Society

It was a much awaited event for all the climbers in and around Bengaluru. Some participants even travelled from other cities to attend the Rock Climbing fest organised at Turahalli on February 21st, 2010.Turahalli hillock is a place with lot of boulders and wildlife just off Kanakapura road and around 8 kilo-meters from Banashankari Temple in Bangalore South. I had visited Turahalli couple of times before along with my climber friends, but I had not tried much of the climbing at Turahalli. The whole effort was to promote the sport and make more number of people joining the climbing community.…

One fine morning (around 30 years ago), waiting at a bus stop in Madurai, Arjumand Fatehally saw a street child attempting to stick the top of a discarded cigarette box with her saliva – in an attempt to make something. Keenly observing her for a while, Fatehally sat down and tried to help the child make her 'toy'. Of course – she missed her bus. But she says she found her true passion in life - making crafts from 'waste'.Arjumand's enthusiasm, at the age of 79, to continue this work and share it with schools and galleries would put all…

The inaugural Namma Bengaluru awards were held at the Palace Grounds on Saturday, February 27th 2010. An initiative of the Namma Bengaluru Foundation, headed by Rajya Sabha MP Rajeev Chandrasekhar, the ceremony was held to honour Bangalore citizens. From over 4000 nominations, 26 finalists were chosen. Of these, 14 winners were chosen and awarded by Chief Minister B S Yeddyurappa and Governer H R Bhardwaj. The winners were awarded Rs 25,001 each, along with a memento.Following are the winners:Private IndividualsAshis K Chand - A neuro-surgeon, he has imparted superior quality healthcare in remote and backward areas of societyDr Sudarshan Ballal…

Janapada Loka located at around 43 kms from Bangalore will make for an ideal visit for those who are who are inquisitive about cultural heritage. Just hop onto a bus, ride on your bike or stop by on the way to Mysore and have a peek at this world steeped in culture and art. Janapada Loka is located on the Bangalore-Mysore highway at about 3 kms from Ramanagaram. Inside Lokamatha Mandira (clockwise from top left): Flower baskets, Bhumanni & Achambli Ritual baskets and storage boxes; Fruit Baskets and Granaries; Vegetable/fish Cutter; Baricoot traps and tools used to pluck areca nuts;…

Slide show The market waking up to a busy day. Pic: Chitra Aiyer. A little boy making idlis for selling at his family's shack in the market. Pic: Chitra Aiyer. Fresh vegetables arrive in little tempos. Pic: Chitra Aiyer. Vendors often engage you in conversation if you have the time. Pic: Chitra Aiyer Market transactions. Pic: Chitra Aiyer. Waiting for his customers. Pic: Chitra Aiyer. A charming girl I ran into. Pic: Chitra Aiyer Kanji for breakfast - from a cart that sells breakfast nearby. Pic: Chitra Aiyer. A happy little kid minding his dad's produce. Pic: Chitra Aiyer A…

Koramangala resident Suman Bolar, communications consultant and creator of the Foodtravelbangalore blog is a fairly new art enthusiast. Her passion for art started with a visit to the National Gallery of Art in Washington DC about five six years ago. Right Lines Gallery at Indiranagar. Pic: Reshmi Chakraborty. "I did not know that looking at the photograph of a painting and looking at the real thing on the wall were such completely different experiences," Suman says. That visit started an interest in art that has seen Suman and her husband visit galleries and develop much more than a fleeting interest…

We might have all been to Italian restaurants, where they serve pastas and pizzas loaded with tons of cheese, sautéed with oodles of garlic, but have you ever wondered how lasagne would taste along with panner tikka or if pasta paprika could be preceded by seekh kabab? Eurasia, the new pasta - barbecue restaurant in town, enables us to experience these quirky combinations. Barbeque mushrooms. Pic: Shivashankar. In Eurasia, Jayanagar now has its very own Little Italy franchise. This pure vegetarian restaurant has not only retained most of Little Italy's popular items but has also added a few dishes of…

Draped in a beautiful black-and-grey cotton saree, Vinatha Iyengar, 68, walks into Nightingales Elders’ Enrichment Centre (NEEC) at Malleswaram to attend a talk on ayurveda. Her grace is arresting and voice resonates with confidence as she reels off botanical names of medicinal plants. She has doubts, arguments, and also visible concern about the dwindling medicinal varieties. The NEEC members from all walks of life share a few laughs after the regular Friday talk. Pic: Savita Hiremath. But it was the same woman ravaged by depression following her husband’s death three years ago. A homeopath and acupuncturist, she used to be…

A bull. A ballerina. A Buddha. A baby T-Rex. And a big ant. All in one place. Frozen in steel - yet appearing to be in motion. These are but a few works of artist Kalyan S Rathore that are on display at ‘Active Canvas', Jayanagar I Block, till February 23rd, 2010 in an exhibition titled ‘Verbs in Steel'. Kalyan S Rathore with one of his steel sculptures. Pic: Deepa Vaishnavi.Industrial and Product Designing, Biology, Entrepreneurship, Ergonomics and biomechanical machines, Geometry, Contemporary Furniture are words that one would usually not associate with an artist, barring a few such as Kalyan…

Religious faith in a country like India is not a matter to be trifled with. If it doesn't actively move mountains, it does manage to move millions in population- physically and emotionally. India's multireligious identity provides for its secular political outlook, one that is questioned and turned upside down everytime communal tensions take over the public psyche. But we have to just look around us to see the things people d,o to assist their relationship with the divine. Fawzan Husain has done just that; in his exhibition of photographs at Tasveer, Kasturba Cross Road. He successfully captures the essence of…