Blogs

Amidst the noise about how this year mattered to bankers, politicians, environmentalists, neo-Nazis, and godmen, one important voice was left out in the cold. It isn’t like we young people are used to too much attention; but to listlessly ignore the tumult in our lives isn’t quite done.Education may be the best phase of everybody’s lives – but one considers it memorable only when it has passed. In the midst of dreary college years, it is quite, quite horrific. Don’t you want to know, then, how this year broke new ground in our lives? Pulling all stops and no résumésTo…

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This is the time for New Year resolutions. Often made...So maybe we can do this with a difference as we enter the new decade. The one thing that this decade gone by has stood for is change! Change in the way we look at the world, change in what we took for granted. There has been a shift in equations, from the West towards Asia. We have had a President in the US who is different, a woman winning the Nobel Prize in economics for the first time, an Indian Olympic Gold... and much more. Social networking, twitter.. and mobile…

An empty sign board greets visitors. The contents were probably lost in translation. . ⊕

"Who are these people, these former IAS officers and all, to compare London to Bangalore and propose these changes?"  he thundered on the phone. His tone and outburst were astounding, and for a moment it appeared that he had mistaken the Citizen Matters editor for someone else. "What is the paristhithi in Bangalore?" he then shot off, implying that Bengaluru was simply not London.The speaker was Jayanagar MLA B N Vijaykumar. Citizen Matters had asked him what he thought of ABIDE's proposal to have direct elections from neighbourhoods into ward committees, which was being vetted by his party colleagues in…

In the well-designed brochure that Ligra distributed at the staging of Samuel Beckett's "Happy Days", at Ranga Shankara on the 12th and 13th of December, was a line by Chandran Sankaran, written to the husband of the actor who plays the lead, Winnie (Patty Gallagher) ...and it says, "I finally understood a Beckett play!"That's an important line to keep in mind as we approach one of Samuel Beckett's lesser known plays ( the better known ones, of course are "Waiting for Godot" and "The End Game".)Samuel Beckett won the Nobel Prize for literature in 1969, and it's amazing to think…

Bhopal. Manipur. Karnataka. Chattisgarh. Orissa. Tamil Nadu. Ayodhya. West Bengal. Maharshtra... Gas leak victims, women, sex workers, adivasis, domestic workers, children, dalits, differently abled... Survivors. Marginalized. Minorities. Excluded. Students, social activists, writers, film makers, folk artists, volunteers and others from across India united with subjects of human rights violations nationwide. Through candlelight vigils, dialogues, films, street plays, photo exhibitions, rallies et al, Bengaluru's conscious citizens and inspired passersby showed that they stand with those whom many ignore! These pictures are from events organized between 28th November and 10th December, 2009 at various Bangalore venues. The latter date is the 61st…

Rows of lamps left out to dry at Pottery Town. The lamps are just waiting to be lit.  

Its time again to reconnect with nature, and enjoy the flora and fauna around Bannerghatta.This month's Third Sunday trail will be on 20th of December 2009.Place : Ragihalli Village TankTime : 6.00 AMMeeting place : Govt Primary School, RagihalliGoogle Map Coordinates : 12.739328, 77.574592Group Leader : Mahesh ChandComfortable clothing,good walking shoes, cap, water bottle,binoculars ( if you have them!), a camera ( if you like to shoot)...these are what you need to join the trail. This outing is free and open to anyone who can walk the trail of around four to five hours . We recommend car-pooling between participants.…

The horticulture department is planning a foodcourt at Nandi Hills. The proposed location is part of the habitat of Nilgiri Wood Pigeon. The plan is likely to have impact on this I do feel that Government can use the present buildings at Nandi Hills, some of which lie unused and abandoned. I request each of you to email the concerned people and voice your concern. I received an email from Subbu, an avid bird-watcher of Bangalore. This should come as a shocker to all those who love watching birds at Nandi Hills. The proposed food court on top of Nandi…