GENRE: Features

Soon, Avenue Road won’t be the favourite destination for books and jewelry. Amidst protests, it’s all set to be widened into a main road that connects KR Market and Gandhinagar. Citizen Matters takes a look at what happens to an old Bangalore street when it confronts a rapidly growing city. For generations, students from LKG to PG have thronged Avenue Road for cheap books. Here, books have been elevated to a religion. But this religion isn’t for all. This child bookseller will only learn to read book titles. Avenue Road is an old locality, and home to thousands of small…

Bangalore has seen the success stories of hundreds of young men and women who have, apparently, taken to information technology like a duck to water. So it is interesting to talk to people who are the ‘other side of the coin', so to speak....who have turned their back on careers in this lucrative field, and are branching out in directions dictated by their hearts, rather than by economic necessity. Amoghavarsha: Wildlife photographer Meet Amoghavarsha JS, a young man who has done just this. "When I finished my Pre-University," he says, "I knew I loved technology, and, so I decided to…

Walking from the Golf Course at Kumara Park, a friend and I were both clueless about which way to head to land at Palace Grounds. That rainy Sunday being the last day of this year’s Bangalore Book Festival (BBF), we promptly asked a traffic policemen for help. The gentleman was kind in his advice: Browsing galore at the fest. Pic: Padmashri R.“Illinda nadkond hodre, kaal murdhogatte”, (Going on foot from here will ensure broken legs) he said.On learning from us that we were going to the Bangalore Book Festival, he snorted sardonically. “Ivatt hogtidiraa?” he exclaimed, incredulous at our nonchalance.…

On the market floor, things are fresher than ever.Before we had malls, we had shopping complexes. And the one at Jayanagar 4th Block was the most popular among them. And it continues to be a great place to shop, especially if you are looking for bargains in Bengaluru.Set in the heart of the sprawling suburb of Jayanagar, the complex is the hub around which places for shopping and eating continue to evolve.Meanwhile, the complex thrives without much change. It maintains a careless concrete look which is in sharp contrast to the sterile marble and glass experience of a mall. The…

Any Bangalore sightseeing tour will be incomplete without a visit to the Vidhana Soudha. Sitting high in Barton Centre on MG Road or a similar vantage point, one can enjoy its illuminated palace-like look in the evenings. The making of this magnificent stone structure has an interesting story to it. However, unlike many parliaments abroad, there are no guided tours or pamphlets to help us know more about its history. Vidhana Soudha, which is also called as ‘people’s palace’, is off-limits for the visitors.Establishing identityDuring the time of KC Reddy, who preceded Kengal Hanumanthiah as the Chief Minister of Mysore…

As art becomes big business, it is not surprising to find art galleries springing up everywhere in Bangalore; but when one finds a gallery that is somewhat different, it is rather intriguing! I met young Veena Narsasetty, an artist and sculptor, who was exhibiting for a show at a gallery called ‘Swasti’. The unusual thing about the gallery is that it is funded and run by Health Care Global, an organisation that runs an oncology hospital in Bangalore. Health Care Global (HCG) is about five years old, and has seven hospitals all over India. Dr. Bhagya Ajaikumar, wife of the…

The city life sure is a busy life. Work pressure, traffic jams, chores at home and hassled running about call for a weekend off from time to time, for there is nothing like fresh air and scenic valley views to cheer the run down spirit. Especially when it comes with a refreshing streak of adventure – energetic trekking and some liberate flying. Flying, in Bangalore!? Well, not exactly, but Bangaloreans now have a flying club a few hours' drive away from city limits, near Krishnagiri. Traditionally, India boasted of two flying sites – at Panchgani (near Pune) and Bir (in…

If the Bandstand at Cubbon Park could talk, it sure would have a lot to say. It would probably tell you about how it started off, as all bandstands do, as a space for outdoor concerts / musical performances. It would narrate to you tales of long lost glory, of how it was a location where the royal family was entertained by musicians, and how, the people of Bangalore got an opportunity to witness memorable recitals by prominent artists, when the city was well and truly able to live up to its name of being the Garden city, much before…

I had heard a lot about the Manchinbelle dam (across the river Arkavathy) from fellow photographer friends and it appeared at the top of my interest list for the weekend. Trip To: Manchinbelle DamFree Add-On: Big Banyan tree, Naga TempleDistance: 40 Kms.Trip directions: From Bangalore city, drive down Mysore Road and turn right at Rajeshwari Dental College. The road will take you directly to the Big Banyan tree and then continue to Manchinbelle Dam. The road is a great all through but the last few kms to the road promise to be bumpy.. EXPERIENCEAs the drive from the Rajeshwari dental…

Standing in front of the High Court, facing the street with the din of the traffic passing through, it is hard to imagine the life here in late 19th Century. No smoke-spewing vehicles, no harried traffic police and not even the huge imposing Vidhana Soudha. The Cubbon Park was a sprawling green area with the barracks on one side and the imposing Residency (present Raj Bhavan) on the other. Officers of the Secretariat would ride through the lush green park environs on horse carriages and enter the Mysore public offices (present High Court) for their everyday work. The entire area…