GENRE: Features

Yeh Saali Zindagi (Hindi) Any film that gets director Sudhir Mishra to the lens again, with the immensely talented Irrfan Khan and Chitrangda Singh as part of the cast that brings the film to life, automatically finds its way on to your ‘must watch’ list. But Yeh Saali Zindagi fails to live up to our high expectations. Even when unpredictable, the film still leaves you dissatisfied. While it’s a departure from Mishra’s previous work like Hazaaron Khwaishein Aisi and Khoya Khoya Chand, there are commonalities with the treatment and thematic focus of his earlier films like Chameli and Iss Raat…

The ninth edition of 'Municipalika', a three-day conference and exhibition on urban governance took place from 27 to 29 January at Palace Grounds. This is the first time Municipalika was held in Bengaluru. It saw more than 1200 delegates, 120 speakers from across the nation converging to share best practices in urban governance. Mayors of different towns and cities and delegates at the Municipalika. Pic: Yograj S Mudalgi Municipal Commissioners, Mayors, urban planners, policy makers and members of Resident Welfare Associations (RWA) from different towns and cities participated in the conferences organised by the Good Governance India Foundation (GGIF). The…

It was in December 2003 that Bangaloreans first woke up to the idea of Airtel Bengaluru Habba (in those days - Bangalore Habba). As posters announcing the city's new cultural festival dotted the landscape and street art spilled over onto the MG Road Boulevard, the idea of the Habba captured the city's imagination. The vision behind the Habba says Padmini Ravi, Trustee of Artistes' Foundation for the Arts (AFFA) that spearheads the event, has been "to provide aesthetic entertainment to a wide cultural, social and demographic cross-section of people. We wish to ensure that various art forms continue to have…

Nishanth Repello, 15- years-old, idolises Nadal and pursues tennis full time at the Bangalore Tennis Academy (BTA) in JP Nagar. He is currently ranked 28 in the under-16 at the national level. Playing tennis since he was nine, Nishanth is being schooled through National Institute of Open Schooling. He says it gives him the flexibility to travel widely for tournaments and still not miss out on education. "I will be travelling to Mysore and Chandigarh to play in National Level tennis tournaments soon but my studies won't be affected", says Nishanth. Nishanth Repello, 15, aims to follow in the footsteps…

In the Whitefield campus of technology major iGate, a most unusual tournament was on last week. It appears to many a curious bystander that all these people - of various ages and nationalities-were spending Monday morning playing intense games of Scrabble. At a table in the first row sits a man in a New Zealand t-shirt having just finished a game that his opponent is intently analysing. Nigel Richards at the tournament. Pic: Siri Srinivas You and I will not recognise the name but 42-year-old, Nigel Richards is the current world champion of Scrabble and a veritable legend. He had…

When most citizens of Bangalore were wrapped up under blankets on a cold Saturday morning, 43 adventure lovers set out to cycle, kayak and go bouldering. Bangalore Adventure Race or BAR 101 kicked off from Turahalli, off Kanakapura Road, Southern Bangalore at 4.50 am. The participants cycled 50 kms to the Manchanbele reservoir to face more tasks to test their endurance. Cycling part of the race. Pic courtesy: Bangalore Adventure Race. The 15 teams made it to Manchanbele in about two hours. And plunged straight into trail biking, bouldering or Kayaking, depending on the tasks they felt most confident of.…

After almost three decades of nurturing their dream, theatre personalities Arundhati and Jagdish Raja have finally seen it turn into a reality. Their dream was simple - a centre for the performing arts. Jagriti, which means awakening, aims to be a hub for the performing arts when in people have the opportunity be participate rather than just be an audience. Jagriti is located in Whitefield. The theatre intends to be a community centre where you can become involved, not just as audience, but be it as a participant in special workshops and lectures; an usher for shows or even as…

At first glance the Lakshmipuram Hindu burial ground in Ulsoor, would look like just another place where cold souls rest. But on a weekend, the far end of the graveyard turns into cricket ground. A portion of the burial ground being used as cricket pitch Pic: Navya P K A clearing in one corner of the nearly 15-acre ground has two ‘cricket pitches' now - a unique solution to the shrinking playgrounds in the city. At the crack of dawn, teams of youngsters would rush to the ground to start playing in the better of the two pitches that lie…

Ghosts trapped in jars, straw flutes, tornado in a bottle; the complexities of science can be simplified for children in a fun way and this is exactly what Agastya Foundation does. A Bangalore based foundation dedicated to hand on science education, their aim is to foster creative thinking among underprivileged children who do not have access to books and laboratory facilities. Agastya Foundation's Science Fair. Pic: Usha Hariprasad. Chairman Ramji Raghavan left an illustrious corporate career in 1998 to set up the Foundation, which has such eminent scientists like P K Iyengar (Former chairman of Indian Atomic Energy commission) and…

Sanjay Mokla, 30, a native of Sangameshwar in Maharashtra joined Decathlon, a sports store in Bangalore as a cycle technician after quitting his job as a sales executive to be around what he loves most - cycles. His passion is evident when he introduces his work area as "dream place". Sanjay Mokla at home amidst cycles. Pic: Yogaraj S Mudalgi At college, Mokla has been a B.Sc topper and has cycled from Srinagar to Kanyakumari. More recently from his base in Bengaluru, he has taken on several long distance cycling trips. In conversation with Citizen Matters, he talks about his…