Society

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.…

The Karnataka Chitra Kala Parishat is hosting an exhibition of selected collages, oil paintings and writings of late Dr. Venkatraman Balu, artist and peace activist, from December 26 to 30. Eminent poet and MLC Chandrashekara Kambara inaugurated the exhibition and released Peaceful Images, a special book on Dr. V Balu. The book is a visual feast, and presents a collage of his work and its impact on people. It is a compilation of articles, artifacts, tributes and reactions that provide an overview of Dr. Balu’s personality. Peace from the horse's mouth: art by Venkatraman BaluThis exhibition saw 60 of his…

Business Now- an agency to safeguard vacant sites! Safeguarding a vacant site is a big task in Bangalore, especially if you live outside the city. The demand for land is so huge that encroachments have become common. So who will take care of your site if you are not in Bangalore? Vruddi Infrastructure Private Limited will! It is an agency that is providing this innovative service... for a nominal fee the agency will maintain your site and give you monthly updates. For details contact; 42994399, 42434445. (Udayavani, Monday, 22 December, Namma Bengalooru)Government Cops get trained for policing, opt for teaching!…

Thursday morning saw a subdued start to the wonderful & propitious day. The sun was tricky to sight through the thick drape of fog, and as the morning opened up, the visibility reduced further. As people decorated their Christmas trees with lights and snowflake decorations, to welcome Santa Claus with his goodies bag, nature had its own plan. It created its own Christmas trees for those who can not afford one. It decorated its trees across the periphery of the city, with frost.Frost over cobwebs and leaves (pic: Saurabh Mittal) The frost settled on all the roadside plants to create…

No, museums are not boring. Take them to the Viswevaraya Science Museum and enjoy their grey cells perk up. It’s a wonderful and fun way to learn science (and we mean not just the kids). From Aviation, Principles of Electronics, Optics to Space Exploration, it can keep them and you interested for hours together. The younger ones will enjoy the Dinosaur section.Contact details: 22864009 10-5.30 PM, Website: vismuseum.org.in Movies – Your kids will love you if splurge on a mall-movie-ice-cream day, friends in tow. Ice-creams at Corner House, Koramangala/Sheshadripuram/Jayanagar 9th block will work fine too... your halo will shine for…