Society

Karaga is one of the oldest festivals in Karnataka and is also celebrated in Tamilnadu. In Bangalore, the Dharmarayaswamy Temple in Thigalarpet (central Bangalore, between the City Market area and Richmond Town) has been the focal point of this festival. Karaga ran its course in the third week of April this year. These pictures were taken on the night of 20 April, a full moon. A huge crowd in front of the Dharmarayaswamy temple, this is the only entrance path used by the Veerakumaras and other followers. There were people as far as the eyes could see. People were on…

Bengaluru's rock history dates back to the 70s when a pioneering set took stage at Cubbon Park to strum a few famous English numbers on Independence Day. This innocuous strumming attracted derision from the then conservative Bengalurian, but sparked off a movement that has blossomed into the rich rock music scene of today. Early pioneers included the likes of Geoffrey Pope, Karl Peters, Amit Heri and Roberto Narain, iconic names among those who know their music. Sadly, most dissolved into oblivion, while some turned to coaching/selling music equipment and a bare few managed to retain label credibility in the world…

How well do you know your City? Here's your chance to discover what used to be on the outskirts of the City - with the Whitefield Urban Space Event! Event: Whitefield Urban Space Event Date: April 26, 2008 Time: 3.15 p.m. Starting point: Memorial Church, WhitefieldThe event is free and open to all. More details at the Bhavan (080 2520 5305/6/7/8) or on the BCP website: http://bcp.wikidot.com/start. The Bangalore City Project is an initiative of the Goethe-Institut, Max Mueller Bhavan, Bangalore. The Whitefield Urban Space Event will include visits to the Memorial Church, Our Lady of Lourdes Church and Kaolin…

It's telling of the potency of a play, when it continues to be staged decades after it was originally written. In Silence! The Court is in Session Vijay Tendulkar takes the covers off a conformist society, to show us just what it is capable of when given the power to lord over those who live by their own rules. With a drama woven into a drama, the play revolves around theatre group about to perform a play in a village. As the plot thickens, the comforting mist of 'pretend' starts to dissolve revealing the frustrated, bitter and jaded lives of…

Bangalore, the Silicon Valley of India, one of the fastest growing metros in India where opportunity knocks at everyone's door; is shrouded with the gory mystery and horror of Child Sexual Abuse. Dr Shoiba Saldanha, a gynaecologist and counsellor by profession, who is an active part of Enfold, a Koramangala-based NGO, says that 30-40 per cent of the patients who visit her are such cases. Presumably, most of these cases are not legally recorded. Illustration: Neetu Shahi Dr Shekhar Seshadari, NIMHANS, Bangalore, in a study conducted in the late 1990s on 146 boys found that 15 per cent had been…

Friends, Bloggers, Citizens, and others. This April, bloggers in the nation will unite for a seven-day blogging epic to get together and voice our concern, opinion and solutions to matters of social importance that India faces every day. One week where we, as responsible citizens, take time out of our daily lives to address issues of social importance using our favourite mode of expression - the blogs. A week where India got together with the rest of blogosphere, and blogged. Unveiling Blogathon India, coming to the Indian blogosphere in April, 2008. Get the word out and be part of something…

It was an uneventful lazy Sunday evening which took a turn for the better when I met up with Nischal Pai at a coffee shop in Indira Nagar. Nischal Pai is a Bangalore-based marathon runner who just completed the 42 km Bombay Marathon held on 20 Jan 08. It was when Nischal was at Pune in 2000 pursuing her Masters degree that she started running. The motive: it was the most inexpensive way to lose weight! She was first introduced to the world of marathons by a colleague at work who told her about the Bangalore marathon way back in…

Hippocampus is proud to present Hoo's Tales, a day-long carnival of stories for the children of Bengaluru and Chennai. We invite you to a magical journey told by theatre artiste, mime artists, ventriloquists, clowns, puppeteers and traditional story tellers. This is a celebration to revive the forgotten art of story telling. Hoo's excited about it. We are sure your little ones will be excited too. So, what are you waiting for. Get your kids and their friends and drop in for a fascinating day at Cubbon Park, Bal Bhavan area on 1 March between 10:30 am and 6 pm. Bring…

While all of Bangalore geared up for Valentines Day last week with all its finesse a café in Koramangala had something less obvious in mind. Brew Haha located near Jyothi Nivas College (Koramangala) in association with Muziboo.com introduced two upcoming Indie bands to its love-struck clientele and regular customers. The warm ambience and eager crowd merged to create a welcome platform for the bands ‘River X' which also goes by the name ‘Unknown River' and ‘Grubby Halo". Watching the bands perform. Rochelle D'Silva shot this pic with her cellphone. While all the customers were being accommodated the bands set up…

Muziboo presents a musical evening on Valentine's day, with performances from the bands 'Grubby Halo' and 'Unknown River' at BrewHaha Cafe, Koramangala. The band Unknown River 'Grubby Halo' will blow hot and cold and lukewarm with its originals and some classic covers like 'I Can't Help Falling in Love With You', 'Hit the Road Jack' and 'Hey Jude'. Its originals like "Love Remains", 'New Man By Your Side', 'Top Brass Caviar'and 'Moody Drunkard Blues' would go a long way in wooing and melting hearts. 'Unknown River' with its bluesy instrumental performance should add more colour and class to the pink…