JP Nagar

This Joy of Giving Week (Oct 2-8, 2011), please "give" to Puttenahalli Neighbourood Lake Improvement Trust (PNLIT).A citizens' initiative, the PNLIT has been working with the Bangalore municipality (BBMP), to rejuvenate and preserve Puttenahalli Lake in South Bangalore. A couple of years ago, the lake was almost lost to 'development' but it is now a "saved" lake of Bangalore that is teeming with fish and attracting birds. Indeed, the Puttenahalli Lake is an example of what we, the people can achieve with governmental support (and visa versa!!).In May 2011, PNLIT became the first citizens' group to be given charge of…

Puttenahalli Lake in JP Nagar 7th Phase celebrated Ganesha Chaturthi this year sans the problems faced by most of the other lakes in Bangalore.Ganesha Chaturthi = colourful Ganeshas + flowers + immersion in water bodies Immersion in a big drum on the bund of Puttenahalli Lake Pic: Usha Rajagopalan Sankey Tank in Malleshwaram was the immersion ground for more than 50,000/- Ganeshas of varying sizes (according to local police figures). The festivity here also contributed a few lorry-loads of rotting flowers and leaves that were sent to landfills (according to local resident observations).  Puttenahalli Lake, unlike Sankey Tank is a…

  Where does "kolam" or "rangoli" fit in? Art? Tradition? Culture? Hospitality? ...All of the above it seems to me!  Here's a lovely rangoli in front of my friend Alamelu Ramaswamy's home: It's such lovely patterns that invited the passerby to enter, and feel at home...Rangoli is one of the traditions that I love. ⊕

The world celebrates Car-Free Day on September 22.... Bangalore can also join in. We welcome you to play your role as a citizen of Bangalore: · Please do not use car on Sept 22nd · Use public transport for one day · Explore the possibility of car pooling from/to your area⊕

Do you know how much of the pollution in the world is caused by cars? Some studies put that at 40%. As a result, some across the globe have chosen to observe 22nd September as World Car Free Day. ESAF, a Bangalore based not-for-profit organization that is campaigning to make the city a child friendly one, decided to do its bit to create awareness on the advantage of not using cars. On the 21st, the NGO has planned to distribute handbills along with 2 English and 1 Kannada newspapers to persuade car users to consider taking public transport. "Some friends…

  As you turn in at Anand Rao Circle, the name of a camera shop, that's frequented by most of the photography community in Bangalore, comes into view: Jayesh Patel, the proprietor, had a shop in Chickpet, and opened this new outlet in Anand Rao Circle a while ago. Here's the shop facade at Brigade Plaza:Inside, especially on Saturdays, it's a scene of hectic activity, as photographic equipment is bought, and sold, in large quantities.Jayesh is very knowledgeable about cameras, and I have found his word to be his bond. He has always offered cameras and associated equipment at very competitive prices.…

Eugene Ionesco, a Romanian/French playwright, was one of the pioneers of the Theatre of the Absurd, along with such playwrights as Samuel Beckett, Jean Genet and Harold Pinter. Since he uses gibberish and parody and, sometimes, non sequitors (Latin for "it does not follow." It is most often used as a noun to describe illogical statements) as the basis of his plays, it was a fairly difficult task for the group to stage the play. In "The Bald Soprano", too, one has to use the words "allegedly" and "apparently" very often. The excellent brochure that  Little Jasmine, the theatre group…

The Bangalore University presented "World of Books 2011", an international book festival, which was held from the 2nd to 11th September, at Tripuravasini, Palace Grounds, Bangalore. The book festival played host to many leading bookstores including Oxford Bookstore, Hachette and others. The 10-day book festival saw thousands of people flocking in to take a look at the lakhs of books that were on display. For many of the booklovers, this festival has been a season of celebration. "I visit the book festival every year with my daughter," says Geeta, a bank employee, "my daughter is crazy about books and this festival is a…

  3 places where one can hire bicycles Happy Strides - Harsha - 9611322225 Pedals and Wheels - Sachin - 9880073281Velo on Village - Ravi -9449810297 ⊕

 We generally dress in our oldest, dull-coloured clothes to go on nature trails, because many creatures are sensitive to bright colours, and vanish as soon they see such colours moving around. In Nature, blending in with one's surroundings is often the key to survival...what stands out is often what's eaten, and also what could be dangerous.But there are creatures who manage to blend beautifully into their surroundings, and yet remain very colourful!The PRAYING MANTIS that we found on Saturday at the Valley School was a prime example:It was quite tough to see the Mantis at first, but we all soon…