GENRE: Voices

Lalbagh has 240 acres of land, almost at the center of the city. This was started in the year 1760 by Hyder Ali as a private garden of 40 acres which eventually expanded to accommodate approximately 1,854 species of flora including various ornamental plants. Glass house, aquarium, sidewalks, nursery and many other attractions lure the visitors. The park requires approximately 2.1-2.2 million liters of water daily, hence when there is no rain, artificial watering is a must. This could be problematic too, as the water supply in the city is dwindling. A 20-acre tank, nine bore wells (sparing three non-functional old…

Bengaluru's Big Banyan Tree, or Dodda Alada Mara. Pic: Vivek M After the construction of the new airport, Bangalore is fiercely expanding towards the north consuming more and more rural areas like these. This big banyan, located in Avalahalli just off the Doddaballapur Road, is now in the company of many apartment complexes and even an international school. It remains to be seen what happens to it in the next couple of years. Related Articles During the festival... A bull that never stopped growing Old house and the bull at the Pete

In recent years there has been a lot of talk about how Bangalore will run out of water soon. I find that strange, in a city where we get as much rain as piped water supply, and in a region with an abundance of water bodies. We could easily create one more Cauvery - and that would be enough to sustain the next 10 million people added to the metropolitan area, not just in Bangalore, but in surrounding towns and cities too - if we simply did all the right things. 1. Watershed improvement and local supply from the region’s…

It is that time of the year when some fellow Bengalureans will together paint the town red. Or yellow, purple, orange, pink, violet; name it and you’ll see the colour. Those Bengalureans are our beloved trees, getting into bloom, making namma Bengaluru look vibrant and pretty. It was a nippy and chirpy Saturday morning, with the White-cheeked Barbets calling tirelessly. Being a ‘true South Indian’, I had to complete my ritual of one cup of strong filter coffee, even at the risk of getting late. I still managed to reach in time for Neralu’s opening activity, Katte Parichaya by Kiran Keswani and team…

This post is my vent on the rotten experience we LPG (Liquified Petroleum Gas) consumers, in Bangalore, had to face due to Center’s decision of deciding to transfer our LPG subsidy to our bank accounts directly. This meant that our Aadhar number had to be linked to the LPG account and to the bank. Here, I have to mention this to Mr Nilekani: whatever might have been the noble intentions behind the Aadhar card, it was not done properly. We spent a lot of our precious time to get the card done, when it was introduced. We had to make…

In my earlier article dated August 19th, I had advocated the creation of a halt station on existing railway tracks, i.e. optimal use of resources, in turn saving our tax money. I would like to applaud Whitefield Rising for taking up this initiative and raising funds for the halt station. I was earlier requested to do a preliminary analysis by visiting sites at these locations, analyse feasibility and share my insights.  We should certainly go ahead with setting up halt stations between the junctions from Byappanhalli to IOL, Soukhya Spa (i.e. KIADB Phase II where there are warehouses). Often we just…

A gentleman inside a ladies toilet! Pic: Anisha Nair When was the last time you thought you had died and then managed to resuscitate your being? I experienced this painful process very recently. Here we were going from one place to another, and typically, the way it normally happens—without warning—my bladder started to constrict. This meant that I had to go and I had to go now! This also meant that I couldn't go anywhere and everywhere I pleased, the reason being that I'm not an Indian dog, neither am I an Indian man. I can't simply pull over to…

I feel rather insulted when people say Indira Nagar or Koramangala is ‘…such a happening place!!!’ or some such silly thing. I mean, Malleshwaram is as happening a place as either of them. What could possibly make news in Indira Nagar? Another P3 type PYT strutting about with a barely there LBD? Another Italian ‘ristorante’ making its debut on 100 feet road? Pshaw!! In Malleshwaram, what makes news is not the debut, but the death of a ‘ristorante’, especially if it had the effrontery to spell its name in that manner. When a naïve Johnny-come-lately troops in with a fancy…

I am a teacher. I should teach all my subjects with equal vigor and ensure that all my students understand what I am trying to convey. I try my level best to be honest. However, one subject that always poses a challenge to me is - environmental studies. Yes, it is the easiest of all the subjects, but do try teaching ecosystem and different types of pollution to the undergraduate students in technical streams, you will end up with a room full of dozers! My first challenge hence was undoubtedly to see that students do not doze away while I…

For the third time, we are getting Lifedream skills to town. You can now pitch in to teach the youth who badly need intervention to get a leg up and become employable slowly redeeming their self esteem as well in that process. You already saw Christina's story. The ideal candidate is someone between 18 and 28, female. In some cases we can take 17.5 years or 30. The minimum education is 8th standard pass/fail, but we can have graduates also - depending on their 'level' they benefit, as the course is designed that way. This is targeted towards poor students…