GENRE: Features

“Places I like”, a photo exhibition that captures the various facets of Bangalore is currently ongoing at Max Mueller Bhavan. It is an outcome of a 3-week workshop conducted in the city by German photographer Stefan Koppelkamm. The objective of the workshop is  to define the personal criteria that determine the “quality of life” in a city with  focus on ‘routine’ and ‘normal’ rather than the unusual. Many city-based amateur and professional photographers are participating in this exhibition. Eagle's eye of the exhibition. Pic: Venkatesan Perumal. “When I first got down at Bangalore’s Kalasipalyam bus stand, it was very unlike…

An impatient Hanuman, a confused Pinocchio and a confident Alice in wonderland, who did not seem lost at all. The morning of 8 August 2009 saw all of them together at Brigade Millennium, JP Nagar phase VII for a fancy dress competition. The event was a part of the week-long Malhar 2009, a community festival of the apartments’ Mayflower block. Participants at the children's fancy dress competition. Pic: Priyanjali Ghose. As the children of the apartment dressed as different characters from popular books, the scene looked like it was straight out of a fairy tale. And it was not just…

Traditional board games in India have been a major source of entertainment for many generations now. Even though still popular in some parts of the country, games of this kind are soon losing out to computer games and electronic gadgets among the urban middle class. In an attempt of reviving these traditional games, Kavade, a toy store based in Seshadripuram, organised a traditional board games tournament on the 25th and 26th of July, 2009. A Kavade volunteer helping participants with the rules. Pic: Deepti Sarma Sreeranjini GS, an ardent lover of traditional games, had founded Kavade earlier this year. Kavade…

The reception area of Be Ahead with Sustained Excellence (BASE), a prominent coaching academy in Bangalore, is a hub of activity. Two students are waiting to meet a teacher to clear their doubts; a few parents and students come in to check their results for the entrance exam to enrol in BASE. Some seemed happy, others seemed disappointed in the meantime a couple of parents wait with their child in tow, to speak to counsellors about their coaching options. It is summer – schools and colleges are not in session but some students are getting a head start. BASE is…

There’s a thrill in leafing through the pages of a book that comes with inscriptions of multiple ex-owners, like my second hand Rule Brittania by Daphne Du Maurier from Blossom Book House, where most of Bangalore’s book loving public goes to hunt for second hand titles both obscure and regular. Incidentally, they also have a great collection of cult graphic titles such as Watchman, Batman, etc. “I buy only second hand books from there,” says content consultant Mansi Narang, who lives in Langford Town. Her reasons? “The books are cheap, in good condition, there’s great variety and best of all,…

Art, Resources, Training Trust (ART) on 12th July, 2009 screened Girish Kasarvalli’s Gulabi Talkies at the Badami House located near NR Circle. Renowned scholars from the field of Film- Studies and Literature took part in the discussion that followed the screening. This was ART’s second event.Although Sunday morning 10 AM did not see many Bengalureans at the screening, the regulars did not miss it: film-makers, artists and students. The event brought together scholars belonging to different institutions as well as Kasaravalli. Mamata Sagara, Kannada poet and faculty at Central University, Hyderabad, began the discussion by suggesting that Kasarvalli was a…

A detachable platform with giant wheels. A circular kiosk constructed with collapsible column. A school on wheels using recyclable materials. A mobile garden unit that also sells terrace garden plants, built using bill board structuresThese and some more are the result of a collaborative effort of architects from all over the globe who responded to an open invitation sent by Prayas Abhinav, a talented artist based in Bangalore.Abinav, 27, post graduate from CEMA (Center for Experimental Media Arts) and Srishti, lives and works in Bangalore. A man of many interests from writing to art and film making, he has won…

On Sunday, 21 June 2009, many Kannada book lovers gathered at Nayana Auditorium Kannada Bhavana. T Navakarnataka Publications released a series titled ”Vanitha Chintana Maale”, a set of ten books with content predominantly women centric . Navakarnataka Publications was established in 1960 and has as its motto: Pustakada Muulaka Manukulada Seve (Service to Mankind through books). In its nearly 50 years of operation, Navakarnataka has published more than 2500 different books that cater to a wide range of people – from intellectuals to the common man. In addition to a monthly newsletter titled ‘Hosathu’, Navakarnataka has been publishing books (predominantly…

A thief gave up stealing and became a construction worker under his guidance. He received 35 cash awards from the Deputy Commissioner of Police for his service. The list of accomplishments does not end here for Rajiv B R, a constable who has been working in the JP Nagar police station for the past nine years.“He is extremely committed to his job and tireless in his duty,” said Shivalingaiah, head constable, who has known Rajiv for the last four years. “He is hardworking and sometimes covers for others’ pending work too.”However, joining the Bangalore City police was not a planned…

“For men may come and men may goBut I go on for ever”.In the spacious library in the basement of St Joseph’s College on Langford road, I read these lines of Lord Tennyson’s poem that aptly captured the spirit of St. Joseph’s educational institutions, which have been in existence for more than a century. However, in May this year a piece of history was lost for ever; the 84 year-old magnificent gothic building that housed St Joseph’s Arts and Science College on Residency Road was brought down.A few years back, while working out of one of the glass and chrome…