CHILDREN

Last year, my son played Holi and his skin was tinted green and pink for days. Some of his friends broke out in rashes or got wheezing. So this time, my neighbours and I are quite keen on making Holi safer. Holi colours. File pic: Rajeev R. Quoting Krish Ashok, a blogger, Holi is a "spring festival where people throw coloured powders that symbolically contain Neem, Kumkum and Turmeric but really contain Lead Oxide, Copper Sulphate and Aluminium Bromide. Yet another fine example of the great Indian tradition of carrying forward the ritual meaning while leaving behind the rational significance…

Ashoka Trust for research in Ecology and the Environment (ATREE) has come up with a pictorial snake poster with text in Kannada as well as in English. Both photographs and nature illustration has been combined in this poster to draw the attention of children. This poster has been distributed free of cost to schools in rural areas, while institutions in urban areas have to pay Rs.100 for the poster which will help us to reprint the posters so that we could distribute to more schools. To know more about the poster check this link http://atree.org/bcws_2011 To avail a copy, write…

Vacation Training Programme on Bio-Resources The 6th Vacation Training Programme on Bio-Resources funded by the National Bio-Resource Development Board, Department of Bio-Technology, Government of India will be conducted by Ashoka Trust for Research in Ecology and the Environment (ATREE), Bangalore, during summer 2011. Applications are invited from interested Class X candidates for the programme. Duration: 26th April to 14th May 2011 Eligibility Students should have appeared in Class X examination in 2011 from recognised schools in Karnataka Certain activities involve spending few hours outdoors. Students should be physically fit and willing to take up such activities. Proven interest in nature…

Feel like performing? rafiki is seeking women actors for a programme titled What do you Say to a Dragon. The programme for children will roll out in July and run till September.Prior acting experience is not a criteria. Workshop-audition Ashirvad Off St. Mark’s road Saturday 12th March, 2011 10am to 1pm Call Ravindra on 9986371543 for further details.⊕

There is an urgent need to provide safe places for children to play and have fun. Children go to unexpected extents to fulfil their desire to have fun, unaware of the consequences it could lead to. Children playing on busy streets in front of their homes run the risk of being run over by rash drivers. I saw this kid fly his kite, standing on top of his building’s water tank. Young boy flies kite atop water tank, dangerously. Pic: author. Watching the children taking such risks led to me take up a community project that can make a difference…

Bangalore kids were at their creative best at the First Lego League Tournament 2010, a robot designing competition held at tech-major SAP Labs on Saturday 29th January. Bangalore's ‘Robo Pundits' from National Public School (NPS), Koramangala, scored 265 points beating Mumbai's score of 225. The next regional will be held at New Delhi. The competition is now between Bangalore and Delhi for the coveted opportunity to represent India at the finals in Atlanta, USA. Robo Pundits with their trophy. Pic courtesy: Robo Pundits The competition open to anyone in the age group of 9-16 and teams can have a maximum of…

For the last two years, a park-cum-playground in 30th main in JP Nagar 6th phase has lost almost a third of its area. This part of the site, which was designated for the park, was encroached for the construction of two temples. Today only the playground remains and the site itself is known after one of the temples. While one temple is a permanent structure and almost 75% of its work is complete, the other is a temporary structure. Playground attached the park in J P Nagar 6th phase has been taken over for building temples and fenced off. Pic:…

The civic club members of Cambridge School, K R Puram, Children's Movement for Civic Awareness (CMCA) organised an awareness campaign on Active Citizenship, in a two-day campaign, last month. Children signing a pledge to be active citizens. CMCA campaign at Cambridge School. Pic courtesy: CMCA. The aim of this awareness camp was to spread the message that the time has come for us, the citizens of Bangalore to snap out of our apathy and engage in local governance An awareness stall was set up in the school on the concept that for our city to transition from a ‘bad' deteriorated city to ‘good'…

I don’t know what school authorities have in mind before they decide the colour of school uniforms. But making the lives of moms simple is not one of them. Which shade of white? Pic: Meera K. Many schools have white uniforms to be worn daily, or on the days they have the sports period. You send the child out in a crisp white shirt and shorts in the morning, by the end of the day you encounter him in a garb quite unlike the morning version. Large patches of reddish-orange on the back are remnants of playtime in school. A…

When the tragic incident of a 13-year-old schoolboy falling from the terrace of an apartment block and losing his life made news a fortnight ago, there was one detail in the media reports that epitomises, in a single sentence, the criminal gap between proper city planning and the ground realities of  Bengaluru as it is developing today. It said, "As there was nowhere for him to play, Allan went up to the terrace to play" - and the rest is a tragedy that has already been reported in the press. High-rise apartment blocks have sprouted like rashes all over the…