GENRE: Features

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…

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…