Z-Blogs

Almost at the fag end of the exhibition, I went to visit the collection of vintage photographs at Tasveer, and I also met Abhishek Poddar, whose gallery it is, and who has toiled for two years to make the collection. Here he is, in front of one wall of displayed photographs: The first thing that struck me was the homogeneity of the exhibition, in terms of frames, sizes of the photographs, because of which, the eye was not distracted by different frames and shapes, and one could concentrate on the images.  The excellent brochure at the gallery gave details about…

Another exhibition that I visited at its fag end was one of cartoons, at Midford Gardens (off M G Road): This was the first time I was visiting the Indian Cartoon Gallery, and found it a fair-sized space in the basement of a building. The cartoons were well displayed, with good lighting. Perhaps in the interests of conservation, and of saving on electricity, the lights were off when we went, and a security person switched them on when we entered. One of the disadvantages of visiting a show later is the inability to meet the creator, and I certainly would have…

This auto had a happy message to convey: I wonder if this would be true when one sees what the fare has run up to! ⊕

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 *…

A family coming out of Namma Metro Coach, showcased on the MG Road. Pic: PeeVee aka Perumal Venkatesan. Bangalore Metro or Namma Metro is scheduled to start its first phase of operations from Dec 2010. To familiarise and to promote the trains among general public, BMRC is showcasing a metro coach on the MG Road, just next to Anil Kumble Circle. As expected, the coach attracted lot of visitors and this image shows one such family, on their day out. ⊕

Note from Ramesh Sivaram:Yesterday, some of the long time residents of Sarjapur Road, Lakshmish and Rajgopal of Swami Vivekanada Sevaabivruddi Samaste, a local NGO based in Kaikondrahalli, and Rajeev Manikoth, another long time resident from nearby Shubh Enclave, planted bamboo saplings at the islands inside Kaikondrahalli lake on Sarjapura Road and Ambalipura lake (adjoining Trinity Meadows and Mantri apartments). Tree planting. pic: Ramesh Sivaram. We are happy report that the saplings planted earlier in the kaikondrahalli island are all doing well. Tree planting. pic: Ramesh Sivaram. ⊕

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…