City: Bengaluru

Satyajit Ray, Francois Truffaut, Girish Kasaravalli, Film Noir, Iranian documentaries and more - Bengaluru is the new haven for those wanting to explore cinema beyond the multiplexes. Whether one is looking for international film festivals or intimate rooftop screenings, the city's many film societies have it all. Besides bringing us the best in the world of cinema, they offer film buffs both new and seasoned, the opportunity to interact with one another. Pic: Suchitra Film Society. The city's oldest existing film society is of course the Suchitra Film Society (SFS). Suchitra started in 1971 as a forum for screening films…

A rather regrettable medical situation arose in Mallya Hospital, one of Bangalore's premier hospitals, two years ago. A patient's life was placed at great peril and she is lucky to be alive today. At the culmination of a case fought and appealed at a consumer forum, the hospital paid the patient Rs.265,588 a few days back. Here's what happened: Early June 2006M G Radha, aged about 58, a housewife and resident of Vidyaranyapura began experiencing bouts of back pain. The pains persisted for about 15 days, and Radha and her family decided to get the condition investigated at Mallya Hospital.…

Arts and Culture Exorbitant rent in Kalakshetra Exorbitant rent for Ravindra Kalakshetra is making Yakshagana performance (a folk art from coastal Karnataka) difficult now. The organisers of Yakshagana shows find this difficult to get suitable alternative places. The rent has been increased from Rs.9700 to Rs.13,700. Yakshagana lovers urge to lower rent in the interest of safeguarding a folk art (Udayavani, Monday, 30 June) Crime They came to help but were cheated They came with a trust but got betrayed instead. Lee Sung Shin and his wife Kim Bong Sun came to Bangalore with the intention of helping tribal and…

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…