bangalore journal

18-year old Aaron D'Souza, based in Bangalore, is Karnataka's fastest swimmer. He is currently in an intensive training programme in preparation for the London Olympics next year. D'Souza won 2 gold medals at the South Asian games in 2009 (Dhaka) and was a finalist in the 4x100 medley relay at the 2010 Asian Games (Guangzhou, China). Rani Rampal is India's unheralded hockey wondergirl. At 15, Rani has proved to be one of the best hockey players in India. She was the top goal scorer of the Women's Hockey World Cup in 2010. Few know that Rani was so impressive that…

The Namma Bengaluru Awards, set up by the Namma Bengaluru Foundation (NBF), in its second edition has recieved a massive 10,463 nominations, says a release by the foundation on Tuesday, January 11th. This is an increase of more than 150% since last year.   One of the nominations was sent in by Narasingh, visually challenged by birth. He sent it in Braille format for Dr V Ashok Kumar, an Ayurvedic doctor. Nomination forms had been made available at more than 133 retail outlets of Food World, Bangalore One, Coffee Day, and CUPPA across the city. Jury members. From right to…

He is dynamic, well-built and tall. Like many who enter public life after a successful industry career, he has many facets. He is an entrepreneur who founded BPL Mobile in the 90s, a firm that some would call a benchmark for India's telecom revolution. Since 2005, he is a venture-capitalist, and runs Jupiter Capital, with its offices behind Kids Kemp, off M G Road, Bengaluru. And he was a former president of India's largest and oldest chamber of commerce, Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce and Industry (FICCI).  We have become a single agenda city of traffic, traffic, traffic. Pic:…

After almost three decades of nurturing their dream, theatre personalities Arundhati and Jagdish Raja have finally seen it turn into a reality. Their dream was simple - a centre for the performing arts. Jagriti, which means awakening, aims to be a hub for the performing arts when in people have the opportunity be participate rather than just be an audience. Jagriti is located in Whitefield. The theatre intends to be a community centre where you can become involved, not just as audience, but be it as a participant in special workshops and lectures; an usher for shows or even as…

This year, expect syncronised signals and more cameras for traffic monitoring, says Praveen Sood, Additional Commissioner of Police (Traffic). A 1986 batch IPS officer, Sood took charge of Bangalore traffic police in 2008. Prior to that, he had served in various postings across the state and was awarded the President's award for meritorious service in 2002. He has constantly emphasised on improving traffic behaviour of road users to better the city's traffic situation. In this exclusive interview with Citizen Matters, Sood talks about new plans, limitations and ideas for better traffic management. What are the critical projects you are implementing…

A participant practising bouldering. Pic courtesy: BAR organisers. Adventure enthusiasts in Bangalore can now get ready for the first edition of Bangalore Adventure Race (BAR). The race being held on Saturday, January 8th promises to be a rush of adrenalin as it combines the thrill of cycling, kayaking and bouldering. It is a single-day format, multi-discipline, endurance and adventure race kicking off at Turahalli, a hillock off Kanakapura road, loops around Manchanbele lake and returns to Turahalli. The backbreaking 12-hour adventure begins at the crack of dawn at 4 am with teams of three participants each. The race will test…

Plays in regional languages other than Kannada - Tamil, Telugu, Gujarati, Marathi, Bengali et al. - have reduced considerably in Bengaluru over the past 15 years. This runs contrary to Bangalore's much heralded cosmopolitan nature. Citizen Matters decided to investigate, and found out that the question only led to more questions that encompass seemingly disconnected spheres. Dr K Y Narayanaswamy, 45, Sahitya Akademi awardee for his play Kannada Pampabharatha, says we must re-examine the meaning of cosmopolitan as it appears today. While it actually means a mix of multi-ethnic cultures, what it translates to, is the knowledge of English in…

To increase public awareness on using cycles, Bangalore's Ride A Cycle Foundation (RAC-F), an NGO, has announced a host of competitions for students from 7th to 10th Standard. The following are the competitions:1. Essay Writing Competition:Topic :Me and My Bicycle.2. Letter Writing Competition:Topic : A letter to your parent asking him to bicycle along with you to school once in a week. 3. Drawing Competition: Theme 1: Share the road with cycles.Theme 2: Cycle Friendly cities / Children friendly cities.1st Prize : Hercules Bicycle + Rs.20002nd Prize : Hercules Bicycle + Rs.15003rd Prize : Rs.35003 Consolation PrizesThe entries need to…

The young and dynamic P Manivannan is currently Managing Director of BESCOM, Bengaluru's power supply provider. He took over in October 2010. Manivannan, 38, is a 1998-batch IAS officer and has served as Commissioner of Hubli-Dharwar Municipal Corporation and Deputy Commissioner of Mysore City Corporation. Media reporting of Manivannan's work has given him a reputation as a tough and upright officer in his previous postings; he has also been called ‘demolition man’ for his stand against illegal constructions. Citizen Matters caught up with Manivannan to discuss BESCOM's 2011 plans for Bengaluru. This interview was conducted via email. Is the rate…

In 2000, it was still BMP managing 100 wards. How have things shaped up since then? The quiet bean town became the centre of world's attention practically overnight and since then the city's infrastructure is only been playing catch up. Hasty road-widenings with arbitrary plans of TDRs, relocation of slums without a though tto the urban poor's basic needs, large-scale corruption by local civic bodies in land allocation and building rights are all in the recent memory. In 2000, it was still BMP managing 100 wards and Prema Cariappa was the Mayor. Ward Committees existed briefly, but were not very…