LEISURE

Art enables us to find ourselves and lose ourselves at the same time - Thomas Merton Bengaluru is teeming with artists of every kind. For the visual arts, there are several great places that showcase diverse works by artists - featuring both Bengalureans and out-of-towners! National Gallery of Modern Art The National Gallery of Modern Art, Bengaluru was opened to the public in February 2009 at the Manikyavelu Mansion at 49 Palace Road, Bengaluru. The gracious heritage building, previously a residence, transformed into an art gallery with plenty of space for displays  - both for its permanent collection and the periodic…

Shankareshwara temple located on the hilltop at Hutridurga. Pic: Akshatha M On a lazy weekend, if you are desperate to escape from the hustle bustle of maddening city crowd and venture into an adventurous yet peaceful excursion, Hutridurga is the place to go. This hill located approximately 60 km away from Bengaluru on Magadi-Kunigal road, offers a refreshing trekking experience, which is reasonably easy even for a first time trekker. Hutridurga, popularly known as Hutribetta among the villagers, is a hill with historical significance. The name Hutridurga is derived from a village named Hutri located near the hill. It is…

A food cart serving sundal at Halasuru Market. Pic: Pushpa Achanta One of my favourite times in school was when the last bell rang... That’s when he used to walk in, pushing his cycle and finally parking it under the shade of a tree. No, I’m not referring to some hot hunk of a senior. I’m talking about the dhoti-wale uncle with his faded grey tin can of treats for the taste buds, who sold the best kachoris. He would listen patiently to every child screaming out his preference and pull out a puri, fill it with onions, sweet, spicy…

A still from the play, Sakina Manzil On 14th April 1944, SS Fort Stikine, a cargo ship carrying explosives, torpedoes, mines and tonnes of cotton bales blew up into smithereens at Victoria dock, Bombay, owing to mismanagement. The play, 3. Sakina Manzil marks this less-reported incident of pre-independent Indian history in romantic sepia colour. Apart from tearing down the cargo ship and drilling a hole through Shashi’s house on #3 Sakina Manzil, the explosion rips apart her love life with her namesake. The two expectant lovers who are awaiting a birthday celebration with poha and shira are separated by the…

The illuminated Mysore Palace during Dasara. Pic: Muhammad Mahdi Karim, Wikimedia Commons A press note from KSRTC details the special arrangements that have been made by the transport corporation to deal with the additional demand for buses during Dasara. In addition to the existing services, an additional 1,500 buses are being deployed between October 21st and October 23rd. This is to ensure that those looking to attend the Mysuru Dasara, or make use of the long weekend, are catered to.  Additional buses 1500 extra buses will be exclusively operated from Kempegowda bus station, Mysuru Road bus station, Shanthi Nagar TTMC…

The relatives were visiting from the Tamil country. It was May 1967. The exact dates slip my memory. (They do say that memory is the second thing to go. I don’t remember what the first thing is. Oh, come on! It’s a tried and tested gag!) In those Good Old Days (when nostalgia was much better than now), booking a train ticket was rather an accomplishment. You had go to the railway station (SBC in our case), get a blank form to fill in, fill it in, and then stand in a queue. Remember that story you were told about…

Bengaluru. Snarling morning office traffic. A population of 10 million jostling for space. Boring office, same old chores. Two million working executives struggling for breath. Snail-paced late evening traffic back home. No small wonder that three-fourths of the respondents in a recent survey commented that they are deeply demotivated; They are not stimulated enough, either in their personal or professional lives. We could relate to these boring data points without too much difficulty – because we are part of Bangalore too, and we are going through the same rigmarole. Based on the idea that was thrown up by Benedict Paramanand,…

Do you remember a time when Bengaluru’s streets turned into playgrounds? Children would be out in hordes playing cricket or football. Pensioners would be out on their evening stroll. Grocery shopping meant walking to the neighbourhood angadi and back. Those commuting to work would either catch a bus or even walk the distance if office was not too far away. The times are different now. The roads are almost always jam-packed, and spending at least an hour or two on commute has become the norm. In a move to improve mobility in the city, several government organisations including Directorate of Urban Land…

Hello, dear reader, with whom I’ve shared so much. If you’re reading this, it means the time has come for me to leave. Perhaps, as you’re rubbing your weary eyes and preparing for bed, I’m up in the air, waving goodbye to you from the polluted sky above Bengaluru. Yes, after 11 weeks in the Garden City, I’m going back home. Back to a place, where, like they say on Cheers, “Everyone knows my name.” Then again, did anyone even watch Cheers in India? Another question I’ll never know the answer to. Add it to a growing list of questions I…

Pic courtesy: Quickr.com Every year as the raindrops start falling on other parts of the nation, freshly graduated software engineers start dropping on Bengaluru and hence starts their battle of finding an inhabitable place. They say you appreciate your life after you overcome some struggle. The good people of Namma Bengaluru took it by heart then, I guess. The “To Let”, “PG for gents” or “PG for ladies” boards in this city are as ubiquitous as the baristas. And the thing is, they are all equally bad in value for money. When immigrants move to Bengaluru, one of the first…