EVENTS

Mere formation of a body, planning and allocation of funds to rejuvenate the water bodies cannot be the ideal solution to the water crises that we have in our nation, said Dr Rajendra Singh Prasad, better-known as Waterman of India, at a gathering in Chennai last weekend at Goethe-Institut. The discussion on making Tamil Nadu drought-free was organised by Goethe-Institut, Chennai in association with Asian College of Journalism, Confluence 10, Kalakshetra Foundation and with coordination of several other colleges, universities and NGOs. “We must start a dialogue with the Government for identifying, demarcating and notifying the water bodies. Once it…

A recent workshop on air pollution, which saw participation from IIT Delhi and Kanpur, Centre for Sustainable Agriculture, World Health Organisation, as well as the Delhi Pollution Control Board and the Central Pollution Control Board, brought to the fore yet again the fact that there are no policy level interventions to stop farmers from burning crop residue. Experts at the event stated that the state government and the central government need to prepare now for a pollution free winter. However, there seems to be a lackadaisical attitude towards applying existing data into a working and effective policy-level intervention. The implementation…

  Bengaluru’s air story is one of unchecked air pollution, ever increasing dust and air quality issues. Bengaluru's Airpocalypse: Air pollution Problems & Solutions is a workshop that brings experts to answer key questions like: What is happening to Bengaluru’s air? From vehicular smoke ro garbage burning... How has it impacted our children’s and our health? What are some of the government policies and actions that are having an impact on the quality of air? And what can we do - as individuals, and as a collective? The workshop is hosted by the Karnataka State Pollution Control Board and supported by…

For two decades now, the Women’s Reservation Bill, which was proposed to amend the Constitution of India to reserve 33% of all seats in the Lower house of Parliament of India, the Lok Sabha, and in all state legislative assemblies for women, has either been defeated or has lapsed. The law, which would give a boost to active political participation of women and help them fight the abuse, discrimination and inequality they have historically suffered, has sadly not received enough importance even from parties headed by women. On March 5th, Satta Panchayat Iyyakam, a Chennai-based NGO fighting to protect the…

That it is the most happening arts festival in the city of Chennai is like stating the obvious. Even the name is different -- it doesn't have 'sabha' as the suffix or 'Sri' as the prefix, not to mention the very ordinary multitude of volunteers who have come together for this extraordinary performing arts festival. With myriad art forms, performed in many open and public spaces, the Urur Olcott Kuppam Vizha has come of age. This year, not only is the Vizha happening in the Urur Olcott Kuppam Beach, it has also travelled to other locations. The open spaces of Thiruvalluvar Nagar…

“And through this having and giving and sharing and receiving, we too can share and love and have... and receive.”– Joey Tribbiani, in “Friends”. Funny that this quote, part of Joey’s intended speech at the wedding of his friends Monica and Chandler, would be apt for a nationwide festival of giving! Daan Utsav is not just about the receiving, we know, it is about the giving. A festival that turns the lens on to itself, like a particularly gorgeous selfie. When I began volunteering for Daan Utsav, I had not seen it up close. I had read about it in…

  With just a day left for Gandhi Jayanti, various citizen led groups have planned to organise cleanliness programmes in various locations of Bengaluru on October 2nd. Here are the list of cleanliness programmes to be organised across the city as part of the Bengaluru Swachh Utsav 2016. The programme is organised by the Solid Waste Management Round Table in association with BBMP and KSPCB. The campaign which will be kicked off on the day of Gandhi Jayanti, will continue for the next one year, to create awareness about waste management among citizens. It includes, emphasising on door-to-door waste collection,…

As I was sitting in my drawing room, binge-watching a TV show, my mother sat right across the couch focused on her (almost full time) hobby – scrolling through Facebook. She announced, “Hey! there is a photo of you celebrating Diwali at Chitra aunty’s place. You are in that cute paavadai that you loathed back then, Look at your scorn”. I hate them, true! My mom had this stern belief that I would grow tall every single day and hence she would religiously buy dresses at least three sizes ahead of my actual one.  I ended up having frocks that…

  DaanUtsav (formerly The Joy of Giving Week) is an entirely volunteer-driven initiative which encourages people to indulge in any act of giving of their choice. There is no blueprint and the idea is to get everyone to participate in this festival of giving and experience the joy of the act. Started in 2009, the festival is celebrated across the country from October 2nd to 8th. Daan Utsav is a great platform that brings together people from all walks of life and encourages them to share their time, money, material, skill or just love. This festival is like any other…

The Joy of Giving offers so much satisfaction and adds a definite meaning and purpose to our lives. The joy of sharing and giving is especially much more significant when we live in a world where we spend money easily on several material and non-material comforts but often forget the fact that a simple home cooked meal for one person costs only about Rs.50 at the most. We swipe our debit cards on clothes, cosmetics, food, gadgets, toys, travel and don’t think twice about spending huge amounts but have we ever thought of how much more a relatively minuscule amount…