Z-Blogs

The January 30th print issue of Citizen Matters hit the stands and homes in south Bengaluru exactly two years after our first issue of January 30th 2009! That maiden issue we had covered the HSR Layout Agara Flyover digging work, for those of you who may recall our cover. The Citizen Matters print newsmagazine is a fortnightly that goes to the JP Nagar, BTM and Jayanagar (tiny part) areas of south Bangalore. Apart from independent homes, over 22 major apartments on Bannerghatta road and in JP Nagar get copies. Advertisers range from the smallest local business to major silk saree…

Praveen Sood, Additional Commissioner of Police (Traffic) talked recently about effective traffic management.Given that only about 1% of the total traffic violations are actually ever fined and the traffic police department is just 2500 strong, what is the way forward? Sood has mentioned (The Hindu, January 31) how about 40% of road space is taken up by parking mostly unauthorised. Earlier at the Jayanagar meeting, Sood talked about active Residents' Welfare Associations can replicate the Brigade Road parking model and charge vehicles for parking. They can also help prevent illegal parking - Clamps, he said, can be bought by the…

  We had gone to Bannerghatta early in the morning, but on the way back, the bandh caught up with us.....it seemed to be nothing but traders downing their establishments in fear, and miscreants blocking off the main road with stones in order to burn old tyres.... Here are the toxic fumes rising from the tyres:The irony was that these anti-social elements stood around in the fumes themselves, unaware of how they were poisoning themselves as well as the air around.We had to take the small roads to get home, the traffic was completely choked up, and chaotic...Why do the citizens of…

Of the 47 teams that took part in the HSBC Bangalore Bird Race, I am only talking about Team Black Stork.... comprised (in alphabetical order) Gayathri, Mani, Saandip, Uma...and me.We certainly had a wonderful time that day, and we certainly never had any expectations, as bird-sightings are so much a matter of luck! Our list had 123 birds, and I never did photograph most of them. I'm hoping that the others will put up their bird-race photographs up soon! We started at my top favourite birding location, the Bannerghatta Zoo area. A bird that I enjoyed seeing was the handsomeLARGE CUCKOO-SHRIKE:The Zoo…

  When I go for my morning walk around the Mini Forest, it's often dark, and so it's easy to see the magic of the cobwebs that the spiders spin, to catch the insects that are drawn to the light....That's the way the web starts...on some lamps, the creation is quite impressive:In the dark, the filaments of the web seem to be made of light themselves....a light-trap, to catch the unwary, that the predators build of gossamer....just look at the strength of the web, that can trap so much debris and hold it up without breaking!  ⊕

Saarus Nirhali is a girl in love with glass. Butterflies, angels, swans and flowers make up most of her repertoire of original stained glass art. The enterprising 28 year old used to be a criminal lawyer in another life before her move to Bangalore from Mumbai, when she decided to learn something new and take a break. Saarus Nirhali, founder of Glasshopper. Pic: Reshmi Chakraborty. The ‘something new' turned out to be stained glass, something Saarus had always been fascinated by especially after noticing stained glass window panels in churches abroad as a child. She found 92-year-old, Vinayak Patel, a…

Mugging incidents along the Outer Ring Road-Sarjapur Road are back. The modus operandi is similar to earlier: Commuters driving alone in a car are stopped by con men on bikes. The men claim money on the pretext that the car has hit their bikes by showing their damages. They threaten the commuter (often these are residents of the Sarjapur Road area), damage the car and speak in loud voices in Kannada. They snatch the mobile. They persuade the victim to pay thousands of rupees for the “damages”, taking him to an ATM. These incidents happened earlier mid 2010 and the…

  At our front door, my kolam greets you with good wishes: and when you enter, Surya Narayana is there to bless you with happiness, health, and prosperity:And if you are not too late, you will get "shakkarai pongal" and "ven pongal", to eat, as the puja prasad!Wish everyone a happy Pongal...or, if you are not celebrating it, a happy weekend!  ⊕

  Magic Puddles, a learning centre for younger children in J P Nagar, had a 3-day stint of telling the children all about the Harvest Festival.  Nandini talked about how Sankranti is celebrated in Karnataka, and Geetu talked about how it is celebrated in Tamil Nadu and Maharashtra.Here are some of the children, listening to the various fact and myths surrounding the festival!Shreya talked about Lohri, as it is celebrated in Punjab, Haryana, and Himachal Pradesh. Many of the children (and adults!) came wearing colourful, festive clothes...and we all joined her in singing one of the Lohri songs!  Sweet Pongal, sugarcane, and…

In response to the mugging incidents on the Outer ring road, the police have sent this information to the Outer Ring Road Companies Association (ORRCA). Excerpts from the mail. With reference to recent mugging incidents that are reporting on Outer Ring Road, Marathalli, Sarjapur and Hosur Road. Kindly advise your employees What ever may be the case do not come out of their vehicle and raise alarm for help from car by switching on car alarm. Or advice them to insist for lodging complaint at the nearest traffic police station for the accident incident. Advice employees keep them local police…