GENRE: Explainers

Citizen Matters is happy to announce the availability of our popular guidebooks for Bangaloreans in e-book form. Newshunt, the popular news app and Rockstand, the specialised e-book app—both are carrying our books. All our three guidebooks are available here. Buy e-books from Rockstand here Living in Bengaluru 2.0 Buying, Investing and Renting Property in Bengaluru Get to Know Bengaluru Better Buy e-books from Newshunt here Living in Bengaluru 2.0 Buying, Investing and Renting Property in Bengaluru Get to Know Bengaluru Better

So the non-profit you support is raising funds and you are busy reaching out to all your friends. The ones who are settled abroad are particularly targeted. A $100 donation (or its equivalent in INR), while giving huge satisfaction in doing a bit of charity would hardly pinch their pockets there, and make a huge difference here. It probably would not cross your mind that receiving money from “foreigners” without having FCRA Prior Permission/ FCRA Registration is violating the law and your non-profit can land up in serious trouble. Here is what you need to know when you collect donations…

  Nowadays, festival shopping in Bengaluru is no longer about rushing to crowded malls and grabbing that last piece of discounted product off the counter. One cannot think of a single product that cannot be bought over the internet. Sitting at the comfort of your home, you can order just about anything, ranging from electronics, clothes, cosmetics, jewellery, medicines, home needs, toys, books to even pets and plants. The online shopping fever hasn’t spared anyone. As payment and replacement guarantee are in place for most products, even kids buy what they like with the ‘Cash on Delivery’ mode. Sudha, a…

Eco-friendly birthday parties are possible if you can plan a little. Pic courtesy: Sindhu Rao So, the little tyke is turning a year older. As a parent who is expected to throw a stellar birthday party, you are perhaps neck deep in planning. Should you throw a party at home or at the clubhouse? Should you take the little one with his friends for an outing to an amusement park or to his favourite fast food restaurant? What should be on the menu? Should you keep it a small gathering of close friends or throw a big bash? So many…

Bangalore has everything at your service; local goods, imported commodities, native touch, embedded culture and what not! From Yoga to Kung-fu, from Desi to Gucci, Bangalore prides over having everything to offer to its residents. We have international and interstate exotic dishes available throughout the city. But wait, is there any recipe that is rarely available in Bangalore? Yes, we found many. There are our own Karnataka recipes that most of our restaurants don’t serve. We have listed ten of them here. So, for all the foodies out there, here is a list of ten such delicacies found not so…

In many functions, food becomes excess and remains unused. Instead of wasting it, donate it to the needy! Pic courtesy: Lakshmi Partha “Urgent: A friend just called me to say that food (Bisibelebhath & curd rice/pickle) that could serve 200 people is left over from a big event... Tasty and good in condition, I have been trying to reach any organisation that they can go and give the food to someone... Any leads/contacts of people who may find this useful?” When Vasanti Hariprakash, Radio journalist and anchor from Bangalore posted this on her Facebook wall, there was a flood of…

Radha lives in R T Nagar. With her office located in Koramangala, she has to travel around 15 kilometres every day. Without convenient bus connectivity, she had had to resort to autos or cabs. When her neighbour who also commutes to Koramangala everyday, offered a shared ride, Radha was only too happy. Pic courtesy: paloaltobridge.com A small solution to the enormous traffic on road during peak hours, the concept of cab sharing has picked up in Bangalore. There are also many mobile apps and websites to help people find like-minded travellers on the same route. “I remember going to Goa…

Even after constant monitoring from the High Court and many orders in place, managing waste the right way still continues to be a major issue in Bengaluru. Disposable diapers occupy a major share of the crisis. The solution doesn’t lie in leaving your kids run around naked, not for the busy and indulgent mom of today. This is where modern cloth diapers come into the picture. “What, cloth diapers? No...!” is what we hear, even from the environmentally conscious citizens of Bangalore, who otherwise try to do their bit. Many others who would want to minimise the expenses of diapers…

In the first part of this series, I explained about the history of Whitefield area in Bengaluru that resulted in khata confusions. In the second part, I answered many questions related to khata, in addition to explaining why khata is not a proof of ownership. There are five categories of people based on the khata they have or don't have. Category A: Those who have been able to obtain a khata issued by the erstwhile Mahadevapura CMCCategory B: Those who have a Village panchayat khata issued by the erstwhile Whitefield Village panchayat, but for some reason, were unable to obtain…

The first thing that hits you, when someone who comes out from airport happens to sneeze or feel feverish is this: Could this be Ebola? And one is careful with those who come from Ebola-affected countries, for they might even be Ebola-affected! However, what is the real situation about Ebola? Do we, the Bangaloreans, have a reason to worry? Citizen Matters explores. Ebola has no known remedy, still many cured Ebola virus (EBV) has no known cure, though some trial drugs appear to work. The mortality rate is 90% according to World Health Organisation. Death toll in the southern African…