GENRE: Voices

It’s been a while since my last post. I have been travelling with a friend. My friend owns a grooming salon for dogs and she was participating in a contest. I went with her for moral support. What’s life without friends, right? The same holds true for dogs as well, as Tigger’s story will demonstrate. In November last year, I got involved with an animal welfare organization called Precious Paws Foundation (PPF). As part of my involvement I fostered a puppy called Rackles. Rackles stayed with us for a few weeks and soon found a home. Rackles became Mishka in…

Though the recent release of her latest novel, Ghost Hunters of Kurseong, a children’s book, has kept Shweta Taneja  busy, she was kind enough to take time off her busy schedule to spend some time answering a few questions and discussing her inspirations, writing and her new book.Growing up in Delhi, surrounded by a large and loving family, she had a penchant for narrating scary stories to her cousins on nights, especially on those nights ravaged by storms, when the electricity flickered out. Excerpts from the interview: Q. How did you get into writing? Is this something you’ve always known…

I remember arriving in India for the first time, into New Delhi almost 10 years ago. I would liken it to a bull calf walking into the ring for the first time. A million things hit you; heat, light, shouts, screams, arms, signs, men, women, men, more men, a million people telling what you want and what you need, a million people trying to sell you food and get you into their cab or their friend’s cab, or their uncle’s cab, or their friend’s uncle’s cab. Arriving in Bengaluru was nothing like that. If my first arrival in India was…

Scarcity creates corruption. Therefore, regulating availability is not the way to tackle it; that will only make things worse. In our country, there is a massive deficit of many things that people want. Affordable houses, good schools and hospitals, water supply, waste management, and so on. This causes intense competition for what is available. Those who can bid high have a chance of gaining, and also those who can rig the bidding itself. Housing is a very good example of this. To buy a house in any of our major cities now, you either need a lot of money, or…

The BMTC has been the city’s lifeline for many years carrying about 40- 45% of its commuters. With a fleet of over 6000 buses, the corporation can claim to have a significant presence in comparison to other city bus providers. The BMTC is also a monopoly in the sense that private bus companies are not allowed to ferry passengers on a mass transit basis. Significantly, one of the strongest points of BMTC has been that it has largely been a profit-making body since its inception in the late 90s (when it was created out of the then BTS which was…

This New Year, I'm determined to work at being a better person and parent, to be calmer, happier, healthier. Apparently, I'm not the only one resolving to do this. Psychologists say many of us make similar promises to ourselves. A psychology professor writing in Psychology Today, an online journal, notes that the most popular resolutions are: Work balance (less work) Lower alcohol consumption Eat less fast food Pay off credit debt Learning something (Guitar, French) Be more patient Be happy (accomplish small things) Read more books Exercise Lose weight Academic-related goals (good grades, study more, graduate, get into a master’s…

As 2013 draws to a close, we look back on key events that made a difference to our lives in the city. Read: Swalpa Sihi, Swalpa Kahi: 2013 - the year that was! Earlier this year, we did a series of hard reports on scams unearthed by the CAG followed by investigative pieces on the violation-riddled Bellandur-Agara SEZ project. We did a special project on the MLA performance reports, interviews, candidate and constituency profiles that was welcomed by all readers. We have also continually reported on how many of our local government's claims, from fixing potholes to solving the garbage…

In my last blog, I wrote about how dogs are survivors. Ever so often I am reminded of this by remarkable stories around me. One such story is of Raja and Vasudev. Vasudev meets Raja...for the first time When we all first saw a picture of Raja on the internet it was hard to watch the picture. When I heard of someone adopting him I reached out to that man and thanked him. Thus started a friendship with a unique man and a very unique dog. Both have made a huge impression on me. The love they share is one…

Recently, there was an article in Citizen Matters by Ganga Madappa pointing to the fact the BMTC fares are higher than the distance indicates. I have been having a problem with this for some time now and given this opportunity, would like the share some information. As I understand it, BMTC buses are considered to be 'Stage Carriages' and their fares are governed by notifications put out by the government under the act. The latest notification that I could find dated 03-11-2010 on Maximum Fares for Stage Carriages in the State of Karnataka can be seen here: http://rto.kar.nic.in/Maxi%20rate%20for%20SC.pdf The notification…

It's been two months now since my husband and I started using jaggery (bella in Kannada) in our tea and coffee. This traditional sweetener, known by different terms in different languages, from gud in many parts of North India to chakkara or sarkkara in Malayalam and vellam in Tamil, lends a subtle and deeply flavourful taste to everyday beverages. Coffee sweetened with bella for instance, has a lovely aroma and tastes wonderful, especially in this chilly weather! Many friends of ours have also made the switch. Of course, some of them only use organic powdered jaggery (available in speciality stores…