Society

On Monday, 14th September, chief minister B S Yeddyurappa unveiled a mural depicting Karnataka’s celebrated past, multifaceted present and promising future, presented through a collage of diverse images creating an ascending visual narrative, at Vikas Soudha, annexe of the state secretariat. Shivakumar's murals. Pic: M S Gopal. The mural’s artist Shivakumar is a painter by training and honed his skills at the Karnataka Chitrakala Parishat where he passed out in the year 2000. However, like many artists, he loves to experiment and loves to look beyond just painting to express his ideas. That’s probably why his design which uses metals,…

Does it sound strange, travelling to work by train every day from Bangalore to Mysore and vice versa? Well some of us do.  Those who do, live in a different world and also in a different time scale. Regular commuters may not remember the time when Kaveri Express was introduced. Pic: Pushpa Achanta Kaveri Express was introduced in September 1980, around 30 years ago. On the occasion of Kaveri Express' anniversary on 11th September, below is an excerpt from Specular. Specular was a weekly general interest magazine focusing on news and information about Karnataka, which was started by K N…

This audio programme traces Cubbon Park’s history, walks you through some famous and not-so-famous monuments and buildings in the park, and doles out general trivia that will make your next walk in the park more than just a walk in the park! Citizen Matters Podcasts Download Podcast What are Podcasts?Podcasts are audio files you can listen to whenever you want. You can subscribe to our podcast feed using a jukebox tool (like Apple's iTunes) so that your computer automatically downloads it when we release a new programme which you can then listen to on your computer or mp3 players.What is…

B L Rice, who was the director of Archeology in the Mysore state from 1884, described Vasantapura village in the 1887 Mysore Gazette as, “a village 5 miles south of Bangalore. Population 112. It is in no way remarkable but for an old temple of Vallabharaya Swami which is a favourite resort for native wedding parties from Bangalore”, and thus dismissed it.However, I decided it would be interesting to see how the place fared today given Bangalore’s exponential growth in all directions and so set out one day heading south on Kanakapura road past the Banashankari temple. I took the…

When you don’t have the time to cook or are not in the mood, yet want to have ghar ka khana, go to Potluck. Of course, Potluck fans know this very well…but so far, only those in the vicinity of Bannerghatta have had the good luck of being able to pop into a homey eatery like this. Now, with an outlet having opened at BTM Layout, Potluck has extended its reach. At Potluck Restaurant. Pic: Theresa Varghese. If you know nothing about Potluck, the brand was launched by five people, all in the software industry, who felt the need to…

“Places I like”, a photo exhibition that captures the various facets of Bangalore is currently ongoing at Max Mueller Bhavan. It is an outcome of a 3-week workshop conducted in the city by German photographer Stefan Koppelkamm. The objective of the workshop is  to define the personal criteria that determine the “quality of life” in a city with  focus on ‘routine’ and ‘normal’ rather than the unusual. Many city-based amateur and professional photographers are participating in this exhibition. Eagle's eye of the exhibition. Pic: Venkatesan Perumal. “When I first got down at Bangalore’s Kalasipalyam bus stand, it was very unlike…

An Aashayein Foundation initiative, ‘Aashayein Walkathon 09’, will be held on Sunday August 30th at Kanteerava stadium, Bengaluru. The event is expected to start at 7:30 AM. We invite people from all walks of life to come together for the cause of education. Our intent is  to create an opportunity for people to come forward and involve one-self to make a difference in the lives of underprivileged children. It’s a walk for the celebration of education. Aashayein Foundation was a dream project of a few IT professionals in Bangalore to bring education to the underprivileged. In the past three years,…

On 9 August, M  Karunanidhi, the Chief Minister (CM) of Tamil Nadu, unveiled the statue of Thiruvalluvar near Ulsoor Lake. Kalaignar, as he is popularly known, was at the RBANMS grounds when the statue was unveiled by remote control.  The yellow curtains opened and suddenly, magically the statue became visible to people from all four directions. There was a hush and it took a while for people to start clapping.It was past 12:20 PM.  Kalaignar’s speech broadcasted over loudspeakers, talked of the need to build interstate brotherhood which was lavishly quoted from Sarvagna’s couplets.  He said publishing Kannada poet’s couplets…

A lane full of huge idols wrapped in polythene sheets ready to be painted, several tents full of colourful big and small idols to be sold, painters using spraying machines to fill vibrant colours on small mud idols and children curiously looking at which one to chose from, a sight of all this and we know that Ganesh Chaturthi is on its way. Ganesh Chaturthi, also known as Vinayaki Chaturthi or Vinayaka Chavithi is celebrated as the birthday of the elephant god. The festival is observed in the Hindu calendar month of Bhaadrapada starting on the fourth day of the…

An impatient Hanuman, a confused Pinocchio and a confident Alice in wonderland, who did not seem lost at all. The morning of 8 August 2009 saw all of them together at Brigade Millennium, JP Nagar phase VII for a fancy dress competition. The event was a part of the week-long Malhar 2009, a community festival of the apartments’ Mayflower block. Participants at the children's fancy dress competition. Pic: Priyanjali Ghose. As the children of the apartment dressed as different characters from popular books, the scene looked like it was straight out of a fairy tale. And it was not just…