GENRE: Voices

As a visitor to Bangalore, I do not usually get hit by any disturbing event.  In fact, my past visits have been pleasant.  The purpose of my visits has been merely to visit family and friends. This time, however the black cloud (yeah, the one that randomly victimises you or someone you know) found me within minutes of ending a very comfortable train ride -- executive class on the Shatabdi from Chennai, November 23rd.  Illustration: Comaravalli Sridhar Radhakrishnan. On exiting the Cantonment station about 10:15p.m. I rang my cousin who was to pick me up, then my mobile went in…

On November 1st, KSPCB released a guide on Sewage Treatment Plants (STPs). In this exclusive interview with Citizen Matters, KSPCB Chairman A S Sadashivaiah talks about how the guide will help, and clears the air on many issues that resident associations have been raising on STP maintenance. Most apartment complexes today have their own Sewage Treatment Plant(STP). According to KSPCB rules, any large apartment (more than 5,000 sq m in the outskirts or more than 20000 sq m in core areas) need to have STPs. The new guide has illustrated explanation about the working and engineering features of STP, and…

"I am 80 years old. I have spent 76 years in theatre", when I heard the senior citizen on the stage say this, I thought he must have got mixed up. But I was wrong. He joined the Chamundeshwari Karnataka Nataka Sabha, which was then run by Nandi Basappa for the Mysore Palace authorities, at the age of four because of abject poverty. "My father was an archaka (priest) in a small temple. His income was not sufficient to feed our family of seven", says R Paramasivan. He can can sing 1260 Ranga Geethegalu (songs from the plays) from his…

BMRCL has always been notorious for its lack of transparency. Even being a government entity, the company is reluctant to share information to the media, citizens or activists. The entry into BMRCL head office is restricted compared to other government offices.When I had asked the BMRCL PRO for a sketch of the stations last year, it was denied citing security reasons. I was also stopped from taking pictures, even from outside, of Metro stations under construction, about six months back.Now the strictures have extended to public spaces too - Metro employees in stations stop media persons from taking pictures or…

It was 759am when I got to ITPL bus stop in Whitefield, satisfied that I beat the odds to catch a 500C that usually takes off between 8-815. Even if I missed that, I knew I would get a 500K or 500NA. A section of stranded commuters at 820am. The group increased to sizeable bunch by 845. Pic: Subramaniam Vincent. The opposite happened. As commuters lined up steadily, two 500Cs, one 500K and one un-named volvo, all took their expected U-turn at ITPL. As passengers started moving towards the doors, the buses simply shot off, doors closed. Drivers signalled 'oota'…

An announcement from BBMP in newspapers a while back has asked for citizens to write in with objections if any, to the proposed changes in road names. It is not just roads but also areas that have been renamed (among them Frazer Town, which everybody still refers to as Frazer Town rather than as Pulakeshinagar.The rationale for name changes is that the old names are relics from a colonial past and that we need to commemorate our own, indigenous heroes and  leaders (from Kittur Chennamma to Kempe Gowda, to former judge, governor and freedom fighter Nittoor Srinivasa Rau) which is…

For M Abdulla Saleem, his recent appointment as Additional Commissioner Police (Traffic) is a return to familiar turf. He succeeded Praveen Sood a few months ago. "I am basically a traffic man," proclaims Saleem and it is not without justifications. Pic Courtesy: DCP (Traffic) Office The 1993 batch IPS officer previously served as the Deputy Commissioner of Police, Traffic East Division, Bangalore and in 2010 completed a PhD in Traffic Management from Bangalore University. He has held various posts across the state including Assistant Superintendent of Police, Gulbarga, Deputy Commissioner of Police (Law and Order) and Inspector General of Police,…

The media is abuzz with reports of jailed Chief Minister Yeddyurappa's group snubbing national BJP leader L K Advani in Bangalore yesterday by boycotting his anti-corruption rally. It appears the BJP's political roundabout of contradictions and snubbing has also broadened into civil society anti-corruption movement. Advani declined to meet Karnataka's India Against Corruption group, who had lined up a series of demands for him. It appears the senior BJP leader, whose national anti-corruption campaign is widely seen as a way to upstage the UPA, is doing a tightrope walk in Karnataka. The state has been plagued with its own series…

The papers reported that all fireworks and crackers activities should cease between 10 pm and 6 am. KSPCB and the police were supposed to be doing rounds and enforcing the curfew. It's 11 pm in the night, and near Nagarbhavi, some random crackers keep going off at regular intervals. Dealing with continuous fireworks is one thing, but sudden bursts at random points in time is too much to deal with.The dogs, not accustomed to rackets other than their own, start howling everytime one goes off. Aged parents at home, struggling with flu-like symptoms thanks to the weather, exacerbated by the…

Street play is one of the most basic forms of theatre. It is truly theatre of and for the masses. No special stages, elaborate sets, props, or costumes are required, no time is wasted, no special environment is created, and no fee is paid-yet, street theatre can speak directly to the heart of the viewer. The energy and vitality of performing in a public environment to a public audience also makes street play the perfect vehicle for political protest and propaganda. In India, the name of Safdar Hashmi is synonymous with political street theatre. The Ranga Shankara Theatre Festival 2011,…