Society

The annular solar eclipse on January 15th provided a good opportunity for a live physics lesson. Several children and adults gathered on the terrace of Mayflower block of Brigade Millennium to view the eclipse through solar goggles and simple pin-hole cameras.  Balakrishnan explaining the working of the pin-hole camera. Pic: Arathi Manay Yajaman. Children trying out the pin-hole camera themselves. Pic: Arathi Manay Yajaman. The image of the eclipse captured by the pin-hole camera. Pic: Arathi Manay Yajaman. ⊕

Art can grow out of the most mundane and unexpected situations. Who would think that two girls diligently working on their French and discussing the intricacies of environmental conservation would hit upon a plan to make art installations?This is exactly what happened with Ramya Upadhya and Aisha Siddiqa, both currently associated with the Alliance Francaise de Bangalore. An initial enthusiasm to experiment with recycling and utilise discarded materials as a means of generating public awareness and discussion somewhere along the way turned into a full-fledged exploration into the aesthetics of art making and enquiry into the simultaneous existence of imperfections…

“Allidde Namma Mane – Amerikeya Swamiobbara Atmakathe”, the Kannada translation of ‘The Journey Home – Autobiography of an American Swamy’ was released at Prism Book Shop, Jayanagar, on January 13th. While Shri Radhanath Swami is the author of the original work ‘The Journey Home’, Chaitanya Dasa (of ISKCON) has translated it into Kannada. (Left to right) Mattur Krishnamurthy, G Venkatasubbaiah and Radhanath Swami. Pic: Deepa Vaishnavi. The simple function had Kannada Writer, Shri S Diwakar, as Master of Ceremonies. Shri G Venkatasubbaiah, 96-year-old Kannada lexicographer and author, released the book in the presence of Padmashri Mattur Krishnamurthy, the well known…

50-year-old Shalini is a software engineer, working at a Bangalore-based IT company. On January 18th, she took off from work to attend an event. A special event where she walked the ramp. Well, what was so special about the event? It was the auditions of the Bangalore leg of 'Indian Super Queen', claimed to be India’s first ever hunt for the most talented transgender. Yes, Shalini is a transgender. A cross-dresser, to be specific. “I’m participating just for fun”, she says, dressed in an elegant black saree, black halter and a clutch to match. “This is just one of my…

I stepped into the famous ‘Food Street’ in VV Puram and I was at once flooded with smell of hot vadas, and roasted Averebele. “Food Street” as the local community calls it, had been transformed into a culinary Mela in honour of Averebele, or cow beans. Averebele is a staple in Kannadiga cuisine and is extremely popular in winter season. The Mela is on till January 17th. Pic: Meghna Raghunathan. This Mela is organised every year by Vasavi Condiments, a store selling sweets and savouries in VV Puram. They hire street vendors from the area to make food items centred…

For many of us cooped up in offices and working against punishing deadlines, the ultimate dream is of quitting the rat race to follow our passion and be one’s own boss. But, for most, it remains just that: a chimera that we hesitate to translate into action due to life’s practicalities. Fortunately, there are some – like Aniruddha Gharat, Vijay Kumar and Aparna Tomar – who left their comfort zones to plunge into the unknown. (Left to right) Aniruddha Gharat, Vijay Kumar and Aparna Tomar. Pic: Theresa Varghese. Franchisees of Little Italy (managed by Shubham Foods – the company they…

Being a career woman, means a juggling act between home and office. Though we do believe we have super powers to do it all, we need help all the same. Be it a young unmarried girl, newly married or mother of two; we all need help.  In a city like Bangalore where nuclear families are the norm, more often than not it is the domestic workers or maids that come to the rescue of us superwomen. We may not openly accept it or even acknowledge it but talk to a woman whose maid has taken an unannounced vacation and you…

The air was abuzz with excitement and anticipation at Jaaga Creative Common Ground on January 6th evening. The occasion was Lakeview Award for Everyday Achievement (LAEA) held for the first time to recognise the efforts of selfless citizens residing in Shanthinagar, Langford Road, and Richmond Town "for micro-level achievements in making individuals or community life better". German artist Mathias Einhoff. Pic: Venkatesh L. The event was a brainchild of German artist Mathias Einhoff, co-director of Skulpturenpark Berlin_Zentrum and former lecturer at the Universität der Künste in Berlin. He was in the city on a Goethe-sponsored six-week artist residency at Jaaga.…

For years, science and arts have been two completely different domains of study; there never being any kind of confluence between them. But what happens when the ‘intelligence’ of science and the ‘creativity’ of arts come together on stage? That is just what Bangalore city has been witnessing over the past few days.Professor Alan Brody of Massachusetts Institute of Technology, award winning playwright and Professor of Theatre and Arts has brought with him a completely novel concept of 'Science Theatre' to enthral and entice the curiosity of students and the general masses alike.  This is an interdisciplinary method of trying…

The monthly first Saturday meeting of Manjari Ladies Association (a registered  non-profit social service organisation) which is based in JP Nagar was a special one to ring in the New Year on a joyous note.  All serious discussions were put aside and it was fun and gaiety all afternoon. Ladies dressed in their colourful best enjoyed and participated in the jokes, music, games, skits and so on. The icing on the cake was the humorous Kannada skit  "Sanmaana Sukha", enacted by some of the committee members and very ably directed by Savithri Chayapathi, the secretary of the association. Parimala Rao…