JP Nagar

  Anju Sudarshan, who runs the Ranga Shankara Cafe very successfully, is serving Onam Sadhya on Sunday, the 11th of September, 2011, at the Cafe.Anju is well-known for serving dishes that often resonate with the theme of the play being staged at Ranga Shankara. The lunch is priced at Rs. 185, and will be served from 11.30am onwards.Happy Onam to all of you! ⊕

"Nearly 110 species of birds, fully or partially dependent on water have been recorded utilizing the tanks in Bangalore. This diversity of birds belongs to 6 avian orders and 25 bird families." - Dr S. Subramanya, an authority on lakes At Puttenahalli Lake, JP Nagar we have positively identified 15 species of the 110 (with the help of close-up photographs; otherwise most of the birds were always too far off or reclusive). These include those that belong to the families of coots, cormorants, ducks, herons, jacanas, kingfishers, kites, lapwigs, wagtails. There are some that we are yet to photograph/identify and…

When summer starts, Bangaloreans face the prospect of power cuts. BESCOM makes no bones about the fact that it cannot provide electricity to its paying consumers the way it is supposed to do. But even after the monsoons set in, when the load is definitely lower, why does BESCOM resort to unsscheduled and long power cuts, without a word of warning, or apology? Can every consumer afford expensive UPS (Uninterrupted Power Supply) inverters?I see nothing in the newspapers or media about the pathetic service provided by this utility. They seem to take the consumers for granted. They charge higher and higher…

One of the lizards that we often see around is the Peninsular Rock Agama...and around this time, as the male takes on its breeding colours, it can be a beautiful thing to see.Here's one specimen, which was perched, totally immobile, atop a cut-down tree-trunk on Bannerghatta Road:As it spotted some insect, the reptile was off in an incredible flash of speed, on to the ground below:The scientific name for this lizard is Psammophilus dorsalis. Tje female's camouflage is so good that she often cannot be spotted on the rocks! click here for the Wiki on this lovely creature, that eats…

 Found this on Ashwini Santosh's photos on FB...and thanks to Uma for giving me the link!* ⊕

With the installation of benches (and dustbins) at our neighbourhood Puttenahalli Lake, the number of people frequenting it has gone up considerably! Most of them are from Puttenahalli, RBI Layout, Bank of Baroda Colony, etc. This is an invitation to all residents of South City and Brigade Millennium to a guided tour of the lake on Saturday and Sunday (27th-28th Aug 2011) from 9 a.m to 10 a.m. We will show you the different varieties of trees we have planted, the water birds and the many seemingly small but integral things that we do to revive and transform the lake.…

  When we are already struggling to contain the traffic on our heavily congested roads, what is the need to have such vehicles?These vehicles do not transport anything or anyone; they take up valuable space, and add to the pollution. Can the government not ban this form of advertising, which adds to the traffic woes of Bangalore? ⊕

We plan to bring out a booklet for children on the rich flora and fauna of Puttenahalli Lake. This is an invitation to all resident shutterbugs to take photographs of the trees and birds at the lake for possible inclusion in the book. We'll be happy to give due credit to the selected photographs. We will need high resolution pictures. Also, need an aerial view of the lake for the cover. Please send pics by 12th September to puttenahalli.lake@gmail.com. ⊕

There seems to be a little confusion as to which day JanmAshtami (the eight day of the lunar calendar, which, in this month, marks the birthday of Krishna) falls. Yesterday at my friend's home, I was told it was yesterday. Today, when I visited my friends Hema and Ganu, she had just lit the lamp and made the little "foot marks" of the baby Krishna: So I offered geetAnjali...I sat and sang "sri krishNam bhaja mAnasa sathatham" in Todi, a majestic kriti, and then "maNi nUpura dhAri" by OotthukkAdu in nIlAmbari...and she lit the karpoora Arathi: Outside her front door,her maid had…

Here's a snake catcher in Bangalore city...well-documented and written about by Nishant Ratnakar, in his blog. Read about Shivappa click here for the post. Nishant adds, "He goes by the name 'Snake Shivappa'. If ever you need someone to rescue snakes in any corner of the city, then get in touch with him." As Nishant records, His real name: Devaraj K S His occupation: Snake Rescuer His mobile no. 99808 55720 Area of operations: Any corner of Bangalore City! So, if you see a snake, do not kill it, or allow it to be killed; please call Snake Shivappa. Readers…