GENRE: Features

It was not a typical Sunday when people wake up leisurely for brunch. Bubbling energy and enthusiasm radiated from Kanteerva stadium Bangalore.Kanteerva stadium saw Derbia Merga winning Men's event and taking home a prize of USD 1,55,000. The day belonged to the Ethiopians.Mergia Asslefech - Winner of women's 10k raceIt was a good idea to have an exclusive prize for Indian athletes in men's and women category. Kavita Raut from Maharastra was the winner in the Indian women's category. Participants were running like a storm. Nothing but energy and enthusiasm:The best part was the Kingfisher Run-in-costumes: It made the entire…

This morning, Bengaluru put on its running shoes to sprint up to 10 kilometres. There is all the fanfare and hooplah surrounding the 10 kilometre Sunfeast run, most often mistaken for a marathon (a marathon’s distance is about 42.2 kilometres). Runners at the Kanteerava stadium (pic: Naveen Ningaiah) With such hype, one often wonders what goes into organizing and preparing for a mammoth event such as this. Rumors have begun to do rounds - the celebrities who have pledged to raise funds are failing and backing out. People are highly likely to continue with some ever-so-often-heard rants – “The traffic…

Authenticity is a tough art to master. There was one time when I went to a restaurant abroad that claimed to be Chinese, had interiors that was roughly Korean, displayed Japanese art and was called, hold your breath, Dalchini (Cinnamon in many Indian languages). The Confused Orient would have been a better name. A food critic once wrote about how any self respecting European chef would take the next flight out; livid with shock, on seeing what was passed off as Italian cuisine in the city.You must sympathise with the purists for the raw deal they get. Or perhaps, you…

The well known artist G Subramaniam's works were on display at Silk Interiors in Bella Vista on Lavelle Road earlier this month. This store for interior décor artifacts houses a gallery named "iArt". Artwork by G SubramaniamG Subramaniam has a fascinating and unique way of expressing his creativity. He creates collages on canvases. Yes, the same collage techniques from your college and school competitions! Subra as he is popularly known in the art field, has combined this with his imagination and created a splendid new image. Most of his works revolves around Indian deities; Krishna, Brahma and Ganesha. Subra says,…

A cluster of banyans that are home to seven thousand bats A 150 foot tall araucaria tree from New Caledonia! Gnarled and irregular trunks of ancient tamarind trees that are around 800 years old in a Devarakadu (god’s grove) near Bangalore! A keelback snake just about to swallow its breakfast in Lalbagh. These are extracts from Heritage Trees and Green Heritage Sites by Vijay Thiruvady, published by Bangalore Environment Trust on behalf of their project sponsors. To say that Thiruvady is a walking encyclopaedia on trees and wooded areas in and around Bangalore would not be far from the truth.…

The Adigas fast food joint at Jayanagar 4th block is known to all south Bangaloreans and people of all ages come here to enjoy the food and coffee. But most of them are so busy that they don’t notice a serene art haven called Magnitude Art Gallery, situated straight down the road. Magnitude Art Gallery hosts exhibitions by artists whom they promote. It is one of the few firms that encourage talented yet unknown artists from various parts of Karnataka. The gallery has artists who work only for Magnitude; their work is exhibited and sold here. The artists work on…

Much has been written in recent years about rainwater harvesting. While the literature has certainly elevated interest in this practice, there is very little material to explain in simple terms how people can carry out an informed attempt to introduce RWH in their homes and communities. This Citizen Matters 4-part series authored by Bangalore-based Rainwater Club shows the way to implementing rainwater harvesting in a particular context: the gated layout. In the beginning When residents move into their new homes in a layout, they are occupied with setting up the home and making sure their daily requirements of water, electricity,…

Meet Susheel Alexander Samuel – 22 years old and in his final year of mechanical engineering. From this picture, you're probably wondering what's familiar with the hairstyle... Ghajini? No…and that’s a long story. Susheel Alexander Samuel (pic: Sharath Bhat) As a teenager, Susheel was everything parents put on their wish-list. He was diligent, thoughtful, obedient and totally responsible – even when it came to riding his bike. He would always wear a helmet, even if he was just going down the road. So do bad things really happen to good people? It was 23rd February 2005 - Susheel had just…

Have you ever seen your grandmother or mother being possessive and nostalgic about their first Mysore silk saree? Just as today’s girls go ga-ga over a Swarovski, it was the Mysore silk saree which used to be considered an evergreen gift for a special occasion a few decades ago. It is no surprise that it has an interesting history as it was a thriving industry in itself in the state. Silk material and saris (Pic: Madhu Niranjan) The state sericulture industry saw successful highs in the past before it went down due to several reasons, including lack of technology upgrade…

Our Theatre presents its debut production, Beyond the Land of Hattamala, a play written by Badal Sircar. Founded by Sandeep Shikar, an actor, writer and director and Vivek Vijayakumaran, a theatre artist, Our Theatre was originally born out of a need to have a banner for Beyond the Land of Hattamala . However, the connection between Vivek and Sandeep and their belief about theatre ran deeper and so Our Theatre has become more a way of working, a way of doing theatre. "For me, Our Theatre is our thought, our belief, our language, our culture, our complexity, our simplicity, our…