Indiranagar

The German botanist Gustav Hermann Krumbiegel is a part and parcel of Bangalore history....Now, Max Mueller Bhavan is hosting an exhibition about him:G.H. Krumbiegel: "Whatever he touched he adorned"A multimedia show curated by Suresh Jayaram17 - 30.04.20109.00 a.m. to 6.30 p.m. (Closed on Sundays)Goethe-Institut/Max Mueller BhavanInauguration on 16.04.2010, 6.30 p.mMore details here ⊕

A lot of places claiming to be the original "Kolkotta chat" have sprung up around Indiranagar. Wonder which ones are authentic. Probably will just have to sample them all!

A peepal leaf holds water in the form of a heart shaped puddle. Noticed this leaf after a brief downpour. ⊕

Recently, an incident of pillar-bending at a Bengaluru Metro construction site and its consequential casualties shook everyone. The days following saw press conferences, public meetings, officials giving clarifications and a number of people looking at Metro construction with scepticism. In August 2009, an over-six-metres-tall pillar stooped and caused two causalities and four people were injured. It happened on CMH road, Indiranagar, where  ‘Reach 1’ of the Metro is being constructed by Bangalore Metro Rail Corporation Ltd (BMRCL). There were immediate allegations of unsafe working conditions for the workers and faulty design being followed. But the question about who should be…

 The University Women's Association Hostel site in New Thippasandra A colourful construction site. A few workers. Some children. A park with walkers inside and outside. Kids playing on the road and the school playground nearby. Fairly silent residents. Some cars and motorbikes moving or resting. It was a Sunday afternoon in New Thippasandra (ward no. 83) flanked by the busy and colourful market and the seemingly clean and green CV Raman Nagar Road dusty with vehicles. Aliya, little Mahruk, Prayas (the initiator of Spirited Caravans, a journey of mobile spaces offering glimpses of a friendlier city) and I walked around…

Defence Colony, Indiranagar of the 90's was famous for its large number of "Beware of Dog" signs. Each house had a retired defence force personnel, and apparently, a dog. Some signs were more affectionate. "Watch out for my darlings". I grew up cycling those streets and a lot has changed since then. No more do you see afternoon tea breaks on the lawn or friendly open streets that just invited the daring cyclist to go 'hands free' on steep slopes downhill. Defence Colony had a charm that emanated from its overflowing gardens. That was why it was a garden city.…

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…

I received the monthly update from Max Mueller Bhavan (Goethe Institut) and it was heartwarming to see this announcement:Inauguration of the new Solar Roof4.30 p.m. on November 20thWe are proud to announce a unique initiative - the installation of a photo-voltaic system on the roof of the Bhavan - one step forward in the movement towards conservation of scarce resources and utilisation of renewable energy. The implications of this project, executed by IBC Solar under the Solar Roof Project India of dena, the German Energy Agency (Deutsche Energie-Agentur GmbH), are expected to radiate far beyond the walls of the Institute!The…

Yesterday evening, we watched this sudden termite swarm in Indira Nagar...We saw the termites flying in their hundreds, around the street lamps:I tried to get them against the light, but only got this image: Nabeel Mohamed, another person intrigued by the swarming, was trying to capture the image of the termites coming out of the ground on his mobile phone camera:You can see the hundreds of non-winged grubs as well if you look closely:Karthik had told me about these termites, so I decided to look it up on the net, and here's some info about termite swarms: one two and…

There is something interesting for our readers and I am sure they will like to get involved in this venture.An NGO, called SGBS Trust, has been working on uplifting the lot of the poor by conducting FREE vocational guidance. The name of the project is Unnati, their address is: UnnatiTemple Road, NGEF Layout, Sadanandanagar, BANGALORE 560-038.Phone: 2534-8642In this new premises, opened in March 2008, Unnati has been conducting free coaching for the poor and ensuring their placement after completion of the coaching. Already over 400 poor youngsters have been well placed, thus transforming the lifestyle of the families.Friends who have…