Deepa's Jottings

With thanks to S. Balakrishna, from whom I got this information.The system for complaining about autos:Note the vehicle number (KA-XX-YY-ZZZZ) and email the details to transcom@kar.nic.in. Based on the prefix XX (for example KA-01), complaint will be sent to one of the ten RTO offices in Bangalore and adjacent taluk areas.Alternatively, one can also call these offices at the number given below based on the vehicle number prefix and directly lodge a complaint.Vehicle Prefix (KA-XX) Bangalore location Phone number * KA-01 Koramangala 080-25533525 * KA-02 Rajajinagar 080-23324104 * KA-03 Indiranagar 080-25254310 * KA-04 Yeshwantpur 080-23376039 * KA-05 Jayanagar 080-26630989 *…

Invitation: 10,000 Women 2010Greetings from NEN!We're writing to inform you of an exciting entrepreneurship education program that might be of interest to you or to someone you know.Launched by Goldman Sachs, the 10,000 Women program is a global initiative to increase the number of under-served women receiving business and management education. The initiative rests on the belief that partnerships between education, development and business experts can help bring about significant change through improved business education for women. The Indian School of Business (ISB), Hyderabad, is the academic partner for the 10,000 Women program in India.Through this programme, Goldman Sachs and…

First, of course, was the headline in the newspaper, that said that twelve people in the Beggars' Colony had died, presumably after eating contaminated food. Click here for the news. I did not even know that such a place exists in Bangalore, and the descriptions of the living conditions there were appalling.   The second news item was about the Karnataka Dwarf Welfare Association. Click here to see the report. I didn't  know, either, that such an organization exists, and I was glad to see that these people, who (I think) are normal in every way except for their lack of…

Onam Sadya is a tradition at the Ranga Shankara cafe. Anju Sudarshan, the lady who runs the cafe, puts her heart and soul to whip up a buffet that brings the flavours, tastes and colours Kerala to Ranga Shankara. This year, the Onam Sadya lunch is set for 1 PM t0 3 PM, Sun, Aug 22. Prior reservation necessary -- please call 9900064931.Onam- the harvest festival of Kerala is celebrated during the Malayali month of Chingam (Aug- Sep). This festival lasts for ten days and marks the homecoming of the legendary king Mahabali. These ten days bring out the best…

As I walked down Jayanagar, at the meeting point of the roads where the ICICI Bank is (I don't know the name of the circle, and you'll see why!), I saw this BBMP signboard, which was bad.Why do people want to stick posters over road and junction signs? Do they think everyone knows the place, and needs no directions or information?However, to offset the bad, was the good..the fact that the banyan tree has been allowed to grow, spread its roots, and give its generous shade to the area (and support bird, insect, and animal life, too!)What a majestic sight…

Dramanon is a young Bangalore-based theatre group whose fortunes I have been following for a fair length of time now, and I have been impressed with their commitment to English theatre, given the obstructions that an amateur group has always to face: affordability of theatre space, funding obstacles, and rehearsal difficulties with day jobs to take care of. They like to choose plays, that, in their own words, "have spunk", and this time, the play in question was Elling, Simon Bent's adaptation of a cult Norwegian film, which in turn was based on a novel by Ingvar Ambjørnsen. 'Elling' by…

I was going to photograph something else, when this generator housing caught my eye: The housing said, Caterpillar, which is a well-known brand..but what really caught my attention was this "Butterfly Enclosure"!I wonder what this particular "Butterfly Enclosure" actually is? There IS a picture of a butterfly on the generator housing...but I don't really think they capture butterflies....or if they do, someone must tell them that...butterflies are free! ⊕

Amoghavarsha, an experienced wildlife photographer, is conducting another monsoon wildlife/photography expedition.The next monsoon expedition to Agumbe is scheduled for 28th and 29th of August. This will be the last expedition in the peak monsoons, after this the monsoons will subside and so will photography opportunities.The last expedition was exciting and very fruitful with sightings of 2 wild King Cobras at close quarters and of course many more snakes, frogs and nocturnal animals.Do take a look athttp://amoghavarsha.com/workshops/agumbe/for more information, testimonials and photographs.If any of you are interested, contact Amogh at +91 99010 44344.

It is very easy to review a play which has had a house-full audience, which was cheered to the echo, and was obviously enjoyed to the hilt by every child in the audience!"Tale of Haruk", a Korean fairy tale, staged by TUIDA, a Korean performance group (that aims to be nature-friendly in play-making) was brought to the Bangalore children by way of Ranga Shankara's AHA! initiative to provide theatre for children, supported by Britannia. The production used puppetry, some amount of sleight of hand, a set of musical instruments that are recycled from items of ordinary use,and a talented cast…

For a long time, I've heard references by foodies to J P Nagar being  "Cheapie Nagar"  as there were only eateries, no "restaurants" in the area. Well, this seemed to suit most people fine, as they would drop in at a Darshini, or an IT-service eatery, to have a quick bite, and "dining out" meant dressing up and going to the centre of the town.As traffic increased, so did the reluctance of the people of south Bangalore to brave logjams to go out for dinner...and perhapss gap and decided to fill it. "Aroy" ("delicious" in Thai) opened a few months ago,…