Society

Three months ago, 56 year-old, Dr Ravi Ralph was made the Chief Executive officer(CEO) of the Lake Development Authority. He is also the Additional Principal Chief Conservator of Forests. He completed his education in Varanasi and then was posted as Conservator of Forests in various parts of Karnataka. He is a resident of HSR Layout. Additional Principal Chief Conservator of Forests and Chief Executive Officer, Lake Development Authority - Dr Ravi Ralph. Pic: Anisha Nair What do you think is the key point in maintaining lakes? In every meeting we see active citizens partnership. Synergy is the word. The government…

The epithet ‘Gaanchali bidi Kannada maathadi' (GBKM) would translate colloquially as ‘let go of your (English) affectations and speak in Kannada.' For those of us born and brought up in Bangalore, this has been a familiar epithet; as children from middle-class families, we were exposed to peers from ‘convent' schools who spoke ‘European' English, but they would disdain to speak in Kannada despite knowing the language well. We would accuse them of ‘gaanchali', and of course would strive to throw in as much Kannada in our ‘English' conversations as possible. The fact that many of the wannabe ‘convent' schools (where…

Balasubramanyam S, 59, popularly known as Bali, a professional musician and singer has enriched the world of music and enthralled the audience with his artistry. He lives in Jayanagar 7th Block with his family.With passion and immeasurable love for music, he has touched the soul of music in every sense. In 2000-01, Karnataka State Sangeeta Nrutya Academy honoured him with ‘Karnataka Kalashree' (Sakala Vaadya Kalaanipuna) in recognition of his contribution to the music field. Balasubramaniam founded Ramya Cultural Academy in 1993. Pic: Sankar C G Balasubramanyam founded Ramya Cultural Academy, a charitable trust, in 1993, in his own house, aimed…

In Kannada, "HABBA" means festival, "ANNA" means food. HABANA is not only for food, but also crafts, games, celebration, cultural activities etc,. This was designed to give residents a platform for showcasing their cookery skills as well as develop some entrepreneurship skills in showcasing their items to fellow residents. There were many game stalls for kids. Theyyam. Pic: KumarPot hitting. Pic: KumarThiruvathira. Pic: KumarTug of war. Pic: KumarSingari Melom. Pic: KumarAthappoo. Pic: Kumar‹ › $(document).ready(function(){ $('.carousel .carousel-inner .item').first().attr('class', 'active item');});This time Onam celebration was also added along with it. Block wise Athappoo (flower carpet) competition was held. Mahabali (the King) came…

Dreamscope Theatres’ play ‘The Forest’  was presented at JSS Auditorium in Jayanagar on August 5th. The play was written and directed by Puja Goel; she also is the founder of the group. She wrote the play 15 years ago. The Forest presents a play for children but sends a message to adults making them aware about the depleting forest. This play engages a child’s psychology and her decision to save the forest. The foresters. Pic: Abhishek Angad At the centre, the play is from the last remains of the earth-forest. The foresters, the flowers, trees, animals and butterflies, believe that…

He had seen the paper and started reading the headline before I had a chance to hide it. "M-O-L-E-S-T" he read, pronouncing it as ‘molet' before inevitably asking me the meaning. My six and half year old has developed a new love for reading and I had forgotten how trauma and disaster laden our news was, when I encouraged his attempt to read the newspaper.What do you do when all the media that confronts your child, the TV, newspapers and magazine, not to mention the internet, has nothing but bad news. Do you tell her as it is or do…

Based in a small, neat campus, Asha Niketan, located in Koramangala, is truly the ‘Abode of Hope’ that its name says it is, as I’ve learnt from occasionally visiting it over the last several months. Its charter describes it as a community of people ‘with and without intellectual disabilities’, sharing life together, and ‘celebrating the value of every person’ based on ‘mutual relationships and trust in God’. Chikku and Chris, live at Asha Niketan. Pic: Yoginder Sikand Home to a community of some forty amazing people, around thirty of Asha Niketan’s members are ‘intellectually challenged’ adults, the rest being assistants…

Around 20 sports enthusiasts gathered at Christ University to be part of the platform, that brings sports personalities and sports management companies together. The idea is to highlight lesser known sports and discuss possibilities of building a better platform. The meet was held on 21 July, 2012. The meet was organised by ProAthlete, a company set up by city's sports enthusiasts. This was their second such meet. Chitra Gangadharan, former Indian Women's football team goalkeeper kick started the description by pointing out that there aren't enough tournaments for women unlike in men's football. She attributed it to lack of seriousness…

Seema Vijay, 29, hardly goes out of her house alone after 7pm. Seema stays in the posh JP Nagar 2nd phase, next to JP Nagar Cultural Association. But after 7, the roads here are dark and isolated, and harassment is common. Women rarely walk around alone at night here.There is a playground near the club, which has only added to women’s woes. Though a ‘public’ place, only boys and men use the ground. In the evenings especially, women stay away from this area as they are harassed and commented on by men hanging around in the ground. There have been…

More often than not, talented children drop out of sports when they reach tenth standard; to perform well in board exams. But Ashritha Bharadwaj, is an exception. She continued to win medals even while studying for the all important, tenth standard exams. She also secured 90 percent. The medals she won, decorate a wall at her home. Ashritha Bharadwaj - Swimming athlete. Pic: Anisha Nair She has won 11 national level awards in swimming and aquatic championships so far. She lives with her parents Nagesh and Srividya Bharadwaj in JP Nagar. Her father is a businessman and mother a teacher…