GENRE: Voices

Recently, I was surprised by the efforts that the government takes in checking TB cases by distributing free medicines through the nearest centres. The system is made so fool-proof that the medicines are taken by the patients regularly in the presence of a medical officer.  In fact a doctor or at least a nurse visits the house of the patient and guides the family members about the importance of taking the medicines regularly, the various precautions that the family should take and ensures that the medicines are distributed from the most convenient location.  The hospitals are monitored strictly.  The doctors…

If there was one city in  the newly independent India that was a real moviegoer’s delight, it had to be Bangalore.  In the early ‘50s, cinema theatres in Bangalore used to  show films in many languages - Hindi, English, Tamil, Telugu and Kannada. Few years later, Malayalam and Bengali movies could also be seen in morning shows. In that sense Bangalore was probably the most cosmopolitan town in the country. Such a varied taste in films was a reflection of tolerant  and eclectic mindset  of the natives. May be this was also the way the foundation  for a pan-Indian city…

Recently, on the  Hasiru Usiru e-group (a mailing list for people who want to engage with the government to see how best we can keep this city green while developing it) we have been having a debate about cyclists participating in the Cyclothon.Cyclothon is a cycling event on the Peripheral Ring Road, which is usually not open to cyclists, built by Nandi Infrastructure Corridor Enterprises (NICE), that is alleged to have exploited farmers. The debate has heated up. But that's not what I want to talk about.One person made this statement about the cyclists who want to participate in the…

It's one of those things that makes you cringe when you hear about it but eventually fades from your memory. But 18-month-old Vijay refreshed our memories of five-year-old Abhishek. As much as we express anger against the BBMP, nothing really can be done to bring back these two lives. When I saw a local news channel showing footage of firemen working their way through drains, searching for little Vijay's body, for me it brought back memories of Y S Rajashekhar Reddy, the late Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister. As soon as it was known that there was no contact with his…

Here’s a quiz : What does a lamppost remind you of ? Light ? Nah, try again.... Got it – a dog raising its leg against the base? Yup, that’s it. But what has Bengaluru to do with lampposts? Look for yourself – along many roads, at the base of each lamppost, lies a heap of rubble or trash, shored up in a cone shape. I counted seven along just one  stretch of some 200 metres (down 27th Cross, leading from the Jayanagar shopping complex towards Kanakapura Road). Bricks, chunks of concrete, mud scraped up from the roadside, assorted rubbish…

In 1978, as the city of Seoul in South Korea 'developed', a 6 km. long river called the Cheonggyecheon was covered up. An 8-lane street was built over it, and an elevated expressway built over the street. The road was called Cheonggye Road, in memory of the late river.In 2005 the elevated expressway and the road were broken up and the river restored. It took two  years and the equivalent of Rs. 4000 crore for the restoration. 2002 : Seoul's Cheonggyecheon river in its avatar as a road. Pic source: G V Dasarathi. 2005 : Seoul's Cheonggyecheon river after its…

Does it sound strange, travelling to work by train every day from Bangalore to Mysore and vice versa? Well some of us do.  Those who do, live in a different world and also in a different time scale. Regular commuters may not remember the time when Kaveri Express was introduced. Pic: Pushpa Achanta Kaveri Express was introduced in September 1980, around 30 years ago. On the occasion of Kaveri Express' anniversary on 11th September, below is an excerpt from Specular. Specular was a weekly general interest magazine focusing on news and information about Karnataka, which was started by K N…

A few days ago, I visited the 158-acre Beggars' Rehabilitation Colony off Magadi Road, at the intersection of Ring Road, along with officials of the Social Welfare Department (SWD) (which owns the facility) and BDA (to whom the land is now being transferred, at the direction of the Chief Minister). BDA is keen to develop the area, quite nicely located at the junction of the Outer Ring Road and Magadi Road, into a township, and also to ensure some public good outcomes using a portion of the land (perhaps, for a hospital, a man-made lake, a bus terminal for BMTC,…

BBMP wants to take land from the owners along the 100 feet ring road (BTM Layout and JP Nagar) for road widening. They say they are doing this "for the benefit of the larger population". Now compare this with Bangalore Metro train project. The government setup a committee  called "Thomas Committee" which analysed the socio-economic impact and set the guidelines for deciding the compensation package for each of the affected land owners and business establishments. The report can be seen at the following link here. Now the Metro is also being built in the same place and the irony is…

The construction of a residential house in 121, 3rd cross, Dollars Layout, JP Nagar 4th phase has been going on for more than past four years. This design-as-you-go house is less than 50 per cent complete at this time. The construction is done with steel and concrete. This type of construction requires very good planning as there is very little room for error. Once the concrete is poured the structure is fixed and can’t be altered. This building is anything but planned. One day they build a section of the building and following week they realise they made a mistake.…