koramangala

Going by the good responses photography workshops elicit, most people, having invested in a good camera, seem to feel the need for learning the basics right to become better photographers. So when Kalyan Varma, a naturalist and wildlife photographer (www.kalyanvarma.net) advertised a two-day digital photography workshop on his blog kalyan.livejournal.com I decided to attend. This was Kalyan's first-ever photography workshop, and he held it on 10-11 May at hotel Nandana Grand in Koramangala. The content was broadly divided into four sections distributed over the two days. On day one, Kalyan had scheduled the basics of photography and composition, purchase and…

A common scene from Hindi movies is where the hero comes in as the good man in power (often as police) and throws out all the culprits. This arose in real life last weekend (May 17) when the Bangalore Developent Authority (BDA) Commissioner H Siddaiah threw out a doctor practicing for three months in a shop in the BDA Shopping Complex (commonly known as the 'BDA complex') on the Inner Ring Road, Koramangala. The shop that was closed; signboard on the right. Pic: Supriya Khandekar. Dr Jalal Farooqui was termed an encroacher by the BDA as he had no papers…

It's a prickly, 15 acres of prime land that stretches through shrub and wild grass, unaware of the legal battles that have been waged over it for the past 20 years. Part of the Jakkasandra Lake (Meistripalya), it stretches a few yards away from the BDA Complex in Koramangala, adjoining the 7th Cross Road and Telephone Exchange. The bone of contention has been its identity. Is this undeveloped land, belonging to the Bangalore Development Authority (BDA) earmarked as a civic amenity, or is it meant for construction with commercial intent? The troubled land in Koramangala fourth block citizens are fighting…

Sarfaraz Sheikh is a techie, as the term goes, who, over the past year, has come to be a good friend, even with his being just about half my age. I first got to know him through his posts in the mailing list of our Save Koramangala group. Later, common interests brought us together. I have always marveled at his resourcefulness. Hoysala patrol vehicles (pic courtesy: Bangalore City Police) Generally, it's people of my age group who bother with civic issues. But, that's beginning to change, personified by the likes of Sarfy (as he is commonly known), and perhaps that's…

VIPs continue to be stumbling blocks in the paths of ordinary citizens. My daughter and I had another brush with a V/VIP at HAL Airport on Friday (28 March) morning. This time it was Rahul Gandhi. There were no noticeable signs at the entrance to the road into the airport to let the public know that it was being cleared for a "VIP" to go the wrong way on it. But, half way down the road, we were brusquely waved to the side by a belligerent policeman so that the political convoy could whizz straight out from the tarmac. Clearly…

While all of Bangalore geared up for Valentines Day last week with all its finesse a café in Koramangala had something less obvious in mind. Brew Haha located near Jyothi Nivas College (Koramangala) in association with Muziboo.com introduced two upcoming Indie bands to its love-struck clientele and regular customers. The warm ambience and eager crowd merged to create a welcome platform for the bands ‘River X' which also goes by the name ‘Unknown River' and ‘Grubby Halo". Watching the bands perform. Rochelle D'Silva shot this pic with her cellphone. While all the customers were being accommodated the bands set up…

Muziboo presents a musical evening on Valentine's day, with performances from the bands 'Grubby Halo' and 'Unknown River' at BrewHaha Cafe, Koramangala. The band Unknown River 'Grubby Halo' will blow hot and cold and lukewarm with its originals and some classic covers like 'I Can't Help Falling in Love With You', 'Hit the Road Jack' and 'Hey Jude'. Its originals like "Love Remains", 'New Man By Your Side', 'Top Brass Caviar'and 'Moody Drunkard Blues' would go a long way in wooing and melting hearts. 'Unknown River' with its bluesy instrumental performance should add more colour and class to the pink…

Oasis is the name of the new swanky and slick shopping mega mall that's sprung up on the corner of Koramangala 80 feet road and Inner Ring Road intersection. It's quite strategically located, on one of the busiest crossroads of Bangalore, also a prime residential area. Drain view apartments: Multi-storey buildings along the storm water drain (pic: Samuel Jacob) Just behind the mall on a gentle gradient is the Shinivagulu Tank Bed (S T Bed) residential layout. Not so long ago when humans were kind, it used to be a tank bed. In 1989, the Bangalore Development Authority (BDA), converted…

A series of recent news reports by the Karnataka state government’s Ramaswamy Committee has highlighted the capture of public land by politicians of all hues and their cronies in the form of land developers. One might have come across such land grabbing under high tension lines, too. I am a Koramangala resident and member/ex-secretary of the residents’ association of Koramangala 8th block. I want to recall my experience in this regard. High Tension lines in Koramangala, V Blk (pic: Rajeev Yeshwanth) The land lying below the 110 KVA HT transmission lines in Koramangala (behind Raheja Arcade) has been in contention…

Solid waste management in the city has miles to go before it reaches satisfactory levels. Citizens have realised this and are pitching in with their mite rather than leaving it all to the Bruhat Bengaluru Mahanagara Palike (BBMP). Bangalore generates some 3,000 tonnes of garbage everyday. While some of it is recycled, most of it is just dumped in landfills around the city. These landfills are getting scarce by the day. Effective solid waste management is the need of hour to reduce the amount of garbage generated and ensure a much cleaner city. Manvel Alur in Koramangala is part of…