Z-Blogs

You’d expect the members of a group that calls itself the Bangalore Classic Scooter Club to be older, gray-haired, bordering on their 50s perhaps. It therefore comes as a surprise that the founder-members of this group, four in all, are in their 20s and 30s. In fact, as Arun P, one of the founder-members and all of 23 tells me, most of their members are below the age of 35. If that’s the first of the clichés shattered (vintage scooters would appeal to those who belong to somewhat vintage years) then the next is yet another widely believed one. You’d…

PC, a member of Forward150 has shared his experience.As mentioned by my friend, yesterday I was chased by two persons on a bike and stopped near SJR Variety (Few meters from HM Symphony gate). They started speaking in Kannada and I told them to speak in Hindi. They told me that I had hit a person and need to come out and have a look at the person and solve the problem, I replied I am sure I have not hit any one and if you have any complaint we can go to police station. They insisted I come out…

On the cycling community I belong to, we have been having a discussion about insuring one's cycle against theft, and this article was cited:http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/chennai/Now-get-your-bicycle-and-your-life-insured-/articleshow/5515102.cmsThis article does not address the other part of insurance: what you will have to face when trying to get the insurance company to pay in the event of your cycle being lost.I have said it earlier, and I'll say it again...do not just purchase the insurance (not just for your cycle, but of any kind) but look carefully at the small print, and ask the person who is selling you the insurance, really pointed questions. A…

Lakhs of students, millions of books, thousands of trees! It’s that time of the year again. All parents are busy collecting books from schools and covering them in brown paper sheets. They are busy shopping for school supplies. New uniforms, new bags, new tiffin sets. Why? If last year’s set is in good shape, why buy again? The schools expect every student to buy books from them, often at a marked-up price. They also make it compulsory to buy brown paper sheets, often plastic coated and notebook labels. What’s the use of covering notebooks? If the idea is to reduce…

Past few weeks have seen a few incidents of mugging near Outer Ring Road/Sarjapur Road area.In mid-May, a resident of Sun City apartments and employee at a tech firm located on ORR was stopped by two men, accusing him of causing an accident. The person threatened tried to reason with them, and later using some pretext, drove into his office nearby. He left his car there, and enlisted the help of his company HR department, who helped him get home.  Earlier, there was a more serious and similar incident: a resident was forced to stop his car by two men…

   The skies over Indiranagar turn an orange hue after some unexpected quick rains. Pic by Ravi Kaushik ⊕

Why is it that many of us lack manners and consideration. Is it the way we were brought up or we display our pushiness in minor things when most other things are beyond our control. Is the nature of Bangaloreans changing?  Usha Vaidyanathan writes about a fusion performance by Dr L Subramaniam, Ambi Subramaniam, Kavita Krishnamurthy, Ernie Watts and Corky Siegel at Chowdiah Memorial Hall, earlier this year, disturbed by some obnoxious members of the audience. Should not the organizers escort such people out? Who will bell the cat?The doors were closed at 7:05 and the invocation began. Just as…

Film actress Ramya has come out in favour of extending deadlines of restaurants and pubs to 2 am (DNA, May 20). Minister Renukacharya raised the issue this year. Extending pub deadlines is one regular topic that comes up every year.But does rest of Bangalore have to shut shop so early?Nothing is open post dinner here! Outsiders term this a sleepy city, where nothing opens before 10 am and everybody closes by 8 pm. Retailers may say there is no crowd after 9 pm. But there are more and more working-couple families who will find it convenient to shop late. They…

Once upon a time, Bengaluru had over a 100 lakes, of which many were used for water supply. Other lakes fed groundwater, which was again used for fetching drinking water through wells.And then the city grew, first slowly, and then faster. Amenities were needed. Housing was critical. The city's growth skyrocketed in the last two decades as the IT revolution came in. Apartments mushroomed.With all this came piped water supply from the Cauvery, a 100 kms away. Lakes were quickly forgotten, by everyone - from politicians to citizens.Land became precious. It turned into gold. Everyone, literally everyone - politicians, bureaucrats,…

 Saw this lorry parked at the Regional Transport Office. The bright yellow color and the large L-boards are a clear warning to motorists that the driver is a learner! Pic by Ravi Kaushik ⊕