Food

Just like many students, I switched schools after 10th standard, and in the first week at my new school, I experienced a culture shock of sorts. Till 10th standard, I went to Prakriya Green Wisdom School, which had a very strict health-food-only policy. All the students ate in the school canteen that prepared simple meals from organic, minimally-processed material – some of which was even grown on campus.  The menu included dosa, idli, or poha for snack, roti or rice with sambar, a salad, a vegetable dish, buttermilk and payasam for lunch. Birthdays were celebrated with chikkis; chocolates or any…

Everyone has a role to play in reducing the amount of waste Bengaluru generates. But when bigger entities like businesses commit themselves to the cause, the impact may be greater. Take Bengaluru’s teenage-led initiative to reduce water use in restaurants. Garvita Gulhati, a 19-year-old student, had started the 'Why Waste?' campaign in July 2015, calling on restaurants to only half-fill water glasses and to ask customers if they needed water at all. The campaign has reached out to over one lakh restaurants by partnering with organisations like the National Restaurant Association of India. 'Why Waste?' estimates they've saved two lakh…

There are two unconnected areas where I see unethical and unchecked profiteering going on; I came across one because of having to buy two sets of books, notebooks and other school materials for my grandchildren, and the other, when I made a rare visit to a mall with friends. Schools should practice what they preach, and recycle books from one set of students to the next set who follow them. But instead of doing this, they make a package deal of books, notebooks and art and craft material, which it is mandatory for parents to buy. I think the total…

There are cubes and cylinders here. But this is no maths class. There are bugs and a big scorpion too, yet this is no forest. Buddha and Christ almost facing each other, not in any place of worship though. This is Bengaluru’s most famous cake show, that happens at St Joseph’s Grounds every year, in this season. If you are a Bengalurean or have been here for a couple of Christmas seasons now, chances are that you would have visited this show. It was sheer chance that saw me near the gates of St. Joseph's School on a Thursday evening…

This article is supported by SVP Cities of India Fellowship Shrinking agriculture land, water scarcity and other challenges in traditional farming have made most farmers go for chemical fertilisers and pesticides to maximise yields of fruits and vegetables. This also calls for the need to grow safe, chemical-free food. It has led to different approaches, like organic farming and controlled farming practices like greenhouse farming. There are also dedicated farms collaborating with dedicated takers of the produce like apartment residents, for a fixed sum each month. There are different business models adopted by different people. Urban consumers of Bengaluru have…

This article is supported by SVP Cities of India Fellowship. Feeding a city like Bengaluru, that has 1.25 crore people is a huge challenge, and provides millions of business opportunities as well. The vegetables and fruits grocery business is a major part of this industry. It requires a solid supply chain to supply fruits and vegetables to the city from the surrounding areas and beyond, as they are perishable. There are thousands of vendors selling vegetables across Bengaluru, who set up shop on pavements or small stalls, or use a push cart. For these two couples living in Kammanahalli, the…

“We come and check. If it’s good and we like it, we take it, otherwise we know it’ll be useful to someone else. Everything kept here is put to good use,” says a woman smiling, as she picks up an item kept at the Brookefield Community Fridge. In a city where one has Zomato, Swiggy, high-end restaurants, big breweries, ice cream parlours, Indira canteens and numerous other options, food should be the last worry on a Bengalurean’s mind. Yet, there are hundreds of families who go to bed on an empty stomach in Bengaluru every day. While mid-day meals in schools,…

Sometimes, the juxtaposition of two things strikes the eye, as it did when I saw this gentleman, along with a book that a young lady had left open on another table. The caption occurred to me at once. As he got up, the gentleman called the attention of yet another man to the glasses he'd left behind when moving to another table. Such casual helpfulness, somehow, made me feel very happy! So much to see and observe even on a short visit to a Darshini (this one was Coffee Thindi in Jayangar 4th T Block)

At any Darshini restaurant in Bangalore, the south Indian "filter kaapi" (coffee that has been percolated through a filter, and always made with milk) is first poured into the glasses, where the colour gleams invitingly in the sunlight. Then, boiling, frothing milk (with or without sugar , as per the customer's requirement) is added. One is one, the other one waits... This was taken at Vidyarthi Grand, on Kanakapura Road, one of my favourite post-birding-outing favourites.

Food is something that connects easily with everyone. Manorama Joshi spreaks about Malnad cusine and their effort to get people in Bengaluru to sample their cusine during the Malnad Mela for the past 10 years.