Hobbies

Reading of Children's Fantasy Novel   Venue: Atta Galata Time: 4.30 pm   The Book: Building on influences from Asia, Africa and the ancient language of Sanskrit, Janaki Murali takes on readers on a phantasmagorical journey. Dive deep into the bowels of a volcano in the Bay of Bengal and meet the fire-breathing Mrigas, shape-shifting Bahulas, four-headed Gufiyas and the special unugly Gulu. Watch them as they employ insects of espionage and wield weapons of fantasy.See a whole new world through the eyes of three earthlings who learn to stand united after losing a parent, and are pulled into a chain reaction that…

In my last blog, I wrote about how dogs are survivors. Ever so often I am reminded of this by remarkable stories around me. One such story is of Raja and Vasudev. Vasudev meets Raja...for the first time When we all first saw a picture of Raja on the internet it was hard to watch the picture. When I heard of someone adopting him I reached out to that man and thanked him. Thus started a friendship with a unique man and a very unique dog. Both have made a huge impression on me. The love they share is one…

As part of my “bite series”, I want to focus on the beginning – where it all starts. So, are dogs born biters or do they become biters? Do they learn to bite as they grow or are they born biters who learn not to bite? This question is a bit twisted. It’s like asking if a human learns to grasp another’s hand and break it or if a human is born with that knowledge. Most humans are born with opposable thumbs. They do have innate ability to grasp that they quickly learn to use in different situations. Depending on…

My post for this month is late. As expected, it was bound to happen sooner or later. I have been hit by writers block. But that’s not the only thing that was bound to happen sooner or later. I also got bit by a dog! A little introspection revealed to me that the bite was the reason for the block. I consider the season between Diwali and New Years to be one big party season. Time for merriment and in my mind, there is no merriment without food. So I wanted to write about food. But the dog bite did…

Have you ever been into an argument when you wished - I wish I can prove why you are so wrong? Have you ever heard or read something that you instinctively knew to be incorrect yet you were unable to explain it how? You know that the world is not what it ought to be, but you do not know how to address it in an informed manner. You are frequently getting disillusioned by the quality of debate on television and are looking for avenues which can provide meaningful information. Are you interested in human rights, good governance, environmentalism, equality…

“Do you want to catch this 'Purusha Sukta' at Ranga Shankara? After a long hiatus, the spouse was finally trying to get our social life in gear. “What is it? A play? A concert?” While I always briefly scanned the daily listing of classical concerts in Bangalore, having two teens meant we had little time to catch the performing arts. Now with both the kids in college, we've finally re-awakened to the arts scene in Bangalore. Bangalore's messy and seemingly chaotic growth has seen it evolve a more cosmopolitan cultural milieu. Avante-garde theatre and art, Mediterranean food and music of…

I am off for Diwali. Every year, we chose to spend Diwali in the lap of nature and pass up on the revelry in the city. This suits us and our dogs best. But for those of you who are going to be in the thick of all the celebrations, it is time to remember that Diwali is potentially a very stressful time for dogs. In my last two posts I wrote about the effects of stress on your dogs and how your dog may express it. Today, before I take off, I want to leave you with some tips…

In my last post I spoke of what stress is. In this post I want to describe how a dog could react under stress. We have often heard of the “flight or fight” response to fear or stress. In dogs there are actually, at least 4 responses to fear – Fight, Flight, Freeze and Fiddle. In this blog I want to describe each of these. Flight: This is the easiest response to recognise as fear. We see a dog running away, with it’s tail tucked between it’s legs and we know it’s fear. During Diwali, it’s not unheard of for…

Diwali is almost upon us and as most of us are aware, dogs’ stress levels shoot through the roof during this period. So this month I am going to dig deep into all my education that had to do with stress in dogs and put forth every bit of information that might help you help your dogs. To handle stress, we first need to understand stress. Obviously, the first question is “What is stress?” In very simple terms, it’s the body’s mechanism to cope with danger. This mechanism is activated either when danger is perceived or even anticipated. Hence, even…

Goddess of the occasion - Durga - a synthetic marble dollDolls of Sharada, Durga and Lakshmi made of Clay and PoPThere are too many dolls to choose from , mostly all traditional.Park items - trees and shrubs - made up of clay and PoPHanumantha meeting Rama with a message from SitaA part of Ramayana setRavana's courtDolls of Thirupathi god and goddessKrishna stealing clothes of Gopikas - a scene from Bhaagawatha - clay and PoP dollsCute students studying ABCD in school - dolls are not meant to be only traditional.‹ › $(document).ready(function(){ $('.carousel .carousel-inner .item').first().attr('class', 'active item');}); Click to view the…