Blogs

Rotary Palmville in association with B.PAC launched ‘My Place of Pride’, an initiative to recognise eco-friendly communities on 26th of November 2016 at Bharatiya Vidhya Bhavan, Race course road.  The unprecedented growth of Bengaluru city has led to complex urban problems. Our City has a vibrant civic society and its ability to voice concerns arising out of such growth is well known. Bengaluru is currently facing serious challenges in the areas of Solid Waste Management, Water, Energy sufficiency and fire safety. Various communities have responded to these challenges in a commendable manner through creating awareness, setting examples and placing pressure on the governmental institutions.  My Place of Pride is an initiative to acknowledge and appreciate such communities for their efforts and their ability to…

Here's an interesting story: in 1849, under the treaty of Lahore, a certain diamond was taken from India and moved to England. The diamond, originally known as the 'Samantik Mani', is still quite legendary. It is known to the world as the 'Kohinoor diamond', a name bestowed upon it by Nadir Shah when he first glimpsed it. The man responsible for its removal from its home state was none other than Lord Dalhousie, the wonderful gentleman responsible for everyone's favourite expansionist policy, the Doctrine of Lapse. The Kohinoor isn't the only Indian artifact that the Brits took during their occupation…

For some time now,    eBird     has emerged as an application that is easy and convenient for birdwatchers (commonly referred to as birders) to record their bird-lists and allied observations."We are working (through a partnership called Bird Count India) to promote birding and bird documentation in India," says Dr Suhel Quader. "We suggest that birdwatchers use eBird as a convenient tool; and we also advise local/regional groups who wish to implement more systematic projects."The idea is to develop a country-wide database of bird sightings and observations, on an open platform, which can be used for analysis or research. Each birder's use of the tool is…

Those of you who visited Puttenahalli Lake within the past few months may have noticed small platforms floating in the water. These are Artificial Floating Islands (AFIs) which we "launched" in June this year. The Vetiver and Canna planted in them are growing beautifully. PNLIT trustee Nupur, her husband Pranshu Jain together with our gardener, Jayanna, are the builders of five AFIs. With volunteers from Deloitte making two last Friday we now have seven AFIs.  Artificial floating islands at Puttenahalli lake A coot's nest in one of the floating islands   Deloitte volunteers with the AFIs they made, 25-Nov-2016   Artificial Floating Island…

Are you frustrated by traffic delays in Bengaluru? Do you know how much time you and others are wasting due to traffic jams! While everyone in Bengaluru complains about the traffic problems of the city, very few invest their personal time and capability to critically analyze problems and identify solutions.Volunteers from Whitefield Rising with the help of MapsHalli have found a way to analyze traffic problems. The idea is to use technology to analyze realtime Google traffic data to help Bengaluru traffic police, commuters, and city planners to take action.The team chose the Outer Ring Road section from Mahadevapura to…

Whitefield Habba is an initiative to bring together people belonging to diverse backgrounds and residing in different parts of BBMP's Mahadevapura Zone. To be held at Whitefield's oldest spot - Inner Circle ground - the fest is 'by the people, of the people and for the people' of the locality. Organized by citizens' group Whitefield Rising on the occasion of Karnataka Rajyotsava, the six-hour event will celebrate the rich culture, craftsand cuisines of the state. As the attached poster mentions, a variety of stalls, skits, songs, dances and games promise to make it a memorable event for the entire family. It is an opportunity to experience traditional entertainment like Dollu Kunita, Mallakhamba and Gardua Gumbe, alongside music by our Anglo-Indian settlers and art by recent migrants to…

I thought about how we house our pets when we have to travel or cannot take  care of them for short periods for any other reason. Enquiring for one friend, I found that two others mentioned that they had put their dogs in the following kennels:   Petstepin #38, Rustam Bagh, Behind Manipal Hospital, Old Airport Road, Bangalore – 560075 +91 98865 84925 | +91 97422 79644 petstepin@gmail.com and 666 Kennels #34/2, Kanakapura Road, Adjoining Nice Road Bangalore-560062 +91 9740007070 666kennels@gmail.com Both do mention cats, but I do wonder how other people manage to arrange for the stay of their…

After many visits and several polite requests and "Please"s and "Thank You"s, I finally got some money. Here is my first sighting of the 2K note.     Now comes the problem of trying to get change for Rs.2000 from a vegetable vendor or a chaatwalla!  

The BMRDA Act was passed in the mid-1980s, to set up the Bangalore Metropolitan Regional Development Authority, and to empower it to direct the planned development of the state capital region. Since its founding, however, the BMRDA has done nothing useful, because the state government has always preferred it that way. Why was the BMRDA set up, then, if no one wanted it to do anything? It's hard to be certain, but if I had to guess, I would say the answer lies with Ramakrishna Hegde. Hegde was an unusual Chief Minister, in one very important way that we are…

On a road trip to Mysore, I spotted this beautiful old house being demolished:   One can see the beautiful facade of the building (a porch was demolished some years earlier)...and the deer above the window. We seem to be destroying so much...trees, our micro-climate, our water resources, our quality of life, in the mame of "development" which only seems to denote more roads for more motorized transport,or more buildings with glass and air-conditioning. I wonder when we will reach the tipping point?