Deepa's Jottings

This year's Ranga Ugadi at Ranga Shankara celebrates the seven Jnanapeetha Award Winnersof Kannada, in a daylong festival on Sun, Apr 3. While Karnad and Anantamurthy read fromtheir works ("Hoovu" and "Suryana Kudure" respectively), the works of Kuvempu, Bendre,Karanth, Masti, and Gokak will be represented in the form of plays directed by well-knowndirectors, theatre songs and a film.Ranga Ugadi is a tradition at Ranga Shankara. On the Sunday before Ugadi (falls on Apr 3 thisyear), Kannada theatre, literature, folk arts and food come together for a daylong celebration.Special folk arts from various parts of Karnataka will be performing too. The…

   Every morning when we open our newspapers, they scatter in a leaf-fall cataract...the little pamphlets that advertise all sorts of products and services.It is much cheaper for the advertisers to pay for such insertions in the paper, rather than pay for advertisements in the paper itself, which may also be missed out by the less-attentive page-turner! But alas, I have a mental block towards these ad-pamphlets, because they usually provide services that I am not interested in, and also, the putting in of these tracts by the newspaper agent occupies time, and delays the delivery of my newspapers. And since…

   The Government of Karnataka in association with Karnataka StateArchery Association is organizing "Archery Camp" on 19th & 20th March,2011 inthe premises of Sree Kanteerava Stadium, B'lore. This is to encourageArcheryand create awareness in the game of Archery in the State. This camp is primarily meant for the beginners/amateurs withoutage limitations. 1. Open to groups of IT and BT employees/Journalists. 2. Open to other individuals. 3. Open to groups from Educational Institutions. 4. No age restrictions. 5. No entrance fee or any other fee. 6. Professional Archers are not eligible. Interested persons may attend the practice/coaching session on19-03-2011 between 10.00 AM…

Yesterday, at the mall near my home, I watched the dance sequences of a movie being shot...all through the day. You can see some of the artistes in costume in the centre of the crowd: Everything was being recorded... Here are some of the artistes, dancing on cue: You can hear my maid Lakshmi and my neighbour Pallavi exchanging observations! For some reason, animal balloons formed a large part of the sequences: Several were released in the evening...here's a tiger floating past! The women artistes were accompanied by family members, who waited through the day: Here's the van in which…

  As you go around the city, don't forget to see the flowers of spring and summer, in all their glory.....here they are:Tabebuia argentea (or Tacoma argentea), the Golden Bell or Trumpet: Couroupita guianensis, the Cannonball tree (Nagalinga):The flower has a faint and lovely smell:Milletia ovalifolia, Moulmein Rosewood:Grevillea robusta, Silver Oak:Ceiba pentandra, a variety of Silk-Cotton:In this tree,the silk-cotton has burst through the pods:Tabebuia rosea, the Pink Poui:Erythrina indica, the Indian Coral Tree:Jacaranda mimosaefolia, the Jacaranda:Firmiana colorata, Coloured Sterculia (this is not a very common tree though)Plumeria species, Frangipani:, Colville's Glory:Spathodea campanulata, the African Tulip:Check out my Nature Guru (S.Karthikeyan)'s list…

  No matter where and how, some people will make business opportunities where one would think none exist....here's a sign on the compound wall of a house near Adiga's, off Bannerghatta Road:  I wonder what the house owner has to say about that...or whether the house owner is the person who's advertised the space! ⊕

Ashoka Trust for research in Ecology and the Environment (ATREE) has come up with a pictorial snake poster with text in Kannada as well as in English. Both photographs and nature illustration has been combined in this poster to draw the attention of children. This poster has been distributed free of cost to schools in rural areas, while institutions in urban areas have to pay Rs.100 for the poster which will help us to reprint the posters so that we could distribute to more schools. To know more about the poster check this link http://atree.org/bcws_2011 To avail a copy, write…

Vacation Training Programme on Bio-Resources The 6th Vacation Training Programme on Bio-Resources funded by the National Bio-Resource Development Board, Department of Bio-Technology, Government of India will be conducted by Ashoka Trust for Research in Ecology and the Environment (ATREE), Bangalore, during summer 2011. Applications are invited from interested Class X candidates for the programme. Duration: 26th April to 14th May 2011 Eligibility Students should have appeared in Class X examination in 2011 from recognised schools in Karnataka Certain activities involve spending few hours outdoors. Students should be physically fit and willing to take up such activities. Proven interest in nature…

We often live in worlds that are completely sealed off from others in the same city. Most of my friends are not aware of how other people, such as gays or eunuchs, live, and do not want to know, either. Their reaction to seeing such people is only disgust and fear. Of late, I too have been noticing quite a considerable increase in the number of eunuchs at city traffic junctions, and, indeed, walking along various shopping areas. They are very much in-your-face in their approach, and take full advantage of people's aversion to them to demand money,rather than beg…

I've written about the Tabebuia argentea and the Jacaranda blooms welcoming summer into the city....but another sight, that is full of colour, but that is far less welcome, is one that's started staring me in the eye: Water and power shortages are here, with no apologies on the part of the Government.⊕