Blogs

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…

I've been doing this for years, and been reviled as "cheap"...but now recycling has become "cool" and here's my how-to....Requirements:Envelopes. This obviously works better with the long envelopes that arrive in the post. "Windowed" envelopes won't work (those with a cellophane window to display the name and address inside.) I use this method on invitation cards and thick envelopes, too, but be prepared for the occasional tearing and wastage.A sharp paper-knife, of the sort I have photographed. The blade needs to be thin, long and sharp.How:Slit open the glued folds of the envelope, on the width (after having opened it…

If on a Sunday morning you want to spend your day with your dear ones away from the noisy city, do you have options other than Cubbon Park and Lalbagh?There are quite a few and not far from the city too.Shankaraa foundation on Kanakapura road is one such. It is an ideal get away if arts and culture excites you. Shankaraa foundation promotes intercultural interactions and provides platform and facilitates as a bridge between art and art lovers. It claims to be ‘a greenscape, dotted with timeless sculptures and an open- hearted space that promotes and propagates India's heritage.'There are…

BBMP Commissioner Rajneesh Goel is a smart man. To back up his ultimatum forcing apartments to do wet waste processing within, he brought up an unknown pollution control rule.Goel pointed out recently that builders of big apartments are already bound to set up waste processing facilities. Apparently the state's pollution watchdog, KSCPB, had made a rule in 2006 stating that installation of these facilities be made a condition to issuing Occupancy Certificates. This he says is reason enough for BBMP to stop collecting waste from apartments which do not have converters or compost pits! It is another matter that neither…

Here's a photography exhibition that the nature/wildlife/photography enthusiasts would not want to miss - 'Where The Wild Things Are' is a photography exhibition of recent works by Aditya Singh, Ganesh Shankar, Jayanth Sharma and Kalyan Varma. This exhibition brings together four individuals whose passion for wildlife photography comes through in the visions they create with their cameras. Some of the photographs (all are limited edition) are intimate portraits, and others include breath-taking vistas. The exhibition is on till the 26th of this month at the Five Forty Five, the art gallery in Indiranagar. 545, 6th Main, 4th Cross, Indira Nagar…

The Nature Journalling Workshop on 7th October morning at Puttenahalli Lake, JP Nagar, was filled to capacity (limited to 15 participants) and was well enjoyed. The workshop was conducted by award winning illustrator Sangeetha Kadur and Shilpashree of Greenscraps, as a part of the "Nature in the city" event organised by ATREE, INTACH, Citizen Matters and Red Frames. Pics: Vijay Kumar, PNLIT volunteer⊕

Arakere Lake, located on Banerghatta road is one of the several dying lakes in Bangalore. To restore this lake to its previous glory, a team of environment conscious citizens comprising of Arbind Gupta ( president), Amitabha Saha Roy, Meeta, Vandana Veena, Aradhana , Amit came together and formed a trust - Arakere Neighbourhood improvement Trust ( ANIT )  hey are planning awareness campaigns to engage more citizens. In order to raise funds for the campaign, they decided that Amitabha, a photography enthusiast and a keen naturalist, would hold a photography workshop at Classic Orchards, Bannerghatta Road. There were 18 people who…

Take a little time to read throught this. The MD of BESCOM (Bangalore Electric Supply Company), Mr Manivannan, maintains a Facebook page, and a friend of mine, Mr. Ajit Lakshmiratan, approached him with a problem.(This was on 6 th Oct 2012, when there was a Bandh in Bangalore.)He wrote:MD Sir, 1800 425 2627 the toll free number of BESCOM is "switched off", if you please....08022873333 get's no response....no power here ( near Kundalhalli gate) since two & 1/2 hours..IsBescom "bandhed" too? Or is it a genuine outage, Sir?A little while later, he posted on FB:Ajit Lakshmiratan Power restored in just…

Artist-in-Residence Fresh Deadline - Call for ApplicationsArtist-in-Residence at Jaaga, 1 Shanthi Road &Srishti School of Art, Design & Technology You can still apply for Artist-in-Residence in collaboration with the Bangalore art communities Jaaga, 1 Shanthi Road and Srishti School of Art, Design & Technology.Deadline for applications: October 11, 2012.For more details: Artist-in-Residence ************ Call for EntriesSynapse - The International Curators' NetworkApril 23 - 27, 2013, House of World Cultures, Berlin Round two of the international curators' network SYNAPSE. Up-and-coming curators who work at the interface of art and academia can network and exchange views and information at a five-day workshop…

I've often been asking why bus shelters cannot have information about bus routes displayed, instead of only revenue-generating advertisements. However, I was very happy to see that the Shoppers' Stop bus stop on Bannerghatta Road has finally implemented this, on the Shoppers' Stop side, at least:  If only all other bus shelters/stops could follow suit, it would be excellent progress, indeed! Thank you for this one, BMTC. ⊕