Z-Blogs

There has been an unusually long gap between my last post and this one. Many reasons, the main being indifferent health, thanks due to the Bangalore weather and the road repair in my locality leading to dust allergy caused on this account. We see many persons sniffing and sneezing in our Ooru. Well these are some of the pains of living in this vibrant city. The infrastructure makes one want to cry. The sheer entrepreneurial energy makes one want to celebrate! Do check an earlier post : Networking in this city of contrasts. Just this weekend we celebrated with an…

While high profile, high powered summits on urban infrastructure development are hogging media headlines, a more low-key process taking place on the ground holds out hope for the beleaguered residents of one corner of the city. We citizens know all about politicians who promise the earth and the sky while canvassing for votes and are then seen and heard from again only on the eve of the next elections. But residents of Koramangala and surrounding areas have been pleasantly surprised to find their elected representative proving to be an exception to this rule - at least for now. Last Saturday…

I have recently come across a couple of organizations where it has been felt that a fraud may have taken place. The management is not sure and is trying to take stock of current positions in these matters.There are a couple of points of action - one is to actually investigate and find out if there has been misappropriation and then to take the necessary steps to tackle this. The next step is more forward looking - to tighten current processes and put in place controls and systems to prevent or reduce the chances of such problems in the future.…

So we now have a new government and one that says it will keep its promises. And we have freshly-elected MLAs, including some who have gone on record "rededicating themselves to the citizens of their constituencies."   The MLA elected from the area I live in has been quoted in the press saying that his focus will be on the new wards added to the newly created constituency. "There are many low-lying areas in these wards that need attention," he says. "Apart from that, there are many interior roads in Koramangala and Ejipura areas that need to be tarred. Water…

At the end of a recent article headlined "A right to walk," Gurcharan Das suggested encouragingly that citizens can make a difference to city life if they really try. "The starting point is to extend your circle of concern beyond your front door (as Yudhishthira did in the Mahabharata when he insisted on taking a stray dog into heaven)," he wrote. "You will discover that municipalities do respond to citizen pressure if citizens are united and relentless." That's really great to know. But he has probably not dealt with the municipal authorities of Namma Bengaluru. It is not for want…

Entrepreneurs are often strapped of cash. Sreekrishna Sankar, who has just completed his Post Graduate Diploma in Management at IIM Bangalore, has come up with a list of tools that entrepreneurs can use in such times; most of this is free and freely available for use. Incidentally, Sreekrishna, and a couple of his batchmates at IIMB, Ajith Pai and Sahil Barua, have floated a firm Catalyst Ventures, which worked with a few start ups. Thanks for sharing this info, Sreekrishna.1. Business Plan developer for developing professional business plan templates which can be a starting point(free)2. Open Office - a free…

Dear readers, this post is the first in a series with investors, to provide a platform where entrepreneurs in Bengaluru can engage with investors. I am pleased to start this series with Subrata Mitra, General Partner, Erasmic Venture Fund, an early-stage fund based in the city. Read on to know more about the fund and get some insights into what they are looking for when they invert in companies. Subrata also shares some of his thoughts on the entrepreneurship scene in this city.Question: How did Erasmic get started and why did you decide to fund early stage ventures? Answer: We…

The spouse of a politician standing for election from one of several constituencies in Bangalore visited our home today to persuade us to vote for her partner. The entourage of about ten or twelve people brought with them not only the customary leaflet requesting us to cast our "valuable votes" in favour of their candidate but also a glossy, colourful, 20-page booklet in Kannada and English. The brochure, titled "My vision for the ... constituency," presented "an overview of the developmental activities" undertaken by the person concerned in the constituency he had earlier represented. "Let works speak rather than words," said…

Bengaluru - the city conjures different images to different persons. For those of us long term residents of namma uru*... Bengaluru... the city today is very different from what it was even a couple of years ago. The chaos, the confusion, as we step out on the roads, the streets, the pavements, the footpaths, the bye lanes... the infrastructure woes, the traffic jams, the pollution are a part of the tangible problems and difficulties we face in our daily lives. The list of these woes is endless... And then the latest in this brimming cup of woes...the inflation. Then there…

Now that people have sorted out voter roll/EPIC card issues (or given up on the same), the next thing to attend to is the candidates themselves. Campaigns are on full swing; But with the election commission laying down strict guidelines for the candidates, citizens are not inflicted with the usual din. However we still need to do the due diligence on who the candidate are in our constituency, whom do we vote for and on what basis? This is the information I found in the online space. From the EC's website: Election commission site (http://search.eci.gov.in/ae%5f2008e) provides info on- Party wise…