GENRE: Voices

"The Brigade Millennium enclave brought an impressive range of facilities within one secure, green, well-planned environment. ... The end result is a quality of life that few urban dwellers in India normally have the privilege of enjoying", so says Brigade Enterprises' website on the Brigade Millennium enclave in JP Nagar 7th Phase. Reality, however, is quite different. The main road of this enclave - Millennium Avenue - is no different from a public road - worse, in fact, with both Brigade and BBMP washing their hands off it, this has become a classic 'dhobi ka kutta'. The result - as…

Having attended most of the performances of the Ranga Shankara Theatre Festival 2010, it's worth introspecting on the effort this festival has made to introduce different forms of folk theatre to the Bangalore audience. This year's theme was different from the normal staging of plays, and probably unique as a theatre festival presentation. The most impressive aspect of this was the huge effort that has been made to get folk theatre artists from not just our own State, but from as far afield as Assam and Manipur. Also, various forms...the singing or the "recital" forms such as the Pandavani from…

Bahujana hithaaya, bahujana sukhaaya - for the good and convenience of the largest number of people, is an old maxim adopted nationally as a motto for public policy. The administrators of Namma own ooru seem to have turned this rule upside down. Consider the following examples - To ensure a "signal free" passage to those going to the new airport, the flow of  traffic  at  Mekhri circle has been changed to force buses proceeding towards Bellary Road to take a sharp U turn after passing the BDA office and the Guttahalli stop. The diversion is such that buses slow down…

I tried to balance myself very carefully as I took each step with great caution. No, I was not performing any acrobatics or balancing trick. I was just walking on a busy street in the city. I could not walk on the footpath as the slabs of the pavements were removed and piled up in a half hazard manner. Some parts of it were dug up and the remaining parts, occupied by the vendors. It was impossible to walk on the road, as the traffic was very heavy. Walking on the streets of Bangalore City is indeed a great feat.…

Abhivyakti! (An expression!) - an exhibition of photographs taken by amateur photographer Ashwinikumar Maslekar, a resident of Brigade Millennium, was held on October 23rd, at Mayflower Block. Ashwinikumar with his pictures. Pic: Arathi Manay Yajaman. Maslekar, 40, is a self-taught photographer, whose travelling assignments with Wipro have given him the opportunity to pursue his passion. The exhibition was held by Ashwini family as a small effort to encourage his passion. It is said that a picture speaks a thousand words and it is probably the only way to capture and freeze a moment in time with just a click! Maslekar…

Less than three weeks ago, my friend received a phone call from the constable at Hulimavu Police Station (off Bannerghatta Road), informing her that her police verification form for issue of her passport had reached the police station. She needed to go in person with photos and id-address proof. All of us have heard of tales of requests for "coffee money" (amounting to a few hundred rupees) at the time of police verification. A bit anxious and unsure of how to tackle the situation if it arose, she requested that I go along with her. The police station is located…

Dance in Indian cinema is unfortunately been labelled Bollywood dance. Films in the early nineties evolved with performances from artistes from indigenous art forms. Many actors, dancers and musicians who were bred in regional theatre moved their performances from stage to screen to find a larger audience and explore a new media of expression.  On the sets of Pancharangi. Pic: Nritarutya. In recent times  senseless ‘item' numbers rule the big screen where it is all about the jhatkas , matkas and the jing chak music that sell the film as a commodity. Seldom does one come across meaningful choreography where intelligent conceptualisation, beautiful…

The morning's paper said Bengaluru was "among the fastest growing cities in the world". On inside pages there were glowing accounts of Dasara celebrations, our 400-year-old tradition of Jambu savari, and the 150th anniversary of Sir Visweswariah. Reading all that felt good - and then my day began, with a bus ride, from Majestic to Jayanagar. I was Jayanagar-bound after a weekend in north Bengaluru, to pay my BESCOM bill for my flat in south Bengaluru, the last date for which was just a day away. Bus no. 2 that I waited for at Majestic (specifically so that I could…

The breakdown at the Vidhana Soudha in Bengaluru on the unruly Monday, October 11th, was broadcast over and over again on television channels last night. The city dailies of October 12th have a veritable gallery of pictures: everything from broken glass and a ripped off shirt, to police pushing back on legislators, and more. The High Court today continues hearing arguments on the controversial disqualification of the 11 dissident BJP MLAs and five independent MLAs. In case coverage in the media has left you confused or you have not had time to catchup with the core of the issue, here…

Around the time that the BBMP was deciding to include the menace of stray dogs in its agenda, on August 31st, 10-year-old Sameer was waiting for an injection in the series he has had to take, after being bitten badly by a dog outside his home in Jayanagar 4th T block. In the days since hearing about his injury, I have been counting dogs on our city streets, and am horrified that in a metropolis boasting about reaching for "world class status" we have  1.4 lakh strays (at last count - 2009) and  21,900 dog bite cases  (officially registered) in…