Blogs

It's been a month of my Saturday visits to the school but children across classes are unhappy that I don't go there every day. Most of them remember to confirm if I had lunch and ask if there is any chance of my being there during the week. I was glad to see that the knowledge hungry and uninhibited Divya, the mischievous and sharp Monika (both in class V) and inquisitive Dhanalakshmi (from class IV) who usually skip their Saturday meal were actually eating there.Sudharshan and Surya took the Young World editions from me while I went looking for Michael.…

We went on the heritage walk on Avenue Road, organized by INTACH, this morning (watch Citizen Matters for a detailed report on how the shopkeepers of Avenue Road engaged with the walkers..a first-time combination!) and we took a bus back home. On the way home from the bus stop, we were amazed to see an entreprenurial iniatitive...a push-cart with pani puri! The young man, Raju, said that he was from UP and had come here to make a living. Since neither of us was in the mood for a full lunch after the excellent "prasad" of pulioygare and mosaranna provided…

Most of us agree that our tree cover is depleting alarmingly, and we cluck about it....but St Mark's School has done something...er...concrete, to choose an inappropriate word!They have planted 9 badam trees in front of their school in J P Nagar 3rd Phase.They had plenty of excuses NOT to plant trees. The Mini Forest, with lots of trees, is right opposite. There's hardly any footpath in front the school. But they went ahead and planted the trees anyway.And in a short time, the trees are providing shade on the hot street...Long live schools like St Mark's, which put their trees…

One of the things that make our Indian cities vibrant is the presence of several small businesses that eke their living by solving the everyday problems of the citizens, or making their lives easier in small and practical ways.One such tradesman is the locksmith who is found in every market area. Here is Mr Muniyappa of Jayanagar 9th Block:Mr Muniyappa has, he says, been in this spot for over 2 decades now! He has seen Jayanagar 9th Block market developing from scratch into a busy, crowded area.His shop is still on the footpath:But people for miles around know where, exactly…

Many of us have been complaining about the increasing "facelessness" of the new Bangalore. Neighbour does not know neighbour, and we all seem impersonal cogs in the machinery...But I didn't realize that even the Railways felt the same way!The Cantonment station proclaims, "Bangalore Anon"...Anonymous, indeed, are the passengers who pour in and out through this station every day.Or, who knows...like Al-Anon (Alchoholics Anonymous), Bangalore Anon is going to get rid of its problems and set itself right..was that the message? I wonder. ⊕

On the  5th of February, Bangaloreans were privileged to watch how the funds and grants, that India Foundation for the Arts (IFA) disburses to encourage the fine arts, are being utilized.Two puppeteers, Anurupa and Varun, showed the audience, with the help of audio-visuals and demonstrations, how they have developed a new idiom in puppetry.Anurupa and her group have produced a full-length play, "About Ram" and she said that it was amazing to see how different age groups related to the puppetry show on different levels. The children responded to the action sequences, and the adults to the characters and their…

There is something about the notion of composting that really excites me. Just think of it – with just a simple change of container (a composter/compost pit instead of dustbin), there's a whole new world that opens up! However I had always shied away from actually trying my hand at it – I imagined composting to be complicated and tedious, not to mention messy and unhygienic. I am embarrassed to say I was looking for a quick-fix solution, you see! Composting involves decomposing kitchen and garden waste and other bio degradable matter to make an earthy, dark, crumbly substance that…

Often, I find that public spaces like roads and footpaths are used as if they are there for our own convenience.I passed this plot of land being readied for construction a couple of days ago:That was a footpath before this all started!Why has all the debris been thrown on the pavement? There is now no space for anyone to walk, and the debris extends to the road, too.We are not aware, either, how we should protest when such a civic-unfriendly act occurs; so we feel helpless, and keep quiet, and bemoan the lack of civic sense in our city....Does anyone…

I was out in the afternoon today, in the hot Sun. As I looked up at the bright blue sky to check for any passing clouds, surprise - the Moon had risen! Here's  a photo if you don't beleive me. I took it at 2pm. A closer look. I thought I was confused with a tuft of cloud.So I looked at today's weather report. This is what it says -  Moonrise (Tuesday): 12.02 pmMoonset (Tuesday) : 12.16 am Apparently the first quarter moon rises at noon. Its only the full moon that rises at sunset. Here are some links for people like me…

Since I was not sure if I would be able to go to the plays tomorrow, I decided to attend the press conference that was organized by India Foundation for the Arts (for which the plays are a fund-raiser).I wanted to hear what the actors who are going to be staging the playlets would have to say about the plays, which they have staged before, in Bangalore, way back in 2002.Both Ratna and Naseeruddin talked about how contemporary they found Ismat's ideas, and how Naseeruddin was inspired to stage her stories. Naseeruddin was very scornful about large production; " I despise…