GENRE: Voices

A Bangalore of leisurely afternoon siestas, trees in abundance, monkey tops adorning grand bungalows, joyous celebrations unrestrained through the night and cycle rickshaws that got you about town. How do you celebrate the best years of your life? Artist Paul Fernandes does it with a series of 50 paintings that relive vibrant Bengaluru of the 70s. While the series currently reflects life in the Cantonment areas, Paul hopes to extend this in the coming months. aPaulogy opened on 21 December 2011. Paul Fernandes. Pic: Christina Daniels The paintings themselves are not easily classified into any genre, as humorous caricatures meet…

We, the Proud Indians, are a group of young, regular Indians with regular aspirations who deeply believe that an honest and strong India will be possible only when each of us is willing to strive in that direction. Proud Indians is a small group from Hyderabad from varied backgrounds. Through the walk they aim to inspire citizens to be honest at a personal level, to help tackle corruption. The group started their walk from Kanyakumari on December 18th. In the first segment of the walk from December 18th-31st, they covered 500 kms in Kerala . On January 1st, they started…

    The newspaper write-up for Dustin Bayi describes the play as "the complex relationship of a Christian family with local rituals and belief in spirit worship". Further "a powerful plot, reputed artists, authentic sets, music, and colorful costumes make this play a must-watch". This write-up seemed exciting enough, particularly in the light of the recent incidents with churches in Mangalore and Bangalore. Also, the play being staged on Christmas Day seemed symbolic as the occasion to watch it. The plot Pic: Kriyative Theatre Dustin Bayi is a short story by Gopalakrishna Aithal. It is adapted for the stage by…

Wastewater collection and treatment Wastewater collection and treatment was a rather poor show in 2011. Though underground sewage lines are being laid in the periphery of the city and some decentralised wastewater treatment plants sprang up. Bellandur lake covered in froth due to pollution. File pic: Meera K This will be a real tough challenge for the city because the resource recovery from polluters is also very poor since domestic households who send in the sewage to the lines pay the equivalent of 50 paise a day. Fixing and collecting the right price and making the polluter pays principle will…

Running culture is not new to the city. Bengaluru has hosted many marathons and is also witnessing an increase in the number of runner enthusiasts. Among those are Athreya Chidambi and Neera Katwal. They have been among the top finishers in the last few marathons. Chidambi and Neera were the first Indians to finish the Midnight Marathon in Bangalore. Athreya Chidambi and Neera Katwal at the Ultra marathon in November2011. Pic: Anju "It was on one of my new years' resolution list," says 33-year-old Athreya Chidambi, reminiscing about the time when he first gave running a ‘try.' Chidambi, who is…

It was a few years ago. I was stopped by the traffic policeman in Richmond Town for “jumping red light and reckless driving”. As expected, I was told that I’d have to pay a fine, but at the end of the conversation that ensued, I was let off with no exchange of money, just a warning. Now here again I was, at another traffic signal in Richmond Town, in front of another policeman, but for a different traffic violation. I realize that I run the risk of being classified as a habitual traffic offender, but I must clarify that on…

India is Diabetic Capital of world, and 12.4 % Bangalore population has diabetes. It is projected that maximum increase in diabetic patients would be in India. The deadly risks of diabetes include heart attack, stroke, high blood pressure (BP), recurrent foot infections often leading to amputations, and decreased immunity.The good news is it can be prevented, and even if you have, it can be managed without medicines. The time to act is now  Main symptoms of Diabetes. Pic: Wikimedia Commons Check if you have family history of diabetesAre you Obese or overweightIf you are inactiveIf you have high blood pressureWounds…

THROUGHOUT the year it seems that the citizens and the city were at war with each other. You only had to think of a project proposed by a city agency, and instantly you could recollect how citizens fought against the project. Equally, whenever citizens mooted something the the city should take up - bike lanes, bus priority, better footpaths - it seemed like the entire establishment was pitted against them.  To me, this is the greatest warning before us. All over the world the evidence is now compelling, that cities that actively involve their citizens in decisions are doing much…

Residents of 4th Block and 5th Block Jayanagar, Bangalore have written to Dr V S Acharya, Minister for Higher Education, and S Suresh Kumar, Minister for BWSSB on their problems with BWSSB's rules on Rainwater Harvesting (RWH) and the deadline of December 31st. They write: Dear Sir,We would like to bring the following facts to your notice, and request that you use your good offices to safeguard the interests of the general public of Bangalore City.As we all know, Bangalore Development Authority has obtained the legislative sanction to allot sites to all residents of Bangalore who have paid the value in…

The word Accident is derived from latin verb ‘accidere' meaning fall upon, befall, happen, chance. Globally as well as in our country, it is construed as happening by chance, and there is not much that can be done about it. Contradictory, though it may sound most of the accidents can be prevented. Especially if one looks at some of the statistics around accidents, one wonders why efforts are not made on war footing. Sample these: Pic: Mukul Saxena Globally 1.2 million people die due to Road traffic accidents (RTA) every year .In India every 1.9 minutes one person dies of…