CITIZEN JOURNALISM

We are a team of ten from various backgrounds and organisations who have taken on a community project involving senior citizens since May 2008. We wish to bring happiness and fun into the lives of seniors at old age homes. We want to be with them in this phase of their lives, care for their health and empower them by creating an atmosphere of warmth and well being. Senior people end up at old age homes for various reasons; mostly because there is no one to take care of them, sometimes because they themselves are tired of living with family…

It was a lazy Sunday afternoon on 6th July when I was surfing through my scrap book on my Orkut profile and saw it. ‘International Yezdi / Jawa Day- 13th July 2008. Interested people may meet at 7.00 AM in Cubbon Park, for a joint ride to Café Cofee Day at Channapattna on Mysore Road’.It may sound silly but in reality, for the next six nights, I frequently dreamt of the ride. I saw myself on Mysore road riding my bike on various turns and different speeds. Every morning, I woke up with disbelief regarding my own subconscious excitement about…

In the present society, a large socio-economic gap exists; so the poor are deprived of quality education. This leaves them with many disadvantages in this highly competitive world, computer education being one of them. We are a group of friends who want to make a difference in this regard. We have taken up a project to give computer education to the underprivileged children. In this regard, we have started working in two places, one called 'Nivedita Nele' and another one called 'Bosco Mane' in Bangalore. One of the major hurdles we are facing is getting computers for this cause. And…

For the first time in the history of state legislature, the ruling BJP has got maximum number of seats in Bangalore city. One of the main reasons the elite electorate of Bangalore elected them because of their promise to scrap the CVS tax structure, make amendents to Akrama/sakrama and master plan of Bangalore and make them people friendly. There are already PILS have been filed against AKRAMA and Master PlanIt is unfortunate inspite of Cabinet decision to collect taxes for this year under SAS scheme, the BBMP has not made arrangements to collect the same, one wonder if BBMP is…

The French revolution talked about 'Education for all, Work for all'. The free software movement is taking this further with 'Computer education for all'.This was amply demonstrated by students and teachers at the opening ceremony of Ambedkar Community Computer Center at Sudarshan Layout (behind the IBM office at Bannerghata road). The centre, a volunteer effort from AID (Association for India's Development, Bangalore chapter) and Stree Jagruthi Samithi, was launched to provide free computer training to children in the area. Cutting the ribbon (pic: Sejal Parikh) There are many reasons why this event is path breaking, but the centre's efforts in…

"25 years, these days in Bangalore, is very old" - a remark made in jest by Arul Mani, the Vice President of Karnataka Quiz Association (KQA) just might be true for Bangalore, a vibrant, over populous city with a largely transitory and migratory population. But for the founding members of Bangalore's oldest quizzing association it was indeed a significant milestone in sustaining a culture that is increasingly lost in the malls and discotheques of this city. Quizzers a the KQA anniversary event. Pic: Author. The event ASQKANCE 2008 scheduled over two days, in keeping with tradition, delivered just what it…

On the morning of 25 June, residents of Malleswaram, accompanied by ACP Krishnappa, took a different kind of walk. About 30 of us joined Krishnappa and Inspector Aslam at 7.30 AM to walk around a few streets of the area, to highlight the problems of traffic created by garbage, debris, cement blocks and lack of street lights. The walk was a result of a citizens' meeting that took place on 23 June, again at the behest of ACP Krishnappa in his police station. During the meet, some of us met up with officials of BESCOM, the forest department and a…

The students of Bangalore School of Speech and Drama (BSSD) will be performing Aladdin at Chowdiah Memorial Hall on 27 and 28 June 2008 at 7:00 PM. Aladdin screens at Chowdiah Memorial Hall on 27 and 28 June at 7:00 PM. Tickets: Rs.250, Rs. 200 and Rs.150. Contact: 9845071197 or 9886360004. What makes this production unique is that it is not the familiar Disney version, rather a retelling of the original Chinese folktale in the form of a hilarious pantomime. Thrown in for good measure is some foot-tapping music and dance. You just might be enthralled by the power-packed performances…

Bangalore in the fifties was a relaxed, laid back town with little aspiration to cosmopolitanism. There was a rarely articulated divide, between the westernized cantonment area and the city areas with their predominantly old Mysorean culture. Double road (K H Road) was the dividing line as is still suggested by the crematorium on its eastern side. The cultural divide was quite stark, Veena and Carnatic music, long skirts and long hair, kho kho and tenniquoit in the schools on the south side and piano and western classical music, basket ball and hockey, knee length skirts and god forbid, shorts! on…

This Monday, 2nd June, newly elected Jayanagar MLA, B N Vijaya Kumar interacted with residents in a meeting organised by the Jayanagar 5th Block Residents Welfare Association to felicitate him.In his first programme after the elections, he thanked voters for electing him with a large margin (his winning margin was 22594 votes, with a voter turnout of 48%) Vijaya Kumar told the residents that he will ensure all public department officials work towards solving citizens' issues. He also promised to arrange regular meetings where citizens can interact with officials to address the problems. He urged residents to be proactive and…