GENRE: Features

There is not even a name for it, not Sangama, not anything, but just Kudlu... the meeting point. Here the Vrushbhavathy, which rises from the Bull Temple in Basavangudi, Bengaluru meets the Arkavathy, which rises from the Nandi Hills range. Urban rivers have become 'nullahs' carrying sewage, the rural rivers—if you can even call it such—are dammed for urban water needs, for irrigation and for electricity. The Arkavathy is born here. At the birth place of the river, the well water is full and clean... The gentleman has been crossing the Arkavathy daily for the last 50 years... he wades across…

“God grant me the serenity to accept the things I cannot change, The courage to change the things I can, And the wisdom to know the difference.” The Alcoholics Anonymous (AA) meeting begins with the Serenity Prayer, recited mostly by the booming voices of men. Manjunath (name changed on request), a secretary for one of the Alcoholics Anonymous groups in Bengaluru, sits at the head of the borrowed schoolroom. As 11 am edges nearer, the crowd before him grows from 25 to 30 to nearly 40 people. They trickle in one by one, occasionally in pairs. Manjunath is a recovering alcoholic…

When a candidate contesting from a ward X in Bengaluru visited one of the houses during his door-to door campaign on Thursday, he had to face the wrath of residents. A house owner yelled at him and his supporters: “Why have you come now? Post election you won’t be seen anywhere. Election ada mele neevu pudaarigalu moote kattikondu hogthiri (You politicians will pack your bags soon after election).” Unmindful of her reaction, the candidate continued to ask for votes with a smile and humble look intact on his face. In a neighbouring ward Y with many posh houses, another party…

Websites? I mean, the homes of those that make homes of silk… that is, spiders. We’ve all seen spider webs around us: in the house, in the garden...and indeed, so synonymous is clearing spiders’ homes with our idea of keeping house well, that even when we talk about clearing our minds, we say, “let’s clear the cobwebs”. However, a closer look at these “websites” show they are marvels of engineering, strength and resilience. Spiders spin webs out of the silk that they produce, which passes out of their spinnerets. But the actual “architecture” of spider webs can vary very widely.…

Chintu TV is perhaps the only television channel that has been broadcasting dubbed content in Kannada. Pic courtesy: Chintu TV. When the fair-trade regulator Competition Commision of India (CCI) imposed penalties on three cinema and television organisations for preventing dubbing in Karnataka recently, the pro-dubbing fraction heaved a sigh of relief. The CCI order has been debated following the very long dubbing battle between anti-dubbing and pro-dubbing lobbies and organisations.   Kannada Grahakara Koota, a consumer forum which has been fighting in favour of dubbing, viewed the judgment as remarkable. They tend to believe that Kannadigas can now be able…

The new building of Government Higher Primary School, Nallurahalli which has remained unoccupied from last five years. Pic: Murugaraj Swaminathan Even after years of construction, the building of the Government Higher Primary School, Nallurahalli in Whitefield remained unoccupied. Inaugurated with much fanfare five years ago, the school building which is supposed to shelter students, turned out to be a dumpyard for builders. Eight classrooms in two blocks of the school were used by local contractors to dump the cement sacks, concrete blocks and other waste materials. However, the situation is going to change soon. You will hear the chitter-chatter of…

Sunday, 2nd August 2015 6:30 a.m. to 10:30 a.m. Yelahanka Lake   This Cycle Day event is dedicated to the memory of Dr A.P.J. Abdul Kalam. A poster exhibition is being organized at the venue. Cyclists will wear black armbands and observe two minutes silence in memory of the late President of India at the start of the cycle rally.   The cycle rally will be held around the 350-acre Yelahanka lake (around 6.5 km), followed by cultural events and traditional games on the street. Free cycle rentals with surrender of id card is being arranged. Light breakfast will be available…

A few weeks back, while writing about Vibhutipura lake, I spoke with Shubha Priya of VIKAS, a citizens' group associated with the Vibhutipura lake. She pointed out a few interesting facts about the lake, which I missed out on during my previous visits. The idea for composing this essay originated from my interaction with her. As I had observed in my previous essay, Vibhutipura Lake is a fascinating case-study. On various tracts of the land around the lake, one can find people residing in high-rise apartments. A section of society that is not socio-economically fortunate, lives on some other parts…

 Women at the Dodda Maramma temple, waiting to see the other car processions. Pic: Perumal Venkatesan No celebration is complete without fireworks. Pic: Perumal VenkatesanA lady cooks sweet pongal (made using new rice and jaggery) inside the temple campus, to offer to the goddess. This is a common practise across amman (Mariamma) temples in Tamil Nadu too. Pic: Perumal Venkatesan The gully where processions carrying the four idols meet. From here they proceed to the Dodda Maramma temple for the Agni Kunda Puja. Pic: Perumal Venkatesan Young lads dance to the beat of the tamte vaathya. Pic: Perumal Venkatesan Karagattam…

I’ve always enjoyed playing outdoors as far back as I can remember. The first sport I got truly hooked to was football when I was in class five. Other interests, whether I took them on seriously for a while or not, came and went; but my football shoes journeyed alongside me all the way through to high school, and through my BA Degree years. Wait! Did I say all my BA degree years? My attention was slightly diverted when I was halfway through my degree course, and by what? A plastic disc. Little did I know then, that what we…