Blogs

Duniya Sabkia theatre workshop for childrenfor children between 9-12 yearsFrom 7th May to 14th May 2011, 10:00 AM to 12:00 PMAt Rhythm School of Fusion, 14, Kaikondanahalli, Sarjapur Road(Near Total Mall, Sarjapur Road)For registrations and enquiries -Write to warafiki@yahoo.com, orCall Ravindra on 99863 71543.Note:rafiki is offering an eight day theatre workshop for children between 9 and 12 years. The workshop is titled Duniya Sabki, and is based on a poem (by the same title) written by the poet and theatre artist, Safdar Hashmi.Employing theatre games, exercises and our own experience of working with children - the workshop will aim to…

  I saw in Citizen Matters that I could volunteer for Bus Day this month:  here's the announcement So I've registered myself....let's see what I am asked to do, and what happens! It's going to be interesting, and I am rather tickled by the concept that "celebrities" cannot take the bus without assistance!      ⊕

   At 8.30 pm on the 4th of April, I took the BIAS Vayu Vajra (BIAS 12, to KuVemPu Nagara)nfrom the airport to my home.On the way, a group of four passengers got on,and asked for tickets. They paid Rs. 60( four tickets of Rs.15 each) , and the conductor said that the tickets would cost Rs.20 each. The young man who was one of the group protested, saying that he had taken the Volvo yesterday and had paid only Rs.15, and he would not pay the higher amount.The conductor insisted that the amount was correct. The passenger demanded that the…

Meet Ganesh, a rapicker. I met him when we went around Malleswaram with our Corporator.  We were trying to create solutions for the road-side garbage dumping. Ganesh was retrieving recyclables from a dump near the Malleswaram Market on 9th cross. He was a very pleasant person and showed us his booty. I just started realising that he is an Eco Hero who is doing what we should be doing....Reduce ..Reuse ..Recycle. I see a big conflict there: that dump is his bread and butter while we were looking at eliminating it!  Creating alternative options for these workers will be a win-win situation…

This year's Ranga Ugadi at Ranga Shankara celebrates the seven Jnanapeetha Award Winnersof Kannada, in a daylong festival on Sun, Apr 3. While Karnad and Anantamurthy read fromtheir works ("Hoovu" and "Suryana Kudure" respectively), the works of Kuvempu, Bendre,Karanth, Masti, and Gokak will be represented in the form of plays directed by well-knowndirectors, theatre songs and a film.Ranga Ugadi is a tradition at Ranga Shankara. On the Sunday before Ugadi (falls on Apr 3 thisyear), Kannada theatre, literature, folk arts and food come together for a daylong celebration.Special folk arts from various parts of Karnataka will be performing too. The…

Praying Mantis camouflaged. Pic: Vikram Nanjappa. A couple of weeks ago I found myself spending my mornings at the Indian Christian Cemetery on Hosur Road. My daughter Tara’s school is next to the cemetery and I have often photographed a variety of butterflies, birds and squirrels while waiting for her to finish. One day I decided to spend my mornings wandering around the cemetery instead of coming home and then returning to pick her up. The cemetery has a lot of green cover with flowering shrubs and large trees. At least this part of the green cover in Bengaluru will…

BBMP's 2011 garbage tender draft is a scam. Complaining about garbage is easy. Collecting it and transporting it is tough. Citizen Matters expose of one contractor who handles a part of Bellandur ward has shown this: Contractors continue to severely and illegally underpay garbage workers and cook the books. Collection is very irregular and some areas are left out completely. New residents are ignored. With no other choice, citizens, who are themselves not very civic minded, start dumping garbage in vacant sites and outside roads, unwilling as they are to chase down a contractor with no name and no face.…

   Every morning when we open our newspapers, they scatter in a leaf-fall cataract...the little pamphlets that advertise all sorts of products and services.It is much cheaper for the advertisers to pay for such insertions in the paper, rather than pay for advertisements in the paper itself, which may also be missed out by the less-attentive page-turner! But alas, I have a mental block towards these ad-pamphlets, because they usually provide services that I am not interested in, and also, the putting in of these tracts by the newspaper agent occupies time, and delays the delivery of my newspapers. And since…

Two years ago, Ekta Mittal, co-founder, Maraa and Yashaswini Raghunandan, a film maker and artist started working on their film Behind the Tin Sheets. The production documents the lives of the workers who are involved in building the Bangalore Metro. It also captures the changes that the city has undergo during the construction."The process has been one of the most endearing one for us. It was a great way to deal with the transformations of the city and film some of the most interesting stories", say Ekta and Yashu (as friends call her). A fellowship from the Centre for Media…

   The Government of Karnataka in association with Karnataka StateArchery Association is organizing "Archery Camp" on 19th & 20th March,2011 inthe premises of Sree Kanteerava Stadium, B'lore. This is to encourageArcheryand create awareness in the game of Archery in the State. This camp is primarily meant for the beginners/amateurs withoutage limitations. 1. Open to groups of IT and BT employees/Journalists. 2. Open to other individuals. 3. Open to groups from Educational Institutions. 4. No age restrictions. 5. No entrance fee or any other fee. 6. Professional Archers are not eligible. Interested persons may attend the practice/coaching session on19-03-2011 between 10.00 AM…