SOCIETY

It's not a long journey from 'Kannada baralla' to 'Kannada barutte' anymore. Pic courtesy: kannadalearningschool.com Here is a good news for all “Kannada premigalu”, whose resentment has been growing over years on the ailing status of Kannada in Bangalore. Contrary to the doomsday predictions for Kannada language, many non-kannadigas of Bangalore who were earlier stuck at “Kannada Barolla” are showing interest to learn the local language. The Silicon City is witnessing this trend over  last few years, which has resulted in popping up of many Kannada courses and Kannada learning websites. As Bangalore evolved into the IT capital of India,…

One of the best things that has happened in recent years in the city is growing community participation in the management of lakes. Starting from small attempts some years ago in one or two lakes, we have now reached a stage where at least two dozen communities are working steadily to revive and spruce up the lake environment around them. Today alone, I received invitations on email threads for people to be part of three initiatives - in Yelechenahalli, Agara and Avalahalli lakes. As I drove home past Sarakki lake, I noticed the fencing work has been substantially completed on…

Gone are the days when security and surveilence depended on security guards, thanks to the technical advancement. CCTV camera industry is a booming business today, with every shop, showroom, mall, apartment and office complex and hotel investing in electronic modes of security. A small yet significant part of this growing industry in Bangalore is Sadiya Sarwar. Daughter of an automobile engineer and a mother of two, Sadiya started her business in the year 2007. She credits her father for having taught her the ways of this field. “The year I started my company, C2i solutions, the CCTV camera business was…

A few months back, when Union Minister Jairam Ramesh made an observation that in India we have more temples than toilets, there was a general unqualified uproar among the political class who demanded an apology even regarding a genuine concern, as always.As a resident of a ‘so called' well planned and affluent locality like HSR Layout, my observation is no different than the Union Minister. Construction workers waking up as early as 4 am to answer their calls of nature in an empty site nearby or dark spaces away from the view of early morning walkers is a regular ritual.…

We all dream of a clean city where there is no garbage on the road, where one does not hear vehicle horns constantly, where civic amenities are available when you need them. But is it really happening in our city? Who is responsible for this? Who should take the blame for it? I am sure many will jump and blame the government. I agree with the fact that partial blame lies with the governing bodies but what about us? Have we every questioned ourselves? Have we, in true sense of the word, been doing what requires out of us a…

I was a student at Manipal thirty five years ago. The college library used to be open till 1 am. Taking a break from studies, we would step down to the road to eat boiled eggs and rubbery toast, and drink some hot syrupy tea. After the library closed for the day, we would walk back to our hostels. When we worked nights at the hospital, we visited these food carts at all times of the night whenever our youthful stomachs groaned with hunger. When disturbing incidents like the rape and abduction of an unsuspecting young woman in Manipal is…

Open the day’s newspaper, or switch on the TV, and what you get is a series of reports on some scam or the other - politicians exposed for their roles in illegal sanctions, nepotism, unaccounted money. However, I find the ‘other’ news reports, about non-political, social aberrations, equally alarming and distressing. The first week of June in particular saw a series of such reports that hold up a mirror to what is happening in the city, right next door to us, in so-called ‘ordinary’, nameless middle class urban families. On June 4, the police “rescued a naked woman in her…

It was one of those humid and dry Bangalore summer days when I stepped out with my friend and future roommate Manjusha to look out for accommodation in the city. The journey from Kumbalgodu to Marathalli took the two of us almost three whole hours. We weren’t discouraged as we were in one of those victorious moods – we were recruited by a leading news agency.It was a prestigious and laudable moment in our lives; hence the long BMTC journey seemed very petty. Our bus halted at this seemingly bizarre location, which looked like a cross between a highway and…

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…

There’s surely someone special waiting for you out there, in some part of the world. You need to find him/her. But how? Matrimonial websites have emerged as the answer to this quest. Best thing about such websites is, one can decide about the life partner himself/ herself and search without having to pester brokers or bother parents. It’s completely about the option to select what one wants - social status, income, likes, dislikes, caste, religion, geographical location, special cases, second marriages - you name it, you have it. Matrimonial websites have been of much help, especially to the working professionals…