Blogs

Sri H Gopalakrishna is a long time resident of BEL Layout, Vidyaranyapura (earlier called Narasipura). This story, by him, in its original form, appeared on the Facebook page Vidyaranyapura - The Original. It is been edited and reproduced with his permission.   When I first visited the site where my house now stands, the scene of the lake stole my heart. It didn’t take much for me to decide to build my home right there. I moved to Vidyaranyapura in 1984. The present park between Fifth Block and Second Block of BEL Layout, Bangalore was originally a pond with water…

Water divining is the detection of under ground water without actually digging into the ground. The "diviner" locates water with the help of rules that he/she has inherited or learnt and/ or tools like coconuts, rods, pendulums and the like. Some use the geophysical survey approach, which may sound more scientific than the ancient methods.   During my childhood, when we were going to dig a well in our house in Richmond Town, my father had called a diviner. I recall how fascinated we were when we saw how, with the help of a gold chain, he identified a couple…

The questions: ‘what is art for?’ Or, ‘why man creates?’ have been asked before and answered many times in many different ways. And yet, I want to ask again. It is like the question ‘what is the meaning of life?’ and the only answer to that question that makes sense to me is “forty-two” – the answer that the science fiction writer Douglas Adams brings to us in his book ‘The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy’. Perhaps, it means that there is no answer, or at least no meaningful answer. Here, I am sharing photographs of the two kinds of…

Ramakrishna Murthy performing at Unnati Centre during the Gokulashtami music festival 2014 Whether the monsoons are on time or not, music festivals in Bangalore mark the time far more predictably. With the Rama Navami festival marking the onset of spring in April, the end of summer is marked by Janmashtami or Gokulashtami music festival.  Bangalore-based SGBS trust has been promoting the cause of classical music for several decades now. In additon to promoting classical music under their Utsav initiative, SGBS runs Shiksha which provides education to underpriviliged children and Unnati that provides vocational training to the unskilled. This week Unnati's…

Bellandur Buzz…August 14th, 2014, Issue #16 Shared fortnightly by the Citizen group bellandur-forum@googlegroups.com   Independence Day events: Green Glen Layout Independence day CelebrationsVenue: Football Ground near the Park.Time: 9 amChief guest: MLA Arvind Limbavalli Tree plantation at Saul KereVenue: Saul kereTime: 9amThis event at the lake is managed by MAPSAS and funded by Genpact. For details, please contact rajitha.myneni@genpact.com. Entry points to Saul Kere Participative Aquifer Mapping Program   BIOME , WIPRO, ACWADAM (from Pune) and MAPUNITY (from Bangalore) are jointly undertaking a study Participative Aquifer Mapping Program around the Sarjapura - Bellandur area. This study intends to be a participatory exercise involving…

Just planting tree saplings is not enough. Much care needs to be taken to ensure that the saplings get enough sunshine, water and other nutrients - to give them a fair chance to grow into mature trees.   The residents around Narisipura Lake 2, Vidyaranyapura have been consciously attending to the trees that were planted some weeks ago. This Sunday, 10th August 2014, several of them from the Friends of Lakes group got together at the lake, along with experts who eagerly gave advice and lent support as required.  While one group was busy tending to the plants and fixing drip…

What a truly delightful evening it was on the 9th, celebrating the magic of monsoon with some 30 children!  The 20 member team from Snehadhara Foundation (SF) led by Geetu had come well in advance to welcome the children. Despite the fact that only 4 or 5 kids had arrived on time, we began the event at the scheduled time of 5 p.m. The late-comers missed the warming up and sing along. Adult and child alike sat on the floor of the Gazebo and introductions began with each participant adding an "O" or "Aa" to their names.    Geetu dramatized…

Frog Identification Workshop hosted by Eco-Edu Date: August 9th and 10th  We will meet the participants at the turning towards the farm on Kanakapura Main Road at 5 PM on the 9th of August and proceed to the farm. The workshop will come to a close at 9 AM on the 10th of August 2014. Venue: Ravagodlu, on Kanakapura Road. The course will be held within the premises of a private farm and its surroundings. The Suvarnamukhi River, which takes birth in Bannerghatta National Park, flows close to the farm. It is also surrounded by agricultural fields and forms an…

The monsoon is a love - hate season. You may hate the wetness, the puddles, the sniffling noses, darkness of the skies, the difficulty in waking up, but you can't deny that it is magical time with the cooing of the cuckoo, dancing of the peacock, crispy pakodas, hot chai ... the list is endless! Let's celebrate the Magical Monsoon!! Paint your favourite monsoon scenes!! Tell your rainy day tales!! Date: Saturday August 9th Time: 5 pm to 6 30 pm Venue: Gazebo, Puttenahalli Lake (of course!) Admission is open and free, however, we do welcome your donations to PNLIT!…

Bellandur Buzz…July 31st 2014 Shared fortnightly by the Citizen group bellandur-forum@googlegroups.com Awareness Programs for Children's safety Teju Nageshwari of NSmiles has organised a’ Safety at Surroundings workshop’ for children aged 3-7 years and 8-12 years this sunday. To enroll your child, contact tejuvijay at gmail dot comTeju Nageshwari has a certificate on child psychology, life skills and relationships from Banjara Academy. nSmiles.in is a firm focusing on emotional health and wellbeing. ~~ ConfidentLiving Learning conducted more than 10 workshops for children on “Safe touch-Unsafe touch" from 25th July to 29th July in Green Glen Layout. The workshop was open for…