CITIZEN JOURNALISM

There was a very disturbing news in the Times of India last week. It is about the cabinet decision to amend the Prevention of Corruption Act to give immunity to retired bureaucrats who are caught accepting bribe or have Disproportionate Assets just like serving bureaucrats. This immunity is about getting prior sanction from the government for prosecution even if the official has been caught red-handed. This is supposedly to prevent harassment to the officials from baseless charges. It is in fact a ploy to shield the corrupt who might have shared their ill gotten wealth with the mighty and powerful…

Colville's Glory is one of the many picture perfect trees in Lalbagh. The tree is named after Sir Charles Colville who was Army Commander-in-chief in Bombay from 1819 to 1825 and subsequently Governor of Mauritius from 1828 to 1834. Colville's Glory tree Pic: MS. Colville's Glory flowers. Pic: MS. Squirrel on flowers of Colville's Glory. Pic: MS. Bojer, an Austrian Botanist, first found a single cultivated tree in 1824 in Madagascar when he mounted a specimen collecting expedition from Mauritius. Further, he described, in 1829, the flamboyant (Delonix regia or Gulmohur) which also he found in Madagascar. Eight of the…

When I went to college to study Computer Science at BITS, Pilani, located in a remote village of Rajasthan, I never expected the remoteness of the place to exceed the extent of not having a cinema hall. How could we sustain an existence of 4 years without the staple Indian diet of bollywood movies? Thankfully BITS fostered a strong sense of multi-cultural living, in addition to of-course studying computer science. So enough and more emphasis was laid on participating in variety of activities like college fests, theatre, photography, dance, music etc. through the form of various clubs. Inherit the Wind…

I am a nature lover and it is killing me to see all the tree cover just vanish from Banglore. Have you seen CMH road recently? Why are the trees being chopped left, right and center? Are we even aware of the HUGE price we are paying and for what?I was delighted to read the article on the Committee to review road widening: High Court and I heaved a sigh of relief. But I guess relief on paper is not relief after all!On Sunday (20th July 2008) trees were chopped on Race Course Road. Why??? Is this in consonance with…

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…