SOCIETY

One evening, my son and I were at our local library. The place has one of those stubbornly heavy glass doors that basically require you to pull (or push, or vice versa, and yes, I always get mixed up!) and shove, till it slowly deigns to sulkily open. Basically, it is a door you tussle with, but hey, it's good for toning biceps.  Anyway, so there we were, browsing through the Crime section (me), the kids titles (my son), with me shushing him frequently when I heard a noise outside the glass door. A little girl was trying with all…

Lawrence, in his late 30s, is seeing the world with the curious eyes of a child. As he looks around, he wonders how the world has changed and how different it looks. “The value of money is no more the same. In 1990s, I used to spend a good whole week with just Rs 100 in the pocket. Now everyone talks in thousands and lakhs. Strange!” he exclaims. In the last 19 years of his life, Lawrence was completely cut off from society — he had spent nearly two decades of his life languishing behind bars. Convicted in a murder…

Lawrence, in his late 30s, is seeing the world with the curious eyes of a child. As he looks around, he wonders how the world has changed and how different it looks. “The value of money is no more the same. In 1990s, I used to spend a good whole week with just Rs 100 in the pocket. Now everyone talks in thousands and lakhs. Strange!” he exclaims. In the last 19 years of his life, Lawrence was completely cut off from society — he had spent nearly two decades of his life languishing behind bars. Convicted in a murder…

Bengaluru is the IT hub of India, and most people here are becoming tech-savvy.  Bengaluru is today a global name, and with the changing stature of the city, the Bengaluru Traffic Police (BTP) too is striving to do its best.  Given the widespread use of technology, BTP has decided to use technology to serve citizens better. BTP frequently receives many complaints against auto drivers from the public—refusal to go on hire, demanding excess fare, misbehaving and other issues—through its various communication channels. In order to address citizens’ problems effectively, BTP has designed, developed and launched a mobile application called bSafe…

"I'm doing what I want. I feel like, after marriage, however my life will be, I will not have regrets for not having enjoyed life in my 20s. I will never have to think that 'my life was so dull and so boring'. I can be happy thinking I have (at least) enjoyed life when I was single." Meet Manwara, 26, an MBA graduate, working in a well-known IT firm in Bengaluru. Manwara and her friends Deepthi (25), Sandhya (30) and Ruchika (28) live in a paying guest accommodation in South Bengaluru. They come from different parts of India, and…

If you are a women, the chances are that you have been at the receiving end of sexual harassment in some form or the other; being groped on a moving bus or being catcalled at, or even being made to listen to sexist jokes. Unfortunately, what happens in most cases is that women accept it as a sad reality of living in India. And unless the assualt is severe, very few women actually come forward to report it to the police. According to Amnesty International, only 1 in every 100 women reports sexual violence. Pic: readytoreport.in/WhenIFileAnFIR To empower women to…

The situation in Vibgyor got out of hand only because there were so many people around because of which the leopard panicked. The recent incident at Vibgyor school, Marathahalli in Bengaluru, involving the rescue of a leopard which had strayed into the school premises, has once again brought up the topic of man-animal conflict in urban areas. The rescue mission which lasted ten hours, was traumatic for both the animal in question, as well as the several men who were injured during the course of the rescue. While the animal was captured and moved to a rescue centre, there are…

I was born in a small nursing home on DVG road in 1990. It has shut down now. The last time I checked, I was told there is a PG for women there now. My parents treated everyone who came to see their firstborn to a masala dosey at Vidyarthi Bhavana. The same Vidyarthi Bhavana my dad and uncle used to frequent when they were teenagers. They used to visit the dodda Ganesha temple on Bull Temple road and collect the prasada  -  some flowers and half a coconut. The theory back then was that the other half was sold to Vidyarthi…

BG Sreedhhar is a rather well-known personality in the Whitefield Rising Facebook community. For starters, he draws. Most people can draw, one would say. Sreedhhar’s art is a little different. His one-page cartoons are a satire on the many situations that Whitefielders find themselves in. No harm in looking for humour in adversity, right? On your commute to office? Here’s an apt one. Illustration: BG Sreedhhar Considering purchasing a property in Whitefield? Here’s another. Illustration: BG Sreedhhar Missed ISRO’s announcement about a new Space Park in Bengaluru? He’s got that covered too. Illustration: BG Sreedhhar Sreedhhar, a landscape designer by…

Bangalore Political Action Committee (B.PAC) in association with BBMP on December 21st organised a workshop, Women Leaders for a Better Tomorrow - the imprint of women leaders in political leadership. Leading ladies of the BBMP Council. Pic: B.PAC “This is a historic moment in Bengaluru’s history”, said Revathy Ashok, CEO and Managing Trustee, B.PAC. “BBMP has more than 52% of women elected members and we thought this is the right moment to celebrate this win and to inspire our corporators with mind-blowing stories of several women political luminaries of Karnataka such as Leeladevi R Prasad and BT Lalita Nayak, she…