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I didn't expect to hear Akka Mahadevi's poetry being recited on a stage in the US. Fire and Ash, a multimedia show about Lord Shiva is where I encountered the poetry of this Kannada saint. The theme of the show conceived by playwright Gouri Ramanarayan centered on the stories and attributes of Lord Shiva. How Lord Siva symbolizes both the positive and negative energy of the universe was effectively brought out by the narration ably supported by vocalist Savita Narasimhan and dancer Anjana Anand. Several compositions ranging from Muthuthandavar's Teruvil Varano to Tagore's Srijoner to Kalidasa's Kumarasambhavam and Akka Mahadevi's…

As the rains continue to batter the city, it is easy to see that the infrastructure is of very poor quality. The potholes, the overflowing sewage, the flooding... these and many other observable things in the city remind us how shabby the quality of public works is. But this is only the apparent problem, the actual problem is deeper. Let's ask ourselves : why are the roads so bad? And then follow the answers steadily deeper to the root of the problem. The roads are bad because there is no check on their quality during the construction phase, and no…

If you are willing to listen, people always have stories to tell. Especially in a city. And despite the best efforts of civic authorities to make us think otherwise, Bangalore is still a city. And people have stories to tell. People like Srinivas. He works as a floor captain at one of those fancy Church Street F&B joints. I found him to be a very familiar face. I was there nursing my cutlery, and tactless that I am I probably was also staring at him too hard, trying to figure out where I had seen him. Probably tired of my…

It’s not easy to review a play when the theme is intense-- political unrest, and the social chaos that results.. This was the thread underlying  “Mein hoon Yusuf, aur yeh hai mera bhai”, which I watched at Ranga Shankara on 8th November 2015. Two theatre groups collaborated in this production. The action of the play is set against the background of the conflict in Palestine. It’s January 1948, and the British Mandate is ending. There is a lot of conflict over how the Palestine pie will be cut up. In a small village, Ali’s love for Nada faces difficulties because…

Prem Sagar says, "The kids had a lot of fun with crackers. Now, ensuring that their fun doesn't turn into someone else's job. It started with the kids cleaning up. Soon, others (elders) joined in. At 9.15 pm, we're done with crackers and the street is all clean now." Couldn't we all follow his example? Here is the photo of the children cleaning up.

Smart technology can only be as smart as the people who use it, otherwise it only ends up as another fancy gadget in the house! As S Vishwanath, a water expert says, Smart cities is the mantra of our times with a 100 slated to roll out in India. Ideological debates rage over how to define ‘smart’ and whether technology is what makes for ‘smart.’ Barring the debate, a peculiar way though would be to say that smart people make smart cities. And technology can indeed play an important role to aid people in making ‘smart’ informed decisions, especially about responsible…

A little off the city, on Mysore Road after the Kengeri township, it is hard to miss the ultra-colourful stuffed toys being sold by the kerb. Makers of these toys are the members of more than 20 families migrated from Naklav village, Jharkhand, a decade ago. Their profession back home was making mortar and pestle and statues. They have made Bengaluru their home now, but sadly they do not even hold an address proof. Even after all these years, very few of their children get to attend schools. One among them is Pooja. Pooja is ony 18, cute and shy…

Last Tuesday, on 27th October, when our gardeners came to work at 9 a.m., they saw four of the Cuddappa stone seats in the Gazebo smashed, 15 out of the 20 heavy Sadarahalli granite seat of benches along the walking track were upturned and one broken into two. See the pix. We are used to vandals breaking the glass windows of the cabin, ripping apart our signages, pulling down branches of trees, even uprooting them but this incident takes it to another level altogether. Who did this in the dark of the night? Evil minds or empty minds?                We informed BBMP…

Name : Wildlife Rescue & Rehabilitation Centre Website : http://www.wrrcbangalore.org/ Phone : +91 80 2294 7307 | 91 80 2294 7317 email : wrrc-rescue@googlegroups.com | wrrc.projects@gmail.com | wrrcbrc@gmail.com   Name : People For Animals Website : http://www.peopleforanimalsbangalore.org/ Phone : 91 99000 25370 | 91 99803 39880 Landline : 080-28611986 | 080-28612767 | 080-22733350 email : info@peopleforanimalsbangalore.org | rescueservice@peopleforanimalsbangalore.org   Name Karuna Animal Welfare Association of Karnataka Website : http://karunaanimalwelfare.org/ Phone : 080 22860205 | 080 -23411181 | 080-23511329 email : contact@karunaanimalwelfare.org   Update: On 29 Dec 2016, I got the number of the Bangalore Cat Squad from Vidhya Sunder, it's 9845553850…

It’s not often that I attend a play without prior planning, but this happened to me when my friend Prathap invited me, after rather a long day outdoors, to “Still and Still Moving” at Ranga Shankara on 31st October 2015, staged by Tadpole Repertory Theatre. It was worth the effort of changing tracks, from nature to theatre. You can find Tadpole Rep’s blog here,   and they are on FaceBook,   here. A Delhi-based group, their professionalism in all departments of stagecraft was outstanding. I will be listing the cast and crew at the end, so I may not mention…