LEISURE

It was a warm Sunday morning and a sizeable crowd listened in rapt attention to Dr B N Vishwanath at the Celebrity Paradise Club house in Electronic City on January 8th. Dr Vishwanath, the organic kitchen garden evangelist, was talking about the importance of growing one's own food. Apart from health benefits, especially for children, the physical exercise of gardening outdoors also keeps you fit, he said. Visitors buying plants, seedlings and tools. Pic: Meera K. Vishwanath presented some facts on the food that we eat today, emphasising on the dangers of pesticide-laden food. He and his colleague S Laxminarayanan…

The third edition of the organic gardening event, Oota from your Thota (OfyT) will be held on Sunday, January 8th at Electronic City. The event is to support aspiring gardeners grow gardens in their homes. An introductory workshop on organic terrace gardening will be held, along with a special session on waste management and composting practices. A mela is also planned for sale of plants, seeds, garden tools, compost, organic food, ecofriendly cloth bags etc, along with an open forum for discussions.The event is supported by NGO Garden City Farmers Trust (GCFT) and Apna Complex. Citizen Matters is media partner…

The 37th annual Cake Show is on at St. Joseph's Indian High School grounds till January 31st. It is organised by the Blue Hill Group this year. 18 cakes are on display. The biggest cake is the replica of the Gol Gumbaz, from Bijapur, complete with its dome, minarets and tourists. The show, which was synonymous with the Nilgiris group has now changed hands.As soon as one entered the exhibition, the cynosure of all eyes was the huge cake model of Gol Gumbaz. This cake measuring 16.5 feet long and 12 feet high has been created using 5,000 kg of…

The 4th edition of the Bengaluru International Film Festival (BIFFES) concluded on December 22, 2011. Like with previous events, BIFFES brought the best of international world cinema to the city. But unlike in the past, this year it routinely ran to full houses, with venues like Lido Mall even accommodating audience members on the floor because seats were all full. With screening venues spread out from Bangalore East to Bangalore South, the fourth BIFFES was more inclusive than past editions. Movie: When We Leave Pic:Wikipedia Using a combination of traditional media and social networking sites, the organisers generated the right…

Do you wish for an adrenaline filled adventure this weekend? Then head out for a day's trek at Savandurga. Savandurga located 50 kilometers from Bangalore is a 2 hour drive from Bangalore towards Magadi road. Savandurga is one of the largest monolithic rock structures in world scaling 1226 m above sea level and is a delight to any trekker, seasoned or otherwise. Savandurga comprises of two hills BiliBetta (white hill) and KariBetta (Black hill). Manchanbele reservoir. Pic: Usha Hariprasad. Savandurga has a rich history behind it. It was an important landmark during Hoysala period. It was then under many rulers…

With Christmas just round the corner, one can't help but spot those numerous items lined up in the stores of the city. Pic: Deepthi M S Pic: Deepthi M S Pic: Deepthi M S Pic: Deepthi M S Pic: Deepthi M S Pic: Deepthi M S Pic: Deepthi M S Pic: Deepthi M S Pic: Deepthi M S These decorative items are ‘wallet friendly', as the minimum range starts off at Rs. 2 and go up to a few thousands. Whether you shop or not, walking by these stores is surely a treat to the eyes. ⊕

It is curtains up for the 4th Bengaluru International Film Festival (Biffes) on December 15, 2011. About 175 feature films from around the world will visit the city over the eight-day event. They include 130 foreign films from 40 countries, 30 from Indian Cinema and 15 from Kannada Cinema. This year's country focus will be on Polish cinema, Egyptian cinema, Asian cinema, contemporary Indian cinema and contemporary Kannada Cinema.         Significantly, for the first time, Bengaluru's annual film event has finally received the attention it deserves, with the goal being to establish it amongst India's premier film festivals. This edition of…

JP Nagar now has a wide variety to offer for food lovers. From chaat to north Indian cuisine to chinese food the options are plenty.A new restaurant in JP Nagar called Dilli has just opened up which offers authentic Dilli chaats, Kababs and Tandoor. Dilli is a pure vegetarian restaurant. "It's just been about three weeks since the restaurant has opened, but the response we are getting from our customers is tremendous", says Sudhir Boury, 48, the owner. Paneer Tikka Achari at Dilli Pic: Nagashree Gururaj Boury, a Punjabi, born and brought up in Bangalore, is a photographer and filmmaker…

After Bangalore being named the top third international tourist destination by BBC's travel guide publisher Lonely Planet recently, the state tourism department is now taking steps to establish Bangalore as the gateway to South India. Launch of the Kaapi Trail with Mr. Janardhan Reddy, Mr. Anil Bhandari, Mr. Jawaid Akhtar and the officials of BIAL Pic: BIAL Tourism department in association with Bangalore International Airport (BIAL) is holding a 10-day coffee festival at BIAL for passengers from December 6-15. Passengers will be treated to different coffee breeds from nine coffee growing areas in South India. Of these, five points -…

On one run through Bangalore's Cubbon Park, Pankaj Rai, one of Bangalore's several runners and a senior executive at an IT giant, muses, "Where else can one carry on stimulating conversations with such a diverse set of runners while running at the same time?" The city of Bangalore will witness the 5th edition of the Midnight Marathon in less than a week from today. Over 7500 participants (as per the organisers) will toe the starting line for various events which include not just the half and full marathons but also other events such as the corporate relay and a unique…