GENRE: Voices

This Earth Day, on April 22 2018 (and the previous day), residents from the Lokhandwala Township of the western suburb of Mumbai, Kandivali East, got together to participate in the “Colour My Township” initiative, organised by We All Connect (wAc) with the support of Kansai Nerolac Paints Limited. wAc is a community group that was formed to promote bonding and oneness among residents of the township. A few months ago, the group painted a small wall together and members found that painting compound walls together with neighbours was a good way to get to know them. According to Mr Santosh Shetty, founder of…

With an amendment that, according to environmentalists, would degrade the environment further and protect the interests of Fast Moving Consumer Goods (FMCG) companies, the Ministry of Environment, Forests and Climate Change (MoEFCC) notified the new Plastic Waste Management (Amendment) Rules, 2018. The new rules, an amended version of the environment friendly Plastic Waste Management Rules 2016, contain new clauses that benefit industries manufacturing and using plastic. Here is a brief explainer about some of these rules and their implications for the environment and public health. Energy recovering possible in India? While the 2016 rules mandated the usage of only such…

He has contested polls three times earlier, and has lost it to more powerful candidates from recognised parties. Yet, former AAP Spokesperson for Karnataka, Ravi Krishna Reddy, is an undeterred independent candidate, who has chosen Jayanagar assembly constituency for the elections going to be held in May 2018. Losing has not killed his spirit, but has only served to invigorate it. Jayanagar is where his journey started a decade ago, when he contested as an independent candidate. After joining political parties for some time, he is back to give the polls another shot, as he believes lawmakers have true power.…

Chief Electoral Officer, Karnataka, website has been playing Peekaboo with the citizens for some time. When we think that we have found it, at last, it misbehaves for a few days and hides again. If you are a visitor without purpose, it could be entertaining to see various avatars of the site. Now I see the home page of Drug Control Department when I try to see the CEO’s site. However, by entering http://164.100.80.163/ceo3/ we can get the CEO’s page. Peekaboo! In addition to different websites appearing when we look for CEO-KA website, the data we get from different official…

As I sat in the office cafeteria yesterday over a cup of tea, the Surat rape flashed on TV.  When I saw that her hand was broken, I flew into a momentary rage and wanted to sweep every tea cup off every table of every employee. I wanted to smash everything. For Mumbai, where every single deaf and mute girl has been raped at Karjat boarding school in Mumbai. Every single girl who boards there. Every single one between the ages of 6 and 13. Every single one. By their "caretaker.” For Unnao, Kathua, Orissa and the endless stream from…

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…