CHILDREN

The aim of the CSR Team at Infosys Bangalore is to build awareness about the socially relevant initiatives of the organization, enroll people and execute the initiatives. One of the noteworthy initiatives (among the many programs initiated over the last 2 years) of this well established CSR team at Infosys is the Notebook Drive. This was made possible through the contribution made by 25,000 employees of Infosys. It helped the CSR team to distribute notebooks to 19238 children from 235 schools across Karnataka. This initiative for the underprivileged government school children raised Rs. 7 Lakhs in three days. The partnering…

The one thing that you would definitely find every two streets of Bangalore is a small green cozy park. Bangalore boasts of more than 500 parks in the city. Most of us would have memories attached with one of those parks and the play area there where we spent childhood playing on swings, slides, seesaws, etc. But if you happen to pass by Coles Park in Frazer Town now, you will see a different kind of play area, something like the picture below.If you thought these are made to make things more fun for children or is the creation of…

A pair of white canvas shoes that belonged to a boy in the D block of our apartment, a white shirt borrowed from my little cousin who stayed a few miles away, and I was still without the white skirt the night before the Independence day. A call to neighbours’ arranged a pair of white shorts from a boy in the A block. You see, the women folk (or women leaders) in my apartment decided on an agenda for Independence day that included a drill for the kids, and my 5 year old daughter was participating. We were told not…

I celebrated this Independence Day with a bang. Inspired by Landmark Education, which offers innovative programs for living an extraordinary life, I took on two projects. One called ‘Adopt a plant’ in my apartment complex and the other called ‘Colours of Freedom’ in the local government school.Adopt a PlantKids these days live a very ‘urban’ life. The idea behind this event was to help them get close to nature by gifting them the joy of nurturing and taking care of a plant. When a kid takes care of a plant, waters it, and watches it grow, it helps the kid…

I came aross a couple of interesting places for hanging out and recreation - active canvas and Doodleden. I have happily added these to my list of interesting places in Bangalore. Both are similar in theme but one targets adults and the other is more suitable for children. However, both can be entertaining spots for the entire family. All this reminded me a great deal about Ranga Shankara.Activecanvas is all about art, as the founders say - your very own space to unwind, explore, express, create, share and enjoy. It's a hub to get-together for like minded individuals interested in…

ICSE, CBSE, IGCSE, IB, SSLC…If these seem like random combinations of letters to you, you probably do not have a child of school-going age. Most parents would instantly recognize these as abbreviations of the various school boards that exist in Bangalore today. In the quest of the perfect school for their child, parents of children as young as three begin to choose from among the plethora of not just schools but also school boards, each professing a different philosophy and vision. Science is all around us: A biology class at Prakriya. (Pic: Prakriya) With the majority of parents, the preferred…

26-year old Sarika R, an IT professional from Bangalore, is anxious about her 10-month old son Ganesh while she prepares to go back to work after a year's extended maternity leave. As her parents live in a different city, she doesn't have any one to take care of her toddler while at office. "I have been looking around for options of day care for him," she says, "but there are so many things that need to be taken care of for a child - it's a difficult choice." Fun time at Kara. Pic: author. This feeling is familiar among working…

Every year, as summer rolls in and the mercury rises, I head for the swimming pool (well, poolette, actually!) in our apartment building, and my mind goes back a few years... One of the advantages of living in residential apartments in Bangalore is the fact that one gets to enjoy some common amenities: a gym, a swimming pool, a common green area, and so on. And one summer, I realized that there was someone willing to teach the ladies in the complex, how to swim. Learning to swim was not something new to me. Like the man who said, "Giving…

Bangalore, the Silicon Valley of India, one of the fastest growing metros in India where opportunity knocks at everyone's door; is shrouded with the gory mystery and horror of Child Sexual Abuse. Dr Shoiba Saldanha, a gynaecologist and counsellor by profession, who is an active part of Enfold, a Koramangala-based NGO, says that 30-40 per cent of the patients who visit her are such cases. Presumably, most of these cases are not legally recorded. Illustration: Neetu Shahi Dr Shekhar Seshadari, NIMHANS, Bangalore, in a study conducted in the late 1990s on 146 boys found that 15 per cent had been…

Hippocampus is proud to present Hoo's Tales, a day-long carnival of stories for the children of Bengaluru and Chennai. We invite you to a magical journey told by theatre artiste, mime artists, ventriloquists, clowns, puppeteers and traditional story tellers. This is a celebration to revive the forgotten art of story telling. Hoo's excited about it. We are sure your little ones will be excited too. So, what are you waiting for. Get your kids and their friends and drop in for a fascinating day at Cubbon Park, Bal Bhavan area on 1 March between 10:30 am and 6 pm. Bring…