ARTS and CULTURE

In an age when the colloquial phrase “there’s an app for that” is true of almost everything imaginable—dating, determining whether your watermelon is ripe, predicting bad hair days—it makes sense Bengalureans would use apps to teach and learn Kannada. As early as 2001, before the largest cohort of migrants took up residence, Kannada, the official language of Karnataka, was the first-language of only 40 percent of Bengaluru's residents (this statistic doesn't include those who speak Kannada as a second or third language) Since then, the number of English-medium schools grew, Hindi became a more common choice of second-language, English became…

Oorvani Foundation and Datameet are happy to announce the launch of OpenCity.in - an urban public data portal. In cities across India, there is a lack of accessible and robust public data. Citizens often do not have access to quantitative information that helps them understand the state of their neighborhood and their city, as well as support their demands of the local government. Data when available is often lost within the hard disks of government or non-governmental organisations, documents hard disks or in individual silos. OpenCity.in is a repository of city-related public data from government sources, via RTI or open…

Recently, we visited Arthipura near Kokkare Bellur to visit the archeological excavation site of ancient Jaina vestiges. I read news reports about this site so thought of visiting. I was sure that my family would not get bored, because they had really enjoyed our last visit to Keeladi, another archaeological site near Madurai, Tamil Nadu, where ASI unearthed remains of 2,200 to 2,300 year old houses and artifacts. Arthipura is a small village near Maddur in Mandya district. It is located 5 km south of Kokkare Bellur. It has two small hillocks, Shravanabetta and Chikkabetta or Kanakagiri.  Last year, archaeologists from ASI Bangalore…

Trailblazer. Screen-scorcher. Essayer of powerful roles. Padma Shri and national award recipient who mesmerised the world in a short but brilliant career. Say 'Smita Patil' and there is that special glint in the eye of movie enthusiasts who had the privilege of watching this charismatic actor on screen. Whether it was Bhumika, Manthan, Gaman, Arth or Mirch Masala, movie after movie Smita breathed magic into every role, transforming effortlessly into the character she played on screen. Achiever and performer extraordinaire, Smita would have been 60 if she were alive today. Join us, a group of Bangaloreans, as we celebrate her…

Venkatappa Art Gallery off Kasturba Road, Bengaluru. Pic: Shree D N Some people are a little confused why Karnataka artists are against the adoption of the state Venkatappa Art Gallery (VAG) by Tasveer Foundation to build MAP - Museum of Art and Photography, to house Abhishek Poddar's art collection. Artists have formed Vagforum (Venkatappa Art Gallery Forum) to oppose this move. MAP in VAG is being projected as god's gift to the Bengaluru's public. Let me explain our stand: Artists are not against the Museum of Art and Photography or MAP coming up in the city. But it should be…

Growing up in Bengaluru for me has always revolved around the Cantonment - early morning walks under the tree-lined avenues towards Richards Park, eating Ritchies mutton biryani on MM road (back in the day when a plate was a meagre Rs 40), or buying weekly groceries from Thoms after Sunday mass. Historically, the Cantonment of Bengaluru dates back to the 18th century, specifically 1807, when the British defeated Tipu Sultan’s army and established themselves around the Ulsoor kere. The British established various typologies from large parks and shopping centres to parade grounds and schools, the most important being the colonial bungalow…

  Being a proponent for the Government of Karnataka’s (GoK) decision to ‘Adopt a Destination’ under CSR, one is saddened to see some artists put out misleading and wrong information to ensure that the Venkatappa Art Gallery (VAG) adoption MoU signed between the Government agencies and Tasveer Foundation is cancelled. Terms like ‘brutal, undemocratic takeover’, ‘surreptitious MoU’, ‘usurp public resources’, ‘prime real estate capture’ are being bandied about giving the impression that some of us (who believe that VAG adoption is good for Bengaluru citizens) are descendants of Darth Vader! Bengaluru citizens will gain with this adoption program. We might…

T N Seetaram is a well-known name in Kannada literary circles, and popular for his TV soap operas that had progressive outlook and strong women characters. He recollects a time in Bangalore’s history, when there was no traffic and chaos, and there was no BDA too. BDA was formed on January 6, 1976 - exactly 40 years ago. In the seventies, I was living in my friend's house, as a tenant, in Swimming Pool Extension near Malleshwaram. The owner of the house, the father of my friend Krishnamurthy, never used to collect rent from me, more because of his affection…

Srinivasa Mahal, Winner of the 2015 award in the Private (Residential) category. Pic: INTACH INTACH has invited nominations from you for the Second Annual INTACH Heritage Awards, given to Bengaluru's heritage buildings. Citizens can nominate the heritage buildings that they think deserve an award -- the beautiful ones that make you sigh, the charming ones that you think gave Bengaluru its unique charm, the hoary old ones that tell stories of our past. These awards help to showcase Bengaluru's heritage, and to keep heritage in the public eye, so do take a moment to nominate a building! Awards will be given…

So, it’s curtains down on the 8th edition of the Bengaluru International Film Festival. The week-long film festival that saw a grand opening at Vidhana Soudha premises, much to the criticism of those from film fraternity as well as cine-enthusiasts, however, has managed to wrap up smoothly. There were many "firsts" for this year’s film festival’s credit. For the first time, the state government and Kannada Chalanachitra Academy took over the responsibility of organising completely, which had so far rested with Suchitra Film Society. Then again, for the first time, the Chief Minister himself led the Festival’s Organising Committee. In…