GENRE: Voices

An engineer by profession, 35-year-old Raghavendra Raju, calls himself an absolute Bangalorean who has lived across the city and knows it well. He now lives in JP Nagar. He is currently heading the marketing team at Indian Institute for Human Settlements (IIHS), Bangalore.Raju brought paintball gaming to India with his venture Yuyutsa. Later, he sold the business, and joined another startup as part of their marketing team.  Raghavendra Raju. Pic: Sathish S Excerpts from the interview. Bangalore has become the paintball capital of India. Do you think there are enough arenas and coaches for the game?Not yet! There is enough…

A real estate lawyer by profession, Vatsala Dhananjay, moved to Bangalore in 1990 from Coimbatore. After completing her law degree in 1993 from SJRC Law College, she got married and moved to Koramangala. She has been a lawyer for nearly two decades now. Vatsala Dhananjay. Pic: Abhishek Angad You been in Koramangala since 1993, how have seen it growing?When we came here it was very quiet and had many vacant plots. It was not even in BBMP limits. Suddenly it was a buzz that koramangala is a good place and lot of commercial activities took place.Did you always know you…

The Citizen Action Forum (CAF), a federation of RWAs will be sharing their inputs on Bangalore’s Master Plan 2035 with BDA. On May 7th, BDA had quietly begun a process of revision for Bengaluru's city master plan, and invited suggestions from public. This plan will be for the years 2016 to 2035. CAF along with Namma Bengaluru Foundation (NBF) and various individual RWAs will respond at a federation as well as individual level. Inputs to this process can be at two distinctive levels, at a micro and macro level. At a micro level, i.e. the rules and regulations governing various…

“Having a headache?” Take Anacin. “Having loose motions?” Take Norflox or Flagyll. I am sure all of us have witnessed this conversation sometime or other. People self prescribe antibiotics, and even steroids. TV and media advertising support this trend. Remember that old TV ad? “Headache?” “yes” “Nose blocked ?” “Oh yes” “Cough?” “Yes man yes” “Kutch Lete Kyun nahin? (Why don’t you take something?)” And a jingle follows recommending a common medicine. How many of us know that self medication can be dangerous, or perhaps how many of us really care? Do we know that Aspirin (in Anacin) can lead…

Respected Chief Minister, I write to you with considerable sadness, that a liked and respected politician today stands accused of unlawfully obtaining a G category site from the government. It is extremely unfortunate that we have reached this moment. I have known the Minister to be a good person, and I hope this allegation is not true. I hope there is a fair and tenable explanation to rebut what is said. At the same time, I urge you to take some steps to remedy the situation that has brought us here, so that we may not come to it repeatedly…

Sometimes it is good to step back a few paces, to get a better view and perspective. So it was, that earlier this week I accessed the online editions of the city’s papers while travelling out of the country and got a stark perspective that hit harder than when I see the same cityscape in person. Under the lead items on June 20th, there was a video strip showing pictures taken around the city. One was of the homeless, huddled along a pavement, and another was of a swanky flyover with vehicles whooshing along a curve. The contrast between the…

Go on Google and parenting terms hit you faster than a screaming toddler launching himself at mom, in supersonic speed. But the one that always gets me worried that I belong to the Neanderthal era and cracks me up at the same time has to be the much used and abused term called ‘Attachment parenting.’ Coined by Dr William Sears who wrote a plethora of baby books, it’s one of those terms that certainly doesn’t apply to India. In fact the good American doctor was definitely not thinking of us when he coined it because in India we are always…

A delicious aroma of the coffee cake in the kitchen fills the drawing room when I walk in. Ammu Joseph was in a relaxed mood at her home in Koramangala. She is absolutely fond of cooking and gardening.Ammu, a 58-year-old independent journalist, watches media closely and this has always been on top of her list. She has also authored many books on media and the gender issues in media. She moved out of the mainstream media in the late 80s, because she thought she could contribute to the field from outside. Ammu Joseph. Pic: Anisha Nair Excerpts from the interview.…

Many school bus drivers drive dangerously, disregarding rules and safety guidelines. It may not always be possible for  parents to accompany their child to school everyday - parents may have their own limitations. But I do not believe there is any valid reason for parents not putting their foot down against such risky transport options. Picture Courtesy – Posted in Bangalore Traffic Police Facebook Page by Sreenivas Machavaram Do these bus drivers even realise that they are putting the lives of these children in danger by jumping the median? Another big question is: Do the parents know this? The problem…

Prof. Elinor Ostrom, recipient of the 2009 Nobel Prize for Economics, passed away in Indiana, United States, on 12th June, after a short and intense battle with pancreatic cancer. Her life and her ideas hold deep significance for us in Bangalore. Prof. Ostrom visiting Kaikondanahalli lake in February 2012. Pic: Harini Nagendra In February 2012, Prof. Ostrom visited Bangalore for a few days, giving the T N Khoshoo Memorial Lecture at the Ashoka Trust for Research in Ecology and the Environment (ATREE). In addition, she was very keen to visit one of the sites of a recent research program that…