bangalore journal

Mud Ganesha. Pic: vinita. Ganesh Chaturthi marks the start of the Hindu festive season that continues through the rest of the calendar year.  Due to its relative lack of rituals, it is also said to be less of a religious and more of a social event.  Building on the social nature of the festival, Chetan K S and his wife Vijayalakshmi, founders of The Living store (Chamarajpet) are attempting to spread awareness on being more ecologically sensitive on Ganesh Chaturthi, this September 11th. Last year they held a workshop at their premises to make clay Ganeshas and the overwhelming response…

G Manjunath Raju. Bangalore's city budget, presented by the BBMP at the city council session on August 30th raises more questions than answers. The steep revenue projections BBMP has cited are themselves a whole topic. Citizen Matters spoke to G Manjunath Raju, corporator of Kadu Malleswaram (Ward 65) and member of BBMP's Taxation and Finance committee that prepared the budget. Discussion on the budget at the council is scheduled for September 2nd. There is a several fold increase in revenues compared to last year. How are you planning to manage that? There are total 15 lakh properties in the city.…

Radish grown in Manikandan's terrace garden. Pic Courtesy: P Manikandan. P Manikandan used to garden during his school days. After a break prompted by preoccupation with higher education, he restarted in January 2008, at his fourth floor apartment on Bannerghatta Road. So gardening, he says, has always been a passion. He now grows his own vegetables using organic methods so that they are pesticide-free. He also has ornamentals that include roses, Crotons, Coleus, Dahlia, Zinnia, Rudbeckia, Oleander and Jasmine. P Manikandan. Like most planners and gardeners, Manikandan first decided on a few key aspects like the size of the garden,…

Government Notification on Senior Citizen ID card. Click on image to enlarge. Directorate of Welfare of Disabled and Senior Citizens, Department of Women and Child Development, Government of Karnataka has authorised Dignity Foundation, an NGO promoting welfare of the senior citizens, to issue "Government ID Cards" to senior citizens of Bengaluru. Those who are 60+ can apply for ID cards producing simple documents like photocopy of age and address proof along with their two recent passport photographs, with a processing fee of Rs 25 and also furnishing blood group. The ID cards will be issued within a fortnight of submitting…

While unrest continues over roadwidening in the city, including a pending court case, the BBMP is widening 23 roads that are former BDA layouts. Work has already begun and is expected to finish in a year. The BBMP is widening, strengthening and asphalting 23 roads in Bengaluru, under grants given by the Government of Karnataka. Sources in the BBMP say that work on these roads began six months ago and is expected to be completed in the next one year. These 23 roads are not part of the 100-odd roads that are stuck in the Karnataka High Court, due to…

The BBMP  has proposed an expenditure of Rs.8488 crores for Bengaluru in its maiden budget session today. The same figure for last year (2009-10) when the city administration was running without an elected council was Rs 3582.02 crores. P N Sadashiva (BJP), Chairperson of the Taxation and Finance Committee and corporator of the Sunkenahalli ward, presenting the BBMP budget on August 30. BBMP Commissioner H Siddaiah, Mayor S K Nataraj and Deputy Mayor N Dayananda share the dias. Pic: Navya P K. However, BBMP's opening balance for 2010-11 was a mere Rs 424.72 cr. The administration proposes bridge the gap…

Nearly two and a half years after work began, there may finally be light at the tunnel, or in this case, an underpass. Construction on the JP Nagar 15th cross Ring Road in south Bengaluru is scheduled to be completed by the third week of September. Signs of completion have emerged as work entered the 30th month. Pic: Venkatesan Perumal. Highly placed sources in the BBMP have confirmed this to Citizen Matters but refused to comment on when the underpass itself will be inaugurated thereafter. The BBMP official says that work left to be completed includes painting, lighting, laying of…

Rakhi tales from the market places in Jayanagar At Jayanagar 4th block, Subhramanyam, the owner of a dainty store is disheartened with the turnout for Raksha Bandhan. "I haven't made many sales this year. There is a lot of variety and price ranges, but the turnout in the market is too less somehow." Pic: Sneha Koilada. When asked for the possible reasons for the disappointing sales, he opines, "There could be any number of reasons. The overall turnout in the market itself is dropping of course. But it could also be that the interest in Rakhi itself is waning. Girls…

The Brahminy Kite (Haliastur indus) is named after ‘Brahmin', the highest Hindu caste, ‘Hali' the Greek word for 'salt', ‘Astur' - Latin for hawk and ‘Indus' the river from which India is named (which now happens to be in Pakistan !). Also called ‘Garuda' in Karnataka, the vahan or vehicle of Lord Vishnu the Preserver. However the name that most often comes to my mind when I see one is the Ice Cream Cone Bird. Anyone familiar with the bird will know why. Use of pesticides and pollution of lakes in Bangalore pose as threats to birds like this Kite.…

If you are a parent who wants her child to do activities that require her to think and use her imagination, you've probably scoured the market for suitable craft kits. Yes, there's a lot of stuff available but after a point, most seem similar, with instructions that are often hard for kids to follow. It was the search for safe activities and crafts for their kids to do, that drove sisters Anu Parthasarathy and Rupa Vijendran to launch craft kits for children that are not only easy to make but also introduce them to traditional techniques like Channapatna woodwork, terracotta…