GENRE: Voices

This true story is typical of the experience of thousands of residents of Bengaluru who are at the mercy of ‘service’ providers like the municipal corporation (BBMP) and water supply (BWSSB). In the first week of December, BBMP’s contractors began re-laying pavement stones in Jayanagar. Gangs of workers piled the dug up mud, concrete chunks, broken stone slabs and bricks all along the pavement, blocking my entrance. How do I get in and out of my home? I protested. The labourers suggested I step into the two feet deep drain and access my entrance. As a 75-year-old senior citizen with…

Since the time Chennai has been ravaged by the floods in early-December, we have been hearing stories of how Bengaluru has pulled through for the people of Chennai. This is one such story. Over 10 lakhs raised Members of the Facebook groups Drive Without Borders and Wake Up Bengaluru came together to raise funds to support the relief work in Chennai. In less than 10 days, funds in excess of 10 lakhs were generated by members of the two groups. We delivered the relief material in two phases. In the first phase, volunteers from the groups visited a few places…

At the last minute, on the morning of December 13th, I convinced 20 other birders that instead of going to Valley School, we should bird along the Kaggalipura-Bannerghatta stretch, and then go to check out Hulimangala. And there, at nearly the end of a long birding outing, we saw a migrant which has never before been sighted in the Bangalore area... the Demoiselle Crane. Can you spot the crane in its habitat?  Here it is: Demoiselle cranes undertake one of the toughest migrations in the world.... as tough as that of the Bar-headed Geese.  From late August through September, they gather in…

A fortnight back I had to go to M G Road in Bengaluru for some urgent work in the middle of a week day. As anyone living in the Whitefield suburbs will testify, it can take anywhere between one to two hours to do so, maybe even more! However this is not a rant about the situation of our roads or traffic. I decided to shorten my commute time by taking the Metro from Baiyappanahalli Metro station to M G Road. Upon arriving at the Baiyappanahalli Metro station, much to my horror I found that all the parking slots were…

In quite a few of my previous blogs (I don’t remember if those blogs were here or at Funny Side Up), I’ve referred to conversations with auto and cab drivers. Generally, these have been in the context of something entirely unrelated, and I’ve only mentioned them to illustrate a point. Of late, though, I’ve come to realize that having conversations with the chap conveying me from point A to point B (or, should the need arise, points C and D as well) is quite a lot of fun. I’ve been talking to drivers for quite a while. Our old driver…

I answered the doorbell a few weeks ago to a blue inland letter. Selvaraj thatha, the resident guardian of my building smiled gummily at my furrowed brow as he handed it over. Late night online impulse purchases ensure a steady stream of parcels that thatha receives on my behalf, but an inland letter was a novelty and he was curious to know what had occasioned it. I gingerly eased open the letter and found that it was from my library. Among other things, the letter said that the good folks at Eloor library, Bangalore were looking forward to seeing me…

Now an annual fest at namma Turahalli forest, Turahalli Day was celebrated on December 6th 2015. The day began by around 6.30 am with people gathering under the banyan tree. Ganeshram and Anurag, who were there to go on a plant walk, were already in a ‘taxonomic’ discussion with Ravee. A few others joined them and off they went on a green path. Here's the highlight of the plant walk, in Ganeshram's words: "One of the topics that was underlying the whole walk was the importance of forests and native flora and how it affects us. The other was how knowledge…

I am not one for waxing nostalgic along the lines of “then and all, life was very simpall … now-man-days, it is all rotten sar, rotten means rotten only!” For me, history, personal history, is more often than not something to look upon with a certain amusement. Often, it is nice to revisit the past and draw whatever energy it can offer. I remember that childhood alliances and friendships were made and broken and re-made on momentous grounds. Take for example: matches. Not cricket matches, or the actual arsonist implements ex of Sivakasi. I refer to the labels that were…

Martin Luther King once said: "Our lives begin to end the day we become silent about things that matter".  Yesterday, Whitefield residents decided to break the silence by protesting against bad roads and infrastructure. A regular mundane Monday morning turned into a historical protest day, when over 8,000 people, mostly fed-up residents of the area, gathered in large crowds. Protesters dressed in black, holding placards. Pic: Deepa Ravi People got up early to attend the protest, leaving their daily chores, all united for a cause, a cause called #SaveWhitefield. People from different walks of life, across age-groups came together, and Bengaluru…

A reader wrote to us: "This article clearly violates the principle of Oorvani foundation (of non-partisan reporting)... this article from Mount Carmel event is clearly to support Rahul Gandhi as a politician." No. First, the article was not a staff report. It was the 'voice' of a student who reacted to media reports, basing her judgement on what she observed. It's the voice of a Bengalurean, and we believe every one of us has a right to express that, as long as it is articulated and reasoned. Read: Did the Mount Carmel students really stump Rahul Gandhi? Citizen Matters does not…