Z-Blogs

 Here's the email I got from Santosh: Dear Friends,Running, cycling and exercising has many benefits for a healthy lifestyle and anyone can develop a passion for it. The first step to exercising - running, walking, cycling, swimming etc. is to just get out and do it!! It doesn't matter for how long, how far or how fast - You are already a champion for gritting it out once you start! Welcome to Strides of Hope ( www.stridesofhope.com ) - this is the second edition of the first of its kind ever organized in India - a 48 Hour Endurance Run and…

  It was lovely to see the decorations at Bangalore Club for the New Year. Here's the main building, and the majestic 100-year-old conifers:  Brigadier Hill Annexe was also lit up:  And so was the passage between the two:  ⊕

The Outer Ring Road-Sarjapur Road saw mugging incidents in mid 2010. Later the HSR Police nabbed some culprits.These incidents have again started in the area. Here are some incidents that happened. Note: some have been verified and some not. The Outer Ring Road Companies Association (ORRCA) has organised a helpline. If anybody finds themself in this situation, they can call 9972630616. They should dial the phone number, keep it on and keep talking to let us know the area / where he is. The ORRCA supervisor and team will try and do the needful immediately. The modus operandi is: Residents,…

 Found the year already inscribed on a rock: Let 2011 rock on! ⊕

 Stress buster balls smile out at customers at a store. ⊕

Sometime back, we noted that the government had renamed Karnataka’s Urban Development Department as The Great Bengaluru Land Scam Department. Since then, developments have spiralled further and deeper into the mysterious inner workings of our system, and behold: another name change is being announced at the fag end of the year.BBMP is being renamed U-TURN-MP on January 1st!Surprised? You should not be, actually. Here’s the evidence:After repeatedly insisting that a link road was a must through forestland in the prestigious University of Agricultural Sciences’ GKVK campus in north Bangalore and cutting over 680 trees in 2009, BBMP is now, at…

This year has seen some great moments for India and Indians.. and some really low times. Through much of the year, predictions were being made about how we have some of the best years of growth ahead. However ... the last few months have left us with a sour taste, we have seen one scam after another being reported and discussed. These have touched almost all of us in some way or another. Many names that we held in high esteem have been dragged into this. Media persons, politicians, corporate czars, bureaucrats... trusts, NGOs, the list of individuals and groups…

 Of late, the rubbish dump near the Staples store has been attracting a lot of rodents...which is bad news. But the good news is that the rodent population is kept in control, by Shikras and Barn Owls, which I have been seeing regularly.  Here's a Barn Owl, sitting near the rubbish dump, waiting for prey: You can see the Shikra, too, most evenings, flying around. Shikras are crepuscular, and hunt at dawn and dusk. The Barn Owls are nocturnal.So...if your apartment has Barn Owls...don't worry about their chirring at night...they are taking care of your rat problem! ⊕

My friend Vishwas and I went to see an exhibition of Hollywood photographs at Tasveer Art Gallery I enjoyed the photographs on several levels. The first reaction, of course, was to the technical excellence of the photographs themselves. In the era of black-and-white photography, when photography was a cumbersome and tedious process, these photographers have yet produced such gems! Portraiture, to me, is one area where black-and-white photography still holds its own against colour.Portraying people noted for their looks, as well as their talent, can hold its own challenges. Which aspect would you highlight as a photographer? Some photographs, such…

Early morning, in the home of that elderly and typical Bangalore couple, Mr and Mrs.Rao....morning coffee, and the usual toast-and-butter, had just been eaten, and the newspaper read.Mrs. Rao went into the kitchen, and then peeped out and asked her husband, "So what would you like for lunch today?""Well, a little hot sambar in this cold weather would be great," he replied, smacking his lips."OK, then, I'll make some onion sambar and potato roast," Mrs Rao said, but was staggered to see her husband burst into the kitchen with a very alarmed expression on his face."Onion Sambar!" he exclaimed. "Did…