GENRE: Features

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 Koramangala.  Little Italy is one of the most sought after restaurants in Koramangala. Italian and Mexican cuisines are offered here. It is a vegetarian restaurant. The lunch buffet from Monday to Friday is priced at Rs 460 (inc of all taxes) without drinks and for children it is priced at Rs 275 (exclusive of all taxes). Little italy The buffet includes welcome…

January 29th was a bright Sunday morning for us, a group of around 30 enthusiasts. We had gathered at 8.30 am in front of Someshwara temple for Halasuru Parichay, a heritage walk conducted by INTACH, Bangalore Chapter. Sathya Prakash Varanashi from INTACH (The Indian National Trust For Art and Cultural Heritage) and Dr Aruni from ICHR (The Indian Council of Historical Research), Southern Region, took us through the Parichay. The Parichay was divided into two parts - the first on Someshwara temple and the second on Halasuru settlement. Dr Aruni, in his parichay of the temple, explained three distinct stages…

'Great films will be made only when we become great audience' are the words that greet you, as you enter Suchitra Cinema and Cultural Academy. It was a film society when it was started and gradually over the years it has unfolded itself to other forms art like, music, dance and theatre. View of the academy in Banashankari. Pic: Deepthi M S Built in the 80s, Suchitra Cinema and Cultural Academy in Banashankari, has retained its green element. With an auditorium of its own, a few classrooms, halls and an open air theatre, it is one academy with all facilities…

Perhaps not everyone is aware that less than 150 km from Bangalore is a beautiful place where the critically endangered animal, the Blackbuck (Antilope cervicapra) can be sighted.This is the Maidanahalli Blackbuck Reserve. "Maidana Halli" in Kannada, means, "Village of the open meadows". The open grassland of the Deccan Plateau have steadily shrunk due to human habitation, and it was the efforts of Wildlife Aware Nature Club (WANC) along with other NGOs and individuals from the 1990's. This resulted in the creation of the Jayamangali Blackbuck Reserve in 2007. Pics: Deepa MohanPics: Deepa MohanPics: Deepa MohanPics: Deepa MohanPics: Deepa MohanPics:…

It's a tale of a boy who started a dance school at the age of just 17. Anil Iyer now a 21-year-old is the proud owner of a classical Tanjore style, Bharathanatyam dance institute in Jayanagar 9th Block, ‘Shivoham School of Performing Arts. Shiva's aananda tandava Iyer says he does not want to add more than 40 students, as he believes in quality and flawless teaching. "I teach to propagate this art form, I love teaching. I wish to give some artists back to the divine field of art, " he explains.Iyer's dance journey started when he was just 10,…

It's been my long cherished motherhood dream. A good sized drawer to hold all those fancy stuff that can turn you into the queen of craft in minutes, making short work of last minute projects that involve felt, googly eyes, pipe cleaners, glitter and anything slightly more complicated and hard to find than colourful markers. At this point the dream or rather the drawer, expands into a cupboard which also holds gifts for various genders and ages between two to ten, bought at half price during off -season sales. This is precisely the moment that I give myself a jolt…

"Koramangala was a no man's land then," says, Professor N S Ramaswamy, 86, the man behind the Indian Heritage Academy (IHA.) Prof Ramaswamy, Chairman, Director, IHA, believes that a place can be made liveable only through its culture and its ethics. Pic: Deepthi M S Built in the early 80's, the academy's sole purpose was to foster the growth of Indian culture. Situated amidst the a busy area, it has a retained its old charm. The academy, a non-profit making organisation, spread over 30,000sq feet, it has around 500 varieties of plants. With temples, open yards and trees, it takes…

‘Varna Mythri - Centenary Retrospective 2011' was launched in December 2011 to commemorate the birth centennial of artist Rumale Chennabasaviah. The retrospective is being held by National Gallery of Modern Art NGMA, Benglauru. Play of light, High Court, c 1960 - oil on canvas. Pic courtesy: NGMA The programme was to end on 31 January but the date has been now extended. "By popular demand, the last date for viewing has been extended until 19 February 2012", shared Shoba Nambisan, the director of NGMA.The programme included insightful weekly discussions by artists and art historians on Rumale's paintings, landscape art and…

The Bengaluru Habba featured the staging of Robert Bolt's A Man for all Seasons. For those of us not familiar with Bolt's name, he was an Oscar-winning screenplay writer and playwright, who wrote the screenplays for Dr Zhivago (one of his Oscar efforts) and the legendary Lawrence of Arabia.His other Oscar came from the screenplay adaptation of this play, A Man for all Seasons. The play for the Habba was stage directed by Arjun Sajnani, who is of course known for the high quality of his productions that include Fire and Rain and Tughlaq. This play was no different in…

This year's Bird Race, organised by the India Bird Races, was held on 15th January. Sunjoy Monga headed this year's race. Registrations were opened up in early January and 44 teams had registered in all. The race was sponsored, as always, by Hongkong and Shanghai Bank Corporation (HSBC).This was a good number of participants, considering the fact that it was Sankranti day.The rules, as always, were that people could form teams, and check off the various species of birds that they found in a 60 km radius around Bangalore. In this radius Nandi Hills is included, as it continues to…