Blogs

Yesterday, at the mall near my home, I watched the dance sequences of a movie being shot...all through the day. You can see some of the artistes in costume in the centre of the crowd: Everything was being recorded... Here are some of the artistes, dancing on cue: You can hear my maid Lakshmi and my neighbour Pallavi exchanging observations! For some reason, animal balloons formed a large part of the sequences: Several were released in the evening...here's a tiger floating past! The women artistes were accompanied by family members, who waited through the day: Here's the van in which…

  As you go around the city, don't forget to see the flowers of spring and summer, in all their glory.....here they are:Tabebuia argentea (or Tacoma argentea), the Golden Bell or Trumpet: Couroupita guianensis, the Cannonball tree (Nagalinga):The flower has a faint and lovely smell:Milletia ovalifolia, Moulmein Rosewood:Grevillea robusta, Silver Oak:Ceiba pentandra, a variety of Silk-Cotton:In this tree,the silk-cotton has burst through the pods:Tabebuia rosea, the Pink Poui:Erythrina indica, the Indian Coral Tree:Jacaranda mimosaefolia, the Jacaranda:Firmiana colorata, Coloured Sterculia (this is not a very common tree though)Plumeria species, Frangipani:, Colville's Glory:Spathodea campanulata, the African Tulip:Check out my Nature Guru (S.Karthikeyan)'s list…

After starting to use BMTC buses, one of our federation members, Jayvant Anantpur, wrote a nice article why we should still use BMTC instead of our personal vehicles in Bangalore. Read on... I agree that we should try to use BMTC as much as possible. I have been trying to do that for one year now and have successfully figured out how to commute by BMTC from Bellandur gate to IISc (between Malleshwaram & Yeshwantpur).I won't say the bus rides are very smooth etc but when compared to driving my car or going by auto/taxi, I think going by BMTC…

  No matter where and how, some people will make business opportunities where one would think none exist....here's a sign on the compound wall of a house near Adiga's, off Bannerghatta Road:  I wonder what the house owner has to say about that...or whether the house owner is the person who's advertised the space! ⊕

Last year, my son played Holi and his skin was tinted green and pink for days. Some of his friends broke out in rashes or got wheezing. So this time, my neighbours and I are quite keen on making Holi safer. Holi colours. File pic: Rajeev R. Quoting Krish Ashok, a blogger, Holi is a "spring festival where people throw coloured powders that symbolically contain Neem, Kumkum and Turmeric but really contain Lead Oxide, Copper Sulphate and Aluminium Bromide. Yet another fine example of the great Indian tradition of carrying forward the ritual meaning while leaving behind the rational significance…

Ashoka Trust for research in Ecology and the Environment (ATREE) has come up with a pictorial snake poster with text in Kannada as well as in English. Both photographs and nature illustration has been combined in this poster to draw the attention of children. This poster has been distributed free of cost to schools in rural areas, while institutions in urban areas have to pay Rs.100 for the poster which will help us to reprint the posters so that we could distribute to more schools. To know more about the poster check this link http://atree.org/bcws_2011 To avail a copy, write…

The Ministry of Environment and Forests has notified the Plastic Waste (Management and Handling) Rules, 2011. In Bengaluru, the ban will be in effect from today.Banning thin plastic bags and charging consumers is only the first step. BBMP has announced plans to setup waste segregation and plastic collection centres in ward. Some points covered by the centre's notification.• Plastic carry bags shall either be white or only with those pigments and colourants which are in conformity with the bar prescribed by  the Bureau of Indian Standards (BIS). • Plastic carry bags shall not be less than 40 microns in thickness.…

Vacation Training Programme on Bio-Resources The 6th Vacation Training Programme on Bio-Resources funded by the National Bio-Resource Development Board, Department of Bio-Technology, Government of India will be conducted by Ashoka Trust for Research in Ecology and the Environment (ATREE), Bangalore, during summer 2011. Applications are invited from interested Class X candidates for the programme. Duration: 26th April to 14th May 2011 Eligibility Students should have appeared in Class X examination in 2011 from recognised schools in Karnataka Certain activities involve spending few hours outdoors. Students should be physically fit and willing to take up such activities. Proven interest in nature…

  A worker at Bamboo Bazaar prepares his sale for the day on a busy morning. Pic by Ravi Kaushik ⊕

We often live in worlds that are completely sealed off from others in the same city. Most of my friends are not aware of how other people, such as gays or eunuchs, live, and do not want to know, either. Their reaction to seeing such people is only disgust and fear. Of late, I too have been noticing quite a considerable increase in the number of eunuchs at city traffic junctions, and, indeed, walking along various shopping areas. They are very much in-your-face in their approach, and take full advantage of people's aversion to them to demand money,rather than beg…