GENRE: Voices

The city of Bengaluru has been festooned with banners, posters and hoardings urging us to vote. The fence facing the BBMP head office was, earlier this week, covered with pennants in Kannada and English, reminding us all that it was our duty to vote. Newspapers carried prominent ads and announcements, reiterating  the same message. Many of us who wanted very much to vote, however, found a wide chasm between what the administration urged and its intentions to facilitate what it wanted citizens to do. I have been a voter for some decades, and exercised my franchise at every election. As…

I have been working closely with the door-to-door collection in our ward, with the residents on the one hand, the garbage collectors and the BBMP officials on the other hand. There is one question that always comes up within a few minutes of interaction. Who do we call, if the auto guy does not turn up for collection? If a house in our street is not segregating? if somebody is found dumping? If the sweeper is burning leaves? If the black spot near my house is not cleared? A dump in Malleshwaram Pic: Ramesh Sreekantan A simple enough question —…

These days, news reports in Bengaluru regularly talk of some good work done by or statements from the Chief Electoral Officer of Karnataka. He is getting excellent coverage for right reasons. He has been strict and vigilant about malpractices in light of electoral code of conduct. He is acting boldly, befitting his position. I admire this. In Bangalore alone 8.08 lakh new voters were enrolled in about 45 days, since February 1. This is laudable. On National Voters Day (25 Jan 2014) President of India honoured him for achieving the highest Elector to Population ratio. When we bask in these…

The youngest candidate of all the Bangalore MP candidates, Rizwan Arshad, 34 years, is geared up for the big battle. After waiting for so long, Citizen Matters was able to catch him in an event scheduled in Press Club of Bangalore to launch his website, on April 4, 2014. The launch of the website It was not a big event. Rizwan who wore casual cotton-white shirt and pant, was accompanied by Infrastructure Minister Roshan Baig, his son and other party members. Rizwan acknowledged the work of two youths, Sujay and Parikshit who designed the website http://rizwanarshad.in/. He said that this…

Prithvi Reddy in his office Pic: Shree D N He is the brain behind Aam Aadmi Party for Karnataka. He is also in the AAP's National Executive Committee. Prithvi Reddy gets candid with Citizen Matter’s Shree D N and Nikita Malusare on the AAP’s plans for this election season and his take on the roller coaster ride that their stint in politics has been this far. Can AAP change the election game? I think so. Whatever was believed as winnability in elections - caste, money, muscle power - has been proved wrong in Delhi elections. Delhi election showed us that…

Bengaluru is very quiet on a Sunday morning. The city centre area wakes up slowly, recovering from a busy Saturday night – even Ramanna opens his tea shop at eight. The mood is relaxed, and everyone is looking forward to a day of rest and relaxation. Many of the security guards, immigrants from the eastern reaches of India, normally work 2 shifts – or 16 hours on the trot, so Sunday morning is a big release. V and X shoot the breeze with this small group, whom they have now got to know fairly well. Hindi is the common language…

It was a campaign time for Nandini Alva in our community. She started by describing herself as someone from Allahabad but married to a Mangalorian. Her husband was late Dr Jeevraj Alva, a politician. She was familiar with politics as she had helped in his nine election bids. She also mentioned that this constituency has 40 lakh people from 38 castes. And I thought here was another politician who has come to play dynastic and caste politics with us. After a thankfully short speech, she started Question and Answer session. On the SEZ construction on Bellundar lake, she gave a…

Even as I write this, the chaos marring the BPAC-organised debate among South Bangalore's high profile candidates and its eventual abandonment forms much of the social media discourse at least in Bangalore circles. I was not present at the venue and haven't had a chance to see the recordings either till now. However I did happen to be present for a brief while at another event, micro-level in comparison to the greater show of the day. It was at Shobha Daffodil, an apartment complex in HSR Layout where the BJP MP Ananth Kumar had come to "meet residents" to push…

Dear Candidate, The content of this open letter is not something you would possibly expect. It is not something your average voter will ask you to deliver if you are elected. More importantly, most citizens will know little about this issue but could surely be impacted. I am a father who lost a young son in the 23 February 2010 Carlton Towers tragedy. I write to you on behalf of ‘Beyond Carlton’, a registered trust that was set up by the family members of those who were affected by the 23 Feb 2010 Carlton Towers tragedy.  Our aims include: Creating…

We are now descending into Bangalore International Airport, temperature 20 degrees, clear skies. Music to my ears. I step out of the plane and watch as the crowd rushes to claim their baggage. Each one trying to catch up with the person ahead of them. I join them in their little race. l look at the transparent door ahead of me, the only thing separating you and me now. Miles and miles now reduced to a few metres and a transparent door. I realise how much I’ve missed you. That I crave you like a bird craves the sky, like…