Off Beat

The way life throws surprises at you! It was on July 29th evening I was standing all alone in some corner of Auroville, located at a distance of around 12 kilometres from the main town of Pondicherry. I had arrived at this experimental township on the same noon, curious to know and understand how this township is experimenting in human unity. I had done my prior booking with a vehicle rental service agent belonging to Aurobindo Ashram in Pondicherry who was suppose to drop me off at Auroville along with a bunch of other travellers and bring me back to…

On a highway leading to a cold, cold city, a two-wheeler rider was mowed down by a speeding lorry on a hot morning. He pleaded for help, without even realising that his body was torn into two pieces. That he donated his organs even in such a painful situation while he counted minutes for his own death, is history now. How do we know all these? Because we had most conclusive proof—a video, circulated over internet and on TV channels. The incident happened in Nelamangala highway. Reports say the ambulance reached him in eight minutes, and he was alive for…

  Ammu Joseph, veteran journalist based in Bangalore, highlights one of several contradictions in Bengaluru, on Facebook: "These photos were clicked and shared by a friend, who questioned the manager of the mall about this "public installation" outside, and was told that Marilyn is the fashion icon of New York City! So much for his knowledge of movie stars and fashion icons. But, even if she is/was, what has that got to do with a mall in Bengaluru? Not only the moral police, but the actual police and various other worthies in the city, have been waxing eloquent about "obscenity"…

Since the beginning of May, my life has taken a turn. Late evenings which would have been typically spent as a sloth, are now reserved for exercising at Namma Crossfit. To call it addictive is an understatement. It also helps that I go with a bunch of my closest friends, each of us in varying degrees of fitness; it really is super-fun. The days that I don’t go, I feel miserable. There have been times where I have worked out at home and have had to mop the floor soon after, to ensure I don’t slip on my sweat. For…

"Sir, what sir, you are so well-dressed and handsome, and all you give me is 60 rupees for getting your job done?" At first I was amazed how fast BBMP granted my simple request of obtaining a permission, but little did it occur to me that it came with a price tag! Why? I had gone neatly dressed. Hence they concluded that I would be their lucky draw of the week. No exaggerations here.January 12th: It was a Thursday, and the time would have been between 12 and 1 pm. Visiting time at BBMP office for the general public is…

When I first took up journalism, everyone i knew advised me against it, especially my family. "But the pay is not that great!," they tried to reason with me. They were partially correct. True, it can never match what the IT sector pays but how many sectors can? The pay is not as bad as some people imagine it to be. However, it was when I did my first internship in a reputed newspaper that I realised journalism could be a lucrative career depending on how flexible you are willing to be with your principles. While covering an art and…

On an overcast Sunday afternoon, I headed to Freedom Park to cover the anti corruption fast and protest over midnight raid by the UPA Government at Ramlila Grounds in Delhi.  As I parked my bike, the first thing in noticed was not the sea of people who had turned up for the protest but the several peanuts, ice cream and bhel puri vendors that had gathered that had set shop there to make a quick buck. If it weren’t for slogans of  “Jai Bharath Mata Ki” emanating from inside the shamiyana, I would think I was at the wrong place.…

Recently staged at the JP Nagar-based Ranga Shankara, Naariyal Paani is a production of the group Our Theatre. Directed by Sandeep Shikhar, the play is basically like a monologue where the character narrates his love story to the audience. He is interrupted by two characters - a tabla player and a guitarist. The tabla player, enacted by Santosh Satavailli, represents the protagonist's physical presence. The guitarist, on the other hand, represents the rest of the universe. Vivek Vijayakumaran plays the protagonist. His constant rubbing-hand-against-thigh act was fun to watch. For me, however, it was guitarist Anupam Roy who stole the…

Whenever anyone says Bangalore has changed, I would just brush it aside saying ‘of course, what doesn't change?' But thinking about it made me realise just how much the city has really changed. From the time of my childhood. Malls, coffee shops, high rise buildings - Bangalore has changed. I grew up in the Cantonment side of Bangalore and have always lived here. So family outings were restricted to this side of town, and not areas like Jayanagar and Basavangudi in South Bangalore which have so many well-known eateries.As a child I remember Sunday dinners to be spent at Shyam…

The Bengalee Association held Durga puja celebrations at the RBANMS grounds in Ulsoor. It was my first Dussehra, Bengali style! The idol of Goddess Durga at the decorated pandal Bangalore's Bengalis turned up in hundreds for Durga's blessings  Both young and old were a part of the celebrations  Plenty of food stalls, all a tribute to the Bengali's love for food  Old habits die hard, they say. Despite the presence of many garbage bins, this was the scene at the grounds  The toysellers had quite a day themselves! ⊕ References