CITIZEN JOURNALISM

It started with an idea - how practical it would be if we could get schools to grow their own gardens. It would not only give children a hands-on experience with organic gardening, pests and plants, but also enable them to enjoy the produce in their mid-day meals. Loyola school teachers at the terrace garden. Pic: S Laxminarayan I discussed this idea with our mentor Dr B N Vishwanath and fellow members of the Garden City Farmers Trust, an NGO working to spread awareness on organic urban farming. We got an immediate thumbs up. Then began my search for funds;…

The literary works of illustrious playwright and poet, Thyagaraja Paramasiva Kailasam or TPK, are, without doubt, the best among the modern day writings in Kannada to date - a captivating mix of humour, poignancy & relevance. His works have an essential realism and meaning that are valid to this day.He remains the soul of Kannada theatre and resides in the heart of every connoisseur of Kannada theatre and poetry. Thyagaraja paramasiva kailasam-hailed as a great humourist and one of the doyens of kannada literature A peek into Kailasam's life:The saga of T P Kailasam (1884 to 1946), begins in southern…

It was a warm Sunday morning and a sizeable crowd listened in rapt attention to Dr B N Vishwanath at the Celebrity Paradise Club house in Electronic City on January 8th. Dr Vishwanath, the organic kitchen garden evangelist, was talking about the importance of growing one's own food. Apart from health benefits, especially for children, the physical exercise of gardening outdoors also keeps you fit, he said. Visitors buying plants, seedlings and tools. Pic: Meera K. Vishwanath presented some facts on the food that we eat today, emphasising on the dangers of pesticide-laden food. He and his colleague S Laxminarayanan…

We, the Proud Indians, are a group of young, regular Indians with regular aspirations who deeply believe that an honest and strong India will be possible only when each of us is willing to strive in that direction. Proud Indians is a small group from Hyderabad from varied backgrounds. Through the walk they aim to inspire citizens to be honest at a personal level, to help tackle corruption. The group started their walk from Kanyakumari on December 18th. In the first segment of the walk from December 18th-31st, they covered 500 kms in Kerala . On January 1st, they started…

It was a few years ago. I was stopped by the traffic policeman in Richmond Town for “jumping red light and reckless driving”. As expected, I was told that I’d have to pay a fine, but at the end of the conversation that ensued, I was let off with no exchange of money, just a warning. Now here again I was, at another traffic signal in Richmond Town, in front of another policeman, but for a different traffic violation. I realize that I run the risk of being classified as a habitual traffic offender, but I must clarify that on…

Residents of 4th Block and 5th Block Jayanagar, Bangalore have written to Dr V S Acharya, Minister for Higher Education, and S Suresh Kumar, Minister for BWSSB on their problems with BWSSB's rules on Rainwater Harvesting (RWH) and the deadline of December 31st. They write: Dear Sir,We would like to bring the following facts to your notice, and request that you use your good offices to safeguard the interests of the general public of Bangalore City.As we all know, Bangalore Development Authority has obtained the legislative sanction to allot sites to all residents of Bangalore who have paid the value in…

The Bangalore India Against Corruption group, part of India anti-corruption movement that sprung up earlier this year in support of Anna Hazare, is conducting a support event at Freedom Park in the city, from December 27th. People gathered at Freedom Park asked that the Lokpal bill address four demands. The four demands: Lokpal to be free to investigate anyone; Lokpal to have its own investigating officers and budget, Lokpal to cover all government employees, Lokpal selection to be transparent.  India Against Corruption, Bangalore is holding a support event on Dec 27-29th at Freedom Park. Pic: Yogesh Devaraj. More pictures Pic:…

Dear Sir or Madam,I am a daily office commuter on Metro Reach one between Baiyappanahalli to MG road. I would like to bring to your attention the following issues:Security The work of the private contract guards when checking bags is inconsistent. The guard assigned to body check does not wave the handheld scanner properly for all passengers. Those assigned to bag check does not use the scanner inside the bags always and sometimes lets off commuters by simply taking a glance half half-heartedly inside the bag. Security guards should follow standard procedures for all passengers. Please implement recommendations of the…

After a long tiring wait at the traffic signal, a turn into Nanda road used to be refreshing. This road is a long road running across the Jayanagar area in Bangalore. Any resident of Jayanagar would always remember that road with fondness. Nanda Road used to be a lush green road with more than 100 trees. Entering that road would mean forgetting the traffic woes and just driving freely on the broad road looking at the canopy of huge green trees overhead. They were so dense that you could see only small specks of sunlight even on hot, sunny days.…

Ashok Dwarakanath has submitted the following complaint to BMTC, through their official website on October 23rd and is yet to get BMTC's response. This is to bring to your kind attention some possible safety violations by drivers operating Volvo buses on route 335E. This may apply in general to other routes also.Slowing down far away before or after the bus stop if passengers are boarding another bus for formality sake but never really stopping the bus at the bus stop. Speeding away from the bus stop sometimes even after 2 or more passengers are waving their hands. This is a…