Society

Women in Bengaluru are asked to fend for themselves when it comes to protection from sexual harassment. With more working women moving in from other cities, many Paying Guest (PG) accommodation and hostels have come up in areas like Jayanagar and Koramangala. These young women are complaining of sexual harassment closer to where they live.Ankita Mehta, 24, a media employee and a resident of Koramangala says, "we face a lot of harassment problems in our lane, specially because there are fewer street lights working. Also sometimes the our PG caretaker brings a lot of men (friends)inside. We are always in…

Oota from your Thota (OfyT), a programme for organic farming enthusiasts, will be held on March 25th, Sunday, in Malleswaram. The programmes includes lectures and discussions on organic farming, pest control etc. There will also be exhibition and sale of seeds, saplings, gardening accessories, compost bins etc.The event is organised by Malleswaram Swabhimana Initiative (MSI) - the Resident Welfare Association of Malleswaram - along with Garden City Farmers Trust (GCFT), an NGO that promotes organic farming. Citizen Matters is media partner for the event. OfyT was held in BTM Layout last August. File Pic: Yogaraj Mudalgi G Shantaram, Joint Secretary…

Domestic Workers' rights union organised a public meeting in association with support groups Stree Jagruthi Samithi, APSA and Hengasara Hakkina Sangha (HHS) on March 13, 2012. The meeting was held at SCM house, Bangalore. Domestic Workers at the public meeting. Pic: Anisha Nair The meet was organised to address the concerns of the Domestic workers. Around 50 domestic workers came to voice their problems of domestic violence at their homes and workplaces from across the city.The panel of experts comprised of B S Bharathi Devi - Protection officer from Department of Women and child development, Aarti Mundkur - Lawyer, Sudha…

Bengaluru is all set to host its first edition of Film Harvest 2012 starting from March 16, 2012 to March 20, 2012. UB City, The Collection in association with Sublime Galleria presents "Film Harvest 2012" with an aspiration to create an international platform for filmmakers from across the world. Uzma Irfan, Director of Prestige Group, who also serves as the Festival Chairperson, has conceptualised the festival. The film festival will showcase a variety of films ranging from short film to documentaries & full-length features, all made on the theme of Social Responsibility. The film festival will begin with a musical…

Radio has become a constant companion to Bangaloreans, thanks to traffic jams. Radio stations are striving to set themselves apart with clever marketing and different kinds of programmes. Radio Indigo, 91.9 has launched one such programme - Heartline. It was launched on Valentine's day, last month. Heartline is a programme that helps people sort out their personal relationship problems with the help of experts. Dr Shyam K Bhat and presenter Teja host this show. Dr Bhat (MD) is a certified psychiatrist and Integrative Medicine specialist.Dr Bhat believes that Heartline aims to be the programme that speaks to the youth and…

Kala has a beautiful garden outside her house that she wants to protect from pests. She wants to improve her garden and grow lots of fruits and vegetables out there. She came here to learn this "the Organic way".Like Kala, many other people from Bangalore attended the Organic Terrace Gardening (OTG) workshop held at Vittal Mallya Scientific Research Foundation (VMSRF), in BTM Layout II stage. VMSRF is an organisation dedicated to biotechnology research to generate newer products and processes in the field of health-care and agriculture. Palak grown in Organic terrace garden. Pic: Anisha NairAloe Vera at OTG. Pic: Anisha…

Situated beside the Ramanjaneya Temple in Hanumantha Nagar, this auditorium was gathering dust until three years ago. Today, it is a sought after auditorium for theatre groups. Pic: Deepthi M S A few years ago, P D Sathish Chandra, actor and a part of the theatre group Pradarshana Kala Samsthe (Pra.Ka.Sam.), a non-profit arm unit of Fourth Corner communication consultants, was looking out for a theatre. He had six plays in the pipeline, and needed an auditorium.He then spotted an auditorium built by the BBMP, which was in a bad state, in Hanumantha Nagar. He got BBMP to lease the…

The recently concluded National Masters Athletic Championships held at Kanteerava stadium , in the last week of Febraury, served to highlight several challenges stunting the growth of sports in India as well as avenues for improvement of the state of sports in India and not just for Masters athletes. Particpants at the NMAC. Pic: Anju K P For one, there were very few people who knew about the event in the country, let alon ein Bangalore. The fact that a copy of the event schedule was not available till the first day of the meet didn't aid matters. The Masters…

Nirmala H S, 38, a HSR Layout-resident has always been interested in gardening but had never been able to pursue it. That changed recently when she started volunteering at an organic community gardening initiative in JP Nagar. This is a 50x80 plot of land or ‘patch' located midst prime real estate on 17th Main Road on JP Nagar II phase. Pic: Jyothi Nagaraj Nirmala and a number of other volunteers are together growing tomatoes, chillies, radish, coriander, dhantu soppu, and other produce at the patch now. "When I grew up in Davanagere, in central Karnataka, I watched my father and…

The far side of Bangalore is a nature's bounty in full swing. Just 60 kilometers away from the hustle-bustle of Silicon City is a powerfully quiet countryside with breathtaking views, century old temples and rocky hills. The destination is, Devarayanadurga in Tumkur district. Devarayanadurga once known as Anebiddasari is a well known pilgrim spot amid green hills and is guaranteed to revive your spirits with its beautiful rocky terrain. Devarayanadurga. Pic: Usha Hariprasad Here is a quick look about the place and its history.A coup d'oeil of Devarayanadurga history:The place is also known as Karigiri which means elephant hill in…