bangalore

Posting below, a mail from Anvitha S (Undergraduate student, St Joseph's College) on <bngbirds@yahoogroups.com>, requesting for volunteers for the Waterbird Survey 2015-16. We are reviving the waterbird survey which was conducted between 1987 - 1996 by the Bird Watcher's Field Club Of Bangalore. We request experienced birdwatchers and others to contribute to this effort.  In the 80s and 90s the Mid-winter waterfowl survey proved to be a great experience for novices and specialists in sharing and learning skills. Since then the water scape of Bangalore has changed dramatically. So an initiative is planned to revive waterbird survey in atleast the surviving…

Looking up is always as much of a delight as looking around.  

If you are willing to listen, people always have stories to tell. Especially in a city. And despite the best efforts of civic authorities to make us think otherwise, Bangalore is still a city. And people have stories to tell. People like Srinivas. He works as a floor captain at one of those fancy Church Street F&B joints. I found him to be a very familiar face. I was there nursing my cutlery, and tactless that I am I probably was also staring at him too hard, trying to figure out where I had seen him. Probably tired of my…

Bellandur Lake has been frothing again, and in a big way. Read a report here. This time, several people are trying to find a long term solution. An online petition has got more that 15,000 signatures. You can lend your support too, on Change.org here.   The former Panchayath leader of Bellandur, Mr. Jagannath, has called for a citizen's meeting to discuss concrete steps to save the lake. He has seen the lake when it was thriving and will tell everyone about the history of the lake, the problems, the fight in court some years ago, and the resulting Lok…

There are two separate issues in the Bangalore Club case, which the government is now trying to tackle through a law. And of the two, only one is legitimate. The first issue is whether Indian dress code should be disallowed from any premises, even a private one. I don't think so. It's not nice, and some would say it seems undignified. Possibly. But if a private group wants to set up rules for its own members, and they're all ok with it, I wouldn't lose any sleep over it. By the same token, if the government wants to wage war…

In his classic book, 'Ways of Seeing' John Berger says, "The relation between what we see and what we know is never settled. "Each evening we see the sun set. We know that the earth is turning away from it." what we know a Street for Cars and People to move what we see  what we know There must be an EDGE differentiating spaces and functions, a distinction between where the street vendor belongs, where the pedestrian walks and where the vehicles move. "We only see what we look at. To look is an act of choice." And, if we were…

A couple of months ago I wrote a couple of articles on my struggle to get a lamppost repaired on the street where I live. The issue was not that the light was faulty—but 15th Cross Malleshwaram is supposed to be a 'model road' where the utilities are buried under the footpath. However, a BBMP repairman who had come to repair a streetlight next to it had just connected a wire from the lamppost to the streetlight about 10 feet above the ground. I requested him to do a proper job but he did not heed to my request. Apart…

Meet the JDS and BJP candidates on Wedensday, August 19th.  Venue: Gopalan Atlantis. Click here for the map. Time 7 pm - JDS 9 pm - BJP To know who the candidates are for the various wards in Mahadevapura zone, click here or the names of the wards below.  Bellandur | Doddanekkundi | Hagadur | Kadugodi | Varthur In the interest of holistically approaching the civic issues of Mahadevpura, we announce the above meet-the-candidates session, where candidates of the wards (Varthur, Hagadur, Doddanekkundi, Hoodi, Kadogudi, Garudacharpalya, Marathahalli) of Whitefield will interact with the public. Also in attendance will be Shri A C Srinivas, Congress MLA candidate for Mahadevpura. All are…

How long does it take you to get to office? 10 to 20 minutes, 45 minutes, a little more than an hour, or two hours? For those of you who spend long hours on your commute, what do you do? Read? Work on your phone? Listen to music? Read a book? Well, here's something else you could do... Vikas Tripathi, a resident of Whitefield, works in an organisation operating out of M G Road. The present condition of the infrastructure in Whitefield ensures that it takes him around one and a half to two hours everyday, to reach his office.…

In the United States, I’m never really forced to think about the colour of my skin. I suspect very few white, middle-class girls are, although I may be wrong there. This is a privilege, a luxury that, despite its pricelessness, society rarely reminds me of. However, in Bijapur, a small town in northern Karnataka, I was constantly reminded of it. A naturally introverted person, especially while travelling, I really do my best to blend in. Neutral colours, quiet voice, don’t stray from my group. This would be easier if I were not so pale; I give off glare in sunlight.…