GENRE: Voices

On top of winning a nationally televised leadership initiative in 2008, this Bangalorean joined the BJP in 2009 just before the Parliamentary elections. His induction was attended by Arun Jaitley and Ananth Kumar. He is well known as a governance reforms activist and a man who has consistently called for greater engagement of educated citizens in politics. However, today, he has struck out on his own, disappointed with India's political parties. In fact, with his new initiative Nav Bharat he appears to be hitting out against the party system itself.Meet Bangalorean Rajendra Kumar Misra, 47, better known as 'RK'. Misra…

The good news is that at least half the number of diabetes patients can prevent or delay the onset of diabetes by simple lifestyle modifications. The bad news is: at least 50% of diabetics are not aware that they have diabetes. They are not aware of signs and symptoms which can help them recognise if they have diabetes, and manage it accordingly before it causes damage to vital organs. Pic: wikimedia commons What then should alert you if you are at risk of diabetes, or have diabetes. Some of the common symptoms that should alert you are: Increased appetite Increased…

It's an image stuck in my head from a long time ago. My friend, 19, is helping her mother roll out chapattis in the kitchen. Nothing wrong with that, except that her brother is comfortably slouched on the sofa, yelling for water. She yells back that he should get it himself and the mother adds lovingly but in all seriousness: Bhai ko paani de do, usko aadat nahi hai lene ki (Give a glass of water to your brother, he isn't in the habit of fetching it himself).The recent discussions in the light of the tragic gang rape case in…

Media reports have highlighted the shocking acts of sale of babies by Get Well Hospital, Neelasandra on Friday December 28th, 2012. Reference:  (Times of India, Deccan Herald and The Hindu) This is not the first instance where there has been evidence that this hospital has been involved in child trafficking. There was another sting operation conducted at this hospital by the Ashok Nagar Police Station and APSA in mid 2010, which was also videotaped and shown in the media at that time. YET this hospital and its owners have been functioning with impunity since then with no follow up after…

So the protests have stopped and the political games have begun. The 23-year-old girl continues to battle for her life. What now?The immediate reaction from Delhi Police after the incident was to pull up all the drivers and see to it that they have valid public service permits. People started tweeting about buses with dark windows or curtained and saying, be wary of them. Yes it is a good thing to have these in place because it helps us catch the culprits when a crime occurs. But this is not a preventive measure is it?Closer home Home Minister R Ashoka,…

A portable, comfortable work-surface for underprivileged kids. An alternate short distance public transport. These were among the entires that broke new ground at the National Student Challenge (NSC) 2012 organized by the Bangalore based Indian Institute for Human Settlements (IIHS) on 5th and 6th December. NSC is an all India annual challenge that aims to involve the youth of the nation in tackling issues related to India's urbanisation. Launched in July this year, NSC 2012 falls under the broader banner of Transform Urban India, an initiative that seeks to engage practitioners, policy makers, academicians and students working for urban development.…

Earlier in December, the Karnataka High Court issued a judgment saying dogs deemed a menace or seen to cause nuisance can be exterminated by Bangalore authorities whether or not there is evidence of their having mauled or bitten children or adults. An independent dog with collar companion to indigent humans. Chief Justice Vikramjit Sen and Justice B V Nagarathna failed to define the terms "menace" and "nuisance". Bangalore-based voluntary organisation, Voice of Stray Dogs, has made a detailed assessment of the judgment. The lives of the independent dogs in Karnataka's capital would thus depend on arbitrary definitions that may be…

By now you've probably read, discussed and formed your own opinion about the case of the Indian couple arrested in Norway and sentenced to 18 and 15 months jail respectively. Their crime? Of physically abusing their son by beating him with a belt and burning him with a hot spoon as punishment. It seems the child was ‘hypersensitive' according to newspapers here. The psychiatrist treating the child has termed it Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder(ADHD). If the reports are true, instead of understanding the condition, his parents resorted to beating the child and threatening to send him back to India. Pic:…

After my husband got our constituency and ward details from our neighbour, he filled in the voter registration form online. The last instruction of the online process was to post a copy to the Election Office located at the BBMP Headquarters. He did not trust the BBMP to mail us back our acknowledgement so I was to take the forms to the BBMP office. Though I anticipated a long queue and quite a lot of running around, I agreed, if I had to convince people to vote I had to be on voter's list in the area of our new…

Pandit Ravi Shankar's farewell to Bangalore a while ago brought back old memories of the great musician's concerts I attended in Bangalore and elsewhere. The first time was a late evening concert in the Town Hall in the late '50s. I was supposed to escort my sister and her friends back home after the concert. I reached a half hour before the concert was supposed to end. The side doors were kept open. I was in college. I had put on a Gandhi cap (we used to wear it for the PT classses) and that too with a hole in…