GENRE: LN

The December Music Season is considered to be a prestigious event much like its counterpart in the north, the "Saptak Music Festival'. A setting which boasts of the best of the performers to the best of the rasikas leaves no stone unturned to create the best of the ambience. The annual event held at the carnatic music capital of India, Chennai, draws huge crowds from the world over. Chennai, often considered as the elder cousin of Bangalore, brings in its elements to make a formidable pair with its younger tech city to entertain millions in a variety of spheres. The…

Government Minister and bureaucrat unaware of each others' names. Minister for Animal Husbandry Revu Nayaka Belamagi is known for his innocence. He is uneducated but respected by people. Speaking at the inauguration of a national seminar on animal husbandry, the minister said that he could speak neither English or Hindi. He was unaware of the correct name of his own department's Principal Secretary Shamim Banu. The latter too just addressed him as 'Honourable Minister' in her speech. This strange ignorance was a matter of discussion in the seminar. (Vijaya Karnataka, Monday, Dec 15) ATS chief on long leave In this…

The Ambedkar Community Computer Centre is situated in a slum area in the New Guruppanapalya, off Bannerghatta road, Bengaluru. In this IT city of multinationals, it is only one of the many slums in the interiors of Bangalore that is not well known outside. On the 13th December, the slum had a unique visitor who is well known in every part of the world as the founder of the Free Software Foundation. Richard M Stallman's visit turned the attention of IT professionals and media persons to the otherwise not-so-well-known slum. The Ambedkar team with Stallman. Pic: Aravind.Ambedkar Community Computing Center…

"The city is getting beautiful," says the A K Gopalswamy, Engineer-in-Chief of the Bruhat Bangalore Mahanagar Palike (BBMP). Amidst all the criticism, he believes that the on-going road widening drive, the newer malls under construction, new roads, Metro rail, and so on are part of this ‘beautification'.Granite slabs dug up on Seshadripuam Main Road (pic: Supriya Khandekar)The recently dug-up Seshadripuram Main Road in northwest Bengaluru is evidence of this. The granite footpath on this road has been removed by the BBMP as part of work to install a new concrete pavement. This road, like most of the lanes and roads…

Do you know that our soul is composed of harmony? - Leonardo daVinci.Amidst the aftermath of the recent terror attack on Mumbai and the relentless media blitz that followed, a small group in Bangalore was truly privileged to be part of three serene, music-enriched evenings at a Koramangala home in the first week of December.Aditi Kaikini Upadhya. Pic source: www.aditiupadhya.com.Aditi Kaikini Upadhya, daughter of renowned Hindustani vocalist Pandit Dinkar Kaikini and an accomplished musician in her own right, held her audience spellbound with a three day workshop on Hindustani classical music. The workshop was interactive and lively from the start.…

Are you familiar with offers like ‘Shop for Rs.999 and get a gift voucher worth Rs.99'? Most of us constantly look for such announcements in supermarkets, malls and showrooms. But are they for real, i.e, do consumers really get what the vendor promisesThe moment we come to know of discounts and offers through the media, we rush to avail of them. S N Subramanya, a consumer and RTI activist, also jumped at one such offer, to his regret. The Big Bazaar (Food Bazaar) grocery outlet in Sigma Mall on Cunnigham Road regularly has special offers on Wednesdays. On 19th November…

Government to strengthen ATC The ATC (Anti Terrorism Cell) squad is slated to get a new face with government deciding to strengthen this cell in the wake of increasing terrorist activities. Government approved a proposal to appoint 750 specialised personnel to the squad. A number of initiatives are taken to make working with ATC more attractive for the police, which they have so far been looked upon as as a punishment rather than prestigious. (Prajavani, Friday, Dec 5)Vidhana Soudha in danger? The state government does not seem to be bothered by terrorist activities in the various parts of country. Its…

On 1st December, B N Vijay Kumar, MLA(BJP), Jayanagar constituency (which includes Jayanagar and JP Nagar), distributed pamphlets to all residents of his constituency asking them to inform him if they find vacant sites which is not protected by either the BBMP or BDA. Vijay Kumar says that he often gets complaints from his constituents about unused government land being misused or getting encroached upon. To verify the complaints, he went around his constituency and found that there were a lot of unprotected land sites owned by government or city corporation, which were not fenced or marked, near BBMP parks,…

I saw Ramayana with the attention that can only come from a seriously escapist 8-year old. This was in 1989. Then came 1992, and with so much mention again about Ayodhya, I felt Ramayana was being replayed somewhere. And why not – everyone must have been as enthralled with Hanuman carrying the mountain for Lord Ram – as I was. Only this time, it didn’t come with that happy feeling. After a few years I understood all that unfolded then was a drama of a different kind. And the Hanumans’ in it were the mindless destructive monkeys who called themselves…

Work on Bengaluru's Namma Metro stations for Reach 1 will begin in January-February 2009, and Reach 1 of the Metro will be completed by December 2010, say Metro officials. Tenders for the station construction, which were floated in August this year, were open to Indian and international companies. The companies that will undertake the construction of the stations are in the process of being finalised. Namma Metro will consist of a number of intermediate and terminal stations.While the terminal station is coming up at Byappanahalli, intermediate stations will come up at MG Road, Trinity Circle, Ulsoor, CMH Road and Old…