CITIZEN JOURNALISM

"So have you heard this one?" said my brother. "The Stephanians put a board outside the college, saying 'Dogs and Hinduites not allowed.'" "And you know how the Hinduites responded?" he asked with a mischievous smile. "Dogs are allowed, but not Stephenians!" Back when we were students, stories like these went far and wide, carried by nothing more than word of mouth—we didn't need Facebook or Google to know about the rather ridiculous rivalry between St. Stephen's College and Hindu College. For the uninitiated, Hindu College and St. Stephen's College are a part of Delhi University's North Campus, and stand…

Here is a drainage map of the city of Bengaluru sourced from the Central Ground Water Board website. No city sitting on a ridge line should actually get flooded but we have achieved the impossible — of course in parts. A dotted ridge line divides the city between the Vrishabhavathy-Arkavathy-Cauvery basin and the Dakshina Pinakini, from the North to the South. There is a huge difference between these two in the slope, the hydro-geology, the soil, the rainfall, the built up area etc. The drainage patterns - the rajkaluves - are interesting too. They are more dendritic in the Vrishabhavathy-Arkavathy-Cauvery basin…

Over the past few days, we have been seeing some disturbing pictures of eviction of families from canal banks and sea side tenements. On September 9 and 15, 2015, hundreds of families were evicted from their homes in Maduravoyal and Aminjikarai respectively, with the promise of resettlement in Gudapakkam near Thirumazhisai and Perumbakkam. I know that this is not an issue that resonates similarly even with my peers, most of whom see this as encroachment that needs to be removed. For the moment, therefore, let us set aside the question of justification. The point that must nevertheless be considered is…

I remember the day well. Several of us had received a Whatsapp message asking us to participate in a silent protest on Besant Nagar beach on February 26, 2017.  The message said the protest idea had been mooted by a group of women. I remember thinking to myself – Who are these women? Are they really going to do something? Maybe the message is a hoax... And I did not go. I wish I had gone to Besant Nagar beach that day. I would have witnessed the birth of an all-women initiative that calls itself VoiceOfPeople. No leader, no followers,…

We the residents of Shamanna Gowda Layout, in Bengaluru, are living under constant fear of a health hazard and the concerned authorities are hardly doing anything despite constant follow ups from our end! Retaining wall built near a storm water drain was demolished by BBMP in March 2017 supposedly for renovation. It has been raining everyday from mid-August and residents of our layout are forced to bear the brunt, as the entire area is covered with silt and filth that comes gushing out of the storm water drain and the unbearable stench that comes with it. It has been several…

BMTC is the lifeline of Bengaluru. Its buses deliver 5 million (50 lakh) passenger trips everyday. This figure of passengers carried is close to half the population of the city. Without BMTC, we would all be dead, in a manner of speaking, as the city's already beyond-clogged roads would need to carry this huge number of people in vastly more motor vehicles. In comparison Namma Metro does not yet carry even one-tenth that number of people a day along its currently functional 2 lines. And reports are that their service is already 'at capacity' until much-needed coaches are added and…

The World Health Organisation (WHO) defines Health as "a state of complete physical, mental and emotional well being and not merely an absence of disease or infirmity." And yet we often find ourselves paying heed only to one of these domains in isolation. Oft-neglected are the domains of mental and emotional well being or rather, the lack of it. As someone who is a fledgling in the study of Mental Health, I'd like to share my two cents on  Mental Health. The mental health pandemic Mental illnesses have been known to humanity since time immemorial. Even the ancient Indian scholars…

Talk to a few ordinary citizens, and most of them will tell you that dealing with any government agency is a nightmare. Getting a gas connection from public sector providers is however usually not very difficult, but provided you also get a gas stove from them. However, if you choose that you do not need a gas stove, then the agencies try to make you run from pillar to post.  When one makes that choice, it is not unusual to hear that he has not received his connection registration number even after a month and five visits to the agency!…

So what does it mean to open a superbike in a city where roads are a death trap even for the normal ones? I have been a biker from the time I was in college. The feeling of being free with the air in your face was an unparalleled experience and I was hooked after my ride. My first bike that was a Yamaha RX and there was no looking back from there on. I have owned a number of bikes—the Royal Enfield Thunderbird, Duke 390, Kawasaki Ninja 650, Yamaha R15 , Kawasaki Ninja 1000 and the Triumph Daytona 675r.…

On October 8, NGO Arappor Iyakkam spearheaded the launch of “Kollayane Veliyeru”, a large anti-corruption campaign movement aiming to bring together all those who are against corruption. I arrived at the event a bit late, at around 6:30 or 6:45 pm on that day. Ordinarily, North Mada Street is extremely chaotic and crowded, but surprisingly, it was relatively peaceful and calm that day. Arappor had one end of the street cordoned off and traffic was being actively diverted by their volunteers, clad in shirts and caps bearing anti-corruption slogans. I put my name down on the sign-up sheet and collected…