LEISURE

Birthdays are not just simple affairs with a bunch of friends, cake, balloons and candles, anymore. Today, childrens' birthday bashes can be quite a fancy event with everything from bouncing castles to magic shows, all managed by professionals. Pic: commons.wikimedia.org Hotels/party halls have tie ups with event management companies for the décor and theme of the party though it is optional. "The basic décor starts at Rs 3000, magic show at Rs 2,500, tattooing at Rs 1,500 and caricature at Rs 2,500", says Srinivas N, an event manager."My five year old son is always excited to go to a birthday…

Pic courtesy: Nisha Millet. How do you think your life would be if you developed a fear of water before you were even 6 years old, having fallen into a pond? Well you could end up at the Olympics as a swimmer! That's what Bengaluru-based swimming ace Nisha Millet did. The Olympics don't just happen to you. You work your way to it. Read on.Nisha is one of India's most illustrious swimmers, having won numerous medals at various national and international competitions and went on to become the only Indian woman swimmer at the Sydney Olympics. Since then, only one…

I was delighted with the last workshop I attended, so I would strongly recommend this!  *Introduction to Origami - Beginner workshop on Origami*Date: Saturday, 7th April, 2012Time: 4pm-5:30pm (90 minutes)Place: Jaaga, Double Road (www.jaaga.in)Age: 8-80 yearsFees: Rs 150 (inclusive of paper, you just need to bring your hands) ⊕

Megha R, 32, a resident of RMV 2nd stage was eager to learn how to make compost at her home for her garden. She came with her husband to buy different variety of saplings grown from organic seeds to plant in her garden. She wants to use organic, natural manure and compost for her plants and organic seeds to grow new ones. And she thinks "Oota from your Thota" held in Malleshwaram, on March 25 was the perfect place for her.This was the fourth edition of this event by Garden City Farmers Trust, Bangalore (GCFT) after BTM Layout, Electronic City,…

Birthdays are not anymore a simple affair with a bunch of friends, cake, balloons and candles. Today, childrens' birthday bashes can be quite a fancy event with everything from bouncing castles to magic shows, all managed by professionals. Pic: Wikimedia commons Hotels/party halls have tie ups with event management companies for the décor and theme of the party though it is optional. "The basic décor starts at Rs 3000, magic show at Rs 2,500, tattooing at Rs 1,500 and caricature at Rs 2,500", says Srinivas N, an event manager. "My five year old son is always excited to go to…

EntertainKids is a group working to make entertainment reachable to underprivileged children. If your question is "Why entertainment?", my answer is that food, shelter and education were not my only necessities as a child; I loved watching movies too!EntertainKids tries to bring some fun in the lives of underprivileged children, and also motivate them towards education.We plan to achieve this by:• Getting access to children by connecting with government schools, NGOs, orphanages etc. We are in talks with many organisations including Friendship Foundation, Hope Foundation, Sparsh, Runner's High, Ananya Summer camp and UW Bengaluru.• Getting cinema halls, theatres, circuses etc…

Just the other day I was at this store, eager to pick up their weekly fresh organic vegetable produce. I overheard another customer ask the store owner to please cut away the leaves of the cauliflower as she did not know what to do with it. The store owner agreed, adding that she was also unaware. Pic: Vinita I could not resist jumping into this conversation. After all I had recently learnt something interesting about cauliflower leaves and this seemed like the perfect opportunity to share it! Julius Rego, a powerhouse of simple, practical and interesting information on plants and…

While summer classes are de rigueur today, the last few years have seen a gradual shift from the art and craft classes to exploring wilderness and hands-on science. Absorbed in activity at Hippocampus. There are established players like Rangashankara that specialise in arts and theatre, and conducting classes for nearly eight years which are still popular with parents and children.Uma Bharath, mother of a 10-year-old daughter who is attending Rangashankara classes, believes that workshops which are rooted in the Indian context or are truly multicultural, will help improve her child's understanding of her own country or another's. Many of the…

Oota from your Thota (OfyT), a programme for organic farming enthusiasts, will be held on March 25th, Sunday, in Malleswaram. The programmes includes lectures and discussions on organic farming, pest control etc. There will also be exhibition and sale of seeds, saplings, gardening accessories, compost bins etc.The event is organised by Malleswaram Swabhimana Initiative (MSI) - the Resident Welfare Association of Malleswaram - along with Garden City Farmers Trust (GCFT), an NGO that promotes organic farming. Citizen Matters is media partner for the event. OfyT was held in BTM Layout last August. File Pic: Yogaraj Mudalgi G Shantaram, Joint Secretary…

Kala has a beautiful garden outside her house that she wants to protect from pests. She wants to improve her garden and grow lots of fruits and vegetables out there. She came here to learn this "the Organic way".Like Kala, many other people from Bangalore attended the Organic Terrace Gardening (OTG) workshop held at Vittal Mallya Scientific Research Foundation (VMSRF), in BTM Layout II stage. VMSRF is an organisation dedicated to biotechnology research to generate newer products and processes in the field of health-care and agriculture. Palak grown in Organic terrace garden. Pic: Anisha NairAloe Vera at OTG. Pic: Anisha…