Deepa's Jottings

I recently read that Bangalore Metropolitan Transport Corporation (BMTC) may soon be taking over the bus stops from Bruhat Bangalore Mahanagara Palike (BBMP).   When bus stops and shelters seem to have so much of space to spare for advertisements, why is it not mandatory for every bus shelter to have the route numbers of the buses that stop there?  Why is this essential information missing?   Also, there are so many places (eg in Gandhi Bazar in Basavanagudi) where it is not even clear where the bus stop is. Hunting for one on my way back from the Basavanagudi…

I thought it was difficult to write a review of a play I liked very much; I did not want to sound as if the theatre group had sponsored my review!But alas, the difficulty of that task is nothing compared to that of writing a review for a play that left me completely cold. Whatever the impression the play has on a member of the audience....the fact remains that a lot of effort and time has been invested in the production. For this reason alone I would like to find some positives in any play that I watch, and write…

Occasionally, instead of a light-hearted evening of theatre, one gets a  powerful, thought-provoking play to watch. My friend Shangon and I braved the rain to go and watch Michael Freyn's play, "Copenhagen" which was being produced by Centre for Film and Drama. I had not read up about the play, or watched it before.There can be no better synopsis than the online one that Ranga Shankara has on its online schedule:"Frayn's play, Copenhagen, speculates what might have transpired during a meeting between Nobel laureates Niels Bohr and Werner Heisenberg in Copenhagen in September 1941, at the height of the German…

Theatre Professionals, a part of the  Drama School, Mumbai, staged "The Dragon", translated from the Soviet author and playwright, <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Evgeny_Shvarts">  Evgeny Shvarts </a>This  is a play written in 1944.. The excellent translation, bringing the action forward to a contemporary time, was done by  Harsh Khurana.As a reviewer, I usually watch the first show.  This time, for a change, I decided to watch the last one, and see how the successive stagings had honed the production values.A film of the play was made in 1988. I thought it would be interesting to watch how germane the concepts of totalitarianism, first…

Today two young teachers who work at Indira Priyadarshini School in J P Nagar came over to conduct a caste census. Amongst other things, I was asked what caste I belong to, and what sub-sect of that caste I belong to! I cannot understand either the reason or the goal of a caste census. We are officially supposed to have left caste behind several decades ago. So why is a caste census being done?  There still is so much opacity about these enumerations undertaken by the Government, using public money. If my mother was a Christian, and my father a…

A blind adherence to regulations today made a bank manager give a suggestion that was, at the very least, inappropriate.Let me recount how this came about.My maid, before she came to work for me, opened a savings account. Not being aware of the options, and being barely literate, she slowly wrote her name on the specimen-signature card. She then realized that she would have to sign exactly the same way whenever she wanted to withdraw money; so she started worrying about not being able to.She therefore requested me to come with her to the bank, and ask them to change…

Guiana chestnut | Pachira aquatica Now that's a sight worth spending a morning for, isn't it? This is how it came about. Nidhi Chawla and Reshmi Chakraborty, who founded an online magazine for seniors, asked me to conduct a nature/birding walk in Lalbagh, and I readily agreed. I've taken many mixed groups, but this would be the first time it would be an only-seniors group. I carefully thought out a trail that would touch on the iconic sights in this wonderful city garden, and yet would not tire our older friends. We started at the iconic tower of Kempegowda, and…

"Is your dog well tied up?" "Yes, he is." I found this picture amongst other dog photos, in Lalbagh.

On my train journeys, recently, I have come across this sign in the A/C 2-Tier coaches: I fail to see any sense or logic in this. The air-conditioner in the railway coach is running (or, is at least supposed to run...on the 21st of March, I travelled in an A/C 2 Tier coach where the air-conditioner did not run, and since the train started at 22.40 hrs and reached at 04.40 hrs, there was no way of getting a written complaint lodged, and hence a claim for fare refund....but that's another story). The fan is running, the lights are on,…

Method 1: I found this mobile number on Quikr mfor obtaining Senior Citizen Cards in the J P Nagar area: +91 9945837981. I called the number and after a while, the person called back. He wanted me to keep ready three passport photos, and the xerox of ONE of the following: Aadhar Card Voter Id Driving licence Passport He said that someone would come and collect these, and also bring the Senior Citizen card to my address. Method 2: The alternative is going to the BJP Office in Jayanagar Address:“Shasakara Kacheri”, 18th Main, 35th Cross, 4th ‘T’ Block, Jayanagar, Bengaluru 560…