Z-Blogs

1. Immediately block the cards.Every bank has a number that can be called 24/7 to report the loss of the cards. Please keep the credit/debit cards numbers handy. This is a very important step as it will prevent loss of money by fraudulent use of the cards.   2. Go to the bank concerned and apply for a new debit/credit card.   Each bank has a separate procedure for this. Some banks (eg, ICICI) give you an immediate replacement for a charge. Others do not. In any case, the new debit/credit card will either arrive at your home by post,…

On the 23rd of June, my purse, along with several documents, was stolen on Bus Route no. 366, between Richmond Circle and MICO Checkpost bus stops at about 1.30 pm. I decided to make a list of the processes by which I replaced my documents.I live in south Bangalore, so my list will pertain to that. But hopefully, in other areas, the process will be similar. For loss of debit cards, please click here. Rating: Transparent, fairly easy. Time taken, anywhere from instant to more than a month. Costs: Rs.250 for instant replacement, free for replacement in the course of…

Once in a while, one is privileged to attend a concert that not many people seem to know about, Indian Institute of Managerment, Bangalore (IIMB) and The Society for the Promotion of Indian Classical Music And Culture Amongst Youth (SPIC MACAY)  together organized a violin concert by Lalgudi Shri Krishnan,  accompanied on the mridangam by Shri K U Jayachandra Rau , and on the ghatam by Shri H Sivaramakrishnan. Opening with a varnam in Nalinakanti, followed by Dhenuka (Theliye ledu Rama) he went on to play Sri Rangapura Vihara in Brindavana Saranga,  Marukela Ra in Jayanthashri (Thyagagaja) followed.   The main…

One usually associates art, and artistic aesthetics, only with people who have the money and the leisure to spare for it (I'm not talking about those who by art as an investment here). But if one looks carefully, one finds the artistic touch all around. Here's a peanut vendor whom I photographed. He's obviously got a lot of pamphlets from somewhere, and is usng them (we are so good at recycling and re-using!) as tiny cones to put the peanuts in, and give the customers.   How beautifully he's made the paper cones and stuck them into his wares! I…

The Samosa Mela at Shivajinagar is a study conducted as part of a CEPT-CPP Summer school on The Everyday City that was held in June 2016 at the IIM Bangalore campus. It was a collaborative effort between CEPT University, Ahmedabad and the Center for Public Policy, IIM Bangalore. As part of the two-week workshop, the participants worked in groups to identify & analyse the everyday activities on the streets in different locations in the city. The Samosa mela project was done by Drashti Amin, (Anant Institute of Architecture, Ahmedabad), Akshata Bhandiwad (CEPT University, Ahmedabad) & Suyash Bhardwaj (NIT, Surat). The…

We often stop at one of the beautifully designed cane "stalls", which can be packed up and carried around, and equally quickly set up somewhere on the roadside.  Little puffed, fried balls of semolina, in a large bag; a large pot containing "paani" which is tamarind juice, flavoured with spices, and several potatoes, lentils and sometimes boiled peas,which are mashed together, with or without onions as the customer prefers.   I've been talking to a few of the young men who sell the "pani puri" from their stalls, and I realize that most of them seem to come from Bihar,…

It's always intriguing to watch poetry being dramatized, and I was keen on going to watch "Kitchen Poems" by Dhiruben Patel, a 90+ year-old Gujarati writer. Padmavathi Rao, who was the solo actor in this performance produced by Aantarya Film and Theatre House, is well-known to the theatregoers of Bangalore, and it was with pleasant anticipation that I went to the performance. I was not disappointed. Dhiruben's poems (written in English) were translated on to the stage seamlessly. Padmavathi's command over the words showed in the effortless way in which she seemed, not to be playing an archetypal woman and…

Over the last few days, it was reported that Metro stations at Silk Board and K R Puram will be developed as transit points, so that in the future we could have a line running on Outer Ring Road, connecting to these two ends, and linking to other Metro lines in the city.. This was greeted in the media as 'Metro to run on IT corridor' along with the claim this will significantly decongest traffic in the high-employment zone. Friends of the government, in particular, touted this as an important step for Bangalore. In reality, it is nothing of that…

Today, on the bus, my purse, along with all my documents...credit card, debit card, driving licence, senior citizen card, and so on...were stolen. One thing that helped me immensely is that I had made a photocopy of every document and had it at home. Also, I had made a note of the numbers to be called in case of such loss. So, in spite of its being time-consuming, I have managed to block all the cards (an attempt was made to use my credit card even before I could do this...luckily, it was unsuccessful.) All of us need to carry…

Kingsley Jegan Joseph has created this marvellous version of "Hotel California".  Compliments can be sent  to Kingsley. Hotel Karnataka On a dark desi highway, cool wind in my hair Warm smell of parottas, rising up through the air Up ahead in the distance, saw a lorry headlight My eyes grew squinty and my sight grew dim I had to stop for the night There she stood in the doorway; Wearing nariyal tail And I was thinking to myself, "I'd like Pav Bhaji or maybe some Bhel" Then she brought me the menu, but current went away There were voices from…