Blogs

I was walking past the new Corporation Bank building in JP Nagar, and found that wheelchair access was provided:This got me thinking, and I started looking at other public buildings...and private ones too...and was saddened to find that in very, very few of them was wheelchair access provided. Why can't we, at the construction stage, take a little extra effort and provide wheelchair access? This would be so helpful to those whose mobility is restricted. One of the best examples I have seen, of a wheelchair ramp beautifully integrated into the steps, is at Alliance Francaise de Bangalore. One can…

  For those of us who are fortunate enough to live close to the ever-disappearing lakes of Bangalore, the onset of the rains bring with it a special chorus sung during the night. I am sure everyone is familiar with it. It seems that the perpetuators of this chorus are as joyous as we are for the arrival of life-giving rain. Each new shower of rain is welcomed with a fresh bout of calling. The unseen voice is that of the Indian Bull Frog. The Indian Bull Frog is an integral part of the ecosystem of any pond, well or…

Writing about something is better when one tries it out too. I wrote about the Free Shuttle offered by BMTC between the City Railway Station and the BMTC (Majestic) Bus Station, here so, when I returned from Hospet last Monday morning (13th September 2010), I decided to try it out.For a start, the Free Shuttle stand is right in front of the entry/exit point of the Station, and clearly marked. As you come out of the exit and face the Prepaid Auto stand, it is to the left of the stand. I had to wait about 15 min for the shuttle, and…

I went to Lalbagh this morinng, and near the Siddapura gate, Colville's Glory is in bloom now:And all over, not just in Lalbagh, the African Tulip (Spathodea) is in full bloom:All of us know about the serial flowering of the avenue trees of Bangalore, that was introduced by Gustav Krumbiegel ...and many of us can't help wishing that we had him now, when the BBMP doesn't want to plant trees but chop them for development!For more on the common flowering trees here, see Karthik's journal ⊕

The Ambalipuralake rejuvenation work has progress very well, as mentioned earlier. Purple Heron at Ambalipura Lake. Pic: Rajesh Rao. Yesterday, Rajesh Rao, a resident of the adjoining Trinity Woods, spotted a Purple Heron, and says, "So nice to see the birds coming back!"Meanwhile, the grass has grown very rapidly in the lake, and apparently it can cause the lake to dry up by december if we just let them grow. Rao says if the deep end is cleared, new grass will not grow as there is two foot of standing water.So residents are planning to work this Sunday and clear…

How many of us realise that they might be a bloodsucker at large in our gardens? Don't panic, this is just our Common Garden Lizard (Calotes versicolor) which most of us mistakenly call ‘chameleon'. During the breeding season the head, shoulders and parts of the foreleg of the males turns bright scarlet and this is how they have acquired this rather 'derogatory' name - Bloodsucker. The Chameleon is a totally different species, well-known for its ability to change colour to match its surroundings. The Common Garden Lizard. Pic: Vikram Nanjappa The Common Garden Lizard is the most common Agamid lizard…

"Uplands" in High Grounds, Bangalore became the residence of Sir MV after his retirement.  When the owner wanted the bungalow, he shifted to No. 5, Cubbon Road, a small bungalow placed at his disposal by the Mysore Government. . . . Sir MV lived alone in those days except for his cook, his personal assistant, Sadgopalachar, and12 servants. At the instance of Advani and other friends that he should have somebody to look after him in his old age with love and affection, he permitted only M. R. Krishnamurthy, his nephew and his wife to stay with him in "Uplands."…

We all are familiar with the various facets of our religious festivals, going to temples, churches or mosques, or celebrating at home, eating traditional food , wearing new clothes and visiting family and friends. One other thing many of us, just observe in passing, occasionally grimacing at the noise, is the public functions and cultural programmes in the weeks following. Often organised by groups of young men, mostly from poorer neighbourhoods, these functions provide avenues for them to prove that they can "do something". School and college students have their culturals, those working in corporates have similar opportunities too. Residents…

Since I have a BSNL broadband connection and since this is India, the connection does cause problems once in a while, and I lost all connectivity for a couple of days.In such situation, I have two alternatives: register a complaint on the phone, and wait for action...or just take my modem and laptop, and go to the (luckily, nearby) J P Nagar 3rd Phase Telephone Exchange, where I have always found the staff very helpful and friendly. Here are the two Junior Telecom Engineers, Ms Padmaja and Ms Nagarathna: There is also Pushpa, who is on a contract basis; all these ladies…

Toto Funds the Arts an organization that recognizes, awards and encourages young artists in their endeavours, had organized their September reading atCrossword Bookstore Here's the blurb from TFA: Sharanya Manivannan's first book of poems, Witchcraft, was described in The Straits Times as "sensuous and spiritual, delicate and dangerous and as full as the moon reflected in a knife". Her poetry and fiction have also been published in Drunken Boat, Ghoti, Softblow, Pratilipi and elsewhere, and a personal column, "The Venus Flytrap", appears in The New Indian Express. Sharanya lives in Chennai.www.sharanyamanivannan.comSruthi Krishnan is a Chennai-based journalist. Previously, she reported on technology…