GENRE: Voices

It was love at first sight. It’s hard to explain how one can fall head over heels for Majestic and its mean streets, the way I did. But it happened to me. Majestic and I have been dating for longer than I’ve known my life – oh sorry, I mean my wife. And you know what the best thing is? She isn’t even jealous that I have another love. Because it would be silly to be resentful of a few tumbledown city blocks and a fistful of squalid streets. Am I telling the truth or a tall story? Well, let…

Runners Manifesto A demand from the runners in Bengaluru to the contestants in the Karnataka Legislative Assembly Elections 2018 Our Vision General physical and mental well being of citizens Green lung space Reduction in pollution Safe space for commute by walking/cycling Urban commons for community engagement Better standards of liveability. With the right infrastructure for runners, multiple objectives are achieved for the city. The city of runners Bengaluru is not only known as the Silicon Valley of India but is also the running capital of the country. Year long salubrious climate and convergence of various expats has brought the love…

Dr Sowmya Sanak Kumar Athreya, co-founder of Svarakshema Foundation shared her experiences on how music can be a powerful healer. As a singer and music therapist, Sowmya has been researching how music therapy can heal physical and psychological diseases and uplift the lives of people. Sharing one of her experiences, Sowmya said, “A 7-year-old kid with a kidney ailment and cerebral palsy was placed under music therapy to control his anger. He would often get admitted to the hospital due to allergies and would throw away all the tubes connected in anger and frustration. After being treated for a year,…

Dr. C.N. Ashwath Narayan is a two-term Member of Legislative Assembly (MLA) from Malleshwaram, contesting for a third time from Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP). A doctor by qualification, he is considered to be an approachable MLA, by the people of his constituency. In a free-flowing conversation, he talks about his work, beliefs and his plans if he is elected again. Edited excerpts from the interview: This is your third election contest. When you contested for the first time, what was the one problem in Malleshwaram which you thought was most evident, and what is the status of that problem today?…

Large number of duplicate entries in electoral rolls means lack of truthfulness in statistical observations, and consequent rhetorical statements like "people in cities don't vote." When people say that turnout % in an election is low in Bengaluru, that calculation is based on electoral rolls bloated with duplicate entries and illegal entries like those of dead voters. For the past six years, every time the CEO Karnataka published the electoral rolls, I have been reporting the counts of suspected duplicate entries by category. Whereas the occurrences of duplicate entries have reduced over the years, a lot of duplicate records remain…

Nalapada Ahamad Haris, Member of Legislative Assembly from Shantinagar, has been in news for all wrong reasons recently, due to the controversy related to his son. Going by media reports, he is in the danger of losing the Indian National Congress (INC) ticket this time, to contest from Shantinagar. Haris has represented the constituency for last 10 years. Citizen Matters had interviewed him during his campaign in 2013 to understand his vision for the constituency. Since the term has ended, we went back to him, to understand how he spent last five years, what he could do and could not…

Actor Revathi was the first speaker at the event. "It is the good deeds and good people around us who still keep our hopes intact for a better world," she began, drawing reference to all the negativity around us. "As a mother I feel there has been a drastic change, change for the good. It has given me the inquisitiveness to delve deep and question every happening. I feel the urge to leave behind the best for the young generation," added the actor. She insisted that the responsibility of transferring the knowledge that we gain in our lives and the goodness…

Wearing a plain school uniform, holding a banner in one hand and a lunch bag in the other, a young lad marched on the streets of Padur last year. Apart from the words on the banner -- ‘Kudiyai Vidu, Padikka Vidu’ (Give up liquor, let us study), it is the steely determination of the eight-year-old boy, A Aakaash, that caught everyone’s attention and spirited the anti-TASMAC agitation at Padur, a small hamlet on Old Mahabalipuram Road (OMR). Toys or clothes do not interest Aakaash. His worries belie his age. When a liquor shop in an inappropriate place needs removal or…

As wintry Bangalore closed in on her, Sheila (name changed) began to plan her daughter’s marriage. But her husband, from whom she had escaped after 20 years of a violent, abusive marriage in Pune, threatened to descend on her and kill both her as well as their daughter. In fear, Sheila almost called off the marriage, but it was a nearby doctor (who wishes to remain anonymous) who helped to stop her. “Don’t cow down. Connect with me, with your neighbours, with the SHO of the nearby police station and be prepared to fight your husband with all of us…

With elections around the corner and all the political leaders sharing their vision for the state, we thought we at Makkala Jagriti would share our wish list for government schools in the state. This wishlist comes from the experience of working with government schools at grassroot levels. Focus on holistic development in each school It is well-known fact that Holistic development of children is very important for making them well-balanced human beings and preparing them for life. The very thoughtfully drafted National Curriculum framework also talks about Holistic Development: ‘The National Curriculum promotes the holistic development of the child. It…