OPINION

I stepped into a very caustic conversation some days ago. Four moms I know were having some kind of semi-heated discussion. One of them was a working women and the other three were stay-at-home mums. I believe the conversation started when one of the moms who went to work reprimanded her child for hitting another. One of the moms informed her that this was a regular occurrence. The child came down most days with the maid, who settled him down with his toys and parked herself in a corner with her phone, while the child hit other kids, bullied and…

A news item, dated June 5, 2013 said: “Wall pulled down to alter minister’s chambers.” A partition wall connecting two rooms allotted to Forest Minister Ramanath Rai was demolished in order to make the minister’s chambers bigger. Minister Sir, it was not just the wall that was demolished, it was the wall of hope that the people had erected, about better governance, when they elected your party to govern the state last month. Just last year, the then chief minister’s political secretary had ordered demolition of walls in his office to make it bigger – and this same Congress that…

The dust has settled down after the Karnataka elections. According to the pundits, BJP was booted out for corruption and Congress elected, for lack of any other options. Now the voters wait to see if their mandate pays off. In the midst of this, it is my job to ask - how did the women candidates fare in the election?First, the numbers. There were 2939 candidates contesting for the 223 of 224 seats. Little over six per cent of the candidates were women - 170. Out of them, only 58 were from major political parties. 13 of them contested from…

Disclaimer : Some autos are rented by the driver hence some of the logic explained below may not apply. However it is always the combination of these factors. These guidelines are for me and my type of folks, rest need to customize it or discard it. Obviously this isn't a scientific study and many are stereotypes created with my biases. But these are empirical observations which have worked for me. This is written with a need of self-preservation, of peace of mind and dignity and not to offend anyone. Finally this writing assumes the driver to be a male as…

Judging by the online discussions generated by citizens of Bengaluru, on the pros and cons of the agenda drawn up by the Bengaluru Political Action Committee(BPAC) it is clear that there are quite a few residents who are interested in finding solution to the multiple ills that beset the metropolis - from mounds of garbage to choked traffic and scams in every department of the administration. And since not everyone who is concerned about this degeneration makes online inputs, the number of citizens who would like to lend a hand with pulling Bengaluru out of the current mess, must be…

As residents of Bangalore, many of us know that the transport situation in the city is far from ideal. And considering the status of progress of various transport initiatives, the road to an efficient urban transportation strategy is fraught with obstacles. The process is bound to be messy and appears to be expensive in terms of time, money and the effort it will demand. However, the cost of not doing the integration is far higher than that of avoidng it. Radha Chanchani, an urban planner working with the Indian Institute of Science, said, "Urban planners consider transportation as an important…

The Greek word Oligarchy means 'Government of a few rich people for their own advantage'. It was coined by the philosopher Aristotle 2300 years ago (he also coined the word Democracy). An Oligarch is a very rich businessman or businesswoman with a great deal of political influence. For convenience, we'll shorten the word to Olly.Karnataka politics has traditionally been funded by various lobbies of Ollys like the liquor lobby, the mining lobby, real estate lobby, and the contractors' lobby (in urban bodies elections). When a politician needs money to fight an election, an Olly funds him, and the Olly in…

Dear Dr Manmohan Singh, Last evening, I read a report of your speech at Mysore Road outside Bengaluru. "Congress will give world class infrastructure to Bengaluru: PM", went the headline by the Indo Asian News Service. The report was carried by several news websites including media as far away as the New York Daily News. It went on to quote your reason for this promise: "Because Bengaluru deserves the best", you said. Dr Singh, stop. I cannot speak for all Bangaloreans, but hear me out anyway. I do not want a world class infrastructure for Bengaluru. I want a world…

The Supreme Court guidelines for school bus safety will come into effect from May 1, 2013. But it is no consolation for the family of the three-year-old who was knocked down by his school bus in June last year, or for the six-year-old girl from Chennai who fell to death through a hole in the floor of the bus.School bus accidents are so common in India that they often don't make more than a single column in newspapers. Yet parents are surprisingly silent about safety issues and reluctant to take on schools on this issue. Almost all parents I spoke…

What politicians and political parties think of us urban middle/upper middle class peopleThey look at us as apathetic at best and cynical at worst. So they don't feel the need to engage with us because we won't be a part of any political base that they can build on.What we think of politicians and political partiesIneffective at best and corrupt at worst. It doesn't matter who comes to power because nothing will change for the good so what's the point of voting and helping someone amass wealth and commit atrocities.How does this status quo work for usThis status quo doesn't…