GENRE: Voices

I had always wondered what life was like on the inside, at Karunashraya. If I had gone there as a copywriter on a project, I would go around with the team, look inside the wards, talk to some of the patients and ask for a 'brief' as we normally do, before we start a project.But then, all roads led to Karunashraya when my mother drifted into a terminal stage of cancer - far too gone even for a miracle cure. I would now get an insider's perspective on Karunashraya - as a caregiver to a patient.View from the walk-ways, around…

I've seen them at least in a couple of junctions. One at the Wind Tunnel road junction on Old Airport Road and, the other at the Intel junction on Outer Ring road. Small construction cones neatly lined up along one-car width from the meridian, indicating that if people should turn right, they ought to come in there. How do they enforce this? At Wind Tunnel road junction, they simply line the cones along the lane and then continue them all the way to the opposite side meridian. Something like this: Brilliant idea! Considering that just drawing the line and saying…

Is it difficult for citizens who are so articulate, so cultured and so well informed on conditions abroad to help evolve a traffic flow system and ensure the woes of commuters? The solution could be planned in several layers.Top on the list is synchoronised signal lights, adjusted to a moderate speed level. Moderate, because all kinds of vehicles ply on our roads and some of them may not touch the speed limit of 40 kilometers per hour.Heavy vehicles, cargo laden trucks and the like must be barred entry in arterial roads. If this is not possible, they must be allowed…

I was to board the KSRTC Meghadoota service to Chennai on 27th November 2008 at the Shanthinagar bus stand in Bangalore. The bus that was scheduled to start at 10.17 PM, did not arrive at the bus stop till 11 PM. The bus that managed to arrive so late from the depot had mechanical problems. The driver reported that the bus could not pick up speed and possibly not go beyond third gear. Apart from this, the bus also had very bad air conditioning, which added to the frustration and fury of the passengers. The angry passengers demanded that the…

‘Because the wind wants to feel your hair, and the earth wants to touch your feet.'- Kahlil GibranWe live in nature, but we don’t live naturally. We live on the earth, but we don’t touch it. Ninety per cent of the time, we hide from the sun. We use hot water to bathe, which is a fast, functional affair. Most of the time we condition the air we breathe. In winter, we keep warm and in summers, we protect ourselves from the heat. We burn most of the vitamin in food before we eat it. In fact, we protect ourselves…

As the terror attacks and their aftermath play out in Mumbai and on the TV networks, the usual questions are making the rounds in Bengaluru. Illustration: Sujay Ramiah. Citizens around the country are going through a mix of reactions. They range from shock to worry to frustration to angst to numbness and to even a desperation to look away and move on.The attacks have again pointed out how easy it is to plan, penetrate, set up, and launch such offensives in Indian cities. That worry isn't about to go away soon. Developments: Prakruthi, a citizens group becoming known for rejuvenating…

This picture (below) is about one more traffic jam courtesy a rally organised at the peak hour of 9 AM on 21st Nov 08. This time the jam near High Grounds police station junction was due to the rally of school children who were participating in Chinnara Habba. A good-samaritan acts, in vain. Pic: author. This incident happened immediately a day after the political rally of JD(S) in which citizens were subjected to a horrendous time. I am not against children's rallies but it could have been held at non-peak hours. The school administrators, event organisers and the public adminstrators…

Some citizens seem obsessed with giving the city bus transport corporation a bad name, or so it would seem. It is utterly disgusting to see people take a deep breath, collect that gutkha concoction in the mouth and then aim it right onto the street, sometimes missing you by just an inch. Okay, it may have been funny to see Leonardo Dicaprio teach Kate Winslet in Titanic the technique to spit the farthest. But it is most definitely not funny to see orange stains on the road. If only Union Health Minister Anbumani Ramadoss could do something about spitting! It…

There could be any number of senior citizens aged eighty plus in our family and friends circle. But how many of us have met one with a totally positive outlook? Most of us feel that old age is a bane and dread getting older. But just meet B Kamala, the erstwhile General Manager of Canara Bank and you will change your view. She is an embodiment of positive energy.As I entered her house on a considerably quiet street in Koramangala, expecting to meet a frail old woman, I was stunned to see Kamala looking the same as she did 20…

Amidst all the chaos in last decade surrounding Bengaluru's infrastructural problems and political instability,certain aspects of the city widen their influence as always. One amongst these is the ever growing "art of carnatic music".Though Chennai with its innumerable sabhas and cultural heartlands is considered to be the melting pot of carnatic music, Bengaluru is slowly but surely made its presence felt this sphere as well. Music fever seems to be soaring in this burgeoning metropolis like never before. True to its sobriquet of cosmopolitan city which embraces anything that comes its way, carnatic music too has found its place in…