GENRE: Features

It's very difficult being a non judgemental mom. Turns out, being judgemental comes wired into your system, the moment you become a mom. Not about yourself of course. We are judgemental about other mothers, the one who bottle-feeds her infant; the one who sends her kid to Karate ALL ALONE despite the fact that he has to cross a busy road; the one who thinks nothing of serving her kid Pepsi. In other words, the mother, who in our eyes is "wrong" while we ourselves are obviously doing it right or at least hoping that we are. Pic: Wikimedia commons…

The traffic near the erstwhile High ground Police Station refused to move. It was already eleven in the morning and I had set up an appointment to meet Archana Prasad, Jaaga's founder, at 11.30. As the clock ticked away, I couldn't help but smile at the tailormade situation for the topic I was to discuss with her. Art by Indo-German artists. Pic: Poornima Dasharathi The Directorate of Urban Land Transport(DULT) had partnered with Jaaga to explore alternate non-motorized transport solutions for Malleswaram. The project named "Malleswaram Accessibility Project" had an objective surveying the existing modes of transport and the commuting…

Friday, 17 February, was witness to an eclectic blend of musicians, all converged on one stage to show their talents and win lots of hearts. Akashavani Habba, a week long festival by AIR was held to portray, showcase and promote talented musicians across all art forms and music streams. The AIR Rock Marathon was one such event that was held to bring out the talents in the city to perform in front of a 3-member judge panel. Pic: Satvik Kaushik 11 Bands registered for the event. Nine of them showed up and three won their respective prize money and a…

Swensens, a popular American ice-cream chain is now a well-known hangout place for ice-cream lovers near the 80 feet road in Koramangala. With 40 different Sundae varieties and 24 different flavors, Swensen's has the perfect ambience to relish a scoop of ice-cream. The three popular flavors, which have been attracting a lot of customers, are the nutty crispy tower, Ceit tower at Rs 139 each and the hot fudge bonaza split at Rs 119. Price range is Rs 60 per scoop to Rs 399 for a special Sundae.Address: 621, Ground Floor, Opposite Barista, Near Sony Center Signal, 80 Feet Road,…

For most of us, the first thoughts on Japan would be fast cars, sushi and karate. These facets are complemented by the elaborate culture of the country. The Japan Habba 2012 showcased many such cultural and popular features of Japan. Over one thousand visitors attended the Indo- Japan cultural exchange programme at the  Jnana Jyoti Auditorium, Central College. Aptly named "Kizuna" which means camaraderie, this festival aims for Japanese in Bangalore to learn about India and similarly for Bangaloreans to get a better glimpse of Japanese culture.Toward late afternoon, the auditorium reverberated with popular Indian songs, only difference was that…

Everybody has been talking about Ms. Meena. Every time the play comes to Bangalore, somebody is always telling someone else why they should not miss Ms. Meena (pun unintended). Why, even Citizen Matters has already reviewed the play! At long last, I stood in line, and a long line it was, to watch our darling Ms. Meena. A scene from the play. Pic courtesy: Perch CDs of the play were being sold, and anywhere you looked, all that you could see was a Tamil Maami straight out of a 70s edition of Ananda Vikatan (a magazine). The poster also said…

Did you know your city was a rocky, barren plateau 250 years ago? Since then, starting with the Tigers of Mysore, followed by botanists and horticulture authorities, Bengaluru managed to become home to one of the greatest collection of trees from around the world. Vijay Thiruvady. Pic: Rajeev Rajagopalan This is the foreword in a new book, Heritage Trees, in and around Bangalore, by Vijay Thiruvady, 70, Koramangala-resident and Trustee at the Bangalore Environment Trust (BET). BET is also the book's publisher. Thiruvady is an engineer-turned naturalist better known in recent years for leading the Lalbagh Green Heritage Walks.No less…

Lekhana, a literary weekend organised by Sangam House, Desha Kala, Reading Hour, National Gallery of Modern Art and TOTO funds for the arts came to an end on Sunday, 12 February. The event included panel discussions, readings and performances.The uniqueness of the event lay in the fact that it was not only about Indian writing in English but brought together creative writers from regional languages as well-they were read directly and were translated in English as well. On day one, 10 February, the panel on ‘City in Literature' saw some free-spirited and open discussions amongst five eminent writers, Anjum Hassab,…

For a BBMP pourakarmika, this would perhaps rank as the worst time of the year as s/he would be constantly required to sweep the streets. Those in independent houses with a garden and trees would be filling the leaves in several black garbage bags everyday, perhaps even having to pay a little something to have it cleared. As apartment dwellers, leaves shed from the tree probably do not feature as easily on our radar. But if you are trying to learn all things related to creating and managing a healthy terrace garden, like me, you would rush to collect and…

Are you bored of those confusing menu cards and long waiting period after ordering your food in restaurants? Opt for the buffets then! These are the restaurants you can hit without apprehensions and enjoy the best buffets in South Bangalore. Isys, one of the well known hotels in Jayanagar offers buffet lunch and dinner. It is a multi cuisine restaurant which includes Chinese, Indian, Continental and Thai cuisines. Buffet lunch on weekdays is priced at Rs 375 (inclusive of all taxes) without drinks and on weekends it is Rs 417 (inc of all taxes) without drinks. Dinner buffet is available…