bangalore journal

Business Iron ore mining no longer lucrative Global recession has its cascading effect on iron ore mining in Karnataka. This business once changed the face of Karnataka and its politics. With the price of iron ore going down, the huge machines at the mining sites have now stopped working. A ton of iron ore from Bellary which cost Rs.3000 until recently, has now dropped to just Rs.350. The possible closure of mines may throw thousands of families to the streets. (Kannada Prabha, Saturday, Oct 25) Pay and Park rule to return The ‘Pay and Park’ rule by BBMP is all…

Whenever I read about child prodigies, I invariably wonder if the child has been allowed to be a child or forced to achieve things by the parents or teachers. And in many cases, my apprehension proves to be right! Fame-hungry parents often push children towards extraordinary achievements, robbing them of a normal childhood in the process. Many such tragic stories of child achievers abound, especially in the world of advertising and cinema. The children lose their innocence and start talking like depressed adults very early in life. I went to Master Nischay Bhargav’s house with the same apprehensions but was…

Considered a classic by most, yet not the best of Chaplin, The Great Dictator which released in 1949, is one of the most enduring satires of its time. The film takes place, as the title card clarifies, in a ‘period between two wars’. This film was screened as a part of Meta-Culture 2008 Film Festival on Conflict and Resolution last month at the Alliance Francaise. In the film, writer-director Chaplin plays opposed dual roles – that of a Jewish amnesiac barber and the Tomanian dictator Adenoid Hynkel. The plot The Great Dictator was Chaplin's first feature-length talkie. The movie, in…

SUNDAY JAM is a uniquely informal musician's meet that is part of an on-going endeavor by Guruskool (regd) to support musicians. Every first Sunday of the month, music bands meet at Guruskool's farm space in Nelamangala (about 33 kms away from Bangalore city) to share, perform and jam.Maraa, a media collective introduced theatre to the SUNDAY JAM in the month of October, and with this we hope to build a culture of theatre into this space. The idea was to create a space for short performances- self-written texts, stories, ideas, concepts and improvisations. Towards building an arts collective, we hope…

“It’s the only place in the city where you are served excellent chai at 2 AM”, swears Pradeep Andrews, Director of a bar entertainment consultancy firm, ‘Shaken N Stirred’. He is a long time resident of Infantry Road and knows Shivajinagar like the back of his palm. He further states that it is the safest place for a lady at any time of the day or night. There are die-hard fans of this area and there are others who know just the bus stand. Located between MG Road area and the Cantonment, Shivajinagar is a major commercial area and an…

An interesting photographic exhibition is on from 3rd October to 15th November at Café Fresco’s on Cunningham Road. Titled ‘Stone Theater’, the exhibition displays photographs of a different kind by Magali Couffon de Trevros. These beautiful images not retouched or reframed, but just printed on aluminum sheets. It is hard to believe that these are photographs of stones, sand and water bodies around them and the aluminum sheets add to the earthy effect of the theme.Magali is French by origin, and has been in Bangalore for about 6 years and in India for 15 years. Trained as a graphic designer,…

Sunita (assumed name *) was in the hospital for a long time. Diagnosed with cancer, she had undergone multiple rounds of chemotherapy. As a result, her immune system was severely stressed. A few weeks later, she developed an open chest wound that had to be operated upon. Soon after, her doctor noticed a stubborn bacterial infection that just would not go away, no matter what antibiotics they prescribed. The doctor conducted a few tests and found that Sunita was infected with Methycillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus or MRSA, a fatal drug-resistant bacterium that thrives in hospital wards all over the world (www.mayoclinic.com/health/mrsa/DS00735).…

Hongasandra area of the Bommanhalli constituency’s woes doesn’t seem to end. Year after year the rains wreak havoc in the lives of close to 2 lakh people. On 24th October rain has flooded the homes of the people living in around Hongasandra. The breach in the Begur lake was cited as the reason. The real reason is not just overflowing of the lake, but the encroachment of Rajakaluve, the main storm water drain. More than 2.5 km stretch of this drain has shrunk over the past years, say the locals. People walking through floods. Pic: Padmalatha Ravi.On 25th morning when…

Let me at the outset say that I am as against noise pollution as other concerned souls like Huda Masood and Bala Venkata. Heck, I don't even listen to loud music. But on the roads, it's another story. I have been riding/driving on the roads for many many years. Traffic has obviously increased. And conversely road sense has decreased. A while back, I was driving at a sedate pace . A man was closing a conversation with his friend and walking away. He continued walking right into my path, still looking back at his friend. I hadn't honked since I…

All of us know how difficult it is to keep in touch with the fine arts while managing a household or a profession; imagine how much tougher it can be to do so if one wanted to travel the world as well. But one extraordinary individual who has managed to all this, and managed to both teach and learn music in other countries, is Anasuya Kulakarni. Anasuya, who is in her fifties now, had a lovely voice as a young girl, and, after her training under Ganakala Ratna R R Keshava Murthy, was often asked to sing everywhere, though her…