Society

As a woman I have no country. As a woman my country is the whole world - Virginia Woolf Meet Jyothi Ganesh, editor, publisher, writer, mother, wife, all rolled into one. From helping her maid get a recurring deposit in the nearby bank to sweetly coaxing her young neighbour to fit a silencer to his noisy bike, Jyothi believes in 'doing and giving'. Founder-editor of Frazer Times, a community newspaper of areas in and around Frazer Town in north Bangalore, this woman runs the show single-handedly. Soft-spoken, passionate, endearing, patient, these are but a few words to describe this dreamer.…

Business Labourers affected by global recession The Peenya Industrial Area employs about five lakh labourers. Out of them 5000 workers have alreadly lost their jobs, the reason being global recession. Most of the industrial units have no new orders to execute since three months. Many companies are asking workers to resign without giving them sufficient period of notice. The bogey of unemployment now haunts many workers. It is said that there will be 25- 30 per cent job cut soon. (Prajavani, Sunday, 11 Jan) Coffee to brew no more at Coffee House Sad news for coffee and Coffee House lovers-…

Meet Prakash Michael. 56 years old, freelance graphic designer and an alumnus of the JJ School of Art. Prakash runs a graphic design studio in Bangalore and is one of the most resourceful art directors I have met or worked with. Prakash MichaelWay back, when there was no desktop publishing or Photoshop, Prakash did the layouts, assembled his artworks and somewhere down the line, nipped into his dark room to print bromides of b&w logos and images. A true one-stop shop in drawing board publishing.Over the years, the end-to-end responsibilities of freelance became a serious limiting factor. "I just didn't…

Business Price of rice doubles in eight months Inflation might have taken a beating elsewhere, but for us in Karnataka, the price of rice is heading northwards. A kilo of good quality rice now costs Rs 38 to Rs. 40. The government's decision to impose levy on rice is the reason behind this rise. Moreover, the Andhra Pradesh Government, which was the main exporter of rice, has banned export as traders there opposed the levy system. So Karnataka is now exporting rice to Kerala, Goa, Maharashtra and Gujarath, creating a shortage for domestic use. The state government has not initiated…

What film societies do is show meaningful cinema - at a meaningful hour. Befittingly remembering Hal Ashby during his death centenary month, Bangalore Film Society (BFS) screened the intriguing director's "tantalizing knuckleball" comedy Being There, a few weeks ago. Shampoo, Bound for Glory, The Landlord, The Last Detail, Coming Home and Being There - with each of his films drastically different from the other, it makes a certain categorisation that erudite critics and viewers like to 'assign' to artists and their work, an exercise in futility. However, this could also be the chief reason why he never received as much…

'Multiple City' is a collection of writings on Bangalore, edited by Aditi De, independant writer, columnist and editor. It includes a selection of Bangalorean experiences - with verse, translations, fiction, and non fiction accounts and as Aditi says "celebrates the spirit of Bangalore". Aditi De at the book reading of Multiple City (pic: Meera K) During the book reading at Crosswords book store, Aditi mentioned about how she got into compiling this anthology; a friend from Penguin publishers had asked her what she thought of Bangalore and she wondered if Bangalore could be considered a city at all. The stories…

Strapped into the passenger seat on a motorised hang-glider, Aditi De glides across the city in the introductory pages of this absorbing set of tales of Bangalore. As you flip through the pages, you realise that she travels across different eras of the city - Bengaluru, Bangalore and back to Bengaluru. In an attempt to understand Bangalore's identity, she has selected stories of its making during the Vijaynagar and Kempegowda reign, its growth during the Mysorean and Cantonment rule and its transformations from a post-independence literary era to the current Bengaluru. The anthology of stories by various literary figures describes…

Environment A memorial to a tree Officials of Lalbagh have come up with an idea to construct a memorial to a dead historical tree. If all goes well, Lalbagh will have a pigeon park around this memorial. The garden, which has a number of historical trees, recently lost a 95 year old Neelgiri tree. A beautiful memorial is now planned in its place. (Vijaya Karnataka, Tuesday, 30 December) 320 trees on Sheshadri road chopped Sheshadri road, once considered a cool place to walk, wears a barren look now, as around 320 trees were chopped for road widening works. Officials carried…

It's unusual to find an art gallery that isn’t just that, and named after its own address. 1, Shanthi Road was once a building that was not initially an art space; it was built up into a multi-use space to include an art gallery, living spaces for the artists to work in, and domestic spaces as well. This unusual journey was undertaken by artist and auteur Suresh Jayaram. Suresh Jairam (Pic: Deepa Moham) "The ideology" says Suresh Jayaram, sitting at his ‘office’ table in the open quadrangle of the art gallery, "was to have a living space that would also…

WE BELONG is a group of friends, mainly software engineers who are dedicated in bringing a sense of belonging to two of the most neglected communities- orphans and elders. Pic: AuthorIt is a shame that people who have lived their entire life for the sake of their children have been abandoned in old age, and children abandoned are devoid of love and security at an young age. They miss out on an environment of love and care, and thus have no idea of the value of relationships, and do not cherish their being. Old age homes tell another grim story.…