Blogs

In all the times one is under deep emotional and spiritual duress, one feels irrevocably attached to certain people. As if misery were some sort of brotherhood held together by common predicaments. This brotherhood allows you the unlikeliest and most surprising company. And so it is, today, in a moment of spellbinding epiphany, I realize that holding my hand in this universal, timeless, not-so-secret society is... Leon Trotsky.On a bright sunny day in 1940, the late revolutionary hobbled up to the window of his room in an alien land, looked at the skies (that were blue), the grass(which was green)…

Gyan, the strategy consultant, had a question from an old friend, Kaushik Ghosh, who was an alumnus of a prestigious management institute. Kaushik, who was in a senior position at a leading corporate suddenly had taken a fancy to starting his own business. He had a couple of ideas and he was connecting with Gyan to see a) if any of these ideas were worth exploring and b) if funds could be raised for the new venture. Here is what Gyan had to say."Both the ideas look interesting and may be worth exploring. However they would need some gestation time…

One of the problems that BMTC faces in the construction of bus stops is that the land on which these stops must be sited, belongs to the BBMP. It often runs into rough weather with the construction of bus stops being stalled. So it was a refreshing sight to see a bus stop being constructed on Bannerghatta Road, opposite Shopper's Stop near the Jayadeva flyover: I am not sure if the bus stop will shelter users completely from the elements, but it's still far better than having people stand at unmarked places on the road while waiting for buses!Hopefully, all…

The Ragigudda Temple, Jayanagar 9th Block, is celebrating the Hanumath Jayanthi (birthday of Hanuman or Anjaneya) from the 3rd of December. The area around the temple has been cordonned off to traffic and several stalls have sprung up, making the area a colourful, bustling one now.One man was setting up his bookstall as I walked past:at another bookstall, a policeman on duty was having a look at the books:There were plastic toys (probably Chinese-made ones) for sale:So were clothes:An incredible heap of ceramic items:Some people were setting out template rangoli-pattern plates:When the powder was put through these plates, these beautiful…

I was walking down Jayanagar 9th block when I saw this really beautiful work of art. Its function is to keep people from bumping into the glass, but the artist in the person entrusted with the job was not satisfied with just drawing a cross across the glass. Art..and aesthetics...show up in the most unlikely places... who would think of the glass pane of a building under construction as a canvas for someone's imagination? ⊕

The Valley School area, just off Kanakapura Road, is a beautiful spot, retained as a wilderness by the Valley School authorities,and it's a great way of escaping into the outdoors, even on a weekday morning!The unexpected trip, with three friends, proved to be a real treat, with the light at its warmest, and all the birds (except of course the evil few...more about that later) actually posing in a calm and composed way for us....Here are my friends, C and R, clicking away to glory, and the glory was, the grasses lit up by the morning sun:We were not able…

One of the things I feel very proud about as I travel by the buses of the BMTC (Bangalore Metropolitan Transport Corporation) is the fact that many women conductors are now employed by the organization.I decided to watch, without any intervention, as one such young woman went about her job on the bus that I was travelling by.Here she is:She was quite diligent about asking passengers for their tickets or passes, and unlike some men conductors that I have (alas!) seen, she gave back the necessary change, too, all the time that I watched her.Apart from the regular duty, there…

It's been a month now and I still can't stop myself from rushing to the terrace in the morning, after a night of heavy rain. After several months of seeking ways (unsuccessfully!) to harvest rainwater for our apartment, we had arrived at an elementary solution. Most local experts whose advice and opinion we sought were unable to help. Even the internet tips were of little use since they dealt with individual houses and/or entire apartment buildings. Though our terrace is fairly large, we realised that the catchment area (the area which directly receives the rainfall and provides water to the…

I've been taking a closer look at "No Smoking" signs in town from a designer's perspective. Yes, there is a need to be loud and clear - at least till the message sinks in, and people don't look for an ashtray the moment they walk into a restaurant. Sign at Coffee Day near Lavelle Road And if they are going to be big and bold, can't they be a little more interesting? Some of the signs I've seen are so bold, that they come close to rapping you on the knuckles. So, if you run a business that requires you…

After a long time, I went to attend a concert in the centre of town. Shankar Mahadevan, Sivamani, Zakir Hussain and Selvaganesh were playing/singing, and it would be interesting, I thought. I did, also, get some nice images...But, I reckoned, without the truly terrible traffic jam, that held us up all the way from the Johnson Market signal to Richmond Road, at which point, we got off the auto and just started walking towards Museum Road, where the concert was being held at the St Joseph Boys' School grounds.The wisdom of holding such a popular event in the middle of…