindi films from the nineties, at 20 rupees per ticket. Hidden behind the market chaos is what remains of a grand structure called the Himalaya talkies. One…

In an obese, overgrown metro, some symbols still endure. One of these is the Bangalore Development Authority (BDA), almost a subconscious icon that IT Bangalore has inherited from its 'garden city' avatar. Bangalore Development Authority Headquarters (courtesy: BDA) There is a mixed reaction to the BDA. There appears to be a slight inclination to appreciate its new IT-savviness. On the other hand, there are charges of corruption. And finally, more civic conscious citizens find its development plans to be grossly unbalanced, with the wrong emphasis on all the wrong areas. So firstly, is there really a new IT look? K…

Nagaraj, a Lingarajapuram-based graphic designer and a physically disabled person, would love to visit a mall in the city just like many Bangaloreans do when they have some free time. But he is physically disabled. And as most of the malls in the city do not provide adequate facilities for the disabled, an evening of leisure could become really challenging. Forum Mall (courtesy: Wikimedia) Most malls in Bangalore are not disabled-friendly. Building Bye-Laws 2003 of the Bruhat Bangalore Mahanagara Palike, state that all public and semi-public buildings are obliged to provide certain basic amenities for the benefit of disabled patrons.…