Society

'There are melas and there are melas', says Ashok Vyas of the Grameen Art Blue Pottery Society, Rajasthan. Vyas is a blue pottery craftsperson who hails from Kotjewar, around 40 km from Jaipur and has been associated with the Kala Madhyam Mela since its inception in 2001.According to him, though cities like Bengaluru are today typically saturated with numerous crafts fairs right through the year, there are only a few that offer a truly meaningful platform to showcase the craft and the craftspersons. And he counts the Kala Madhyam Mela as one of these. Leather wall hangings - craft from…

This centuries-old, elegant but small, temple in Begur is a place where Lord Shiva is worshipped. Begur temple is about 3.6 kms down Begur Road from the Bommanahalli junction on Hosur Road. People visit the temple to perform pujas or just a weekly ritual. I visited the place as part of a heritage walk organised by INTACH, Bangalore and the Bangalore City Project, on a bright Sunday morning, last month. Begur Temple Begur Temple from the side. Pic: Meera K. The domes of the twin temple are built in typical Dravidian style. The floor is raised slightly higher than the…

Bhopal. Manipur. Karnataka. Chattisgarh. Orissa. Tamil Nadu. Ayodhya. West Bengal. Maharshtra... Gas leak victims, women, sex workers, adivasis, domestic workers, children, dalits, differently abled... Survivors. Marginalized. Minorities. Excluded. Students, social activists, writers, film makers, folk artists, volunteers and others from across India united with subjects of human rights violations nationwide. Through candlelight vigils, dialogues, films, street plays, photo exhibitions, rallies et al, Bengaluru's conscious citizens and inspired passersby showed that they stand with those whom many ignore! These pictures are from events organized between 28th November and 10th December, 2009 at various Bangalore venues. The latter date is the 61st…

For Shyam Kumar, a software engineer from Domlur, taking a tour of the Hoysala terrain, was the ideal way to spend the weekend. While most people would associate Belur and Halebeedu (near Hassan) with the Hoysala kingdom, Kumar also got to explore the ancient town of Dwarasamudra spread around Halebeedu, ancient tanks and the lesser explored Hoysala temple at Belavadi. Exploring a Hoysala tank. Pic courtesy: Arun Bhat, Travelwise. The deviation from the usual Hoysala tourist circuit was courtesy Travelwise, a concept travel firm run by media professional and travel enthusiasts Lakshmi Sharath and Arun Bhat, a former IT professional…

How often have we not heard non-vegetarians crib about the lack of variety in the vegetarian cuisine - constantly branding it as "Ghas-poos"? Well, after a meal at the South Indies, even the most intractable of "pure" non-vegetarians would be forced to lick their fingers and then, eat some humble pie.South Indies is a part of a very small club of genuinely authentic restaurants in Bangalore and this is largely due to the entrepreneurial excellence of Managing Director, Vijay Abhimanyu  and the culinary expertise of Master Chef and CEO, Venkatesh Bhat. In fact, barring the beverages and the usual spread…

With Christmas round the corner, if thoughts of plum cake, fudge and wine have been invading your mind and you’re wondering how to get your hands on home made treats, here are a couple of names for festive goodies.Lorraine Correa, who has been in the business for a while and makes a variety of sweets for the season, changes her product list annually to suit customer demands. However, the two things you will always find at Lorraine’s is Christmas Cake priced at Rs 350 per kg and Kulkuls at Rs 250 per kg. This Christmas there’s also Shell Cream –…

If you have car, you are probably taking it to a garage to get it washed, or your building security guard would splash buckets of water on it every morning to clean it. But what if you could clean your car, just as well, but with much less water? Almost waterless, you can say. Well, it’s no make-believe story but a reality in our very own Bengaluru. Thanks to a group of young entrepreneurs, the ‘waterless’ car-wash service has been introduced in the city, and that too at your doorstep. Presently, Prowash offers their services at the recently-opened Forum Value…

The birth centenery of Prof.V T Srinivasan, who was one of the founders of Bangalore High School and Vijaya College falls in the year 2012. Prof. V T Srinivasan was born in the year 1912. His ancestors hailed from Vengalathur, North Arcot District and the place is located near Kanchipuram. His father was V T Ekambarem, who served as a Tahsildar in Cuddapah, Andhra Pradesh and his mother was Kamakshi. He studied in Madras Christian College and in Annamalai University.Along with K Srinivasa Rao and K Lakshminarayana Rao, Srinivasan started The Bangalore High School, which soon became well known for…

There are 99 couples on the waiting list of Adoption Coordinating Agency (ACA), Karnataka, some of them patiently awaiting their turn since 2006. ACA is an NGO recognised by the Central Adoption Resource Agency (CARA) that facilitates adoptions across the country. The wait is due to a shortage of healthy babies below one year at these agencies, And most parents want to adopt babies very young. A happy 6 month old with her new mother. Pic Gokul Janga. Behind the Wait It's a common story across agencies in Bangalore. "There are not enough healthy infants and toddlers in adoption centres…

It is very easy to rant and rave about the problems we women face in the great city of Bangalore. Well it is not all problems, is it? Some things are possible precisely because we are in this city. IT and Biotech have opened up great avenues. But long before IT and BT, the city was known for the hub of scientific research, home for India’s premier research institute, IISc. The Indian Institute of Science was set up in 1909 and has remained the pride of the city since then. So it was only natural when the Indian Academy of…