park

At my local park, I sometimes see two young women (sisters, I assume), taking their elderly grandfather for a walk. The gentleman is very unsteady on his feet so the two women have to grip his arms to support him. Also, he cannot walk fast, so this little group's progress is very slow. But I've never seen or heard the two young women complain. Instead, they go silently round and round the park, patiently leading their grandfather. And after about half an hour or so of this, the three of them head out of the park and make their way…

Bangalore is supposedly a bin-free city. An unofficial garbage dump, across Jagriti Theatre in Whitefield, with a slum behind and shops in the neighbourhood. A wine shop next door. At night, the lighting for the spot was non-existent making the place easier to dump in. A few weeks back the black spots at .Ramagondanahalli dump on the sidewalk had got spruced up, and so this one saw even heavier use. This spot fix took 2 days. 2 communities and The Ugly Indians with the Whitefield Rising team. This fix required some homework. The slum behind was polled on what went…

Another visit... I went to Lalbagh on Friday evening, because a friend wanted to try out the 300mm prime lens. I've not often been to Lalbagh in the evening, and was freshly amazed at what one can see and observe, in spite of many more people being there than in the morning. Apart from the sights and sounds....were the smells, that cannot be replicated, at the present state of technology. The air was redolent of the scent of the entire lane of Sampige (Champa, Shenbagam)...Michelia champaca, belonging to the Magnolia family, says the scientific mind...but my mind was thinking of how the…

INTACH Bangalore invites you to the Foundation stone-laying ceremony of Bengaluru Parampareya Udyaana (Bangalore Heritage Park), a one-of-its-kind, open air, garden museum showcasing urban heritage. It was conceived of as a theme park by the Government and has been conceptualised and designed as a heritage park by INTACH Bangalore.The museum will highlight the art, architecture, culture and history of Bangalore. It is spread over the Bugle Rock Park, Bull temple area and Mallikarjuna Temple area. Foundation stone-laying ceremony on:  2 September 2011, at 6.00 pm.Location: In front of the Bull Temple, Basavanagudi (opposite BMS Engineering College)Shri Sadananda Gowda, Honourable Chief Minister of Karnataka, will lay the Foundation…

From June, work has been going on.First the BBMP workers started clearing the front portion. Some sections of the plot have been left empty. One portion is apparently meant for a BBMP centre. The federation has asked for a water recharge pond at the back. Here is the status as of June end. Here is the update from July end. Pathways have been laid out, red soil filled in. The borewell looks ready. (Should they be using borewell/drinking water for watering plants?). The children's play equipment has been moved here.  Latest news: some ornamental plants have arrived. The light poles…

Finally there has been work happening on Harlur Park in the past few weeks. The contractor has built walls on two sides for the would-be-park. Levelling of one portion has been done, and a borewell dug – all for the contract worth Rs. 3 Lakhs. Last week evenings and nights have been busy with large low lying portion in the plot being filled with soil. The nutrient-rich soil is sourced from the Kaikondrahalli lake bed which is getting excavated, as part of the rejuvenation work. The contractor can do this only in the nights, because heavy vehicles are allowed free…

A park has been earmarked on Harlur Road, right opposite Raindrops apartment, which is stone throwaway distance from Spencer's mall on Sarjapur Road. The Forward150 Federation has been trying to get it moving.One day BBMP men came and installed big yellow concrete board saying "Udyana Vana" and a children's jungle gym. Not inside the park site. Inside a neighbouring site. Then there was confusion, there was talk of a disputed property and which is the actual park area.In a few months, that resolved and the actual park area was fenced. The elections happened and nothing moved for a while. Nayaz,…

If you have been in Cubbon Park opposite the Bangalore Press Club entrance between 2.00 PM and 4.00 PM on the month's last Saturday, you have probably noticed a group of around fifteen or twenty people discussing the RTI Act (Right to Information) and relevant laws. This could be the free RTI clinic that several Civil Society Organizations (CSO's) in Bangalore like the South India Cell for Human Rights Education and Monitoring (SICHREM), Urban Research Centre (URC), Centre for Advocacy and Research (CFAR), OpenSpace, Mahiti Hakku Adhyayana Kendra (MHAK), Anti Corruption Forum (ACF) et al, have been organizing jointly since…