GENRE: Features

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…

Forms carefully filled, procedures checked and driving skills sharpened, does one stand a good chance of getting a driving license? Considering the general experience at RTOs, there can never be an answer in the affirmative every time. That absolutely nobody believes that licenses can be procured without paying bribes is the least of the RTO’s troubles. The department is fogged by confusions regarding procedures and mired in beaurocracy. Touts and agents at every RTO offering free, quick license in exchange for a few hundred rupees are commonplace. When it is not allegations of corruption, it is the irregularities in rules…

The aim of the CSR Team at Infosys Bangalore is to build awareness about the socially relevant initiatives of the organization, enroll people and execute the initiatives. One of the noteworthy initiatives (among the many programs initiated over the last 2 years) of this well established CSR team at Infosys is the Notebook Drive. This was made possible through the contribution made by 25,000 employees of Infosys. It helped the CSR team to distribute notebooks to 19238 children from 235 schools across Karnataka. This initiative for the underprivileged government school children raised Rs. 7 Lakhs in three days. The partnering…

Looking at the schedules of various theatre venues in Bangalore, and there don't seem to be too many venues where theatre is happening on a regular basis. Indeed, when I went to this link on ‘Bengaluru Theatre’, asking for theatre performance spaces, www.bengalurutheatre.com, I found the message, "This Category is currently empty"! Chandrashekhar Kambar's "Thukra's Dream" - A play at Ranga Shankara (Pic: Deepa Mohan)The most used space, of course, is Ranga Shankara, with its commitment to ‘a play a day’; a variety of theatre groups have been putting up shows this month. English, Kannada, Punjabi, and multilingual theatre is…

Populations worldwide are ageing. Young today is old tomorrow. Better living conditions, lower birth rates and medical science advancements have increased the life expectancy of humans. This would also mean increase in the population of the elderly. The coming years will see an increasing amount of aged couples and widows, many of whom may continue to feel the pressure of earning a livelihood due to lack of social security and insurance. At the same time, the process of aging will be accompanied by increased vulnerability to illness and death. All these features of aging imply that the problems of the…

‘Voices from the waters’ is a film festival with water as the theme, currently in its third edition at Bangalore. The film festival, a confluence of cinema and water, boasts of the largest collection of films in the world on water. The six-day celebration is being held in the Jnana Jyothi Auditorium of Central College Bangalore, during 13-18th September 2008. Organisers aim to spread awareness of water issues among the participants, provides a platform for students, scholars, visionaries and all concerned to learn, interact and debate on the water in all its forms. Worth fishing for: an art piece highlighting…

Bangalore is indeed a ‘Garden city’ even now; not many can boast of such vast gardens in the heart of the city. Blessed with a pleasant climate and fertile land, Bangalore was also fortunate to have many rulers with a love for parks. Read about Bangalore's famous parks and gardens.1. Lalbagh Botanical GardenDetails Lalbagh was created in 1760 covering an area of 40 acres, as a private garden for the then Mysore Rulers, Haider Ali and Tipu Sultan. Today, spread across an area of 240 acres, the lush green garden is famous for diverse and exotic flora collected from all…