GENRE: Voices

With the increasing time you spend at traffic signals in Bengaluru, you only think about one government department — Traffic Department. You may hail them or curse them, but they are on their toes to help the city de-congest. Though the department is approached for approval of all infrastructure projects, there is no authority to it. Limited roads, which are always in a bad state are the biggest hurdle the department faces while struggling to keep the city traffic smooth. Bangalore's Additional Commissioner of Traffic Police, IPS offcer, B Dayananda Pic: Nikita Malusare Additional Commissioner of Traffic Police B Dayananda,…

Carry a charged cell phone always, as a dead mobile is of no use. File pic. Our country is witnessing the worst times for women. That is how we are feeling now. But the truth is women have been continually harassed, teased, attacked, ill-treated for centuries. We are coming to know of all the atrocities as women victims come forward and report the incidents to the law. As a result people have started talking about safety of women, laws protecting women and educating women to protect themselves against the evils prevailing around them. This is a definitely good progress. People…

Last May, the common Bangalorean voted for a change in the hope that this would be a change for the better. Basic needs such as commutable roads and better civic amenities are turning into luxuries for people living in Bangalore. Even after four months, the new administration is unable to make any real progress. Nothing has changed. While we painfully negotiate and move from gutter to gutter, all the while suffering bumpy rides, life-size posters of political leaders smile at us, ridiculing our plight. Previously, the poster boys were all from the rank and file of the BJP. Now it’s…

Are women really safe in the world today? Are there enough women officers who are sympathetic to the problems of women? Is there sufficient staff who is empathetic the problems of other women, even if the problem is not voiced out aloud? Is the future generation of women safe, in the wake of the rising crimes against them? I think not. Or rather I would diplomatically say I do not know. Balancing career and personal life is a real tightrope walk for women on top. File pic. This thought really scares me. More than that it shocks me. In a…

In the past, the making of urban form in an Indian city like Bangalore was an outcome of the spontaneous growth of a settlement. The city had winding streets that were primarily for people and not for the automobile. There has been a tremendous change in the economic life of the city and in the present times the experience of the city lies in its high-rise buildings, its flyovers and its high speed traffic. Every piece of architecture in the city strives for its own individuality and its own identity. Today, a street is defined by high compound walls that…

A few days back BMTC Volvo crew went on a flash strike, inconveniencing thousands of commuters, against a new rule scrapping overtime when they fail to meet a target for the number of trips per day. They cited bad traffic and road conditions for not being able to meet those targets consistently. When we look at it from a more sympathetic perspective, BMTC crew and Traffic police personnel do bear most of the brunt from fast-crumbling roads and the rains which have added an all new dimension to an already overcrowded, grid-locked city. Given these conditions and the need to…

When I started the Menstrual Hygiene Awareness initiative three years ago, in government schools, I assumed the answer to menstrual hygiene was distributing sanitary napkins. So we got donors and napkins and gave them for free in rural government schools. And then, we ran out of donors. And then, a small voice in my head asked me why I never bothered to ask the girls if they did need sanitary napkins and what they would do if I (or others like me) stopped supplying these. And about the same time, a not-so-small voice asked me what about the environmental damage…

Were you among those who frequently complained during summer- “Oh! This is the hottest summer I have ever seen..”? True. Rain gods weren’t kind on the city last summer. The increased demand for water had shot up the water price in the market. Now it is a great relief that our water problem is gone. Rains have brought down the temperature and we, until the next summer, tend to forget all the inconveniences we had during the last summer. It is essential to wake up before the situation goes out of control again and a severe water crisis arises in…

What would be possible if nothing came in our way of doing what we wanted? What if we dedicated our complete self, awake, asleep and in dreams, to work? What if we went all out and dived headlong into solving issues, with a bullheadedness and madness affordable only by those who are completely free? What then, would be possible? This is what got Bhaskar and I to start our initiative, Community Matters. Chunchaghatta neighbourhood. Pic: Sinu Joseph We started six weeks ago with little idea of what we should do, but being very clear of what we should NOT do.…

Almost all of us own a private vehicle, which means that we also visit petrol bunks frequently. But how many of us are aware of the fraudulent practices happening at these bunks? And how many of us are able to take any action against them?  A couple of months ago, I encountered a situation where I asked for Rs.500 worth of petrol, but got petrol worth Rs.200 instead. On questioning the employee, he said he had not heard it well and gave me petrol worth another Rs.300. On switching on the ignition, I noticed that my indicator pointed well below…