GENRE: Features

Behind the chaos that people associate the place with, Kalasipalaya is actually a well laid out grid of streets between SJP Road, Kalasipalaya Bus Stand, VV Puram and Double Roads. The location is perfect to cater to the large 'Market' area with perishable goods like vegetables and industrial supplies. That's the reason; you will find the offices and warehouses of every major trucking company in India in Kalasipalaya. But if you are a trucker, Kalasipalaya provides the perfect pit stop. After a long drive, you have places for the truckers to wash and change. Taste Punjabi food at its dhabbas…

Bangalore is referred to as the Bean Town (benda kaalooru in Kannada) by parts of the English Press. Legend has it that a king called it by that name when he strayed into a village selling boiled beans. While this name is basically a fun name, some of the sobriquets it has acquired do no justice to either the mood or the history of the city. Some journalist with an overdose of imagination saw some retired people going for a walk in a leafy suburb and termed it a pensioner's paradise. IT spokesmen, who like to believe that it all…

Whenever I read about child prodigies, I invariably wonder if the child has been allowed to be a child or forced to achieve things by the parents or teachers. And in many cases, my apprehension proves to be right! Fame-hungry parents often push children towards extraordinary achievements, robbing them of a normal childhood in the process. Many such tragic stories of child achievers abound, especially in the world of advertising and cinema. The children lose their innocence and start talking like depressed adults very early in life. I went to Master Nischay Bhargav’s house with the same apprehensions but was…

“It’s the only place in the city where you are served excellent chai at 2 AM”, swears Pradeep Andrews, Director of a bar entertainment consultancy firm, ‘Shaken N Stirred’. He is a long time resident of Infantry Road and knows Shivajinagar like the back of his palm. He further states that it is the safest place for a lady at any time of the day or night. There are die-hard fans of this area and there are others who know just the bus stand. Located between MG Road area and the Cantonment, Shivajinagar is a major commercial area and an…

All of us know how difficult it is to keep in touch with the fine arts while managing a household or a profession; imagine how much tougher it can be to do so if one wanted to travel the world as well. But one extraordinary individual who has managed to all this, and managed to both teach and learn music in other countries, is Anasuya Kulakarni. Anasuya, who is in her fifties now, had a lovely voice as a young girl, and, after her training under Ganakala Ratna R R Keshava Murthy, was often asked to sing everywhere, though her…

Nandi Betta or Nandi Hills, 60 kilometres from Bangalore, is a favourite and convenient picnic spot for all kinds of Bangaloreans – young or old, with or without families, with girlfriends or grandmothers. ‘Nandi nodade iddavaru handi ginta kade’ (Those who haven’t seen nandi are worse off than a pig) is a popular old village saying. But try to avoid the trip on a public holiday since there are more footfalls here than in your nearest mall. If you do visit on a weekend or a holiday, reach the hills in the early hours. Walking across the fort and in…

Navaratri, or the Nine Nights, are celebrated by the Bengalis as Durga Puja, or ‘Pujo’, for short. Over a period of years, several community Pujas have sprung up, and a roundup of a few ‘pandals’ (shamianas) over the five days of the Pujo brought some interesting vignettes of Bengali culture in our city, between the 5th and 9th of October. Abstract at Ulsoor pandal (Pic: Deepa Mohan)Rites and ritualsDurga, in her aspect of Mahishasura Mardhini (slayer of the Buffalo-Demon) is fondly addressed as ‘Ma’, and the mother is invited with pomp and celebration as she is supposed to be coming…

Most old time Bangaloreans will vouch that shopping in the noisy, congested lanes of Chickpete and Balepete is a unique experience and more importantly, easy on the wallet. Bangalore Pete (city), built in 1537 AD during Kempegowda reign, is now a thriving wholesale market. Though most people who visit here are retailers, who buy their supplies at wholesale prices, there is also a huge retail shopping populace who regularly visit for the economical prices and the sheer range on offer.It was a long time since I went shopping in this area; so when my aunt requested me to accompany her…

Once upon a time, buses were...boring. Not boring only because one had to wait endlessly for them, but also because the buses were uniformly coloured and so dull. All that has changed now, and I would like to share with you some of the rainbow bursts that ply through the city’s roads, some sporting pictures of nubile maidens and some messages laden with deep significance. I decided to take a ride on a couple of these buses just to talk to the conductors and the drivers. In some instances, the driver had been assigned recently to the bus, and was…

I used to live in South Bangalore until a few years ago. The Gandhibazaar-Jayanagar-VV Puram area has always been a haven for lovers of South Indian snacks. It had been quite sometime since I visited this area and when I met an old friend, we struck upon this idea of rediscovering South Bangalore food. Not the hotels, but the eat-as-you-go type – the Indian version of the street cafes of Europe. Small Cafes and Darshinis Brahmin's Coffee Bar, Basavangudi. Pic: Poornima Dasarathi.The best way to start the day would be with the soft and fluffy idlis soaked in the watery…