Hobbies

"Ee kai hidkoli" (hold this hand) She asked me to hold her right hand instead of the left one and gave a slight push. I moved from her left to right and held her hand. She held my palm this time and, yes, the hand grip was firm. A grip that indicated she trusted me now. I looked at the clock in front of me - it read 4:15:50 The Bangalore Marathon 42.2 k race had started and we were about 20 meters from the start point at that time. All the regular runners were already out and I was just…

Today, an urban citizen lives in a concrete jungle, with no connection to nature. No one knows where the food they eat comes from. More and more agriculture area is getting converted to residential and there is not enough land left for growing food. This has also led to a percentage of population trying to grow what they can in their surroundings, in the available space. Terrace gardens are such attempts, gaining popularity in cities.   An Organic Terrace Vegetable Garden at your home is easy to create. Fresh home-grown vegetables taste delicious, are good for health and safe from synthesized…

Accessing information is very easy for many of us because our phones are the gateway to all that we need. Type keywords into google or youtube and voila – we have what we need. So the idea of setting up spaces to facilitate this along to include orientation sessions will seem a little silly. But for many people, the idea of learning from the internet is still an enigma. So in a first-of-its-kind experiment in Bengaluru, the Department of Public Libraries opened one of its spaces to three organisations – ATKINS, a company, and two nongovernmental organisations Defy and Headstreams.…

With consumerism at its peak and humans wasting more than utilising, it’s time to relook, to reflect, to repair. Repair Café is based on the very idea of sustainable living, to promote the judicious use of natural and personal resources in a bid to save this planet. Thanks to Whitefield Rising, the concept came alive recently near Hope Farm, set in the lap of the serene The Ant's Store– a perfect venue bathed in natural charm. People learning to repair electronic equipment at Repair Cafe event in Whitefield. A team of volunteers comprising a teenager, a banker, a techie, a homemaker,…

Arundathi Rao is a 50-year-old woman who works with the social impact team in a technology firm. Last year, she made a deal with her colleague Ashwin, who was participating in a running event. For every kilometre he ran, she would contribute Rs 200 to the non-profit that the run was supporting. Over the course of 13 days in December 2014, Ashwin ran 175 km. True to her word, Arundathi ensured that she shelled out the amount. This year, Arundathi is taking it up a notch by participating in the second edition of the very same event. The event named…

When you saw a teenager glued to a video game, did you think, "That kid is going to make seven million bucks!" That's what people like Felix Kjellberg (PewDiePie) and Sean McLoughlin (Jacksepticeye) are making today. They play video games all day and then upload videos of themselves playing to the internet. And you thought playing video games was a waste of time, didn't you? What these guys do isn't easy, by the way - getting subscribers is probably the hardest thing on earth. Editing eight-minute-videos to make them fun to watch for us—the average attention span is probably about…

Bengaluru's Big Banyan Tree, or Dodda Alada Mara. Pic: Vivek M After the construction of the new airport, Bangalore is fiercely expanding towards the north consuming more and more rural areas like these. This big banyan, located in Avalahalli just off the Doddaballapur Road, is now in the company of many apartment complexes and even an international school. It remains to be seen what happens to it in the next couple of years. Related Articles During the festival... A bull that never stopped growing Old house and the bull at the Pete

Soumya Geetha, a consultant by profession, is extremely passionate about photographing culture and the streets, besides being a rabid traveller. She captured the above bull at the heart of the city - in the Pete. She writes: "During my street photography exploits in the city, I have often encountered traces of other cities in Bengaluru. This particular scene, deep in the by-lanes of the Pete, reminded me of the narrow streets of Varanasi where cows had the right of way. It was also strange because I assumed that given the location of the neighbourhood and its obvious lack of space,…

Cycling enthusiasts attending Cycle Day event at Yelahanka. Directorate of Urban Land Transport (DULT), UDD, Government of Karnataka which is part of Bangalore Coalition for Open Streets (BCOS) along with local partner Yelahanka United Environment Association (YUVA) conducted the ‘Cycle Day’ event in Yelahanka New Town next to the Allalasandra lake. The program was attended by over 3,000 local residents and cyclists from across Bangalore who enthusiastically participated in the cycle day event. S R Vishwanath, MLA Yelahanka, Manjula-Commissioner DULT, Muniraju-Corporator Ward 4, Mr.Virupaksha Mysore-Additional Commissioner, BBMP-Yelahanka zone and S T Tayappa-President, YUVA addressed the participants. Cycle Day has been…

It’s been a while since my last post. I have been travelling with a friend. My friend owns a grooming salon for dogs and she was participating in a contest. I went with her for moral support. What’s life without friends, right? The same holds true for dogs as well, as Tigger’s story will demonstrate. In November last year, I got involved with an animal welfare organization called Precious Paws Foundation (PPF). As part of my involvement I fostered a puppy called Rackles. Rackles stayed with us for a few weeks and soon found a home. Rackles became Mishka in…