GENRE: Voices

The Bannerghata Nature Camp is ideal for a short break, especially if you don't want to drive out too far from the city. The pond in front of the Bannerghata Nature Camp Long time Bangalore residents may remember this road past IIM Bangalore as a pot-holed drive into a fairly verdant area. Now it is a concrete mess right up-to the zoo. The resort is situated a few kilometres beyond the zoo, and we parked the car near the Jungle Lodges' new restaurant and were driven inside in the camp's vehicles.The resort itself consists of a half a dozen tents,…

There is a huge debate on "Unlocking Bangalore", prominent (sic) people have joined issues. Seriously, this seems so misleading because issues like roads, indiscriminate tree felling, airports have become the major target areas. Remember that not too long back, the commercial transport lobby went on a protest strike against speed governors? Local taxis also joined in sympathy. Did you notice the huge - HUGE difference in the traffic sans these IT/BPO staff bearing taxis? Same roads, same tree lines, same junctions - Bangalore was unlocked during those two days. No jams, no road rage and we reached our respective work…

5 PM at commercial street. Little drizzle. Cool wind blowing by. It was a weather that every Indian wishes for. No matter what mood you are in, this weather will just lift your moods. I was in high spirits and would have said 'yes' to climb Mt. Everest of asked to now. I was there with a couple of my friends enjoying the weather. By 6 pm, the drizzle turned into a small shower and people were running for shelter. We decided to call it a day and head back home. To my surprise I couldn't find a single Auto…

Every year, as summer rolls in and the mercury rises, I head for the swimming pool (well, poolette, actually!) in our apartment building, and my mind goes back a few years... One of the advantages of living in residential apartments in Bangalore is the fact that one gets to enjoy some common amenities: a gym, a swimming pool, a common green area, and so on. And one summer, I realized that there was someone willing to teach the ladies in the complex, how to swim. Learning to swim was not something new to me. Like the man who said, "Giving…

Devesh Agarwal of the Bangalore Chamber of Commerce and Industry disagrees with Albert Brunner, the CEO of Bangalore International Airport Limited on the latter’s recent interview to Citizen Matters on the airport controversy. Albert Brunner, CEO of Bangalore International Airport Limited (BIAL) recently gave an interview to Citizen Matters where he said that Bangalore does not need two airports. In this this article, I will argue why the city does need to keep HAL airport open. Indian low cost airlines are leading the current aviation surge being led by low cost airlines globally. Add to this an economic boom, and…

Much is being said and heard about the difficulties that the new Bangalore airport (Bangalore International Airport Limited - BIAL) is likely to impose on the citizens of Bangalore. A few days ago, the High Court of Karnataka weighed in on a PIL and recommended that the government and BIAL renegotiate the original agreement, with particular reference to the steep user charges and on the option of keeping HAL airport open. Last week, the central government floated its new greenfield airport policy, which does not explicitly bar a second commercial airport within a 150 kms radius of the first one.…

Bengaluru's rock history dates back to the 70s when a pioneering set took stage at Cubbon Park to strum a few famous English numbers on Independence Day. This innocuous strumming attracted derision from the then conservative Bengalurian, but sparked off a movement that has blossomed into the rich rock music scene of today. Early pioneers included the likes of Geoffrey Pope, Karl Peters, Amit Heri and Roberto Narain, iconic names among those who know their music. Sadly, most dissolved into oblivion, while some turned to coaching/selling music equipment and a bare few managed to retain label credibility in the world…

I met with an incident recently (13th April 2008).I was riding the bike from RT Nagar, I had to go over the Mekhri circle flyover to take a right from Hebbal road to turn towards IISC road. I turned right while the signal was changing from green to orange.I did not want to stop abruptly and since orange light is meant as a warning, I continued driving. If I had applied a sudden break, the auto right behind me may have hit me.A police constable jumped in front of me from the side of the road asking me to stop.…

The whole of Bangalore is talking about how bad the traffic is and how to unlock it. But no one is really concerned about the very neglected pedestrian. Ruthless vehicle owners do not stop to allow even old people cross. There is an unwritten rule which says, "me first". Crossing roads has become a great challenge today where no one cares. If this continues and we choose to do nothing about it, our ‘Swalpa adjust madkoli' attitude may cost us. The already dangerous conditions on our road may become worse for all pedestrians. We at Gandhigiri decided to launch a…

Sarfaraz Sheikh is a techie, as the term goes, who, over the past year, has come to be a good friend, even with his being just about half my age. I first got to know him through his posts in the mailing list of our Save Koramangala group. Later, common interests brought us together. I have always marveled at his resourcefulness. Hoysala patrol vehicles (pic courtesy: Bangalore City Police) Generally, it's people of my age group who bother with civic issues. But, that's beginning to change, personified by the likes of Sarfy (as he is commonly known), and perhaps that's…