PEOPLE

When we were children, the term ration card (or family card) meant something crucial for survival. From our family's short stint in Mumbai, I recall that it was mandatory for school admissions too. Well, it was perhaps because it was the only acceptable document that proved the identity and location of a person and his or her family members - not many had passports, telephone connections or driving licences. And there were no voter identity or income tax PAN cards then! Further, the gas connection was usually in the name of either the husband or wife. Importantly, the family card…

American Economist, Bernard Baruch once said, "Age is only a number, a cipher for the records. A man can't retire his experience. He must use it. Experience achieves more with less energy and time." Well here is one person to prove just that. Risaldar Major Hariram lives, breathes and sleeps horses. With 65 gold medals and uncountable silver in show jumping, Hariram retired from the Indian army in 1980. News about him spread like wild fire and the then-Maharaja of Mysore got him to Bangalore to train people at the turf club. Risaldar Major Hariram teaches mostly at Bangalore's Turf…

 The Dhobhi Ghat at Frazer town is about 38 years old. Dhobhis work 7 days a week and service various areas around Ulsoor. ⊕ Pic by Ravi Kaushik.

"I play with children with the confidence that even an hour of play will change their lives for the better", says Sheetal Suryavanshi, Founder President, and Managing Trustee, Aata Odanaata (AO). Sheetal founded AO along with her sports buddies to encourage socio-economically challenged children to learn and play different sports. Sheetal Suryavanshi is a BCCI-certified cricket coach. Pic: Aravind H N An awardee of CNN IBN-Reliance's Real Heroes in sports category, Sheetal Suryavanshi was a sports enthusiast during her growing years. She represented her college in cricket, handball and baseball at the national level. When the vortex of life caught Sheetal…

You are visiting Bangalore and want to spend a few hours outside with your family or friends, preferably in a clean and green environment. Or are an 'old' Bangalorean who wants to relive her/his childhood. Where do you go? Cubbon Park, a lovely lung space in the heart of the city is a great option. And the Jawahar Bal Bhavan, a place for children inside the one hundred and forty year old park is a lot of fun too. Spread over 12.5 acres, it has a toy train, swings, slides, boating and a lot of trees and grassy patches for…

"Sumin", as my young daughter used to say, is what I do regularly in the summer. Sumin is such a great all-round exercise; and if there is a pool in your own apartment building, like I have, you don't have to brave the city traffic to get to the pool, either. A quick change of costume, and there I am, ready to slip into the pool (this is a nice way of ssying that I am still afraid to jump in!).I still do only the backstroke, as it gets far less water into my Ear-Nose-Throat system, and the other compelling…

Here's a nice image of the past and the present, juxtaposed...This was right next to Ranga Shankara, where I had gone to watch the end-of-workshop presentation that the children were doing for their parents and others. The mural is of a Yakshagana artiste, with his colourful headgear.... a popular art form in the past. The present is the increased pace of life, represented by the automobile. This car is the Maruti 800, which truly brought car ownership to the masses in India.And what happens when the past, and the present, inevitably, melt into the future? Here's what will take one…

 Here's the account of one young man, amongst the many students who take the various entrance examinations for professional colleges.N Arun Kumar took his Common Entrance Test (CET) on the 27th and 28th of March. The registration for this examination was done in a systematic way through his college (Christ Junior College). The application was done about a month prior to the exam, and the hall tickets were received a few days ahead of the exam. Arun's venue was the Oxford Pre university college in J P Nagar."Many of my college mates had to travel far to their venue," he…

  Last Saturday evening (23rd April 2011), around thirty IT/ITeS Employees gathered under the banner of IT and ITeS Employee Centre (ITEC) in front of Bangalore's Town Hall amidst heavy and incessant rain to condole the shocking suicide of Prabhakar. The deceased was a thirty eight year old who had been working in the information technology industry for over a decade. The late Prabhakar had apparently left a note stating that he was resorting to the extreme step as he was unable to cope with the severe stress that his job was causing him.   ITEC has decided to set up…

  Having had to postpone our trip to Nandi Hills due to torrential rains on Saturday, we decided to make the trip on Sunday morning, and Anand, Kannan, Priyanka, Sushil, Vaibhav, and I left at 4.30am on Sunday morning.I rarely post black-and-white photos, but this view of the ramparts of the Nandi Hills wall, the trees and the clouds...and that monkey sitting there...needs bnw! Here's one of the things that's special about Nandi Hills: Here we are, having stopped on the road up, to see what we could sight:I used the little Fuji camera to capture the beautiful view of the hills…