Society

With Stanley Ka Dabba, director Amol Gupte takes off where he left us with Taare Zameen Par. Here we catch our first real glimpse of the vision that shaped the idea of Taare Zameen Par.  We also recognize how the involvement of Aamir Khan Productions made TZP a bigger film, though not necessarily a truer one. As in Taare Zameen Par, Amol Gupte returns to the world of classrooms and teachers, in juxtaposition to the world of childhood and its many dreams. Yet the shades are more muted, the characters as real and the perspective uniquely his own. It is…

Citizen Matters did an article in March on the challenges of working mothers from the middle and upper middle class families. But what are the challenges faced by working mothers from the lower income group? Though on the face of it the challenges appear to be the same, these women have issues unique to their social setup. With husbands' incomes often not enough meet the expenses , women in low-income groups are compelled to work to support families. They juggle between managing work, home and motherhood, braving through social inequalities, chauvinism and glass ceilings to earn meager wages. Lost motherhood…

"Running is my passion!" says 29 year old Seema Kotian, a technical writer during the weekdays and a marathoner by the weekend. Look around and you'll see that she isn't the only one saying that. Running is the new way to be fit. Don't join a gym. Run instead. Seema Kotian at the Sunfeast 2008 run. Pic Courtesy: Seema Kotian This must have been the very thought behind the people who introduced the city of Bangalore to the World 10k in 2008. Today 3 marathons later, the Sunfeast World 10k has been rechristened into TCS World 10k Bangalore 2011. But…

The Pirates of the Caribbean are back, and Johnny Depp leads the way. Rob Marshall replaces Gore Verbinski in the director's chair, but the difference hardly shows. Source: Wikipedia As with the previous films, Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides is an entertainment laden ride, interspersed with magical mystery and many guffaws. The great pull to the film lies in the aura that surrounds its principal protagonists and not the meatiness of the plot. This time around, Captain Jack Sparrow (Johnny Depp ) finds himself coerced into joining hands with the fearsome pirate Black Beard (Ian McShane) to track…

Directed by Rishikesh Nadkarni, California Suite was performed to an appreciative audience, on Saturday and Sunday, May 7th and 8th, 2011. This bittersweet comedy written by playwright Neil Simon was presented by Barking Dog Productions with an all-youngster-cast and crew. The audience peeked into the lives of five couples that stay in a suite in The Beverly Hills Hotel in California. Clever dialogues about a divorced couple fighting for the custody of their daughter, a man trying to hide an unconscious prostitute he had just found in his bed, from his wife, two couples who end up fighting on a…

American Economist, Bernard Baruch once said, "Age is only a number, a cipher for the records. A man can't retire his experience. He must use it. Experience achieves more with less energy and time." Well here is one person to prove just that. Risaldar Major Hariram lives, breathes and sleeps horses. With 65 gold medals and uncountable silver in show jumping, Hariram retired from the Indian army in 1980. News about him spread like wild fire and the then-Maharaja of Mysore got him to Bangalore to train people at the turf club. Risaldar Major Hariram teaches mostly at Bangalore's Turf…

Abhinav Mugunthan is like any other 10 year old. He loves going to school and playing with his friends. But on Saturday, the 21st of May, he was more than just a young boy. For the first time, he was an athlete competing against kids three years older than him. He won the first place in the Under-13 shot put event with a distance of 5.15 metres. Taking the high road. Pic: Smit Zaveri. Like Abhinav, there were many other first timers who proved that experience wasn't everything. Determination and hard work was. 12-year-old, Nikitha M V from Sapphire High…

Music is an integral part of everyone's lives. Is there a man or a woman, who does not, at the very least, hum the latest hit song as he or she goes about her daily work? But though it's all-pervasive, the learning and teaching of music in Bangalore presents a varied and interesting picture. How do people, especially children choose what kind of music to learn? What keeps them going to the music classes, what makes them stop, and what makes them take to it as a profession? I talked to a variety of people to find some answers. Guitar…

Bangalore will be celebrating the World Athletics Day Meet on Saturday, the 21st of May at Shri Kanteerva Stadium from 9 AM onwards. This event is organised by Fusion Athletica, which has joined hands with the Karnataka Athletics Association, guided by International Association of Athletics Federations & Athletics Federation of India. This meet targets kids from the different age groups to compete in races, long jump, high jump, shot put and discus throw all under one roof. "We have been promoting this meet through various news channels and newspapers as schools are closed for the vacations right now. But despite…

"I play with children with the confidence that even an hour of play will change their lives for the better", says Sheetal Suryavanshi, Founder President, and Managing Trustee, Aata Odanaata (AO). Sheetal founded AO along with her sports buddies to encourage socio-economically challenged children to learn and play different sports. Sheetal Suryavanshi is a BCCI-certified cricket coach. Pic: Aravind H N An awardee of CNN IBN-Reliance's Real Heroes in sports category, Sheetal Suryavanshi was a sports enthusiast during her growing years. She represented her college in cricket, handball and baseball at the national level. When the vortex of life caught Sheetal…