CITIZEN JOURNALISM

It's around 4.30 pm. The 'first shift' of my job is done. The second shift will begin once I get home. It might be 6.15 pm when I see home, if am lucky. Most times these days it is 6.45 pm. The second shift will begin at around 7 when I login from home to finish any unfinished work and will go on till 8.30 in the night. When you have a commute like mine, getting work done by hook or crook is the only option. The commute begins in the morning at ITI layout, Mallathahalli, some 3 kms from…

Around 100 people gathered at Bhashyam Circle early on 4 December, Sunday morning to walk down the Sankey road towards Maramma Circle. Young and old bid their farewell. Pic: Vani Murthy It was a walk to symbolise the voice of people who fought to save the trees from the road-widening project. The court has given a go ahead for the project and people are left wondering as to what can be done to save trees that are so vital to the environment. There were around 50 cyclists from the Go Green Club, who strongly believe that conserving the environment is…

Academy of Music, one of Bengaluru's premier music establishment, organised a glittering function at Chowdiah Hall on 27th November to confer the K K Murthy Memorial Chowdiah Award 2011 to Padma Bhushan Madurai T N Seshagopalan and the Rudrapatnam Brothers R N Thyagarajan and Dr R N Tharanathan. K K Murthy Memorial Chowdiah awardees T N Seshagopalan and the Rudrapatnam Brothers R N Thyagarajan and R N Tharanathan. Pic: C R Sridhar After vedic chanting and a prayer, the programme began with a welcome speech by Dr G K Veeresh, President of the Academy of Music. Later Subbaraj Urs, Secretary…

What if our children could cycle safely around the neighbourhood going to schools, classes and doing errands freely?What if we had at least 25% of our office-going crowd ride comfortably from residence to offices thus reducing traffic, pollution and stress?What if we could begin to get in touch with our neighbours, our neighbourhood, our city and its great weather.. and have fun while at it?How would it be if we proved this concept here and then extended this to Bangalore and then India?We have taken on a project to make this a reality starting with our layout and offices close…

"India is a land of villages" - is an oft repeated statement. But how many of us living in cities can claim to know about our village life and its culture. It was to address this issue that Sri Kumaran Children's Home organised a Gramothsava at their Mallasandra Campus on November 12th to celebrate Children's day in a unique manner. Images from Gramothsava at Sri Kumaran Childrens Home. Pic: Sridhar.C.R The entire campus looked like a big village fair with visitors treated to various facets of the tradition and culture of village life that is still prevalent in Karnataka. Visitors…

As a visitor to Bangalore, I do not usually get hit by any disturbing event.  In fact, my past visits have been pleasant.  The purpose of my visits has been merely to visit family and friends. This time, however the black cloud (yeah, the one that randomly victimises you or someone you know) found me within minutes of ending a very comfortable train ride -- executive class on the Shatabdi from Chennai, November 23rd.  Illustration: Comaravalli Sridhar Radhakrishnan. On exiting the Cantonment station about 10:15p.m. I rang my cousin who was to pick me up, then my mobile went in…

It is a well known fact that Bangalore which was a city with many lakes has been driven to a state of horror with most of its lakes encroached and depleted.Another lake which is facing a near death crisis is the Dodda Nagamangala Lake, also known as the Rayasandra Lake in the Dodda Nagamangala region near Electronic city. This lake is about 28 acres in size and falls under survey number 64 and is under the Konappa Agrahara Gram Panchayath. The lovely Dodda Nagamangala Lake last year. Pic: Neethu Peter We have witnessed a large number of birds, even migratory…

The papers reported that all fireworks and crackers activities should cease between 10 pm and 6 am. KSPCB and the police were supposed to be doing rounds and enforcing the curfew. It's 11 pm in the night, and near Nagarbhavi, some random crackers keep going off at regular intervals. Dealing with continuous fireworks is one thing, but sudden bursts at random points in time is too much to deal with.The dogs, not accustomed to rackets other than their own, start howling everytime one goes off. Aged parents at home, struggling with flu-like symptoms thanks to the weather, exacerbated by the…

Saving fuel is necessary not only to save money but to reduce pollution. Here are few important tips to see how we can save fuel and be more happier as we reduce our spending and remain calm while driving. 1. Fuel at night or early morning: This is a phenomenon we often do not realise. We refuel petrol/diesel when the tank gets to the reserve. Oil expands with the rise in temperature. This expansion causes lesser energy generation, if fueled in hot time of the day. The fuel will burn faster than what you imagine. Best time to fuel the…

Visitors to the lotus pond at Lalbagh witness a rather sorry picture, where all patches of clear water are teeming with fish close to the surface, mouths open and gulping what they can. While the reason for this is unclear, it is apparent that the pond is suffering from excessive vegetation. Lotus, hydrangea and other aquatic plants have taken over far too much of the pond, leaving precious little breathing space for the fish. This is also in stark contrast to the much healthier lake on the other side of the bridge that that separates the two, where cormorants were…