PEOPLE

Contacts play the most important role when you are doing a story. And it takes a while to build a rapport with these contacts. Once you establish this rapport, it's all for the best. This works all the more well with government officials. But what happens when these officials get transferred? Especially when you are the middle of a story? Let me tell you, it is disappointing. Very disappointing. And what if you feel you have something to do with these transfers? Not directly, but probably...hmmm...in a karmic way shall I say? Well, it all started off with the much-approachable…

Groundbreaking Children's Ride.When are we riding: Sunday, September 6th 2009Starting point: Sarjapur Road.http://quikmaps.com/show/113961 shows the directions from the junction of Outer Ring Road/Sarjapur ring road to the starting point. PLEASE NOTE THE GREEN ARROW IS THE STARTING POINTGathering time: 4:00PMDeparture time: 4:30PMExpected finish time: 6:30PMRide type: All Road Child Friendly RIDEDistance: two circles - one each 3KM and a 5KM circle. We will try to identify some place where we can stop for ice creams or kid-friendly snacks after the event.Number of children: Unknown at this time. (Will circulate this when we are done)NOTE: THIS IS OUR FIRST RIDE. SO…

When you don’t have the time to cook or are not in the mood, yet want to have ghar ka khana, go to Potluck. Of course, Potluck fans know this very well…but so far, only those in the vicinity of Bannerghatta have had the good luck of being able to pop into a homey eatery like this. Now, with an outlet having opened at BTM Layout, Potluck has extended its reach. At Potluck Restaurant. Pic: Theresa Varghese. If you know nothing about Potluck, the brand was launched by five people, all in the software industry, who felt the need to…

Citizens in JP Nagar and BTM Layout have been rankled recently when red colour signs showed up on compound walls and entrances of homes and shops. The signs indicated that 7-8 metres of their property is going to acquired for yet another roadwidening project.Last month, the BBMP decided it was going to widen the 14.5 kms-stretch from Silkboard (Hosur Road) through BTM Layout and JP Nagar to Mysore Road.Do not miss our exclusive story for more on this and what citizens and shopkeepers are doing to protect their interests. What will happen over the next few months is unclear, but…

In early 2006, many non-profit and community based organizations like SICHREM, ESG, Sangama, OpenSpace, Stree Jagruti Samiti et al and individuals (like yours truly) working with marginalized persons and social issues in and around Bangalore felt the need for an open, informal gathering and expression of life, our spirit and beliefs. The idea crystallized into Namma Jathre, Our Festival signifying that it is an event by and for everyone. When we first held the Jathre at Cubbon Park in November 2006, nearly 40 citizen's groups and 7000 people including the general public participated. This increased to over 40 organizations and…

An Aashayein Foundation initiative, ‘Aashayein Walkathon 09’, will be held on Sunday August 30th at Kanteerava stadium, Bengaluru. The event is expected to start at 7:30 AM. We invite people from all walks of life to come together for the cause of education. Our intent is  to create an opportunity for people to come forward and involve one-self to make a difference in the lives of underprivileged children. It’s a walk for the celebration of education. Aashayein Foundation was a dream project of a few IT professionals in Bangalore to bring education to the underprivileged. In the past three years,…

...so said a friend, partly in anguish, partly in jest, referring to the Principal Secretary of the Government of Karnataka, Department of Health and Family Welfare, IR Perumal! I happened to witness this gentleman speaking at a press conference recently. He was talking about swine flu. He was there to dispel the myths about swine flu and reduce the panic among the public. The one thing about him that would strike you (or anyone) is the capacity of his vocal chords. He's loud! And animated! Well, that's not a bad thing at all. At this particular press conference he was…

A group of 12 people, in their mid-twenties to early-thirties cleared garbage in several localities in south Bengaluru as part of the citizen-launched “Clean Bengaluru campaign” on August 15th. Thousands of individuals from around the city had signed up in the preceding weeks on the website cleanbengaluru.com, and some NGOs joined the cause as well. Representing Youth for Seva (YFS), one such NGO, the cleaning drive for the south zone started at 7 am from Hoskerehalli, near PESIT College. They moved on through Banashankari, Basavanagudi, JP Nagar, Jayanagar, BTM Layout and concluded at HSR Layout. Coordinating the drive was Vikshut…

Here's an announcement I got via Hasiru Usiru:Those who want unbaked, uncoloured Ganesha vigrahams of the size that can be dissolved at home in a bucket of water and poured back to join your garden soil, can contact3419177 or 9342303247or email Chandra Ravikumar atchandraravikumar@hotmail.com⊕References

For a long time, I had been wanting to participate in the campaign against street sexual harassment (aka eve teasing) by Blank Noise. Finally, last Sunday (Aug-5) afternoon I joined the fortnightly action - this time on Church Street and Brigade Road from 3 - 5 pm. 5 of us reached out to around 150 pedestrians from different age, occupational and socio-economic backgrounds while displaying wall and hand held posters in English and Kannada. Some roadside vendors helped us enthusiastically while 4-5 male/female police personnel, taxi drivers and building security guards agreed with the prevalence of the issue and the message…