DIARY

Does it sound strange, travelling to work by train every day from Bangalore to Mysore and vice versa? Well some of us do.  Those who do, live in a different world and also in a different time scale. Regular commuters may not remember the time when Kaveri Express was introduced. Pic: Pushpa Achanta Kaveri Express was introduced in September 1980, around 30 years ago. On the occasion of Kaveri Express' anniversary on 11th September, below is an excerpt from Specular. Specular was a weekly general interest magazine focusing on news and information about Karnataka, which was started by K N…

A few days ago, I visited the 158-acre Beggars' Rehabilitation Colony off Magadi Road, at the intersection of Ring Road, along with officials of the Social Welfare Department (SWD) (which owns the facility) and BDA (to whom the land is now being transferred, at the direction of the Chief Minister). BDA is keen to develop the area, quite nicely located at the junction of the Outer Ring Road and Magadi Road, into a township, and also to ensure some public good outcomes using a portion of the land (perhaps, for a hospital, a man-made lake, a bus terminal for BMTC,…

One might wonder as to what is so unusual for a person to use a wheelchair at any airport; often these are people who are sick, old or unable to walk due to fractures or disability. For me it was scary, challenging and full of apprehension. That’s because I have been a patient of Parkinson disease for the last ten to twelve years.Parkinson’s disease is a neurological disorder caused by degeneration of brain cells and is a progressive disease which leads to chronic disabilities of movements such as  slowness, tremors, drooping rigidity called Bradyskinesia and Dyskinesia which cause involuntary movements…

On 9 August, M  Karunanidhi, the Chief Minister (CM) of Tamil Nadu, unveiled the statue of Thiruvalluvar near Ulsoor Lake. Kalaignar, as he is popularly known, was at the RBANMS grounds when the statue was unveiled by remote control.  The yellow curtains opened and suddenly, magically the statue became visible to people from all four directions. There was a hush and it took a while for people to start clapping.It was past 12:20 PM.  Kalaignar’s speech broadcasted over loudspeakers, talked of the need to build interstate brotherhood which was lavishly quoted from Sarvagna’s couplets.  He said publishing Kannada poet’s couplets…

We all crib about civic services, about crazy traffic, unscheduled power cuts, and a dozen other things which characterise life in namma Bengaluru . How about some humour and diversion for a change, trying to look at the same issues from another angle, to keep our blood pressure under control?Traffic snarls, for one. Yes, it is maddening when one is stuck in endless jams at each signal, and it takes two hours to cover 15 kilometres. How about playing a game with yourself while you wait – try to guess how many vehicles will jump the signal before it turns…

Sometime in MayBBMP workers had dredged out the storm water drain near my house, and left a mound of filth, muck, crushed plastic cups and assorted debris on the edge of the pavement on  8-F main road, Jayanagar. Each time it rained, some of the muck got washed right back into the drain. It was an eyesore and an olfactory assault. There are posh shops all along this road, hundreds of citizens walk or drive past, even park next to the pile of rubbish. The famous Jayanagar shopping complex is just across the road.I complained about it to the city…

Theatre has always been a media that awed me. The whole idea of performing live is fascinating and challenging. I have been attending plays for a long time, but being part of a theatre crew was a totally different experience. I got an opportunity to be a part of the production team for Evam’s “An Idiot for dinner” that was recently staged at Rangashankara on the 12th, 13th and the 14th of June. A stage adaptation of the Hindi movie, Bheja Fry, which is based on the French play Le dîner de cons. Sanjay and his friends have a tradition…

‘An early morning run at Lalbagh. Yippee!' That was my spouse displaying objectionable amounts of enthusiasm at a time one should still be curled up in bed. Propping my bleary eyes open with my fingertips, I cautiously allowed the daylight in. Only to find there wasn't really much of it out there yet. Would have dropped off again, but could't go back to sleep. Reluctantly popping out of bed, I proceeded to soothe my jangled nerves with a refreshing cup of tea.The milk delivery was more than an hour away. No second cup of tea till then. The newspapers were…

It is abundantly obvious that Bangalore today is a war zone where the inhabitants subsist in a constant state of mortal peril. Don't look now, but there's somebody popping up at your window for a spot of neighbourly homicide of an evening. Negotiating traffic isn't your biggest cause for concern on our congested roads. No, that would be the chap with the backpack at the signal who looks a bit cross about something. Any minute, he'll stop with the glaring and start saying it with a Kalashnikov. Then where would you be? Illustration: Narasimha Vedala Our netas barefacedly usurp the…

On 18th April 2009, World Heritage Day, Bangalore City projects – a Bengaluru based group that aims to raise awareness about arts and culture in the city, organised some events, one of which was a heritage hunt. Conducted in three places, this hunt was aimed at throwing light on places of heritage in and around one’s neighbourhood. I took part in the Gavipuram vernacular heritage hunt. The teams gathered at Basavangudi Bull Temple around 3 PM. Very soon, the quiet temple premises were filled with fervour and talk as the teams registered at Rs 50 per person. We were all…