GENRE: Voices

So have you started him on finger foods yet? The lady at the park asks the question pointing towards my nine month old. Since I'm debating the best zigzag (and breeziest) route to take the stroller around so that he goes off to sleep, I take some time to answer. Yes, I have started to give him finger foods. At the moment, it's Parle G. Someday I will graduate to ‘well cooked carrot sticks' as mentioned in those parenting tomes. Until then he can nibble on biscuits in between meals if required. Oh yes, and I forgot his finger, which…

He is 29, trained as an engineer, a Kannada-film maker of rising repute. However that is not why he is the focus of this article. Pawan Kumar is also a piracy warrior in Sandalwood. For his debut film, Lifeu Ishtene, he ended up irking the Censor Board by re-releasing the movie with a changed ending. Now he's gone back to a familiar approach engineers take to fix problems: technology. Home talkies aims to protect Kannada cinema piracy. Pawan has founded Home Talkies a movie viewing website to release Kannada films on the web. As the description the website goes ‘through…

Ranka Colony road, off Bannerghatta road, is a good example of the city's horrendous infrastructure. There are at least ten apartments, with around 2000 flats, along the road. This road has been in poor condition since the last 10 years. Rainwater would enter apartments, rising up to seven feet high, damaging parked vehicles and entrapping residents. Over the years BBMP has dug the road many times, but never fixed it. BBMP again dug up the road last year, which has only caused more trouble. A 1600-m storm water pipeline is being laid along the service lane from Bannerghatta main road…

In the commoditised world, if you don't like the price of a shirt or even a car, you can shop around to your hearts content.Schooling though is a different cup of tea altogether. It is an investment parents make for their children, and certainly no commodity. So when private unaided schools increase fees regularly, parents will simply not automatically move out in a hurry. Switching costs time, energy, money and stress on children. Some parents straightaway suspect that they are being exploited because they're not about to change schools at the drop of a hat. In market economics, this is…

Around two months back, our apartment association got a notice from the Rajaji Nagar regional office of the state Pollution Control Board (KSPCB). The notice said that we had to pay Rs 1.2 lakh as STP operation fee for six years, starting from January 2007. Ours is a 165-unit apartment in Kundanahalli.When we went to pay this amount, KSPCB officials said that we had to pay an additional Rs 45,000 (Rs 7,500 annually for the six years) for an environment audit report. This was to be paid to an agency that conducts surveys. When we enquired about the audit report…

"People connect to my paintings easily," says Sangeetha Kadur, wildlife artist. A graduate from Chitrakala Parishath, Sangeetha is a avid birdwatcher and a wildlife artist.'A Brush With Nature,' her first solo exhibition of wildlife art was organised at No. 1 Shanti Studio at Shantinagar. The exhibition was on from 27th January to 30th January. Sangeetha along with her collection at the exhibition. Pic: Deepthi M S The exhibition which ran for 3 days saw a lot of wild life enthusiasts attending the event. "The spirit in the Leopard's eyes are so real," says, Atrijit Dasgupta, 45, who claims to have…

Every human being has the power to make a difference. 'Living Beyond Life' started with one such thought. It is a project to get the option of organ donation introduced on Driving License (DL) cards. When I first saw my brother’s US driving license, I found organ donation option mentioned in it. I too wanted to pledge my organs but did not know how. I took this up as a project, to get organ donation introduced as an option on DLs. There is huge demand for organs in India, for transplant. One of the best ways to reach out to…

Filmmaker Girish Kasaravalli has won hearts and stimulated minds for a few decades now. Ghatashraadhha to Gulabi Talkies, his films have won him great accolades. He offers interpretations of the stories he chooses, something not usually done by directors. Citizen Matters caught up with this resident of BTM Layout for an interview. I see a shift in your film-making. Recent films, especially those after Gulabi Talkies seem to be explicitly ideological in nature. They ‘tell’ more than ‘show’, I think. What do you mean when you say ‘ideological’? My films have always had a political-social message, if you like. It…

A person talking about futility of life or inability to face stress should be taken seriously. Steps to prevent suicides have to be taken at different levels. At community level, it includes education, destigmatising psychiatric illness, screening and treatment. Education includes individual and public awareness, professional awareness and counseling. At the family level, love, understanding and support can help people cope.Earliest signs of depression or any other psychiatric disorder should be taken seriously and treated. Any mention of suicidal thought or talk should not be ignored. Teachers, counselors and parents have to join hands to detect earliest signs of childen…

This is not the story of someone who fought against an indifferent system and brought it to its knees, rather of someone who made her peace with the system and worked patiently from within, to achieve the best results possible. Pic: Manvel Alur Manvel Alur's connection with the environment seems almost karmic, with her choices in life steering her on the green path quite early on. Even as a child growing up in Bangalore, she was environmentally aware enough to write in to the National Geographic magazine on various issues and it seemed like a natural transition that she went…