CBD

Very urgent, just 20 hours to go.... Amit Gupta, an Indian entrepreneur in Newyork, a friend and a kind soul needs a bone marrow match for a Peripheral Blood Stem cells donation and you can help.If you live in Bangalore India, chances are you can help not only Amit, but the many, many other people around the world. South Asians have a dramatically lower chance of finding a match in the worldwide bone marrow registries than other populations. While this is a big and often tragic problem, it's one that can be fixed!So what can you do? Get to the nearest…

 A memorable meeting... On the 6th of November,2011, I was privileged to be at a gathering of some of eminent birdwatchers of Bangalore. The gracious host was none other than the doyen of birdwatching in Bangalore, Zafar Futehally who has been instrumental in popularizing birding as a hobby in our city; ironically, the hobbby seems to be catching on in ever-increasing numbers as the number of species of birds in the City's shrinking parks and vanishing lakes are steadily decreasing.Here's Zafar Sahib, whose long years of service to ornithology cannot be understated: Several other eminent ornithologists and scientists, all of whom share…

 When I heard about an audition for actors in the field of corporate training, I was intrigued, and decided to try my luck and see if I would be chosen for the audition, even though I lacked the theatre experience that was asked for in the email sent by Steps Drama Learning Development.I quickly got a response from Mohan Mudgalkar, the Senior Associate of Steps in India, asking me to choose whether I wanted the morning or the afternoon stint, on the 8th of October, 2011. I chose the afternoon, and went there to find several others also arriving. Charumathi…

When the siren of the first ever Metro train of the city resounded from the tracks of MG Road station on Thursday at 4 pm, hundreds of people were looking up from the queue outside the station. Snaking outwards to both sides of the station, the queue was getting longer with more people joining in every minute. Visitors with their tokens at the ticket checking counters in Metro station. Pic Navya P K As the first train was leaving the station, operators waved to the crowd below. There were loud shout outs from the public, even as some voiced their…

Today, I was asked to judge a debate on the theme, "Are Women Truly LIberated?" for the Inner Wheel of one of the Rotary Clubs of Bangalore. I had a fellow-judge, a lady called Purnima Ranganath, and there were two teams of three speakers each. The moderator was my friend Raji Radhakrishna, who invited me. Since it was also "Spread Breast Cancer Awareness Day", every woman had a pink rosette pinned on as a corsage, including the District Governor, who came to attend: The debate waxed fast and furious, and the "for" team were very positive about women being liberated...however,…

With Bangalore Metro set to start from October 20, tickets are being sold at Metro station counters. There are multiple options for tickets - either you can buy tickets for every journey or use an automated smart card. Namma Metro Phase I fares, launched Oct 20th 2011. Source: BMRC. The minimum ticket fare for travelling from one station to the very next is Rs 10. For the second and third stops, the rate is Rs 12. Fare to the fourth station is Rs 14 and that to the last station is Rs 15. Tokens can be purchased at the ticket…

BBMP has directed its officials to improve and maintain cleanliness of all the roads and footpaths leading to Metro Stations. BBMP Officials inspecting roads along metro line. Pic courtesy: BBMP On October 20th Namma Metro starts operations from M G Road to Byappanahalli. In this backdrop, BBMP officials inspected Palace Road, Race Course Road, Basaveswara Circle, Raj Bhavan Road, Cubbon road, Sankey road, M.G. Road to Byappanahalli, CMH Road on October 4, to see the conditions of the roads and footpaths. Pic courtesy: BBMP Even though many pot holes were filled up, many new have come up because of continuous…

Around 80 activists, both men and women protesting Kannada film industry's action during Darshan controversy were manhandled by Karnataka Film Chamber of Commerce (KFCC) members and plain clothes men claiming to be police. The group of about 80 activists - comprising mostly women and a few men - had assembled in front of the KFCC, Kumara Park East, near Shivananda circle, on Saturday, September 24, holding a silent protest. A man who claimed to be from the police arguing with activists. His credentials could not be verified. Pic: Navya P K Problems started as soon as the group was about…

 On Sunday, 25th September 2011, discerning lovers of music flocked to Ravindra Kalakshetra, to attend the Radio Sangeet Sammelan.The Carnatic music program by Smts. Ranjani and Gayathri was followed by a flute recital by Sri Ronu Mojumdar.The foyer was beautifully decorated with this "AIR" floral rangoli.An enjoyable evening for everyone, followed by distribution of sweets by K C Das! ⊕

Anyone who has developed an interest in forests and wildlife would have heard of the author, Kenneth Anderson. His stories of the forests are legion, and are still selling briskly everywhere. (Fresh stocks have just arrived at Landmark bookstore in the Forum.)Many people do accuse Anderson of exaggerating for effect, and say that he over-dramatised the wild. But perhaps he did so to make a better story, and to attract more people towards both his tales and to wildlife.Unfortunately, though, an author who is at least as entertaining as Ruskin Bond, or James Corbett, rests now in a grave in…