GENRE: Features

The water-melons slowly making way for the golden mangoes, dark grey clouds rushing in from nowhere to establish their sovereignty across the azure sky, the sudden afternoon thunderstorms playing the spoilsport and keeping the children indoors, the cool relief from the scorching heat as the sweet smell of the wet earth floats up and fills the air - the monsoon has finally arrived. Pic credit: Wikkicommons. With the schools welcoming back the brats after a seemingly never-ending summer break, the young mothers are happily settling down to trade in the bustling mornings for the long-awaited peace and normalcy in the…

For a mother who is often at loss about where to entertain her child, especially when you have no option but to take them along for some chores or shopping, it’s great to see some interesting play centers opening up in Bangalore. These are stand-alone activity centres with simple props and games that encourage action and provide a safe zone for kids to happily hop, skip and jump - not the noise pollution factories that masquerade as bowling alleys and gaming areas in most malls. There’s Monkey Maze in Indiranagar that has a huge soft play area for kids upstairs…

Playing games in playstations or computers or watching television is the common pass-time activity amongst most children of today’s generation. I wonder if they even know about many other interesting games that one can play in the absence of any equipment or electricity.I chanced upon the website of Kavade - a toy hive, a store in Bangalore which is promoting Indian games such as kavade (cowrie shells), good old tic-tac-toe board game, marble mazes, and puzzles and so on.Glancing at their product list transported my thoughts to the days of my childhood. Back then, fancy toys, action figures, expensive dolls,…

Commercial Street is one of the oldest and busiest shopping areas of Bangalore. Known for its eclectic shopping destinations and food joints, Commercial Street is best explored by foot. Aptly located in the heart of the city with ample parking space, this area is the most sought after by youngsters and families alike. With early monsoon setting in, don't let your shopping spree be dampened by the rains. Opt for plastic jumper boots - they are in vogue this season and keep your feet clean. You can also opt for simple yet pretty plastic chappals in various colors. An umbrella…

Despite the plethora of fancy eating places and the deep pockets that enable us to eat at these restaurants; for some of us it is traditional food that provides a satisfying experience. Witness the throngs at eateries like MTR and Halli Mane and at the few restaurants that offer Jolada Roti meals. Ironically, or maybe because this segment is smaller, most restaurateurs hesitate to go down the ethnic path. Walk on the well travelled road and one can't go wrong, this appears to be the vein of thought in the restaurant industry. So even as you scour eateries for some…

You’d expect the members of a group that calls itself the Bangalore Classic Scooter Club to be older, gray-haired, bordering on their 50s perhaps. It therefore comes as a surprise that the founder-members of this group, four in all, are in their 20s and 30s. In fact, as Arun P, one of the founder-members and all of 23 tells me, most of their members are below the age of 35. If that’s the first of the clichés shattered (vintage scooters would appeal to those who belong to somewhat vintage years) then the next is yet another widely believed one. You’d…

Rainbow Drive Layout, Bhoomi Network for Sustainable Living and Biome Environmental Solutions had together organised a talk by Dr Chandrashekar from Vision Earthcare on May 30th 2010 at the Rainbow Drive Club House on Sarjapur Road. Dr Chandrashekar articulated the limitations of existing STPs and how an ecological method which is Soil Biotechnology (SBT) based STPs, researched for over two decades at IIT-Bombay, provides clean river quality water at a lower cost. Vision Earthcare, incubated in IIT Bombay, has licensed this method for deployment globally. Attendees of the talk included ex-panchayat leaders, active citizens from several layouts, chemical and environment…

When I was growing up (admittedly a long time ago) summers always meant mangoes, visit to grand mothers' and unlimited play time. But today there is a structure to this blissful summer holidays. 9 am - bollywood dance, 10 am - swimming, 11 am - drawing class, 1 pm - origami class, 2 pm - TV time, 3 pm - classical dance, 4 pm to 6 pm play time. Grand mothers and mangoes struggle to fit into this schedule. This is as much about "structured fun" as it is about keeping children busy all day so the mothers can "relax",…

"Sketching is like yoga", says Smitha Shivaswamy in a very serious tone. Having been hanging around with this group of sketchers for a good part of a precious Sunday morning, I cannot but agree. I am talking about Pencil Jam, a sketching club whose members every Sunday to do what they like to do best, sketch. Sketching in progress. Pic: Srinivasulu Mallampooty. Smitha along with George Supreeth, and Prabha Mallya run an illustration firm called Pencil Sauce. They open up their Sundays to jam sessions, inviting anyone who is interested to try sketching.. They are just five sessions old, but…

“From my apartment window I would see children building castles out of mud. Kids who should be spending their time in school were out accompanying their parents at the construction. This scene which resonated with me would repeat itself day after day until I realized a universal truth - Children loved building castles, homes - a place of belonging, whether at a beach, a playground or here at a construction site. Children's Lovecastles Trust (CLT) was borne out of a passion to keep kids in school. To give them the education they deserve, so they can go build on their…