Society

Baijudev, Benny Paul, Bijoy Velekkatte, Devidas Varma, Dr Mohan K G, Gireesan V S, Gireesan Bhattathiripad, Gopi P S, Jayan Pudumana, Jose P O, Krishnana Mallissery, Manikandan Punnakkal, M A Venu, Mohan Alankode, Nandakumar, N B Lathadevi, Renjan P C, Revathi Venu, Roy Thomas, Satheesan, Sasidharan, Sasi Kandoth, Shadanan Anikkath, Sivadas, Venugopal and Viswanath P I displayed the paintings that they had created specially for this show called Pallette 2009. Painting by M.A.Venu (Pic: Lakshmi Menon) With such a huge number of participants, one can only imagine the variety and size of the show. Most of the work was abstract…

Years ago, summer holidays used to be marked by visits to grandparents and long hours of playing – everything under the sun – with cousins and friends. The holidays are still as long for today's children but, these days, the time tend to be a bit more structured. There are summer camps or activity classes meant to teach children something new and keep them happily engaged, at least for a couple of hours a day. Gerry Martin's outdoor activity (Pic courtesy: Gerry Martin) Small wonder then that come summer and most parents are on the lookout for the right activities…

Tasveer, the photo-art gallery in Sua House on Kasturba Cross Road, showcased a collection of photographs by Shahid Datawala, from 28th February to 10th March. Datawala, who lives and works in Mumbai, is the chief designer for Pallate, a furniture design store in Mumbai.The show was based on and inspired by Hauntology -- a revolutionary idea introduced by Jacques Derrida in his 1993 work Spectres of Marx. The idea suggests that the present exists only with respect to the past, and that society, after the end of history, will begin to orient itself towards ideas and aesthetics that are thought…

The Carnatic classical music scene in Bengaluru is active with many mellifluous spots spread all over the city. One such small venue is the residence of Raviprakash HK. A consultant print engineer by profession, his busy life limited his time for music. When Ravi was building his house at Basavanagudi, an idea stuck him; why not have a dedicated place for young upcoming musicians to perform? So he went ahead and constructed a single room with tiled roof on his terrace for this exclusive purpose. Latest concert at the music terrace (Pic: Raviprakash)Raviprakash's wife Anuradha explains “When we were small,…

Business IIM-B grads no longer hot property IIM Bangalore graduates were sure to get plum jobs in foreign countries until recently. But this year only 25 students have got jobs in foreign companies thanks to global recession, as against 75 last year. Many students were not keen on joining MNC banks. Compared to the 2008 batch, the salary levels are low this year. (Kannada Prabha, Wednesday, Mar 11) Civic Forcible inspection by gas agency agents Residents of many parts of Bangalore are now hounded by agents of different gas companies. Agents of cooking gas companies like BP and HP have…

“You see this fan, ma’am? When this turns, air is sent into a compression chamber. The compressed air is then mixed with fuel that is sent through the fuel injectors and the mixture is ignited. The resultant hot gas provides a thrust for the turbines to turn." Walrus Overhaul (Pic: HAL museum) I nodded my head eagerly as Ranjan, the guide at the HAL Aerospace museum, explained the mechanics of turbo fan engine which is used in the Light Combat Aircraft (LCA) built by HAL. We were standing in front of the engine model in the HAL museum and vague…

Meta-Culture, a Bangalore-based Relationship and Conflict Management consulting company, organised an event called Bengaluru Speaks on 21st February 2009 at the Ashirvad Community Centre on St. Mark’s Road. Bengaluru Speaks, a community conversation series is one of Meta-Culture’s community-focused initiatives, and had for its eighth theme: “Competing Cultures: Morals, Malls and Marriages”. The stated goal of the programme was to engage the people of Bengaluru in constructive conversation about critical issues so as to strengthen relationships across the city and create a more secure, cohesive and viable community. The event was organised to facilitate dialogue ‘in times of a rapid…

"Being a woman is a terribly difficult task, since it consists, principally, in dealing with men", said novelist Joseph Conrad, and for one who has been working for the welfare of women for the past 30 years, this is a reality. In a male-dominated society, Geeta Rao has been relentlessly working towards women empowerment, stalking the corridors of power, seeking justice, roaring like a lioness, and making a difference. "I have always been aggressive", says this compact bundle of energy, "nobody can take me for granted!" Geeta Rao felicitated at a function (pic courtesy: Geeta Rao) Forty-nine year old Geeta…

Education Namma Bengaluru mispresented in ICSC text book How is Bangalore- it is a city of traffic jams; how does Kannada sound- it sounds like mix of Tamil and Telugu… You will find such startling revealations about Namma Bengaluru in the 4th standard Geography ICSC text book. There are many such derogatory comments about Kannada, Bangalore and Karnataka in this text book called 'New starting Geography'. The book is published by Oxford Publications, New Delhi. (Vijaya Karnataka, Monday, Mar 9) 9 quota seats in MBBS go 'missing' Nine MBBS seats reserved for talented poor students are found unaccounted for in…

Just as I rued missing a January evening of South and West Asian folk music, thanks to my inertia, I was delighted to hear of the Kabir Festival, from 23rd February to 1st March, at various venues across Bengaluru. It promised to be a week of films, music and enjoyment. And so it was... A photo of Shabnam Virmani and her friends during a spontaneous singing session at the festival (Pic: T.B. Dinesh) An exciting and enchanting journey that began with the thought provoking and soulful 'Kabir ke dohe' (Kabir’s couplets), the festival offered an opportunity to interact with Shabnam…