bengaluru

It's a very unusual development in the annals of democracy in India - for the first time, a deliberate political action group, with a specific agenda to be pursued through its activities, is being formed — the Bangalore Political Action CommitteePACs are nothing new around the world. In the US alone, there are thousands of PACs, each committed to its agenda. In India so far, we've had industry associations, which are in some ways PACs, but apart from this there aren't very many. The usual organising themes for PACs - labour, environment, health, education, etc. - have not year coalesced…

"Please, please, mera change vaapas keejiye, please sir." She was in her thirties, nicely dressed in a blue churidhar with a gold-ish lining, spectacled, and worried.Furiously issuing tickets, the uniformed BMTC person she was pleading with was in the far upper corner of my favourite red monster 500 C. The bus had already stopped at  Marathahalli and departed. She panicked that she had not gotten her change back and had missed her stop.This conductor, middle-aged, spectacled, unusually chubby-cheeked, had not even heard a word of her plea. One of us fellow passengers called out to him. In the meantime he…

In two years, I have gone from experimenting with public transport in Bengaluru to becoming a full user. I use the bus system almost 4 days a week, and carry the second most expensive bus-pass BMTC has to offer.Riding Bengaluru's bus system gives you a interesting vantage point into city affairs that I thought I would write about regularly starting with this post. First off, I developed a few nicknames of my own for the types of buses in Bengaluru. Even though BMTC has several types, I've simplified this here for making my point.Tin boxes: These are the normal BMTC…

The Kaikondrahalli Lake team is paying tribute to the lake by inviting photographers to participate in a unique exhibition about the lake. In a photocontest held in September, Bangaloreans submitted the following entries: The 20 selected entries were submittted by: Achintya Guchhait Bhooshan.N.Iyer Deepak Kumar Faisal K Ananda Rajkumar Krishna I Nandagopal M K Vanila Manini Bansal Manjunath Prabhu Rajesh Balakrishnan Rajiv Manikoth Ravindra Kumar K R Sandeep Menon Shashi Pandharkar CK Subramanya The images were displayed in Hyderabad at the recently concluded eleventh meeting of the Conference of the Parties (COP 11) to the Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD).…

‘We care for Jayanagar, a voluntary group, organised a waste management awareness session, at Jayanagar 9th Block, on October 9th. Local Jayanagar East (Ward 170) corporator, Muni Sanjeeviah also attended. We care for Jayanagar is a group of residents from various apartments and neighbourhoods of Jayanagar including Adarsh Residency and Chitramala apartment (Byrasandra). Modeled after the "We care for Malleswaram" group, they help local residents get started with responsible waste management practice. We care for Jayanagar volunteers. Pic courtesy: Usha Shetty Residents presented information on various aspects of waste management. Suma Rao presented information on what is considered as waste,…

Thanks to some archaic thing called the Communicable Diseases Act, the government has monopoly control of a lot of public health information. I.e. if three people die of plague in your school or neighbourhood, the hospital or clinic that tried to treat and cure them is not allowed to tell anyone that they are handling dengue cases. Instead, they have to report it to BBMP as a 'suspected dengue' case, which will be verified by another fossil called the National Institute of Virology in Hyderabad, after which dengue will be confirmed. If any hospital violates this protocol, it will get…

For some, it's a nostalgia of their cities and for some others, it's just something new to try. Prerna Soni, a professional who shifted to Bangalore recently, says, "I discovered these dosa stalls providing a wide range of dosas. I like them since the taste and flavours remind me of my hometown." Variety of ingredients used in Dosas. Pic: Anisha Nair Nikhil Banerjee, a software engineer in Koramangala, says, "I love the taste of it. And (I like it) more so, because it is quick, fresh and healthy. It is pocket-friendly and filling at the same time. And most importantly,…

Being fit is the new mantra and Yoga is making a comeback. Currently young women in the age group of 20 to 35 are especially taking to Yoga.There are a variety of yoga styles, some modified to suit modern needs are available for all age groups to suit different fitness needs. Yoga practice. Pic: a1000yoga Pradeep Govinda, CEO Due North Yoga Pvt. Ltd, operating a1000yoga group of studios, says, “We have low intensity styles like, Hatha Yoga, Iyengar yoga and Sivananda yoga; we teach high intensity styles like power, Hot and Mysore Ashtanga Vinyasa. Higher practices like Pranayama and Meditation…

How many of you remembered your teachers from your school or college days this teacher’s day? If you are in your 30s or even your 40s, it can be said with some certainty that most of them will still be teaching, most likely in the same school and definitely for a salary that is only marginally higher than it was in your student days. Teaching is often considered an ‘easy’ profession. What with long summer holidays, Dasara and Christmas vacations and ‘good work timings.’ It is also considered an ideal profession for women, since they can be back when their…

If you are craving for a good scrumptious meal yet with less spices, Bengali cuisine is the right thing to try. The food, originating from West Bengal, predominantly has fish, vegetables and lentils, and is mostly served with rice, Luchi or pooris or parathas. Generally mustard oil is used for preparation, and sometimes, even sunflower oil. The key spices that bring a different flavor are cumin, fennel, fenugreek, kalonji and black mustard seeds, usually referred to as Phoron. This mixture of spices is generally used for preparation of vegetables and fish. Maach curry. Pic: Wikimedia commons A large number of…