GENRE: Voices

Pic: Shree D N Diwali or Deepavali, literally a row of lamps, is just round the corner. Spread over five days, it is the biggest festival for our family and our community. The biggest festivities are reserved for amavasya or New Moon day. We look forward to the festival of lights year after year. During my childhood, I used to strongly associate crackers with the festival, but as years passed by, the focus shifted elsewhere. We stopped associating 'firecrackers' as core to Deepavali. Cleaning and white-washing the house, decorating with leaves and flowers, lighting dozens of earthen lamps, performing the puja, preparing traditional cuisines, greeting neighbours, friends and relatives - all of these took centre-stage. In years of reading our scriptures…

It's yet another milestone in the journey of Oorvani Foundation. You may have read about our joint initiative with Radio Active Community Radio 90.8 MHz - Co Media Lab. The community media lab serves as a resource centre, newsroom and a space for dialogues and discussions for community collaborations. The past few months now, Co Media Lab has been organising workshops for public and for students. Co Media Lab is hosted at Jain University, and supported by the University. (More details here.) We are happy to share news of an exciting new project of the lab - a partnership with…

Metro has sought public input on which of the different lines - existing as well as proposed - should be extended to the airport. I'm sure many people will give their input, but there are two other aspects to look at. (1) We should conduct extensive surveys - ongoing - at the airport to always know where people are going to when they arrive, and where they are coming from to the airport. We don't need to collect anything other than the names of the neighbourhoods where trips originate and end. A map of this, updated every few months, will…

Festival of lights turns a health hazard for children, pets and adults every year. Pic: Shree D N Deepawali/Diwali is around the corner and there is excitement in the air. Advertisements are everywhere filling billboards, newspapers, televisions and radios. People are busy shopping for clothes, lamps, fire crackers and puja material. A majority of us look forward to the festival of lights. For children it that time of the year when they get to burst fire crackers. Some love to be adventurous and burst bombs and not the milder crackers, flower pots or sparklers. Some want to feel heroic so…

Government of Karnataka has issued a clarification detailing the reasons behind their decision to install a steel flyover from Chalukya circle to Hebbal flyover. Unfortunately it is a purely one sided rationale without any comparative study of alternatives. Citizens’ Action Forum has worked out an alternative which is far more comprehensive, less disruptive and genuinely sustainable. This solution will not only help the airport passengers to have a hassle free journey but also help in resolving the traffic problems faced by commuters in the city.One of the main objections to the construction of steel flyover from Chalukya circle to Hebbal…

To: His Excellency, Sri Vajubhai Rudabhai Vala, Governor of Karnataka Your Excellency, As a forum named Citizens for Bengaluru (CfB), now representing thousands of concerned citizens, with numbers growing by the hour, we approach you to intervene in a serious matter. As you are aware, Sir, the Government of Karnataka proposes to build a steel flyover from Basaveshwara Circle to Hebbal flyover, with connecting ramps on Race Course Road, Palace Road, Vidhana Soudha Road and Raj Bhavan Road. The project envisages a 6.7 km stretch of a six-lane steel flyover to be built at an estimated cost of Rs 2,200…

Every city, even giant metropolises like Bengaluru, still have a few patches of green, blue or brown that have managed to survive or at least allay the formidable onslaught of concrete and glass. Look carefully in these oases and you’ll be sure to find a sign of life (or five)! Snakes: Pic: Ashish Par Among the most revered and reviled animals in India, snakes are also very common in our cityscapes. Bengaluru has about 40 species of snakes of which six are venomous. Most snakes, even venomous ones, will flee upon detection. They only stand their ground when provoked or…

The steel flyover will pass through this road. Pic: Shree D N To all those who insist on going ahead with the steel bridge... in the hope that good sense prevails: The issue regarding this bridge is becoming more heated as the days go by. As I see it, the matter will get uglier as both sides have their view points and arguments in place. So the best way to resolve this is to throw up all the pros and cons and see which comes out on top! The bridge will cut the journey to the airport and from North…

Traffic on Ballari road on a normal week day. Pic: Balaji Ganesan Civil Society activists in Bengaluru are opposing the Government's decision, to build a Steel Flyover from Basaveshwara Circle to Hebbal Junction. As someone who supports the causes pursued by many of these activists, I'm surprised by the protests against the Steel Flyover project. Is the Civil Society working against itself, jeopardising several of the causes we have been pursuing? Do we risk wasting the opportunities provided by this steel flyover project, to improve civic amenities in this part of Bengaluru? People’s flyover, not VIP flyover To begin with,…

“And through this having and giving and sharing and receiving, we too can share and love and have... and receive.”– Joey Tribbiani, in “Friends”. Funny that this quote, part of Joey’s intended speech at the wedding of his friends Monica and Chandler, would be apt for a nationwide festival of giving! Daan Utsav is not just about the receiving, we know, it is about the giving. A festival that turns the lens on to itself, like a particularly gorgeous selfie. When I began volunteering for Daan Utsav, I had not seen it up close. I had read about it in…