CITIZEN JOURNALISM

The Medico-Pastoral Association and Stage Left Productions present This is their story, a play directed by Vasudev Kanthraj and Nazeef Mohammed on 6th December 2008 at St Francis Xavier's School Auditorium, Promenade Road, Fraser Town, at 6.30 PM. This play is an original script written by the members of Stage Left Productions. It is written as a response to the growing problem of suicide and self-harm in today's world, especially since the statistics are alarming and very disturbing. Bengaluru has earned the dubious distinction of being the suicide capital of the country. This play thus essentially deals with different kinds…

Voter registration for Bengaluru's MNC employees is now as simple as a walk to their cafe!VoteDeIndia has been conducting such drives at MNC campuses throughout Bangalore, most recently at Cognizant and Sasken. VoteDeIndia is volunteer, non-profit and non-partisian initiative run by a group Bangaloreans from the Infotech sector to increasing voter (electorate) turnout. The drive, which started with on-campus registrations in September, has been helping non-registered voters to register, so that they become eligible to get a voter ID. So far, VoteDeIndia has been successful in getting around 1000 members to sign up. VoteDeIndia helps individuals in: (1) Accurate identification…

Amidst all the chaos in last decade surrounding Bengaluru's infrastructural problems and political instability,certain aspects of the city widen their influence as always. One amongst these is the ever growing "art of carnatic music".Though Chennai with its innumerable sabhas and cultural heartlands is considered to be the melting pot of carnatic music, Bengaluru is slowly but surely made its presence felt this sphere as well. Music fever seems to be soaring in this burgeoning metropolis like never before. True to its sobriquet of cosmopolitan city which embraces anything that comes its way, carnatic music too has found its place in…

Nearly 400 under-privileged children in Bengaluru had a special day on 14th November 2008, Children's Day. The children belonged to Sishu Mandir, Sri Satya Shanti Seva, Bethel Home, Leela School, Gerizim Rehab hostel, Lovedale foundation and a few others. A soccer session in progress. Pic: Jamshed Billimoria.The day’s event included a special showing of the movie Roadside Romeo at Cauvery Theatre at 8.30 AM. The film distributor, Ajay Chandani and the owner of the theatre, Prakash, donated the movie tickets for free (500 seats). This was followed by fun and games at the XLR8 indoor sports arena on Hennur-Bagalur Main…

This Children's Day, Pupil Tree, from Future Tree Learning Services Pvt. Ltd, helped start 'Booky Bob', a unique interactive reading hub designed to nurture children's love for learning. The unique library aims at promoting healthy reading, leading to analytical thinking, making use of the rich literature that is available here. 'Booky Bob', the first interactive learning hub of its kind, was inaugurated by B Jayashree, the well known theatre and literary personality in Bangalore. Jayashree is also a great promoter of book reading among children and has book reading shows on local channels especially aimed at increasing their reading habits.…

We have started a community participatory project aimed at reducing alarming noise pollution levels in Bangalore. We have arranged for an awareness campaign and press conference this Saturday and we would like to invite you for the same. Street demo/campaign on Saturday, 15th November 2008: 10 AM to 11 AM near Cubbon Park at the Kasturba Road Signal (Jewels de Paragon) Press conference from 12.30 PM to 1 PM at the Bangalore press club. To all those who are planning to join us in our demo, we request that you bring a poster carrying slogans (a crisp and effective message)…

I had heard a lot about the Manchinbelle dam (across the river Arkavathy) from fellow photographer friends and it appeared at the top of my interest list for the weekend. Trip To: Manchinbelle DamFree Add-On: Big Banyan tree, Naga TempleDistance: 40 Kms.Trip directions: From Bangalore city, drive down Mysore Road and turn right at Rajeshwari Dental College. The road will take you directly to the Big Banyan tree and then continue to Manchinbelle Dam. The road is a great all through but the last few kms to the road promise to be bumpy.. EXPERIENCEAs the drive from the Rajeshwari dental…

The nicest thing about Bangalore's roads is that they are (were?) tree-lined. Every out-of-station visitor to our home has said this to us. My daughter’s seasonal observation when she was 3 years old (and when she could only see the treetops from our car window) was testimony to the fact. Come the violet flowers of the Jacaranda tree and she knew that we had reached the main road from our locality in ST Bed Layout, Koramangala; the Gulmohar tree with its beautiful red flowers signaled that we were right across the Barista on the 80 feet Road and the yellow…

  Beautiful RoadsPathetic condition of BDA approved layout Upadhaya layout, Nagadevanahalli, Kengeri Hobli with 319 sites was approved by BDA five years back (vide Res No 145/2004 dt. 29-05-2004, Extent 28A-27G as per information available in BDA website). The roads have never been asphalted till date. Crimes have started during night in absence of street lights. How much time do the tax payers have to wait for basic amenities??? ⊕

"If I were pregnant, I'd surely have a miscarriage", is the thought that I have everyday when I'm on my Kinetic Honda on Bangalore roads. The bumps and potholes on the road jiggle my fat enough that I never feel the need for a workout. Coming back to Bangalore after five years provided a shock to my entire system. The place had changed! No more was it a sleepy town and when someone told me that Jayanagar still reminded them of OLD Bangalore, I chuckled away to myself.I believe from the depths of my heart that you should not swear…