SOCIETY

It's been a little over a year now that the nation rode the ‘Nirbhaya’ wave. However, this is not to say that there have been crimes any lesser before that or even after. Innocent women getting raped when they go about their ‘normal’ day is horrendous enough; but what would you make of something like this? In a city like Bangalore? Where population is exploding and there are no clear ‘peak’ times - which means Bangalore is almost always busy. 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6… all the way up to 65+ are the ages of girls and women getting raped…

Spot the fairer of the two? A woman walks into a local health/beauty store. She has some beauty essentials to buy — lipstick, moisturiser, some talc. And a particular brand she likes for face powder because it claims to follow Ayurvedic principles in preparing it's formulations. So, she goes to the counter for that brand. Surprise, surprise, that face powder is not available anymore. Instead, the brand has, in similar packaging, launched a 'lightening' or brightening or fairness-enhancing variant. “What happened to the 'non-lightening' variety,” she asks the sales girl who is, as usual, hovering so close that if the woman…

Image Courtesy: https://www.facebook.com/TRRAIN The next time you walk into a cafeteria or a pizza store, watch out for something a little more noteworthy than your steaming pizza. A differently abled person could be working in the back area, and quite possibly with more élan than your usual order taker! Several food retail outlets in the city including Café Coffee Day, Dominos, Subway and McDonald’s, are increasingly hiring people with disability, particularly folks who are speech and hearing impaired, to build an inclusive environment at the workplace. Interestingly, fellow employees are more than welcoming to this trend. 'I don’t feel different…

With the recent examples of harassment charges against journalist Tarun Tejpal and supreme court retired judge A K Ganguly, the issue that most companies choose to ignore has come to the fore. Even in Namma Bengaluru, there are hundreds of such cases that go unreported for various reasons. These are high profile personalities - but what about the millions of others working in various offices across cities, towns and villages in India? Are they aware of their rights? What constitutes sexual harassment at the workplace? Are they aware that there are clear work and personal boundaries? How can a woman…

LGBT rights activists protesting against the Supreme Court verdict, in Bangalore. Pic: Nikita Malusare They all had planned for a gala celebration. But the Supreme Court’s judgement on consensual sex between homosexuals drove them into a rebellious mood. “I am very disappointed, unhappy and feel voiceless. If not the Supreme Court, then whom should one go to?” said Akkai Padmashali, associated with Sangama - an NGO that is working to protect the rights of the Lesbian Gay Bisexual Transgender (LGBT) community and sex workers since 1999. Members of Coalition of Sex Workers and Sexual Minorities Rights and Human Rights Activists…

Born and brought up in Bengaluru, I love this city a little too much! I love it so much that two years ago, I decided to say goodbye to the US to come back and settle here. I was always too proud of being a Bangalorean. I remember the days when the roads were more pedestrian-friendly and when people were concerned about one another and came out to help whenever they saw someone in need. As a child, I was brought up by my neighbours, as my parents had to juggle between work and us, their kids. I remember walking…

“Happiness is infectious, when you feel happy; people around you will surely be infected. Infect more people and make the world a happy home.” – Kemmy Nola One of the most stressful places to be in Bengaluru is at a traffic signal - bumper-to-bumper traffic, road rage, and to top it all, a bumpy ride, considering the state of the roads. Everybody is impatient; everybody wants to just get to their destination on time. Tempers flare, horns blare and there is a prevailing state of tension. Can anything be done to diffuse this tension? Good news Bangalore – there’s a bunch…

Cycling has been quite a bit in the news lately, thanks to the activities of several individuals and organisations trying their best to popularise cycling. I often cycle to work - so I though I would write about my experience and perhaps dispel some of the myths associated with cycle commuting. Ramesh Sreekantan, a cycling enthusiast. I live in Malleshwaram and work in Kengeri. So it's a distance of about 15 to 20 kms, depending on the route. The route I take is down Chord Road to Nayandahalli main road and in to the University campus. I usually return via…

Plaza Theatre (pic: Amoghavarsha) It was 10 pm on a summer in 1990’s. Kiran, a 10-year-old boy living in Srirampuram of Bengaluru, remembered his grandma all of a sudden, and started asking for her. When he didn’t see her in their home, he started creating ruckus by crying and repeatedly asking for her. Finally one of his uncles took him to his grandmother - who was watching the second show in Geethanjali Theatre (now Big Bazaar in Malleshwaram) along with few other family members! Such was the craze of watching movies in theatres, in those days. Some people visited theatres…

  October 13, 2012. A student of National Law School of India University (NLSIU) was abducted and raped by an eight-member gang inside the Jnanabharathi campus of Bangalore University, adjacent to NLSIU, when she was with a male friend. She bade goodbye to Bengaluru after the incident and returned to her hometown. She is not the only one - there are hundreds of cases of violence on women that go unreported for various reasons. Such mindless violence can be countered with intelligent precaution and sufficient safety measures. What if the victim had some sort of alarming or alerting system handy,…