Deepa's Jottings

This Sunday, I went with my friends on a nature trail in the Bannerghatta Zoo area, and while there, we watched the camp elephants.... The females and their calves were going into the rear gate of the Zoo, but before that, the two calves had a great time, play-wrestling with each other...and we were delighted to watch!Earlier, we had seen the lone tusker, too...and kept the wall of the JLR Hill View Restaurant safely between us and the animal...tuskers are notoriously unpredictable animals!It was wonderful to watch the two baby elephants...and one of them came up to my friend, and when…

Origami.... Weekly Origami class at Jaaga on Wednesday 7:30pm (updated time)To: Krishna Panyam Hi,Krishna Panyam is changing the class time for the Origami classes at Jaaga, to 7:30pm, as it was a common request from all those who were interested. If necessary, he will postpone the start of the classes to April.The details about the classes:Date: Every Wednesday, starting on Feb 29thTime: 7:30 pm to 8:30pmLocation: Jaaga, on Double Road (www.jaaga.in)Fees: Rs 500 for 6 classes, payable on the first day.Age: At least 8-9 years.What you need to bring: Your hands! All the required materials will be provided.The purpose of the…

The SGBS Trust has put together a series of dance and music programes, to showcase theirflagship program, Unnati. Unnati is a free vocational training program for the underprivileged youth. The USP of this program is that till date the program has provided 100%campus placements to all its students. Over 31 batches comprising of 3000 students have been empowered till date.This series showcases some of the veterans as well as verypromising youngsters.All are Welcome. Entry is freeVenue: Unnati Center, #1, Ganesha Temple Road, SadanandaNagar, NGEF Layout, Bangalore - 560038. Phone: 080 25384443/4642Program Schedule:Dance4.3.12Sunday6 pmClassical Bharathanatyam duet byShivani Ramakrishnan &Shreya Ramakrishnan7.10 pmOnwards‘Nrithyakalamandiram'…

On Sivarathri evening, I photographed this serpentine queue waiting to get darshan at the Shiva temple facing Madivala Lake: Its seems one has to wait even to see God, if it is a special day! I do tend to avoid auspicious days and festtivals at temples and churches,  because of the crowds... Right next door was an Ayyappa temple, rather deserted. Why could not one go there and meditate upon Shiva? Because one needs, sometimes, an image to focus on, I suppose.  ⊕

A location quiz... Where is this? Clue: Travel!  ⊕

 I do not often indulge in nostalgia, being a person who enjoys the vibrancy of the present as much as the glow of the past. But once in a while.... It was saddening to read of the closure of Hotel Brindavan, on M G Road.The value of everything seems to be reckoned only in money terms, in Bangalore, at least....there seems to be no value for heritage, history or culture...except if they can be marketed as "heritage", "history", and "culture". Otherwise, it is all "real estate". Sad at the inverted-commaization of our inheritance...we are now camera-toting tourists, treading over our own…

 I've always been interested in Origami.... so I attended the Origam workshop at Jaaga I found that the teacher, Krishna Panyam, was someone I had met earlier, on the bus tour of the lakes of BangaloreHere's one of the pieces that Krishna made:More photos can be seen on my FB album, if you click here (you need a Facebook account).Here is Krishna, starting the workshop:Here are some samples of his work: Here's a sample of (very difficult) curved origami:For more pictures, visit Krishna Panyam's Facebook album, click here  Wonderful....I enjoyed myself very much, as did all of us. ⊕

Our national anthem... it's been one hundred years since the Indian National Anthem was written. Here is the translation, in Rabindranath Tagore's own hand:  It is a beautiful anthem, and here are the complete lyrics with a translation.  Here's the Nobel Laureate, reciting it (rather tonelessly, I must add) Here's a version, sung in the "regulation" 52 seconds: Here is yet another version of the song: In spite of the controversy about the song (and its various versions!), it remains our national anthem, and much beloved of the Indian people!

 I was much struck by two scenes today. One was at Lalbagh, where I went to see the Republic Day Flower Show. Lalbagh has been, for quite some time now, a "plastic-free" zone. Alas, the plastic-free remains within inverted commas, as the very stalls and shops put up in Lalbagh, to celebrate flowers and greenery, generate an immense amount of trash, which visitors and stall-holders alike leave strewn on the ground, with no thought of how it is to be managed or removed. The amount of waste and plastic trash that I saw today was staggering.In J P Nagar 3rd Phase, I…

Two small phrases....  Kannadigas, in common with most Indians, do not saying a brusque "No" to one's face. If invited  to a wedding or any other celebration, we do not feel it is polite to openly say no. "I'll see if I can make it" or "I'll try to come" is the most frequent response, and from this, I have, over the years, learnt to understand that the invitee will not be able to make it. The affection and the "wanting" to attend are there, and that is made clear by the statment  of intention, rather than the fact of inability. But…