CITIZEN JOURNALISM

Bibliophiles in the city finally found cause to celebrate over the last fortnight as the much awaited 44th annual book fair was held on the YMCA grounds, Nandanam. Citizens from all sections of society flocked to the event to check out the new collections and buy their favourite books. The event comes to an end today, March 9th. But how did the book fair in the age of the pandemic go? Plagued by uncertainty due to COVID, the book fair this time, organised by the Booksellers and Publishers Association of South India (BAPASI) was a much-anticipated event. Usually held during the…

What seems right for us may not seem right for others since it depends on perspectives from different points of view.  Parents want lesser fees but want education in top schools. School managements wants more return on their investment. So, these are two different perspectives. They would not converge on the same terms since their interests are different.  As long as the school management has reasonable expectations, conflicts would be less. But again, the definition of ‘reasonable’ varies. If a school is run without much issues, it means the management knows the art of running schools very well. Schools, colleges…

The education sector, especially schools, are generally viewed by the public as the goose that lays the golden egg. Similar to other key critical sectors necessary for the society at large, like hospitals or colleges, this misconception is prevalent about schools as well. Most individuals leading such institutions are so caught up in ensuring the next generation’s education that they do not bother about the noise outside. There is no lobby either, like in the other established industries, to ensure that no harm is done by policies and decisions proposed by the government. Education is a basic right as per…

This is the tale of a father who feels bad that his daughter has to suffer due to the greed of private schools. Let me share how I got involved with the school fee issue; and how it impacts us parents. My daughter is in the third standard. We were extremely shocked to realise that access to her online classes was blocked by her school on August 5, 2020. She has studied in this school right from Nursery. We soon learnt that many private schools have blocked online education to some kids. Almost all parents have been paying whatever schools…

With consumption demands growing like never before, industries are rising in every corner of the world to meet our ever-growing wants. Of course, it is nice to be able to afford and enjoy everything we desire. All seems good till we cast a glance at the enormous amounts of waste generated by the intensive consumerist process. In India, many of the socio-cultural and religious practices we follow often result in a lot of waste and mess. As we leave the January festival season behind, we find spring fast approaching. Colours and joy Holi, the festival of colour, is one of…

As students of biology and sustainability, we believe that the government was right in abandoning plans of converting a natural forest into a constructed tree park. The following article details our thoughts on the same. The Turahalli forest that encompasses close to 600 acres of dry decidious forests off Kanakapura road, is a critical ecological space for Bengaluru.  In late 2020, the Chief Minister of Karnataka unveiled the Bengaluru Mission 2022, which aims to improve the city’s infrastructure to support the growing population and also restore Bengaluru’s former glory as the “Garden City”. As part of this mission, the government…

In consolidation of what is an established and flourishing trend in the Chennai art arena, more than 2000 memes were released on social media, to coincide with the recent release of the Vijay-starrer Master. Indeed, the release of any star-studded, big-budget film in Tamil Nadu is now inevitably accompanied by the creation and promotion of hundreds of creative memes. But did you know that the creators of these memes slog at it for at least two months before each release? Memes are hugely popular today and Chennai has pretty much established itself as the meme capital of Tamil Nadu. Evolution…

The swanky new Sir M Visveswaraya railway terminal at Baiyappanahalli is due to be opened towards the end of this month. The butterfly-shaped terminal, built at around Rs 350 crore, is bound to be a transportation hub on the eastern end of the city. When operational, this terminal could take the load off the two other major railway terminals in the city: the Krantiveera Sangolli Rayanna Railway station in Majestic and Yeshwanthpur railway station. While the terminal itself promises to be a state-of-the-art facility, its usability has many hurdles. Access and connectivity to this terminal is the main issue. For…

The Western Express Highway in Kandivali East, North Mumbai is expectedly, one of the busiest arterial roads of the city, but those living on the side of it often spend an hour from the highway to reach their homes, about a kilometre away. Residents of Hanuman Nagar, Lokhandwala Township, Damu Nagar and Kranti Nagar are the worst affected. At the place where the highway crosses Akurli Road (the road that begins at the Kandivali East station and extends right upto the hills), we have a flyover, a traffic-cum-pedestrian subway and service roads crisscrossing, with vehicles moving in different directions. There…

The Mumbai Birdrace, supported by HSBC, has been organized since 2005, with Sunjoy Monga as the chief organiser. Many teams, each comprising of 4-5 people take part, and the one with the highest number of species of birds wins. The team that spots the rarest bird also gets a prize. Every year a dinner is usually organized for the participants at the end of the day. This year due to COVID, team size was restricted to 3, and every team was compensated for their travel and meals (in lieu of the dinner). The bird watching timings were from sunrise to…