Society

Sapaad brigade is a group of food enthusiasts that gather at Koshy's restaurant on St. Mark's road, every Thursday at 1 PM. After the group has gathered, they go visit one pre-selected restaurant which is well known for its food. Usually the restaurants selected are low cost, and relatively obscure. One person from the Sapaad Brigade group is selected to scout for such places and the final list is discussed within the group. By Thursday, a consensus is arrived at, and they spend the afternoon wining and dining at the selected restaurant. Citizen Matters Audio   Download Audio The group…

Gud DhaniThe flyer says ‘desi khana’ and ‘gaon ka ambience’, which should prepare you. Even then, the rustic appearance of Gud Dhani takes you by surprise. A rough textured pink building; it’s a sudden splash of vivid colour in a sedate by lane within BTM layout. Inside, the rustic theme is completed by bamboo furniture and simulated mud walls with chalk drawings. A small eatery that opened in end 2008, this place offers pure vegetarian Rajasthani fare. So if you happen to be in the vicinity and are looking for a meal that’s different, head for Gud Dhani. Gud Dhani…

A detachable platform with giant wheels. A circular kiosk constructed with collapsible column. A school on wheels using recyclable materials. A mobile garden unit that also sells terrace garden plants, built using bill board structuresThese and some more are the result of a collaborative effort of architects from all over the globe who responded to an open invitation sent by Prayas Abhinav, a talented artist based in Bangalore.Abinav, 27, post graduate from CEMA (Center for Experimental Media Arts) and Srishti, lives and works in Bangalore. A man of many interests from writing to art and film making, he has won…

On Saturday, June 27th, Meta-Culture Dialogics (MCD) convened the eleventh session of its popular community dialogue series, Bengaluru Speaks.  Held at the Goethe-Institute, Max Mueller Bhavan, the dialogue explored the topic: “Namma Bengaluru? Civic Spaces to Engage, Enhance, Enjoy.” This month’s dialogue session incorporated art as a means of initiating ideas and dialogue among people.Ashok Panikkar, the Executive Director of Meta-Culture, kicked off the dialogue by reflecting on growing up in Kerala; studying in Cambridge, Massachusetts; and living in Bangalore in the 1980’s. All three instances represented times when he connected with people in his community. Ashok then compared and…

A thief gave up stealing and became a construction worker under his guidance. He received 35 cash awards from the Deputy Commissioner of Police for his service. The list of accomplishments does not end here for Rajiv B R, a constable who has been working in the JP Nagar police station for the past nine years.“He is extremely committed to his job and tireless in his duty,” said Shivalingaiah, head constable, who has known Rajiv for the last four years. “He is hardworking and sometimes covers for others’ pending work too.”However, joining the Bangalore City police was not a planned…

  Women with courage, strength and patience. Supporting their children and each other. Speaking out against violence at home and outside. Despite the pain of abuse and the threat of ostracization and backlash. In India, Cameroon, China, Kyrgyzstan and elsewhere. Portrayed through the lens of sensitive and concerned artists. In the women's own voices and others'. This was Daughters of Fire, a festival of films and discussions on violence against women and women's resistance to it. Last weekend, Vimochana and the Asian Women and Human Rights Council in collaboration with the Bangalore Film Society and Alliance Francaise de Bangalore organized…

“For men may come and men may goBut I go on for ever”.In the spacious library in the basement of St Joseph’s College on Langford road, I read these lines of Lord Tennyson’s poem that aptly captured the spirit of St. Joseph’s educational institutions, which have been in existence for more than a century. However, in May this year a piece of history was lost for ever; the 84 year-old magnificent gothic building that housed St Joseph’s Arts and Science College on Residency Road was brought down.A few years back, while working out of one of the glass and chrome…

I have run a full marathon and a couple of half marathons but I never really enjoyed running. I did it more as a chore, somewhat like eating healthy food and doing laundry. That is until I started running with Asha, an NGO working on children's education in Bangalore. Initially it started with a curiosity as to what drove Santhosh Padmanabhan, an Asha volunteer and marathon runner in Bangalore to do a 24 hour/156 km non-stop run. I learnt that it was a fund raising activity for education related causes. Padmanabhan, a software engineer, spends innumerable hours in education related…

Theatre has always been a media that awed me. The whole idea of performing live is fascinating and challenging. I have been attending plays for a long time, but being part of a theatre crew was a totally different experience. I got an opportunity to be a part of the production team for Evam’s “An Idiot for dinner” that was recently staged at Rangashankara on the 12th, 13th and the 14th of June. A stage adaptation of the Hindi movie, Bheja Fry, which is based on the French play Le dîner de cons. Sanjay and his friends have a tradition…

Is it a memoir or another book depicting the glory of old Mysore? Is it about the politics and administration of the kingdom of Mysore? It is hard to categorise MA Sreenivasan’s ‘The Last Mysore Pradhan’. I presumed it would be the author’s autobiography when I had started reading it. But the book had much more to offer.Sreenivasan started his career as a young Mysore Civil Service (M.C.S) officer in 1918. He served as with both Mysore Kingdom and then the Government of British India. He was made a minister (pradhan) in 1943. In 1947, he was invited by the…