Blogs

The fourth Kere Habba (Lake Festival) of 2015 is all set to take place at Chellakere Lake, HRBR Layout 2nd Block, (behind the Hennur Police Station) on Saturday, 23rd May 2015, 7:30 a.m. to 11.00 a.m. Kere Habba is an initiative of The Namma Bengaluru Foundation. Reports/information about the previous three Kere Habbas can be seen on these links - Kere Habba at Kaikondrahalli Lake, Puttenahalli Kere Habba, Madiwala Kere Habba.   The event is being organised to create an awareness of the beautiful 40-acre lake among the people residing in the area. According to people who are working to restore the…

One talks about Yashodha and her famous son Krishna in the same breadth. The stories that describe the relationship and interplay between this mother and son are well-known. There are several songs in different languages by famous composers centered around this theme that I had a hard time picking out a few.  In the Kannada song Jagadhodharana, a composition of Purandaradasa in raga Hindustani Kapi, Yashodha only sees Krishna as her son - the same son who is a saviour of the world, a slayer of demons, a gem among children and much more. But to his mother, Krishna is…

PNLIT is happy to inform you that we are one of the winners of Earth Day Network-India's शहर GREEN करो - It’s Our Turn to Lead Contest. The result was announced today. The other winners are from Kozhikode, Mumbai, Srinagar, Varanasi and can be seen on the Earth Day Network-India Facebook page here. Details about PNLIT's entry can be seen on the Green Cities India Facebook page here. To commemorate the 45th anniversary of Earth Day (celebrated on 22nd April) this year, Earth Day Network-India, in February, had called for entries from 45 cities on how to make their cities "Swachh" and "Green". Each of…

With Mother's Day coming up this week, I thought of several songs that featured the mother as a central theme.  In his composition Mathe Malayathwaja in the Carnatic raga Khamas, Harikesanallur Muthiah Bhagavathar describes the daughter of the Pandya king - Meenakshi of Madurai. This "dharu varnam" is a unique piece as every chittaswara following the charanam (latter half of the varnam) has a sahitya and a sollakattu. It is heard in classical concerts as well as Bharatanatyam programs. Here is a rendition of this varnam by M.S.Subbalakshmi, In his song Amma Ravamma in raga Kalyani, Tyagaraja praises the Tulasi…

Bellandur Buzz... Issue # 35 Date - 8th May 2015 This fortnightly newsletter is brought to you by the citizen group bellandur-forum@googlegroups.com Bellandur wetlands project case update In a judgement delivered in a case filed by a number of citizen welfare groups in Koramangala, HSR Layout and Bellandur, the Principal Bench of the National Green Tribunal has found prima facie evidence of serious irregularities and imposed fines amounting to Rs. 139.4 Crores on the two developers involved for environmental violations in the project opposite Agara lake (wetlands of Bellandur). This case was being fought by a series of RWAs and…

Dear Chief Minister, I am writing to you about the public consultation held yesterday to discuss the Master Plan being prepared by the BDA. Frankly, the whole event was a disaster. The BDA was entirely unprepared, and apart from stone-walling the public on their legitimate questions, the authority had very little to offer. Even the conduct of the meeting was poor, with allegations from some in the audience that the event and its proceedings were a sham. But this was predictable, since the BDA is now functioning in a grey area of governance. Its planning authority has been vacated by…

Traffic rearrangement at Adugodi and Madiwala. Pic: BTP Facebook page The new one-way system around Madiwala market introduced by the traffic police in response to the growing challenges of mobility in the area shows how, when we don't have a macro plan, we end up making a series of small adjustments, maybe out of necessity, but not always connected to each other. Here is the link to the image showing the new plan.  Traffic rearrangement at Adugodi and Madiwala Bengaluru traffic police have introduced a one-way system in Madiwala and Adugodi traffic station limits to avoid the traffic congestion and…

Purnimaa Ranganath writes: "Thanks to BESCOM and its erratic power shut downs already this month my fridge's compressor packed up and had to get it replaced ....and yesterday the power supply went on and off every 5mins...nearly 6 times in an hour...God I hope something else doesn't blow too.." The sad thing is that there is no accountability. Direct switch-offs would not be as bad as the "brownouts" of low voltage, or surge of high voltage, which are deadly to expensive electrical and electronic gadgets, often bought with savings over months. How do we make BESCOM accountable?

Public urination is common in Bengaluru. However, some people have no qualms about open defecation too. Pic: Ganga Madappa “What happens in the bathroom stays in the bathroom” was the general consensus at my childhood household. Unless there was a health concern, no one discussed their bowel movements. Ever! It wasn’t until I moved away to college, at 18-years-old, and had to share three bathroom stalls with 40 other girls on my dorm floor that bathroom habits became public knowledge. And then I arrived in Bengaluru. I cannot remember the first time I encountered public urination in India. Perhaps I…

Bellandur Buzz... Issue #34 Date: 24rd April 2015 This newsletter is published fortnightly by the citizen group bellandur-forum@googlegroups.com.    Anti-Plastic awareness campaign in SJR Verity Anti-plastic campaign lauched by kids of SJR Verity Over the last few years, Bangalore has transformed from the ‘Garden City’ to the ‘Garbage City’. The garbage problem of Bangalore, primarily due to plastic bags, has literally become a burning issue. Even though single-use thin plastic is banned by the government, it is still consumed by shopkeepers and the public. Volunteer kids of the apartmen SJR Verity along with few adult volunteers decided to do their bit…