GENRE: Voices

What started as a casual attempt at cycling with my brother’s cycle that was lying idle at home has become one of the best decisions I’ve made in recent times. When I took up cycling in February of 2020, I did not anticipate how rewarding the experience would be. Since then, cycling has given me a way to channel my energy, boost my endorphins and helped me on my weight loss journey. Having experienced these benefits myself, I would like to look into what makes cycling a great initiative, while also addressing the challenges that stand in the way of…

Driving to my neighbourhood in the periphery of Bengaluru is like maneuvering a lunar module on the moonscape. Walking or biking is almost impossible. Every year, the gram panchayat ‘repairs’ the roads, thanks to years of advocacy from residents. And every monsoon, the road washes away. To my solution-oriented mind, the answer is really simple: study the problem - the history of the road and area; socio-cultural conditions of the neighbourhood, villages, and industries on the road; the number of cars/ buses/ people using the road; environment and climate-related aspects such as soil, drainage patterns, etc. Then, it is about…

Last October, around 700 houses in Bengaluru were damaged after heavy rains and flooding. The saga continues this year - 70 houses were flooded on June 4, and more on July 5. For hundreds of low-income families in Bengaluru, heavy rainfall in the last few years have meant intense damage or even losing their home. Flooding can also lead to the inflow of sewage into slums, which further increases the risk of water-borne and vector-borne diseases. Flooded roads and underpasses don't just choke traffic for hours, but they also increase the likelihood of accidents. Flooding has also been leading to…

COVID infections are on the upswing, with the World Health Organization announcing an 80 percent average increase in infections over the past four weeks in five of the health agency’s six regions, a jump largely fuelled by the Delta variant. “Delta is a warning that the virus is evolving but it is also a call to action that we need to move now before more dangerous variants emerge,” said Michael Ryan, Executive Director, WHO Health Emergencies Programme, in a briefing. Statistical models seem to suggest that the third wave in India could be three to four times more severe than…

நாம் பெருந்தொற்றோடு வாழப்பழகி ஆண்டுகள் இரண்டு ஓடி விட்டன. நம்மில் பலரும் பல இழப்புகளைச் சந்தித்திருக்கிறோம்.  எனினும், மீண்டெழுந்து இன்னும் அதிக முனைப்புடன் செயல்பட்டு வருகிறோம்.  மானுடம் இத்தகைய பெருந்தொற்றுகளையும் பேரிடர்களையும் தொன்றுதொட்டே சந்தித்து வந்திருக்கிறது. அந்த அனுபவங்கள் தந்த ஆற்றலைக் கொண்டு அடுத்த நிலைக்குத் தன்னைக் கொண்டு சென்றிருக்கிறது.  பெருந்தொற்றின் பாதிப்புகள் குறித்த பல்வேறு விஷயங்களை ஆராய்ந்து தகவல் பரிமாற்றம் செய்து கொண்டிருந்த அந்த பரபரப்பான நேரத்தில்தான் நம்மையும் தொற்றியது, கொரோனா.  சற்றே அசட்டையாக இருந்ததின் விளைவே அது. அறிகுறிகள் தென்பட ஆரம்பித்ததும், எச்சரிக்கையானோம்.  ஆனால், அடுத்த ஓரிரு நாளில் தொற்று தன்னிருப்பைத் தெளிவாக உணர்த்த ஆரம்பித்ததும், பரிசோதனைக்கு உட்படுத்திக் கொண்டு அதன் முடிவு வருவதற்கு முன்னரே, மருத்துவரிடம் கலந்தாலோசித்து வீட்டுத் தனிமைப்படுத்தலுக்கு நம்மை உட்படுத்திக்கொண்டோம். அந்த நேரடி அனுபவத்தையும் அதைக் கடக்க உதவிய நல் உள்ளங்களைப் பற்றியும் பகிர்ந்து கொள்வதே இக்கட்டுரையின் நோக்கம். இதன் மூலம் நாம் கற்றுக்கொண்டவற்றையும்…

“Where are you marketing guys going for your annual junket this year,” asked my colleague in finance. “It is not a ‘junket’. It is our annual conference,” I replied defiantly. “Okay, but tell me where? Goa? Kovalam? You even went to Kashmir right?”, the questioner continued. “We met our budget for two years running, so we are going to Kathmandu,” I proudly replied.  But my friend from finance would not let go. “You marketing guys are lucky, you travel all the time,” he went on.  “Yes we travel around 10 days a month, by air, by train, by bus,” I…

Residents of Mumbai are complaining about potholes via social media platforms like Twitter to the local civic authorities. This monsoon, it seems to have made some difference. Every year in the rainy season, BMC receives major complaints regarding potholes on roads via the control room helpline (1916) and mobile app. But now to reach out faster, the residents of various areas in the city are tagging BMC local wards’ Twitter handles and sometimes the Assistant Municipal Commissioners, local Municipal Corporators of the wards to report potholes in the area. Many times, a before and after photo of potholes complaints are…

I opened one of the newspapers today and saw a brief report that stated that a certain infrastructure project in Bengaluru that had been stalled for the last year, had been restarted. The narrative in the paper was that the contractor on the project had problems; the government put the project on hold and later, got the same contractor to resume work on it. In the meantime, a year and a half had passed. Pedestrians had fallen into potholes on the roads that were dug up for the project. Monsoon rains had clogged the works and traffic was getting jammed.…

We thought the battle against synthetic manja was long won. There are already stringent laws in place against this variety of killer kite string, an unbreakable, non-degradable nylon string. Even its possession and storage is punishable by up to a lakh of rupees, and seven years in prison. The penalty and jail terms for causing injury are obviously much higher. Yet, how is it that this manja continues to injure people and wildlife in Bengaluru? On a daily basis, more than 50 calls arrive at the desks of wildlife rescuers to save animals caught in manja. Rescuers risk life and…

“Every thought plants a seed to one of your actions. Every good action will yield a consequence. The person who takes good steps every day, cannot help but reap a harvest of awesome results.” This quote by Robin Sharma stayed with me for a long time after I read it. It is true that a thought can be powered by positive action, to yield far reaching results. In fact, a recent volunteer-driven initiative in Chennai, the Chennai Volunteers COVID Resource Guide epitomises how citizens can come together, virtually, and create a movement to support fellow citizens in their time of need. Chennai Volunteers Resource…