GENRE: Explainers

Prakash Belawadi, an actor and a theatre personality, had the shock of his life when a caller posing as a bank officer asked his wife for the One Time Password (OTP). Belawadi happened to reveal it to her without thinking. It was too late when he realised that his wife had unintentionally communicated to it to the person at the other end of the phone. The result: money to the tune of Rs 90,000 was billed to his credit card. A screengrab from an animation by the Federal Trade Commission intended to educate citizens about phishing tactics. Pic: Wikimedia Commons…

On the first day of implementing the helmet rule for pillion riders, not many pillion riders were seen wearing the helmet in Bengaluru. Pic: Akshatha M Finally helmets have become mandatory for two-wheeler pillion riders in Bengaluru. For all those who have been cribbing about the rule of helmet for pillion riders, there is no other go but to follow it, or face the music. The Transport department has decided to implement the new rule from today: January 12th. However the enforcement may be a bit slower in order to give time for people to buy new helmets and get…

A fortnight ago, a kitten belonging to Aditi Surendra, a city-based graphic designer, passed away. Unsure of how to dispose of the body, Aditi sought help from her friends on how to dispose of the dead body. With no satisfying inputs forthcoming, she had to bury the kitten near the railway tracks, so that some other animal could feed on it. There is a BBMP animal crematorium in Magadi Road. When asked whether she knew about it, Aditi said she was not aware of the facility. “Plus, the kitten died early morning and we couldn’t drive until the next day.…

Bengaluru has over 200 churches and some of them date to even a couple of centuries old. Locals and tourists alike are drawn to these majestic old houses of prayer. While some seek it to find solace, some others pay a visit to simply take in the grandeur of these buildings. And come Christmas, one can be sure to find these churches lit up, thronging with crowds who have come to attend mass or just to take in the spirit of the festival. There are several organisations like INTACH, Bengaluru Walks, Unhurried, Bengaluru By Foot and others that take you…

November 30. Sindhu Naik, a resident of North Bengaluru, got a notice from her apartment community: “A drive being conducted this Saturday (5th Dec) & Sun (6th Dec) from 9:00 a.m. to 6:00 p.m. for the verification of the Aadhar card. Ms. Kumari S. from the Registrar General of Citizen Registration will be visiting our complex for this purpose. Please keep your Aadhar cards handy at this time.” She asked her friends and others, but did not get any clarity on what the issue was about. Citizen Matters tried asking Unique Identity Authority of India, but the officials in the…

Art enables us to find ourselves and lose ourselves at the same time - Thomas Merton Bengaluru is teeming with artists of every kind. For the visual arts, there are several great places that showcase diverse works by artists - featuring both Bengalureans and out-of-towners! National Gallery of Modern Art The National Gallery of Modern Art, Bengaluru was opened to the public in February 2009 at the Manikyavelu Mansion at 49 Palace Road, Bengaluru. The gracious heritage building, previously a residence, transformed into an art gallery with plenty of space for displays  - both for its permanent collection and the periodic…

Is Bengaluru the proverbial goose that lays the golden egg? If the political tizzy the city saw last month during BBMP mayor elections is anything to go by, one can confidently say yes! Should the citizens be grateful to all our netas for their public display of enthusiasm to serve the city or be plain worried? Going by BBMP’s history of siphoning off crores of rupees and scams after scams facilitated by the official-politician-contractor nexus, we should be a worried lot. The Kataria Committee Report to probe financial irregularities from 2007-2015 may have been a ploy used by the State…

Pic: Sanchayan Nath Bellandur lake—Bengaluru’s largest lake, hits headlines often for all wrong reasons. The once bountiful lake has gradually transformed into a sewage tank. Formation of foam is a cause for concern among the citizens living around. The authorities claim to be doing their best to solve the problem. Fed up with the lethargic attitude of the authorities in solving issue, residents and activists have recently decided to launch a massive campaign to fix the problem once and for all. They say that if this is not sorted out now, it is going to be impossible to continue living…

Jewellery stolen from Davanam Jewellers recovered by Bengaluru police. Pic: Bengaluru City Police A woman in Bengaluru lost her golden ‘Vanki’ (armlet) and she lodged a police complaint. Police caught the thief and recovered the armlet. The cop who was in-charge of that station developed a secret desire to retain the valuable Vanki. Next day when the complainant (theft victim) arrived at the station to collect her Vanki, she was shown a pestle instead of the armlet. The policeman cleverly played with homophones and replaced ‘Vanki’ with a ‘Onake’ (rice pounder / pestle). He convinced the complainant that the item…

Citizen Matters previously brought to you a series of articles on Rainwater harvesting that included information on how best to go about incorporating best management practices of tapping the resource of rainwater within your own community. An earlier piece answered some basic questions about Solar Power in India. In a continuation of that series, this piece explains in simple terms how people can introduce solar power as an additional or alternate source of energy in their homes. Bangalore's daily power demand is about 2300 Mega Watts (MW), about one-third of the state's total power consumption. The average 2/3 bedroom home…