bangalore

One of the lizards that we often see around is the Peninsular Rock Agama...and around this time, as the male takes on its breeding colours, it can be a beautiful thing to see.Here's one specimen, which was perched, totally immobile, atop a cut-down tree-trunk on Bannerghatta Road:As it spotted some insect, the reptile was off in an incredible flash of speed, on to the ground below:The scientific name for this lizard is Psammophilus dorsalis. Tje female's camouflage is so good that she often cannot be spotted on the rocks! click here for the Wiki on this lovely creature, that eats…

No public meeting organiser ever takes in to consideration waste management. Whether it is an exhibition or a hunger strike, it is rare to see dustbins. Food stalls all around Freedom Park. Not a bin in site. Pic: Meera K. Hawkers and vendors naturally gravitate to any large group, selling icecreams, tea-coffee, groundnuts, roasted corn and more. They too never provide a bin to collect the waste. The visitors eat and throw trash in corners, sometimes just anywhere. Litter at Freedom Park. Pic: Meera K. At Freedom Park last week, visitors enthusiastically stuck stickers of I am Anna and wore…

Many Bellandur residents have been enthused by the anti-corruption campaign. They are organising small and large local rallies, candle light vigils and protests.It started earlier this week itself - Aug 16th saw a human chain and singing of the National Anthem on ORR.One of the organisers of a protest on 19th August, Geetha Arvind, shared this on our federation mailing group, "Started at around 9am with one person and kept growing with time and by 11am there were more than 60-70 people... Cab drivers joined, auto drivers joined... Many junta from softzone companies were present". Another march from Iblur Junction…

Not many can miss the multi-floor building with the glass facade on 9th Main, 5th Block, Jayanagar. The first and the second floor of this building houses Dakshin Foods’s specialty restaurants Athityam and Bon Aroma. While Athityam serves South Indian dishes from different states, Bon Aroma serves North Indian cuisine as well as cuisine from different parts of the world. Both the restaurants serve only vegetarian food. According to Arjun S Devatha, an ex-citizen of the corporate sector and the founder of Dakshin Foods, Athityam offers a variety of South Indian dishes which families and groups can enjoy in a…

Samosas and puffs are the favorites during Ramzan. Pic Uma Swamy During the month of Ramzan, the eateries around many mosques in Bangalore are busy selling savouries specially made for this occasion. The 30th Main at Tilak Nagar and neighbouring streets is one such area that people throng from 3.30 p.m. onwards. A stall at Tilak Nagar,near Swagath Garuda Mall in Jayanagar selling savouries during Ramzan. Pic: Uma Swamy The usual favourites are different types of non-vegetarian samosas, puffs and puddings. Sold mostly on the basis of weight, the savouries have a loyal customer base, as many purchase them all…

Making Human Rights a Household Concept is its mission. Standing by victims of discrimination, repression and violence is the very raison d'etre of the South India Cell for Human Rights Education and Monitoring (SICHREM) headquartered in Lingarajapuram in Bangalore. Envisioning a fearless society which uniformly respects the rights of everyone and particularly the marginalized, some concerned citizens started SICHREM in 1995. The NGO has been responding to the growing insensitivity to the law by the state and others through direct intervention, helpline, campaigns and tracking and reporting on unacceptable actions such as torture of prisoners, ill treatment of kids in…

All the daily newspapers covered the death of a child at an apartment on Bannerghata Road yesterday.   The mother was feeding the restless child near the open passage window. With the child cranky and kicking, she tries to hold on to the plate and the kid. In the melee, the child slips and falls down 9 floors.  Many highrises these days do not have grills installed by the builder. The first reaction of many readers may have been, how can the mother be so careless? It is easy to tut tut while reading the report. But how many of us are…

The laptop bag's zipper fails under the weight of the not so light machine you carry everyday. Or the soft luggage has a small tear from the last airline trip. Or the floater's beginning to lose its sole - no pun intended - to the abuse that our myriad surfaces throw at it. What do you do? Usually, head to out to the nearest store to look for a good, nay, better, replacement. And chuck the current one out, or donate it, or whatever. There's a plethora of stores, brands and choices after all. And its not that expensive, given…

A BTM resident, Kumar Lakshmikanthan, 72, a retired Life Insurance Corporation of India (LIC) employee, wrote to us about the pathetic state of footpath on 7th cross and 7th main BTM II Stage. “The footpaths have been paved with expensive cobble stone but most of it is occupied by street hawkers and shops. Pedestrians are forced to use the road,” he says. Raw materials for building construction too are dumped on the footpath. When Citizen Matters contacted ward councilor G N R Babu, he feigned helplessness on the issue. “I have complained several times to the Health department about this.…

At any time of the day, you will see more people than birds at our Puttenahalli Lake. There are the brisk morning or evening walkers, strollers, people who use the track as a short cut to go from or to Puttenahalli, the time pass guys who sit singly or in a group at the gazebo, two wheelers, though their number is reducing gradually. Well, we are constantly standing in their path and sending them back. That’s what I did today with a motorbike rider and a cyclist - much to the startled horror of three students from Kumaran School who…