SOCIETY

Citizen Matters in association with ‘Second to none’ (220) is organising a ‘Reuse and Recycle mela’ this weekend at BTM Layout. 220 is an online community focused on the concept of Reduce-Recycle-Reduce waste. Flea market, last year. File pic The flea market on Sunday, July 15th, will provide a platform to buy second hand and upcycled articles. Upcycling refers to converting useless or waste into valuable products. There will be a bit of everything from used books, electronic items, clothes and home decor knick knacks. ‘Don't discard, reuse, don’t throw, recycle’ will be the buzz phrase this weekend. 11 am…

Gandhinagar locality is one of the oldest localities of Bangalore and is the centre of trade, commerce, entertainment and tourism. All the old business streets like Chickpet, Balepet, New Tharagupet, Avenue Road, Cottonpet, Raja Market and so many other hubs are in this locality. It separates Bangalore North and West from Bangalore South and East and hence acts as the main link between these zones. Despite so many important factors, this locality became popular mainly due to a record number of cinema houses that were located on the main road, as well as the surrounding roads. In fact Gandhinagar was…

Worried about your city? The Indo-German Urban Mela is hosting a major urban talk and discussion series titled 'our public sphere', 'our house' and 'our city' this Sunday at Palace Grounds. The talks are structured around a survey and practical design of urban development in Indian cities, and especially Bangalore. The talks start at 11am on Sunday July 1st and conclude at 4pm. The programme includes lunch and entry is free. The 10 day-long mela itself is already on with 4 more days to go. It runs from 10 am to 10 pm at Palace Grounds has 16 specially-designed pavilions…

The third edition of Mashable's Social Media Day is being celebrated by social media enthusiasts all across the world on June 30. It  is a day to recognise the digital revolution happening across the world.Bangalore is playing host to a city wide celebration on the day organised by Graffiti Collaborative, a creative agency based out of the city (www.thegraffiti.co). Social Media enthusiasts from across the city are coming together to make the event a fabulous blend of fun and knowledge sharing – truly in the spirit of social media. The celebrations for the day will be span across different media…

Go on Google and parenting terms hit you faster than a screaming toddler launching himself at mom, in supersonic speed. But the one that always gets me worried that I belong to the Neanderthal era and cracks me up at the same time has to be the much used and abused term called ‘Attachment parenting.’ Coined by Dr William Sears who wrote a plethora of baby books, it’s one of those terms that certainly doesn’t apply to India. In fact the good American doctor was definitely not thinking of us when he coined it because in India we are always…

It takes you so long to write a 700 word story! Said the horrified editor friend of mine. I counted sheep in my head (helps me stay calm. Another good alternative is the in-your- head-grocery list) and waited for the one question that I hate hearing ever since I gave up working full time to be a stay at home mother: So what do you do all day? The days go by in a blur. Pic: Reshmi Chakraborthy Really, what was it that I did the entire day? And what was it that the other mothers did, staying in this…

If you stay around Kanakpura Road , you know what a ordeal it is to traverse this road during peak hours. With the Metro construction in full swing, all we are left with is a narrow lane on either side for cars. Buses, jatka vehicles (horse carriages), cement mixtures, autos and lorries. On any normal day, it can take up to 30-45 min to reach the family mart junction from Konanakunte cross. If this weren't enough, we noticed that a huge pandal with loud speakers, lighting arrangement and seating arrangement was done right below the flyover. I believe this is…

One traffic laden evening, I was going by bus from Sultanpalya to R.T. Nagar. I told the approaching conductor that I had a pass. He insisted on seeing it- and rightly so. But my lapse spawned a few harrowing minutes! It’s easy to forget courtesy in a crush. Pic: Salonie rego The conductor stared at my dilapidated year-old pass for a long time before showing it to the driver. Both exchanged sniggers and continued staring. Wild thoughts floated in my head. “Has my pass expired? Will I be kicked off? Will they arrest me?” While I was going crazy with…

Consider the typical traffic scenario on a "normal" day: A swirl to the left and a turn towards right, cutting lanes at the wink of your eye with regular "predictable" screeching halts, the Indian motorists (number of wheels and size of the vehicles do not matter!) have perfected the art & science of driving and riding. They have the knack of crisscrossing the lanes and by-lanes, with occasional slip ups of course! It is easy to predict a politician's jump from one party to another, but it is well nigh impossible to predict the motorists' intended path! The two wheelers…

On days such as these, when it rained through the night, our cab driver takes a alternative route. A route which traverses through the many hamlets of Bellandur and Doddanekundi villages. This route does not ensure a faster and quicker access to Marathahalli but atleast we get to escape the traffic jam at ORR signals. It really seems like a never ending journey sometimes. So while he drives through lanes and by-lanes for a good 30 minutes, we get to see the real Bangalore that resides behind the glitz and glamor of the shiny software parks. File pic: Vivek M.…