bangalore journal

If you go with expectations to see a movie about Bengaluru, you are going to be thoroughly disappointed. Even as the feature film titled 'Bengaloored' may seem misleading to the regular movie-goer, director Swaroop Kanchi says the city is merely a backdrop in this story about a man and the changes in his life. (Read Citizen Matters' interview with Swaroop Kanchi here) 'Bengaloored' is about an author, Babruvahana or Babbu, who returns to the city from France after ten long years. With a lot of changes in his personal life, the film is about Babbu's struggles and his journey to…

Vasu Dixit, Bangalore-based music composer-vocalist-guitar player for the folk-fusion band Swarathma, has recently turned music-director with his first movie Bengaloored. The 90-minute English movie directed by Swaroop Kanchi features Kannada actors and has received good reviews both for its music and performances. From humble beginnings in 2002, Swarathma has grown to be one of the major fusion bands in the city now. After regrouping in 2006, the six-member band’s first music album, also called Swarathma, was released in 2008. Their second album was Soundpad Sessions, a project by UK Producer John Leckie, in which they were featured as one of…

A TDR notice was handed over by a BBMP employee at the gate to the Whitefield Memorial Church in May. See copy of notice given to Memorial Church. Similar notices have been given to all residences/commercial establishments along the Whitefield-Varthur main road. Exterior view of the Whitefield Memorial Church. Pic courtesy: Krupa Rajangam. Members of the Church of Church of South India (CSI) congregation and The Anglican Church of India congregation are appalled at this contemplated action of the BBMP. With respect to all Christian denominations, his Highness Wodeyar IX gifted three-quarters of an acre to build an inter-denominational church…

When the khata issue was opened at Brigade Millennium in September 2009, some of us decided to take the quick and easy route. Some of us chose not to do anything at all. Some took the road less trodden.Those of us who took the hard way expected that it would mean innumerable trips to BBMP, difficult interaction with officials, lots of time on what was seen as needless trouble - when all one had to do was pay a service fee and have the khata delivered at your doorstep.I have lost track of the time some of us spent on…

On July 3rd 2010, Lokayukta Justice Santosh Hegde announced that he is withdrawing his resignation, following a conversation with senior BJP leader L K Advani. Hegde said the BJP has promised to cooperate with the Lokayukta and give the body suo moto powers. Chief Minister B S Yeddyurappa told media persons that the state government will also help in checking illegal mining in the state. Justice Hegde has another year to complete his five-year term as Karnataka Lokayukta. More than a week after he announced his resignation, Lokayukta Justice Santosh Hegde seems more at ease. On June 23rd, when he…

Obtaining khatas is known to be an ordeal in itself. It is not uncommon to hear BBMP officials demanding various sums of money to 'get the work done'. In the past few weeks several residents in Bengaluru have narrated stories of how much money they doled out to get a khata. But there is also a success story amidst them, which has inspired many others in the city to follow suit. Fifty families residing at Suncity Apartments on Sarjapur Road applied for khatas with the BBMP and obtained the registration document last year. All this without paying a single rupee…

Heads swapped On the day this story was published (29th June), the state government effected transfers to two key officials in the city government. BBMP Commissioner Bharat Lal Meena was transferred to head the BDA, and the latter's commissioner H Siddiah was transferred to head the BBMP. Talking to Citizen Matters on this, Mayor S K Nataraj said he was not consulted on the transfers and that he viewed it as a 'routine' state government decision. The Mayor of Bengaluru S K Nataraj has announced that a separate BBMP council session will be held to discuss road widening in the…

Public memory, it is said, is short. And yet, almost four months after the Carlton tower fire accident, the family members of the victims and the survivors continue to tirelessly work towards spreading awareness on fire safety, through the group 'Beyond Carlton'.Recently, one of the members of Beyond Carlton, Uday Vijayan, addressed some employees of Sasken, a city-based communications technology major, on fire safety. This was at a fire safety awareness programme for Sasken employees conducted by the company in association with Janaagraha and Civil Defence. Vijayan, who lost his son Akhil, on that tragic February 23rd evening at Carlton…

The Bengaluru International Airport (BIA) has received a high rating in a survey carried out by the Airport Councils International (ACI), an international association of the world's airports. On a scale of five, BIA has received a score of 4.2 in the first quarter of 2010 alone.The 24/7 Airport Operations Control Center plays a crucial role in coordinating between various departments to ensure smooth operations. Pic courtesy: BIAL The survey is carried out by speaking to passengers every month of the year.Bengaluru International Airport Limited's (BIAL) Director (Operations) Hari Marar says that airports generally score around 3.5 in their first…

 The gentleman was spotted in Malleswaram area. Pic: Srikanth Parthasarathy.Pic: Srikanth Parthasarathy.‹ › $(document).ready(function(){ $('.carousel .carousel-inner .item').first().attr('class', 'active item');});⊕