GENRE: Voices

A recent news report about the iconic Russell market in Bangalore likely to make way for a swanky new market as part of "Smart city" plan, triggered a flood of memories and resulted in me penning down this account. The family Ambassador would gently amble past glorious St Mary's Basilica and park in the square in front of the market. Finding a parking spot was a no-brainer back then. We kids (siblings and I) would tumble out of the car in earnest with big baskets in hand, with an elder or two keeping a watchful eye on us. We would…

Are you unhappy or upset about several things happening in society around you? Do you feel that a lack of, or misguided, government policies and decisions are hampering the greater common good and creating unacceptable situations related to abuse and violation of basic human rights, social injustice, corruption etc.? Most importantly, are you waiting for someone else to come along and put things right? The good news is that you needn’t, in many such cases. For socially conscious citizens who would like to fix the system through a court of law, the Public Interest Litigation (PIL) is a powerful tool.…

Chief Minister Siddaramaiah has written to the Union Ministry of Urban Development about having only Kannada and English signages in Namma Metro, based on the state’s two language policy. .@CMofKarnataka has written a letter to Union Minister @nstomar saying BMRCL would be asked to redesign Name Boards etc without Hindi Script pic.twitter.com/HSD5ujtQ8k — GoK Updates (@GOKUpdates) July 28, 2017 So after a sustained #nammametrohindibeda campaign online that lasted over a month, it looks like Hindi signages will have to go. BMRCL has asked the state government’s permission to change the boards. The Kannada Development Authority (KDA) wrested with the responsibility of…

A day doesn’t go by that I am not asked at least a few times which country I’m from, for obvious reasons of course. My unnaturally bright blonde hair, translucent skin tone, nasal accent and western attire just scream American to everyone I encounter. But thank you to everyone in Bengaluru for asking where I am from anyway. If that isn’t already enough to make me feel special for a few minutes, thank you - ask me from what city and tell me how much you love Microsoft when I say Seattle. I guess it’s not so big of a…

At the age of 57, when a majority of them get ready to settle comfortably into retired lives, Chennai-based businessman VBR Menon graduated from a law school in Bengaluru. The seasoned businessman became a full time law practitioner in 2014, when he was 62. Over the last two years he has been filing only Public Interest Litigations (PILs) on several significant issues bothering Chennai, including land and water. His cases have been seriously pursued by the Madras High Court and have led to the judiciary issuing several directions to the authorities. In an interview with Citizen Matters, VBR Menon talks…

The recent issues hitting headlines in Karnataka have already signaled the arrival of election season, with elections due in April-May 2018. Lingayats are demanding they be recognised as followers of a separate religion. Many activist organisations are demanding that the yellow-red Kannada flag be recognised as a flag for the state. The Congress government at the state has constituted committees to look at both the possibilities. In effect, every political party is trying to make the most of the sentiments of the public, to grab their emotions and convert it into votes. It appears that the election campaign has already…

I have recently finished the ward level analysis of Bengaluru’s 2017-18 budget, with Janaagraha Centre for Citizenship and Democracy. The budget briefs will be available online this week, for all 198 BBMP notified wards in Bengaluru. I’m writing this to tell you how important the ward level budgeting is. The ward level analysis by Janaagraha informs people about the direct budget allocation for lakes, roads, parks, public toilets and other public services for each ward. Open access to a city’s budget offers significant benefits to its citizens by enabling them to: (i) know where their tax money is spent (ii)…

For long, Information Technology was the blue-eyed poster boy of Indian industry. It brought in foreign exchange, employed millions and made sure we were part of the new world. Manufacturing, which had kept Tamil Nadu going for decades, was suddenly passé and lost its sheen. Nobody wanted to work with machines, in factory spaces, filled with unionised labour. In contrast to that, the world of IT was hugely attractive. But that scenario may soon change, for the worse. The nature of the industry has suddenly undergone a change. Gone are the days when IT companies required millions of coders, 50…

Karnataka government has published a draft notification of Common Zoning Rules to be applicable across the state, with the last date for objections being July 30th, 2017. Citizen Action Forum, a Bengaluru-based nongovernmental organisation, has come up with a sample letter highlighting the problems of the new Common Zonal Regulations (CZR) and asking the government to re-consider the new zoning rules that will make master plans irrelevant. July 30th, 2017, is the last date for the objections to be filed. Interested Resident Welfare Organisations (RWAs) can check it out and send it to the concerned department or Chief Minister's office.…

I have lived nearly all my life in Bangalore and growing up, I remember mentioning at least once a day, that I was proudly Bangalorean. When I was little, my mother and grandmother would haul our cousin bunch into an auto every Sunday to get to Jayanagar 4th Block and back. Those auto-rides filled with remnants of fruit-salad ice cream from Cool-Joint, toothpicks stolen from ShivSagar post lunch and their shopping bags taught me two very interesting things. One, for every auto that says yes to you, there are usually seven that would have said no before. Two, every auto…