bangalore journal

"Footpath mel hogi ma." - (Go on the footpath, Madam). This was a policeman.Though I felt like retorting back, I kept quiet as I always try to avoid these uniformed men.Frankly, where are the footpaths? The first hurdle is to get on to the footpath which is at least one foot high in many parts. Once you get on them there are any number of hurdles. Thirty per cent of them are occupied by construction materials. Iron rods that almost tear your sari. Maunds and maunds of brick and mortar pieces which can make you trip and fall; sands and…

Dear Readers, This second issue of the Citizen Matters print fortnightly will hit your homes at a time of change, worry and resurgence in Bengaluru. First, intolerant sections of society are taking the law into their own hands to stifle their fellow citizens’ openness to diverse traditions. Many freedom-loving Bangaloreans are reacting, with protests, campaigns and peace marches, against the backdrop of the upcoming Valentine’s Day. Second, citizens and citizens groups are continuing to both engage and confront government in various platforms. Many young Bangaloreans are more involved now, and this is more visible than earlier. Bicyclists are working with…

As parents, most of us want the world for our children; the right school, good manners, quality toys and the best of books. But few of us would probably do what Richa and Tarun Jain did for their daughter Suhani. Inspired by her willingness to learn, read and explore more, they set up Mindgym, a library for children! Out of the Box library (pic: Reshmi Chakraborty) As is with children, Suhani too would soon get bored of her new toys and books before moving on to other things. It led Richa and Tarun to talk to friends and come up…

Some of my European friends visited India last year and we met. I was eager and waiting to hear every detail about their brief stay in India. As we ran through photo slides of Rajasthan, Delhi and Mumbai, I heard everyone say "India is magnificent". A little later, small irritations surfaced: from why "people stare" to the "so persistent beggars" and the "unbearable traffic" and the "lack of pubs". It was New Year's time when my friends were in Delhi and it had not been easy for them to find a pub. They could not imagine spending their time in…

This New Year began with reaffirming my resolution to regularly attend the Iyengar Yoga classes conducted at Nirguna Mandir located at 4th Block Koramangala, adjacent to ST Bed Layout. Apart from the significant improvement in strength, stamina and concentration that my weekly classes have provided, my primary motivation has been the steadfast guiding presence that my yoga teacher provides. K. Mahadevaiah (Courtesy: Ajay Bhaskar, student of Iyengar Yoga Classes) Simple, unassuming, modest; these are the words that come to most of our mind when we think of K Mahadevaiah, our yoga teacher. But to me he epitomises all that is…

Sri Rama Lalitha Kala Mandira was started way back in 1955 by Sri G Vedanta Iyengar. The institute has since been conducting various music related programmes. It, in fact, celebrated its Thousandth concert day on 13th February 2008. Sri Rama Lalitha Kala MandirAs usual, this year, a series of concerts are being organized for a period of one week, starting 7th February 2009. The venue is Mangala Mantapa, NMKRV College, Jayanagar. While admission is free, seating would be on a first come basis, especially as all the artistes who would be enthralling the audiences with their music are very popular.…

The Bruhat Bangalore Mahanagar Palike(BBMP) website now has the handbook of property tax and list of helpline centers (where one can go and pay the taxes). Illustration: Narasimha Vedala The Taxes can be paid at the Citizens Service Centre at the BBMP headquarters and the helpline centres (usually the ward offices in various locations) and specified banks. BBMP has not provisioned for citizens paying at the Bangalore One centres. They explain that it is because people do not give correct details of their property. “Now we will check if all the details are fine and cheaters can be caught,” says…

It's been a month of my Saturday visits to the school but children across classes are unhappy that I don't go there every day. Most of them remember to confirm if I had lunch and ask if there is any chance of my being there during the week. I was glad to see that the knowledge hungry and uninhibited Divya, the mischievous and sharp Monika (both in class V) and inquisitive Dhanalakshmi (from class IV) who usually skip their Saturday meal were actually eating there.Sudharshan and Surya took the Young World editions from me while I went looking for Michael.…

The property tax collection by BBMP for the year 2008- 2009 has been in the confused state.It started from changing to CVS from SAS,than to UAV and latest being UAV with old SAS rate. Now, if one calculate there is not much change in the revised tax if the building is used for residential purposes comes under the same zone, but there are instances of increase of nearly 45% if there is a jump to next higher zone (E to D) - please refer to the chart below for an example. We from the Citizen Action Forum and Jayanagar 5th…

Area Residential rates (All numbers in Rs Sq/ft) Commercial rates(All numbers in Rs Sq/ft) BLR - Central business Districts MG Road   20000 Kasturba Rd   15000 Cubbon Rd 12500  Church Street 12500 15000 Dickenson Rd   12500 Ashokanagar 2500 5000 Victoria Layout 4000 8000 Commercial Street   25000 Infantry Rd 10000 15000 K Kamraj Rd   5000-8000 Shivajinagar 2500 5000 Cunningham Rd 10000 15000 Queens Rd 5000 10000 Millers Rd 6000 10000 Vasantnagar 7000 10000 Surrounding MG RD Langford Town 6000 8000 Richmond Town 6000 8000 Residency Rd   15000 St.Marks Rd 10000 15000 Cambridge Rd 5000 7000 Ulsoor…