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In an earlier column we explored how musicians attempt to push boundaries in their presentations, particularly by bringing poetry, often arcane, to the stage. In this post, let’s continue examining how others have attempted to similarly expand both the listeners’ choices and their own exploration of vernacular poetry. Swati Tirunal is perhaps the most famous of all poet-composers from Kerala. The works of other Malayalam poets such as Warriyar, Thampi, Tulasivanam are slowly becoming popular as they are presented as songs thanks to the efforts of vocalists such as Shankaran Namboothiri. Here is the composition "Karuna Cheyvaa Enthu Thaamasam" of…

This is a series of photographs that documents the visual evidence of territoriality at the morning flower market in Bangalore. Within this periodic marketplace, a metal fence appears repeatedly at various locations demarcating vehicular and pedestrian zones. The flower vendors seem to use the yellow fence to both mark and defend their territory. The fence is randomly positioned - sometimes to place flower garlands and sometimes to create small enclosures within the large expanse of this urban space.  The boundaries are both physical and non-physical drawn both by the vendors as they sell flowers and by the public as they…

Report received from Arvind Keerthi At the tree-planting event at Munnekolala Lake (14th June 1014), it took a hundred+ volunteers less than two hours to set in soil 250 saplings! We are pleased by the unstinted support shown by the BBMP, whose Chief Engineer (Lakes) Shri B. V. Satish and Conservator of Forests, Shri Jagannatha Rao were in attendance, and indeed made possible the entire exercise. The BBMP was of course not the only wind at our backs - citizen-volunteers from the Munnekolala Lake Rejuvenation Association (MLRA), as well as United Way of Bengaluru tirelessly planned and executed the work…

Bellandur Buzz…June 20th 2014 Shared fortnightly by the Citizen group bellandur-forum@googlegroups.comKasa Muktha Bellandur on 97.5 FMThis week, Kasa Muktha Bellandur initiative got some air time on 97.5 FM. The RJ called the Environment Engineer of the ward to ask details about 2-bin-1-bag process and congratulated her on the success of the initiative. When the city is dealing with the Mandur crisis all over again, and the waste situation in the city does not seem any better than what it was two years ago, the success of the SWM experiment in our own ward brings some hope. Read more about the initiative…

Take a walk around Narasipura 2 Lake in the late evening and you will not miss hearing the brilliant Narasipura Amphibian Harmonic Orchestra! Yes, with the recent rains, the frogs and toads are out and about. While the "Life Cycle of the Frog" is commonly taught in school, how many of us actually know beyond the spawn, the tadpole and its shrinking tail?     An important part of the food chain, frogs and toads are considered to be very good environmental indicators. This means that having frogs and toads in an area tells us that the environment is healthy for them,…

Join the Begur Environment & Development Trust (BEDT) and Begur /Singasandra residents (BBMP Ward 192) for a massive tree plantation drive. Date: 22nd June 2014 (Sunday)Time: 9:30 a.m. to 11:30 a.m.Venue: Begur Lake entrance next to Lake Point Tower Apartment (Opposite Subhash Nagar Main road), South Bangalore Planned schedule:9:30 a.m.      –  Assembly10:00 a.m.    –  Welcome and Introduction10:05 a.m.    –  Begur History (addressing about the culture)10:15 a.m.    –  Post card distribution (sending letters to BDA commissioner)10:20 a.m.    –  Lake rejuvenation and protection awareness10:30 a.m.    –  Unveiling of Citizen Centric Begur Lake Development Plan10:35 a.m.    –  Tree Plantating11:30 a.m.    –  Vote of Thanks For any clarifications/assistance, please feel free to call:Prasad 9845014801, Shaji 94498 14441 (MC Road area), Prashanth…

Today is memorable for many of us! Friends of Lakes, in association with local corporators and residents have planted more than 200 saplings in Vidyaranyapura Lake. – Mr Gopala Krishna The event was so beautiful. I kept walking around the lake pinching myself to ensure that I was not in a dream! – xxx These were the sentiments expressed by residents from the Narasipura 2 Lake area, about the tree planting event held at Narasipura 2 Lake (Sri Venkata Swamy Temple Kere) on 15th June, 2014. From six in the morning, the place was abuzz with people – dads and…

The sign says it all: An bungalow in the Cantonment area The quaint names, the tree-lined streets, the quiet roads and most important, the bungalows make the Cantonment area, a sure-shot target for real estate 'developers'. My husband and I moved here ten years ago because of this old world charm--we loved the serene areas in and around Cooke Town, the streets adjoining Mosque Road, the hidden gems around Richards Park. But now standalone homes, of every size, from stately bungalows to matchbox-shaped houses, are morphing into apartment buildings. And the end result is a sandwiched existence. Take Davis Road…

The Arekere Reserve Forest is located in Arekere-Mico Layout (off Bannerghatta Rd), near Puttenahalli Lake. It is home to several species of birds, butterflies and other life forms. Information on the efforts to get it cleaned can be found here.   Please see the message from Mr Saravanan, the coordinator of the clean up effort. -------------   Hi All,   We have the following events scheduled as part of forest restoration at Dorsani Palya Reserve Forest.1. Cleaning the reserve forest scheduled on 21/06/2014 (Saturday) at 7 am onwards2. Neighborhood campaign following Saturday (28/06/2014).Your participation along with kids, friends and colleagues…

[This is part 1 of a 2 part series. You can find part 2 here.] When poetry and devotional verses are set to classical music their appeal reaches a wider audience. Depending on the nature of the lyrics it is often not difficult to set the verse to a particular melody. But it is not easy for the words to be sung to a particular rhythm or beat. Words may get truncated or sound awkward when they are fitted into a rhythmic pattern. Yet good musicians are able to creatively fit a verse to both the melody and beat without…