Z-Blogs

In Bangalore in the early 90's, I was very impressed by one very young dramatist who wrote plays in English that showed a talent and an ability to mirror social issues well beyond his physical age.I watched every production of Mahesh Dattani's plays that I could, and bought the book of his plays to read the rest. I have also grown up in Kolkata, enjoying the vibrant Bengali theatre scene; to me,there was no greater  accolade of a person's creative talent than the words, "O theatar korcche" (He is into theatre).  So when my friend Shangon told me that a…

Are you a hands-on parent? Are you spending the holidays taking your child to summer camp activities--craft, art, sport, swimming, skating, etc.? Or are you the type who prefers spending time with him or her, creating make believe stories, doing finger painting sessions, building lego cities, together? And, do you ever wonder, how much 'parenting' is enough? And if you are doing too much 'parenting'? Well, I do. All the time. I worry that if my five-year-old spends all his free time with me (especially during these holidays), he and I will no longer enjoy each others' company. I believe…

One of the things that I find very difficult about travelling by BMTC is the fact that most of the bus stops do not display the route numbers of the buses that service the stop. When BMTC (or BBMP, which, I think, holds the land on which the bus stops are constructed) can use so much space for advertising, why can there not be a mandatory display of the routes touching the particular bus stop? This would make life far easier for commuters. In other countries, and indeed, in other Indian cities, this is a standard feature of a bus…

Voting is a process of showing the (correct) finger to the various issues that spoil our country...and ushering in a true democracy.     Do vote, even if it is a NOTA vote!

My response to someone who asked about how to capture a snake and "rehabilitate" it: 1. In my experience, even common non-venomous snakes are identified as cobras by security guards and, indeed, many panic-stricken people, In 8 cases out of ten, we find that it is a non-venomous snake (a keelback or a rat snake). However, I do not rule out the possibility that it might indeed be a venomous snake such as a viper, a krait or a cobra.   2.Catching the snake is itself a very risky procedure, and there is no guarantee that there will be only…

Alright — so we’re all getting ready to vote throughout the country. Some states have already completed polling. Bengaluru's turn is tomorrow. How do you decide? This election, in particular, is seeing massive interest from all around the country. However, at least some of this interest is generated because of the silly way in which the Congress and BJP are continuing to differentiate themselves from each other, when the reality is far murkier. See through the “vote for PM” distraction First of all, on the BJP’s ‘Modi for PM” campaign, this country does not have a presidential system of government,…

Bangalore Central candidates at the BPAC debate. Pic: Shree D N Here are the Bangalore Central MP candidates' responses to common questions about the Lok Sabha General Elections 2014. This has been compiled by Bellandur ward resident, Nagesh. Candidates from all major political parties were asked some direct questions at the BPAC meet. A citizens' team from Bellandur emailed them a questionnaire. This document lists the verbatim responses of the candidates for both series of questions. Before you go through these responses, a few cautionary notes: The statements are reproduced “as is” basis. A fact-check may reveal that some of the…

Answers to the questions sent by residents from Bellandur ForumBy: Nandini Alva (Candidate for Bangalore Central from JDS)   1.If you get elected, what will you do, to prove to voters that you are honest and communicate to us about your work transparently? Will you commit to a monthly communication - email/website and/or public meeting? How can we residents send you our concerns and how will you act on those concerns? Nandini Alva: I will be launching a CitizensConnect platform shortly specifically to hear Citizen concerns and issues. This platform will have an office in each of the Assembly constituenciesunder…

The first meeting of Eco-volunteers (those who took the Volunteer Training Program, or VTP), was held at ThoughtWorks, Koramangala, Bangalore, on 120414. It was as if Ganesha, the Elephant God, had waited in the foyer with a gesture of benison!     Raju KV took up the job of co-ordinating the meet, and conducting it:     Over 40 people turned up, showing their interest in volunteering for wildlife conservation:         Raju welcomed the gathering, and while the two Prasahanths set up their video presentation.     N C Mohan talked about patches of fragmented forest, which…

Bellandur residents had posed a series of questions to all the candidates contesting from Bangalore Central for Lok Sabha Elections 2014. This is the email response we received from INC candidate, Rizwan Arshad.   1.If you get elected, what will you do, to prove to voters that you are honest and communicate to us about your work transparently? Will you commit to a monthly communication - email/website and/or public meeting? How can we residents send you our concerns and how will you act on those concerns?   There will be monthly updates on my official site and associated social networks.…