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Initially, this piece had nothing to do with Donald Trump. It had nothing to with American politics whatsoever. I set out to write about my experience visiting an office and a local university in Bengaluru. I thought, maybe I will discuss outsourcing or the importance of community journalism. But once I started writing, what I needed to say became clear. I needed to write about Donald Trump. Last week I visited an American company whose Indian staff generates lecture and homework content for American universities. I talked with a group of employees. They asked how I was adjusting to life…

I’ve been thinking a lot about garbage. Every day I find myself pondering about Bengaluru’s garbage plight. If you don’t live here, here’s a quick summary: there is a lot of garbage on the streets, sometimes so much it looks like a miniature landfill is just hanging out, uninvited, on your street corner. There aren’t public garbage bins because in 2000 they were banned in favor of an entirely different approach to waste management. The Ugly Indian explained it well in an article: “[Chief Minister SM Krishna] banned the street dustbin, and set up a door-to-door garbage collection system –…

In November 2015, Indirangar residents had taken to streets against the plans to convert a playground into a cricket pitch. Now there's a plan for the same ground to be converted into an indoor stadium. Indiranagar residents have come together to oppose this move, citing lack of open spaces. An open letter from I Change Indiranagar team says: The decline of per capita availability of open space in Bengaluru has reduced from around 8 sq m in 1972 to 2.82 sq m in 2003. The latest data now shows that this has further declined to around 1.9 sqm in 2015.…

Pic: Shubha Ramachandran Often times we (BIOME) are asked to compare the prices of recharge wells quoted by various well diggers. After speaking with the clients, we realise that they maybe comparing apples to oranges. Apples to oranges – since the well is not a standardised product but requires and includes several components and activities. Each well digger has his own vision of the well and related costs. Hence this blog post will throw some light on the components and activites that go into the making of a recharge well. And here we are not speaking of quality of activities…

A night view of M G Road. Pic: Shree D N After finding out I would be coming to Bengaluru, an Indian city I knew just as the "Silicon Valley of India," having grown up in Seattle, I became fascinated with the idea of comparing my hometown to B'luru. The differences between these two cities, 8,000 miles/13,000 kilometers apart, are stark (food, geography, language, ethnicity, weather, traditions, you name it). Finding the similarities, I thought, would be more of a challenge. The questions I had in mind: do Bengalureans romanticise their pre-tech past as much as Seattleites do? Do they…

Over the last two years I have written extensively about the emerging new idea of governance around the world. Historically in democracies, we paid a lot of attention to government FOR the people, and government OF the people, but it is only recently that there is more and more attention on self-governance and participatory democracies, ... what we might consider government BY the people themselves. But how exactly could this alternative work? What are its contours? Broadly, there are three pillars on which we can imagine this. a) We need to work WITH the government ... a lot of what…

Deepanjali Mishra. Pic: Pravir B. Sukanti and Bhagirathi Mishra are on cloud nine. Since May 28, when the Central Board of Secondary Education (CBSE) declared the results for Grade 10 board examination, these Whitefield residents are elated. Their daughter, Deepanjali, has done exceptionally well, securing A1 score in all five subjects. “My parents were really happy because it was their dream that I score well in 10th,” she exclaims when asked for her reaction. Her father is employed as a plumber in a housing complex, where her mother works as a cook. Her uncle is an electrician. “I was able…

This is the Akshayanagara Lake. Less than three years ago, it was a nothing but a patch of land with overgrown weeds and sewage as seen below.  The transformation is the work of a group of enthusiastic residents of the layout led by Ramesh Kumar who have toiled to restore the lake to its present form. In 2009, one side of the lake bund was strengthened and fenced, most of the sewage was blocked, and the entire lake was cleaned up at a huge cost running into lakhs. The cost was borne by the residents along with the local MLA.…

BBMP health inspectors conducted a major drive against use of plastic on Whitefield Main Road (Hagadur ward) on Saturday 21-May-2016. Plastic material was seized from several shops in Forum Value Mall. The drive was led by BBMP officials Vinodh Govindappa and Prakash KN Gowda. They worked tirelessly from 11 am to 5 pm without a lunch break, seizing around 600 kg of plastic. Penalty of Rs. 1.84 lakh was levied. Despite a relentless campaign by Whitefield Rising volunteers in the last two months, starting with a traders and Corporator meeting near Forum Value Mall, and despite the mall's management giving notices,…

House documents in order? Do you have your occupancy certificate in order? This is an important document to have BEFORE you occupy your new dwelling and one that the builder is supposed to get and often doesn't. Problem is that you wont get a Khata without this. Read on to understand the requirements given by BBMP and be sure to get your OC. Power of standing together It was a big day for Kundanahalli Lake recently as BBMP brought down encroachments. This came after repeated efforts by residents who are on a mission to restore the lake to its healthy…