city

We often nail signs to our trees, loop cables over them, and of course, think nothing of choping them off for the flimisiest of reasons, for example if one obstructs a hoarding. But even when the trees are allowed to live, all may not be well. I saw this tree with its leaves all lit up by LED lights. "An unnatural green!" I thought to myself, and decided to click.   At this point, my friend Sarrah Reshamwalla raised a valid point. "Trees carry on photosynthesis in their leaves when exposed to light," she pointed out. "Does this mean that…

On the 30th of September, 2016, a few friends and I visited Hennagara lake, and this was the condition of the water on the lake...it actually looked like an abstract painting, with light refracted from the pollutants floating on the water surface.   We were quite shocked, therefore, to see quite a few tankers filling water from this lake. Here's a photo of one of them:   When many of us get water from water tankers, are we aware from where the water is being sourced, and what the quality of the water is? Do Residents' Associations check on this…

Kingsley Jegan Joseph has created this marvellous version of "Hotel California".  Compliments can be sent  to Kingsley. Hotel Karnataka On a dark desi highway, cool wind in my hair Warm smell of parottas, rising up through the air Up ahead in the distance, saw a lorry headlight My eyes grew squinty and my sight grew dim I had to stop for the night There she stood in the doorway; Wearing nariyal tail And I was thinking to myself, "I'd like Pav Bhaji or maybe some Bhel" Then she brought me the menu, but current went away There were voices from…

The resilience of birds never ceases to amaze me. All around us, in the face of "development", I see so many birds which manage to adapt to urban life, and live amongst us. The crow, the kite, the myna, the pigeon... these are the common examples, as are cattle egrets and pond herons. But yesterday, at the busiest of places... the Silk Board junction, I saw these beautiful Red-rumped Swallows flying and perching on the wires! Long may our urban birds last!

Almost before one knows it, the face of the city changes, and many things belong to the past, and then to history. Here are a few facts that I remember from the late 80s and early 90s; it was still pre-IT Bangalore, a sleepy town, rather than a city (in fact, two towns, the "English" Cantonment and the "Kannada" areas like Basavanagudi, Malleswaram and Jayanagar)... the quality of life was excellent. In Langford Town, there used to be an auction house, it was run by a Mr Pacheco. It closed down by 1988 or 1989... probably because the owner emigrated…

Centralised numbers released by Indian Railways for citizens' convenience       9760534983 : TTI, Reservation & Meals 9760500000 : cleaning 9760534057 : problem in coach 9760534060 : electricity problems 9920142151 : enquiry problems 9760534063 : RPF & Security 9760534069 : drinking water arrangement 9760534073 : medical   Please use these numbers and give the feedback on how useful you found them during/before/after your journey.   Clarification from my friend: "This was a news item  in India rail info.com site which normally is authentic. However after I managed to contact two of the 9760 series numbers I unearthed the real problem. Apparently it is the set of numbers of Moradabad division…

From: angarika@maraa.in 2 manhole cleaners suffocated to death in Bangalore recentlyArmed with a bottle and a stick, a man descends: into the dark sulfurous depths of the city. Vanishing acts, made possible by the labour of workers who live and die below the surface. This man, we call the “scavenger”.Join us on 11th Oct for a walk, along the Chambers of Ward 88. To lift the lid and see who lurks beneath. The walk is olfactory. The walk is a provocation. The walk is a call to introspect. This walk will be guided by Angarika Guha and Ekta Mittal as part of Horaata,…

It was very nice indeed to use the new escalator in use at the City Railway Station, yesterday. This escalator is on the side opposite the underground passage, and takes visitors up to the overbridge spanning all the platforms.   Several escalators are also under construction at some of the platforms. Though large pieces of luggage cannot be taken on them, strolleys and smaller bags can be comfortably taken. This will ease the lot of several visitors and passengers at the station.   There are also lifts at the underground passage area, but at least one of them was not…

Here are the blooms of summer...the purple of the Jacaranda, the yellow of the Copper-Pod Bearer, and the red of the Gulmohar...     Even the height of summer, a walk in my city is delightful because I am shaded by these trees and delighted by the carpets of their blossoms...

If you find a horse in distress...abandoned, abused by its owner, or otherwise in distress, please call Samabhaava's: Sandesh Raju. +91 94495 59767   He deals with equine rescue.