Blogs

I am fortunate to live on Cookson Road in east Bangalore. It is well-shaded with an excellent density of roadside trees. My apartment block is in a cul-de-sac and my immediate neighbor is a lady well-known for having the best garden in the city .In front of her bungalow (the last few remaining in the area) is a Lantana bush which is visited by a lot of butterflies, one of which happens to be the Common Banded Awl. The Common Banded Awl belongs to the family of butterflies called Hesperiidae, commonly known as Skippers. This is the third largest family…

Roadwidening. Who thought that such a term would come into being and cause such a brouhaha here in Bengaluru. Anyways - the protests, the government and BBMP going back and forth on suspending roadwidening, TDR (Transfer of Development Rights) notices being slapped, red marks on the wall - all this has been talked about over and over. Now here's something new to swallow. Sources in the BBMP recently told Citizen Matters about 23 roads that are being widened. This is not part of the list of roads that are stuck in a High Court case. These are roads of newly-added…

Art of Bicycle Trips invites you to enter your most stunning photos -highlighting the beauty, adventure, freedom, inspiration and art ofbicycle trips and travel - in the 1st Bicycle Travel Photo Contest.The organizers are especially looking for beautiful photography representing thewide range of bicycle touring and travel experiences.Winner will get Bicycle Riding Gear. Check for more details on how to enter, eligibility, deadlines etc. by clicking here Follow the Facebook group here ⊕

Amit Kumar Chaudhary, who is also a member of the cycling mailing list that I belong to, had recently cycled to BIAL, where he made a discovery that would benefit all of us. Here's what he said in an email to the rest of us:"For those who wish to have garma-garma Idli and Tea/Coffee at  regular prices at BIAL, there's a Shanti-Sagar type resturant called Parking-Cafe. It is located behind "Pay & Use Toilet" but the Cafe is clean and hygenic.I had little bad experience today and that led me to this discovery."What was the experience, and what was the…

In some ways, a theatre group has it easier when it is playing to an audience of children. Children are much more willing to suspend disbelief, and are easily entertained....and if the audience that I saw queueing up at Ranga Shankar on the evening of the 1st of September was any indication, that was true that day, too.I asked a few children, and their mothers, how they had heard about "Tenali Raman", the play that Bangalore Little Theatre was putting up that evening. Padma said that she had received an email from Indianstage, and Ranjani said that she often came…

The morning walk is something I look forward, as it is a feast for all my senses. I step out, and the green canopy of the trees in the Mini Forest greets me and envelopes me. I feel the cool morning air; it invigorates me and encourages me to walk faster.Just outside my gate, I can see a variety of colours...the different vegetables and fruits which the vendors bring in the mornings, to sell to the walkers and joggers. My feet feel the hard cement of the road....and also the broken edges of the potholes that the road is liberally…

We've all noticed him there....lying under the first table in the Ranga Shankara cafe, and sometimes ambling around as if he owned the place. Well, he did....! Murthy had been a fixture at Ranga Shankara ever since I started going there, and I was sad to find that an obituary notice had been put up at Ranga Shankara... Murthy loved the theatre, and would attend all platform shows.....here's wishing farewell to a staunch fan of the performing arts, who did not need to have the ability to speak a human language to like Ranga Shankara and its environs... ⊕

Bangalore is famous for addresses that go, Door no. abc, X Cross, Y Main, Bangalore.But recently I spotted an address that gives two main roads as co-ordinates...Logic says that if one of the co-ordinates is a main road, the other one must be a cross road...so how is this possible? ⊕

I have been following the fortunes of Yours Truly Theatre (YTT)for a while now, in keeping with my interest in the young theatre groups of this city. Yours Truly has been a pioneer, in Bangalore, in staging Interactive Theatre, where the audience takes on an interactive role in the staging of the play, rather than be passive spectators to a preconceived ending. Now they have several other initiatives, too, such as plays for children, students, and for underprivileged people,I've watched their last play, "Common Man", but had missed the earlier shows of "Bhagwan Dhoondo", and so decided that I'd go…

Identifying Traditional and Responsible ways of Celebrating Ganesh ChaturthiA One Day Workshop for Children (Ages 9-15)Ganesh Chaturthi is the birthday of Lord Ganesha, the elephant-headed Hindu God. As we all know, He is a very popular god in India and has become a popular symbol around the world too. Ganesha in different art forms has broken many boundaries of caste, race, religion, and nation and has found a space in many living rooms around the world. He is a favorite among the children too. The story of his birth and the variety of delicacies made on this day are enjoyable…