GENRE: Features

This is an excerpt introducing the book Nature in the City: Bengaluru in the past, present and future, written by Harini Nagendra, a Professor of Sustainability at Azim Premji University, Bengaluru, India. The book is scheduled to be released on June 10th, 2016, at 6.30 pm at Alliance Francaise, Bengaluru. My office is in the peri-urban fringe of Bengaluru. From a place that was fairly rural, in ecology, lifestyle and livelihoods, this area has transformed almost literally in front of my eyes in the past decade into a mess of congested traffic, garbage dumps, slums cheek by jowl with apartment blocks,…

Fig. 3.5.1: East View of Bangalore in 1792 AD by Robert Hyde Colebrooke, British Library, Shelfmark - WD4461 Courtesy: Yashaswini Sharma Were there waterways inside Lal Bagh once upon a time? How did the famous garden get the unique design? How did the famous glass house came to be in it? This chapter from a book on Bangalore's early history — Bangalore - the early city - AD 1537-1799, authored by Yashaswini Sharma, an architect from Bengaluru, to be released on June 4, 2016, at the British Council, Bangalore, provides some insights. Exclusive images collected from archives make it an…

Come June 5 and there is a flurry of activity in the name of environment. An item on the CSR list ticked, some community sentiments evoked and soon the environment is a closed chapter for many. But at Adamya Chetana Foundation, greening the city is no one-time event. In its project Green Bengaluru 1:1 started this year, the group aims to ensure one tree for every person. “Where we ideally need seven trees for one person, we now have one tree for seven persons,” says Tejaswini Ananthkumar, who is the founder of the organisation along with husband Ananthkumar, the BJP…

She stands with folded hands near the dam. Ponnaiyar, Thenpennai, Dakshina Pinakini.... these are the names she personifies. Statue of Dakshina Pinakini in Bhoganandeeshwara temple. Pic: Vishwanath Srikantaiah At the ancient Bhoganandeeswara Temple, children listen to their teacher narrating the story of a spring that comes and fills the step-well. Here is where it all begins. In Kannada there is a saying—never ask about the origins of a sage and a river. Children listening to the story at the Bhoganandeeshwara temple premises. Pic: Vishwanath The city of Bengaluru has made it to international news because two of its lakes started…

Clicked2Help presents “Spirit of India”, an exhibition of photographs showcasing various facets of a vibrant and colorful India at Venkatappa Art Gallery (VAG). The exhibition will be inaugurated on 13 th May, 2016 and will go on till 22 nd May, 2016. The members of TGIS ("Thank God It's Saturday, a city-based photographers' group), have come together for the fourth year running to conduct this exhibition. This group represents a wide spectrum of the society including students, IT professionals, businessmen, and entrepreneurs etc. The amateur and experienced members all join hands to conduct this exhibition every year for a noble cause.…

It’s a tiny single-room house nestled among similar dingy structures in a slum locality in Mangammanapalya. The house is located close to Hosur Road, which was an epicentre of garment workers' protests that took Bengaluru by storm when the Central government notified rules for Employee Provident Fund (EPF) restricting withdrawal of the PF till the age of 58. A cot placed on one side of the room occupies half the available space. On another corner is an old TV, the only source of entertainment. There is an open utensil washing-cum-bathing space at one end of the room and a kitchen…

If you love nature, like walking among trees and flowers, and want to know more about our green heritage, this is the walk for you. If you know absolutely nothing about trees or nature, you will find this walk fun and eye-opening. It is hot and sunny these days and we are constantly looking out for shade under some TREE be it while walking or parking the car...  but, how much do we actually know about the trees in our very own neighbourhood?? Do we ever spend time with our kids outdoors, close to nature, in contact with soil and…

A view of Bellandur lake from Sobha Lakeview Club House. Pic: Akshatha M Enough has been said and heard about infamous Bellandur lake. But what does the lake spread across 800 acres actually look like? How polluted it is? A team of researchers from Indian Institute of Science led by Prof T V Ramachandra and army personnel from Madras Engineering Group (MEG) have been conducting bathymetric survey of Varthur and Bellandur lakes for the last 10 days. Bathymetric survey aims to study the character of water across the various layers. This will help in scientifically deciding how to restore the…

Bengaluru lets its sewage into valleys, rivers and lakes. Little sewage is processed, while much of it is unprocessed in nature. Navin, a villager from K Channasandra, believes that the Maragondanahalli Lake is the savior for the villagers and their animals. Pic: Perumal Venkatesan Rampura Valley is one of the valley systems of Bengaluru in the north east of the city. This valley gets a mix of treated and untreated water from the raja kaluve (storm water drain) sewage treatment plant, which has 40 MLD capacity and uses Extended Aeration Process. The wastewater from north-eastern parts of Bangalore flows into…

Some years ago, a majestic tree stood just outside our house, not far from the heart of Bangalore. It was home to a squadron of monkeys, numerous squirrels and many varieties of birds. There were probably many snakes around, too. In those days, there was ample wildlife where we lived. That was probably how it was in most other Indian cities then, too. But that’s a story from a bygone age. The three-striped palm squirrel is one of the most commonly found 'wild' creatures in Bengaluru. Pic: Vikram Nanjappa Today, a mammoth-sized school occupies the space which that sprawling tree…