JP Nagar

The Ranga Shankara Theatre Festival '12 is back, and is now in its ninth year! This year the theme celebrates one of the greatest playwrights of all time: William Shakespeare. So, gear up for two weeks of non-stop theatre starting from Oct 27 to Nov 11 '12, and come revel in the magic of the Bard of Avon!Our inspiration this year has been UK's recently-concluded Globe to Globe Festival. In store at the Festival are productions from different corners of the world, plus two from India. From Mumbai, there are Atul Kumar's "Twelfth Night" and Sunil Shanbag's "All's Well That…

Eco-Ganesha kai hote? (What is Eco-Ganesha?) For sixty year old Savitri, who has lived all her life in a village in Maharashtra, the only Ganeshas she knows are the ones they make with the soil from the beds (and surroundings) of lakes and ponds in her village. Her first time in the city, Savitri is astounded by the size and the variety of Ganeshas she sees in the shops and Eco-Ganesha is a word that has got fixed in her memory forever.Like many proud Marathas, Savitri says that the Ganesha festival itself originated during her ancestor Shivaji's time, or so her…

Here's the heartening report from Leo Saldanha of ESG: Dear All,This morning, Mr. Appu Rao, IFS, Deputy Conservator of Forests, Bangalore (Urban), Mr. Venkatesh, KFS, Asst. Conservator of Forests, Bangalore South Division, Mr. Nagaraj, KFS, Range Forest Officer (Kaggalipura Division) and various other foresters of the Karnataka Forest Department met with some of us atop the hill in Turahalli. Present amongst us were Venkatesh (Venky/NEFA), Ganguly (GETHNA), Vijay and Dimple (Architects), the Belurs, and some others whose names I do not remember, and my little daughter and myself. Deepak Arya is down with viral flu and thus could not make it.First…

PNLIT had requested volunteers to help with the planting of a few indigenous saplings at the Puttenahalli lake on Saturday 15th September. The process involved digging or expanding the existing pits, planting the saplings, filling with red soil and compost and if found necessary, securing the saplings with tree guards.Prasanna Vynatheya's report on the activity:  We had a successful day this morning at the Lake planting the saplings. It was encouraging to see our friend Pankaj who had cycled all the way from Whitefield to give us a helping hand. There were many others including Meera, Prashanth & wife from 24th…

Meet H Veeranna (30), who has now been working at “Park View”, a Darshini at J P Nagar III Phase (Mini Forest) for eight years out of the thirteen that this eatery has been in existence. He is certainly one of the reasons why this bustling eatery is thriving; he, and his colleagues, always deliver service with a smile, no matter how rushed it is. H Veeranna, who works in Park View Darshini, J P Nagar III Phase. Pic: Deepa Mohan Veeranna belongs to Kundapur, and came to Bangalore to make a living. “I am lucky and happy to be…

I have been following rafiki, a theatre group, from the time when they used to stage the plays of Athol Fugard, South African playwright and novelist.They stage plays with ideological contexts and started working with children in the field of theatre, too. I have seen their struggles and their hard times, and so it was with even more satisfaction than usual that I noted that they collaborating with “Toto Funds the Arts” (TFA) to stage an adaptation of Anton Chekhov’s work at Ranga Shankara, on September 6th and 7th, 2012. A scene from Rafiki's play. Pic: Nitye Sood At first,…

I wake up early, and I think it's usually the most wonderful part of the day. Yesterday's cares seem distant and behind me; the air, and my mind, are fresh and ready for today. It feels wonderful to stretch one's legs, and walk...not much, just about 4.5 km....and it's a great time to think one's own thoughts, introspect, say a few prayers....I also love to observe the people walking, jogging and running...and the various services that have sprung up to cater to them. Green leafy vegetables being sold to them...this has now developed into a small morning market (more expensive,…

Those who visit Puttenahalli lake these days would see almost the entire surface green with algae.On researching about algae, we found this information on an algae control program webpage.  Algae grow when they have the right conditions such as adequate nutrients (mostly phosphorus but nitrogen is important too), light levels, pH, temperature, etc. Generally the amount of phosphorus controls the amount of algae found in a freshwater lake or water body. The more nutrient-enriched a lake, typically the more algae in the lake.  Healthy lakes need algae. Algae are important to the productivity of a lake or water body. Algae are primary producers.…

In Stanford University commencement address in the year 2005, Steve Jobs said that one can only connect the dots looking backwards. He was referring to the decisions one makes following their gut the value of which is clear only after some years. Alan Vincent D'Souza. Pic courtesy: Alan Vincent D'Souza It seems that a local boy, originally from Mangalore, is following the path that Steve Jobs paved. 24-year-old Alan Vincent Dsouza quit his engineering in his third year, because he did not find any value in the course and risked his career to formally start his own company, Vavia Technologies.…

Girisha Hosanagara Nagarajegowda, brought home India's first silver medal in Paralympic Games in the men's High Jump F42 held in London. 24-year-old Girisha managed to jump over a height of 1.74 metres despite an impairment in his left leg. He took part in a three week long pre-games training camp at Basildon Sporting Village, which was sponsored by the Government of India. The rest of the time, he practised on his own. Girisha H N - Paralympics silver medal winner. Pic: Samarthanam A small town boy hailing from Hassan district in rural Karnataka, he trained with the Sports Authority of…