GENRE: Voices

That smoking kills is no news. That smoking can cause death to your near and dear ones is also perhaps known to most. That one out of two tobacco users is destined to die is something most of smokers would not wish to know or accept. Yet, this is what World Health organisation says. Out of the six million people who die because of tobacco use, 5 million are users and ex users. Six lakh are those who die of gift of smoke (Second hand smoking) from their near and dear ones. Almost 40 % of children breathe smoke polluted…

"Next question, so why are we celebrating a Spanish festival in the first place? To foster bilateral relations with Spain? Definitely not; because it is loads of tangy fun. The whole idea of the Tomatina festival has been popularised by the Bollywood movie 'Zindagi Na Milegi Dobara'. Haven't you watched it? The next thing you know you'll be asked to leave the country! Go catch it first thing this evening. The movie of course was immensely popular but even more fame was garnered by the sequence of the tomato festival where the three main leads of the movie; Hrithik Roshan,…

The waiting was over! .. after three long years, I boarded the British Airways flight, back home to Namma Bengaluru.  My thoughts now raced to the urban transformation that would welcome me home. Three years is not a long time to expect sea-changes in one's neighbourhood.  But, from what I had heard, I expected to view a few more concrete, ornamental, apartment blocks amidst some marvellous temple towers in modern day Malleswaram.I began to visualise my home city as a ‘motor-driven', ‘rock-king' place, heralding the 21st century charm as well.On the very second day I landed, I couldn't wait, but…

Kannada Actor Darshan's act of domestic violence has been in the news for the past few days. Yes it has not been proven, yes his wife has taken back the case. But the fact is his wife is in a bad shape and is attending court cases with her hand in a cast. The case is pending before the Magistrate. Initial Police inquiry suggests that he attacked her in a moving car. The driver said he didn't see or hear anything because the partition is sound proof. What would you have done had you witnessed this happening while you drove…

In the midst of Anna Hazare anti-corruption movement, an event of significant importance went unnoticed by citizens of Bangalore. The Bruhat Bengaluru Mahanagara Palike (BBMP) presented the much delayed annual budget for the fiscal year 2011-12. A cursory look at the budget suggests that BBMP is in as much a mess as Satyam Computers was at the time of confession of fraud by its founder. Little wonder even after three weeks of release of the budget, it cannot be found on Palike website. Ramalinga Raju the founder CEO of Satyam Computers booked fictitious revenue to inflate profits of his company.…

"Be the change you want to see in the world" - M K Gandhi A friend of mine, talking about corruption once said, "India is like this only, we just have to flow with the tide... who has the time to spend... it's just not worth it". Another friend, a senior manager in a reputed company, talking as if corruption was a commodity, once said, "This is the going rate... what's wrong in paying?". Attempts to refute these statements and questions were resulting in long debates and at the end of it, strained relationships... so I breathed deeply and let…

In principle, your rights evolve from the principles of equity and justice, the principle of respecting your autonomy, your dignity, and right to your privacy and confidentiality. Rights of a patient You have the right to be informed of your disease as diagnosed by the doctor, proposed medical care and the risks involved in treatment whether medical or surgical. You cannot be discriminated against on the basis of your caste, creed, religion or race. You are entitled to respect for privacy and confidentiality of your identity and your medical condition. You have the right to refuse any treatment which may…

As I walked past the market a week before Ganesha chaturthi, a wayside seller was bringing out from his shed large idols that he had not been able to sell the previous year, and was ‘touching up' the paint, to put it on sale again. He had a few more ‘leftovers', large and small, inside the shed, waiting to be ‘recycled'. I chatted him up, and got confirmation that these were indeed ‘leftovers'. File pic: Siri Srinivas When I was a child, each family fashioned its own clay images of Ganesha, with the children of the household enthusiastically fetching some…

Is it already six months since I began my iBrowse book club in the Catholic Club (CC)? The months seem to have flown by and there are a lot more readers coming in to enjoy a discussion and listen in to the guest author of the month! Author Gita Aramvudan with her books. Pic Courtesy: Marianne de Nazareth It all began really by default. Schonali Rebello began a book club called 'On the Same Page' and I joined along with other friends. Since the club did not have a fixed venue to meet in and was having the meetings in…

Recycle, reduce, reuse, replenish, renew, rethink... just a few of the Rs that led to the formation of a group that aims to promote reuse, recycling, and hopefully a greener, healthier place for us to live, through a series of flea markets in Bengaluru - Second to None (in short, 220). We organised our first flea market at Jaaga on Double Road, in the last week of July and the entire experience was a completely enriching one. Pic courtesy: Second to None The idea behind 220 was to provide a space for folk in the city to come, buy and…