CITIZEN JOURNALISM

A training-cum-tea party for house maids/helpers? And why not? The domestic help are a 100+ strong group working in the 220 apartments of Mayflower Block in Brigade Millennium at JP Nagar in south Bengaluru. The efforts of garbage segregation/recycling of dry waste at Mayflower started close to a year ago (in November 2008) through the introduction of blue drums. While the onus of segregation is primarily on the households, all those working in the building, like the housekeeping staff and house maids/helpers, have been directly involved in contributing to the proper disposal of dry waste. Participants are all ears. Pic:…

While many social activists have been shouting hoarse on the evils of globalisation and onslaught of giant Multi National Company (MNCs) on small retailers, some businessmen and their families are silently preparing to face the competition. Change is inevitable and nobody can stop the currents which have started rushing.  Instead of banging their heads against the walls and trying to stop the boulders of Walmart, McDonalds, KFC and other giants entering the field, local businesses have positively transformed their looks to woo local customers, despite their entry!I am talking about the recent splurge of chain store concept in Bangalore.  Of…

It was a morning to be remembered for the residents around ‘Anandhavana’, a park and recreational are in 3rd phase JP Nagar. ‘Walkathon 09’ was held on Sunday, October 11th and saw an overwhelming response with over 200 participants in the various categories for men and women. A winner of the event. Pic: T L Prabhakar. It all began when a small group of 60 plus men sat one evening and discussed the disconnect of the walkers – young and old - with one another, though they would see each other’s faces every morning. Thus, they hit upon the idea…

On October 15th evening, residents of HRBR Layout were shocked to see trees being cut by BBMP workers in yet another park developed by BBMP's Horticulture Department. These were fully grown trees and the park is located at 9th G Main Road, HRBR Layout, 1st block in Kalyannagar (Ward 88).On enquiry, we were told that the workers have the permission from Range Officer of BBMP. When we asked them to show the permission they did not show this, telling us that it is with one Purushotam, who was not there. The reason they gave for the cutting the trees was…

When was the last time you saw at least 70 different characters (could be more if one actually counted!), not to mention other things like vehicles, tables, houses and more  on one sheet of paper, with each character minutely detailed with suitable clothes, accessories, postures & expressions?  Not to mention having you in splits at the same time! If you are a resident of Bangalore and your answer is ‘in the past couple of weeks’, I am sure that you are one of those lucky to have visited the exhibition of Mario de Miranda’s works that is currently on at…

The next time you're on the road at peak traffic time observe this. There'll be a wannabe Michael Schumacher who'll take off like a rocket at the signal, and you'll meet up with him at the next signal. You'll most likely meet up with him at every signal over the next 10 km. Why does this happen, even though he's driving faster than you? This is because of the 'Schumi-Bang effect', a scientific phenomenon caused by the interaction between Schumi's vehicle and Bangalore's roads. Here's the explanation. When traffic signals are close to each other, your average speed depends on…

Goonj, a voluntary organisation, is initiating Vastra Samman (dignifying clothing), a pan-India campaign, to collect about one crore units of material in the 'Joy of Giving Week' being celebrated across India from 27th September to 3rd October.Goonj will use the collected material as resource under 'Cloth for Work' for development activities in the villages, school material and toys to support rural or slum schools and anganwadis; and useless cloth to make mats, school bags and the entire cotton waste material to be converted into sanitary napkins. Collection CentresSmitha Anand, BTM 2nd Stage,  Ph: 9986213181, 9 AM to 10 PM Jennifer…

Centre for Social Markets (CSM), a non-profit organization dedicated to making markets work for the triple bottom line- people, planet and profit, is conducting a citizen consultation in Bangalore to voice opinions about the issue of climate change. This is part of a world-wide consultation on the topic to be held on Saturday, 26 September 2009.26 September is the World Wide Views day and will be the first ever and largest citizen consultation of its kind! Thousands of citizens all over the world will meet and vote about the same questions.This is to invite you to participate in this day…

The Bengaluru International Art Festival, a seven-day festival with art, music and cultural performances was held  between 7th and 19th September. Last Friday on 18th September,  Chowdiah Memorial Hall at Vylikaval was witness to dance and music performances.Mars, a performance choreographed by Sathya B G.Another scene from Mars.Intersections, a performance choreographed by Sathya B G.Chittara (patterns), a performance inspired by the morning 'Rangoli'. Choreographed by Mayuri Upadhyaya, the director of Nritarutya.A Sufi Music concert by Tochi Raina and group. ‹ › $(document).ready(function(){ $('.carousel .carousel-inner .item').first().attr('class', 'active item');}); ⊕

On 27th and 28th September 2009, Bangalore Cares, a non profit that acts as a bridge between the voluntary sector and the rest of society, is presenting "Sneha Sante" – an event that combines a charity bazaar and a programme of cultural events. With nearly 30 Bengaluru Non-Governmental Organisations (NGOs) participating, as well as local artistes lending their support, the first edition of Sneha Sante promises to be a colorful and fun event!The charity bazaar will have NGOs exhibiting a wide range of hand-crafted products: chocolates, cookies, toys, art works, embroidery, jewellery, apparel, books, diyas, cards, gift items and more.…