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ರಾಜ್ಯೋತ್ಸವ ದಿನದ ಶುಭಾಶೆಗಳು.    

Our peripatetic Prime Minister recently choked up on one of his visits abroad. He was talking about his mother and her years of working as a domestic help. Following that emotional outpouring, reams were written, and much space given to the fact that maids and other domestic workers in India continue to be ill-treated, badly paid and treated with little respect. Actually change is happening. As Indian cities such as Bengaluru become home to richer, double-income individuals, the benefits are passing on—to the domestic help. Take for instance, a luxury apartment complex in Bengaluru or even a gated community, where…

On 8th October 2015, a group of 34 volunteers from Cisco livened up Puttenahalli Lake with their good humored banter, comments and most of all, with their swift and efficient planting of saplings to form a protective hedge along the side of the walking track. This was done to prevent stray dogs from going down the embankment and chasing the birds away. By planting the saplings the Cisco volunteers saved a great deal of labour for us and our gardeners. By sending us the report below, they saved us the trouble of writing one as well! Sincere thanks to Cisco's Jagadeesh Maiya and Sudarshan Ganapathi, who…

We are wary of festivals because of the toll they take on water bodies in general and our lake in particular. Navaratri, however, became special for us since 2013 when a South City resident Raji decided to make our Puttenahalli Lake part of her "Golu." Invited for haldi kumkum, we walked in and stopped short. What? Our Lake in the Golu? The lake made of chart paper and little figures was almost an exact replica of Puttenahalli Lake. Raji and her son Aditya had anticipated it full of water and their model had an expanse of blue when in reality…

The resilience of birds never ceases to amaze me. All around us, in the face of "development", I see so many birds which manage to adapt to urban life, and live amongst us. The crow, the kite, the myna, the pigeon... these are the common examples, as are cattle egrets and pond herons. But yesterday, at the busiest of places... the Silk Board junction, I saw these beautiful Red-rumped Swallows flying and perching on the wires! Long may our urban birds last!

One of the trees that flowers profusely right now is "akasha mallige" or the Indian Cork Tree. I collect a few flowers each morning while on my morning walk, and put them in a small bowl or glass of water... the sweet, heady scent fills the home and keeps me in touch with the outdoors even when I am not outside! Here is the Wiki entry about the Indian Cork Tree. 

It's fun spotting the various signs that surround me as I walk around my city, and tryto understand what they might mean!  Here's one on a pushcart that was passing my front gate. Can you guess what it could be? My subject title gives a clue! Yes... indeed, it's 'Cutlets'!   Bangalore, October 24th 2015

I clicked this bus stop being constructed, and it seems like a good time to ask some pertinent questions. When there is so much space for advertising, why cannot BMTC (or BBMP if the bus stops belong to them) have two vital pieces of information prominently displayed; 1. The name of the bus stop, and 2. A list of the bus routes that stop there? Why does BMTC not give these essential pieces of information?

There seem to be no rules governing how we use our valuable resources... our avenue trees. When the city is becoming increasingly wireless, why don't we follow suit with our trees, too, instead of subjecting them to this?  Wires wound up around a gorgeous tree Pic: Deepa Mohan

Sneha Jain writes:  My ideal India experience I lost my DL recently and had to go file an FIR to get a duplicate DL from the RTO. I was thinking of getting it done from the Koramangala police station. Given my past experience with the Police, I was not sure if I wanted to go through this on a Monday morning, and spoil my day and the rest of the week ahead. But I went ahead hoping things might have changed. It was my best experience with the Police so far and it has in fact made my day today.…