Blogs

Who doesn’t like being around a friend? Around someone with similar likes perhaps? Or in whose company we bloom to our fullest or even someone who offsets our own quirks? Well, as it turns out this may be a natural instinct for all living things, including plants. Maybe we've learnt this behaviour from plants? Watch them grow in the forest and you find they thrive in the company of some and are unable to in the presence of others. It is interesting to understand how this works and use it to the advantage of all plants in your organic garden.…

It was great to see this image:  But we hope something like this will not happen:  Or something like this...!  Thanks to  Chidambaram Subrmanian for the photos and the link to the video.  ⊕

This time, we pick two restaurants, run by women, that don’t cost a bomb to eat in and serve some great food. Bored of going to cafes very often? How about trying a 'teafe’? Chaipatty Teafe in Koramangala will definitely not disappoint you. Aromas of hot pakodas and Maggi noodles welcome you. The place has floor level seating giving a homely comfortable feeling. Schezwan Frankie. Pic: Anisha Nair There is a mural of the ‘Last Supper’ on one wall, only everybody is drinking chai and not wine. The room also has a shelf neatly stacked with junk jewellery, cups and…

The morning started early for some students of  BGS NPS, Hulimavu on Saturday, 14th July 2012. Twenty seven children of Std VIII, accompanied by three teachers, attended a nature walk at Puttenahalli Lake. Bird watcher Jaishree Govind joined Usha, Nupur, Prasanna and Sapana to take the children on a guided tour of the lake that lasted for almost two hours (7:15 - 9:00 a.m.).  Photo: Harish Mahendrakar The water level has reduced due to evaporation and the delayed monsoon but many more birds have shifted residence to our lake. A Grey Heron has joined the resident bird community and the Purple Herons have increased…

Still from the film (Courtesy: Jobin Andrews) What do places like Electronic City (Bangalore), Cyberabad (Hyderabad) and TIDEL Park (Chennai) have in common? Well, they are parts of large southern Indian metropolises where many information technology (IT) organizations have their offices. And they are sanitized expanses with a few of them also having space for people to reside. Such populations typically comprise those who can afford to or need to live there - i.e., largely IT professionals with or without their families. Further, these areas and their environs give the impression of exclusivity, insulation and wealth except for those pockets…

It's now official. The TCS World 10K 2012 Bangalore raised about Rs 3.06 crores for 84 NGOs that were registered with Bangalore Cares, the official charity partner for the event. Releasing the charity docket on 11th July 2012, Mr Murray Culshaw of Bangalore Cares said that this international race has emerged as the best platform for NGOs in Bangalore to create awareness about their cause and to raise funds for their work.     This was the first time that PNLIT participated in a fund raising event and we are happy that we could raise Rs 37,301/-. While some of the donations came through the…

Fifty percent of us are women. And there is a Women's Day, yes. Yet, there are scores of stories about the struggles, achievements, journeys, and worries of women in our cities. We cannot cram all these into a paper just on Women's Day. So for our part at Citizen Matters, as the city's premier newsmagazine, we simply decided to dedicate this issue on the theme. And we found plenty to report to you.Many of us may not pay attention to women related topics, unless we spend a conscience-pricked hour in front of Satyameva Jayate. But much of society’s attitude is…

PNLIT has been adjudged the Green Star 1st Runner-Up of the People's Green Award at the TCS World 10K Bangalore 2012! The winners were announced at a crowded press conference at ITC Windsor Manor last evening. Prasanna, Usha and Nupur received the award from Kannada actor Mr. Puneet Rajkumar and Mr. Atul Ballal of ITC Windsor Manor.  Prasanna K. Vynatheya, Usha Rajagopalan and Nupur Jain of PNLIT The TCS World 10K which was held on 27th May had launched the People's Green Awards as "a platform to admire and acknowledge people who share this dream to make earth greener and better place to live in."…

It has been our desire to make the visits to Puttenahalli Lake more meaningful for everyone. Towards this, those who have visited Puttenahalli Lake recently, would have noticed that they have the help of sighting boards to identify the birds that they spot.Over the past year, PNLIT Shutterbugs (enthusiastic individuals who keep visiting the lake to bird watch and photo-capture the birds), have been helping us identify the birds that frequent the lake and document their residency and visits. To date, we have spotted and positively identified more than 55 species of birds in the lake vicinity.41 species, belonging to 21 bird families, have been…

On June 28th, the city council met for its monthly session to approve the budget. Turns out the proceedings had nothing to show the city was getting financially healthy again. Read our detailed report here.Last year, BBMP had projected over Rs 9000 crores of expenditure largely predicated on state government grants, it never eventually received. It ended up collecting a mere Rs 3934 crores. This year again the council has projected nearly Rs 9500 crores with the same gaping hole in projecting receipts. It is pretty clear to anyone closely observing the local government process in Bangalore that both the…