Society

What can be more soothing for a person, in the latter part of life, than to sit back and reminisce on bygone days? Some people are indeed lucky to be blessed with very special memories, and Ramadevi is one such person who has had the fortune of meeting literary stalwarts in her lifetime. Today, at 78, golden memories and thousands of books are her best companions. Her life is full of interesting happenings but she modestly dismisses them, saying that she has achieved nothing that deserves to be written about. Writer Ramadevi at her residence (pic:author) On entering her simple…

CIVIC Save lakes, say techiesTaking a break from their routine mechanical work, a group of techies have come forward to save Hosapalya tank, situated in Sector 2 of HSR layout. They are trying to bring awareness among citizens about the importance of retaining tanks. The group has formed an association called 'Sundara Jaga' (a beautiful place) with the motto 'Kere Ulisi' (Save Lakes). The group may be contacted through http//groups.yahoo.com/group/banao_sundar_jagah. (June 17, Prajavani). Dump under the nose of BBMP HQ The BBMP had once promised to build gardens in every locality. Forget new gardens, it will do well for the…

In the basement of Chitrakala Parishath, Bangalore is a long narrow room. Unlike regular Saturday mornings, on 17th May 2008 the room is bustling with activity. In one end of the room, members of INTACH Chitrakala Parishath Art Conservation Centre (ICKPAC) are busy packing their materials in cartons. Madhu Rani, who heads the initiative, tells me that they are getting ready for their trip to the Thiruvarur temple scheduled for the forthcoming week. An oil painting on canvas “Goddess Saraswathi” by artist S.K.Ayya, was received at our centre for restoration. The painting was in an extremely bad condition and it…

Deccan Development Society India, Hyderabad and the Network of Women in Media, Bangalore cordially invite you to the launch of a unique publication: Affirming Life and Diversity: Rural Images and Voices on Food Sovereignty in South India Bharatiya Vidya Bhavan Auditorium, Race Course Road, Bangalore 56000110:30 am to 3 pm on 18 June 2008 Our partners in hosting this event are Communication for Development and Learning (CDL), Centre for Advocacy and Research (CFAR), Sarathi and Openspace. Affirming Life and Diversity is a multimedia publication comprising 12 video films made by the peasant women filmmakers of the DDS Community Media Trust…

The students of Bangalore School of Speech and Drama (BSSD) will be performing Aladdin at Chowdiah Memorial Hall on 27 and 28 June 2008 at 7:00 PM. Aladdin screens at Chowdiah Memorial Hall on 27 and 28 June at 7:00 PM. Tickets: Rs.250, Rs. 200 and Rs.150. Contact: 9845071197 or 9886360004. What makes this production unique is that it is not the familiar Disney version, rather a retelling of the original Chinese folktale in the form of a hilarious pantomime. Thrown in for good measure is some foot-tapping music and dance. You just might be enthralled by the power-packed performances…

Bangalore in the fifties was a relaxed, laid back town with little aspiration to cosmopolitanism. There was a rarely articulated divide, between the westernized cantonment area and the city areas with their predominantly old Mysorean culture. Double road (K H Road) was the dividing line as is still suggested by the crematorium on its eastern side. The cultural divide was quite stark, Veena and Carnatic music, long skirts and long hair, kho kho and tenniquoit in the schools on the south side and piano and western classical music, basket ball and hockey, knee length skirts and god forbid, shorts! on…

ART AND CULTURE Youth classical music fest Ananya, a cultural association has organized Sangati Yuva Sangeetotsava from June 4- 8 in Sevasadan, Malleshwaram. This youth classical musical fest is likely to attract young talent from across the country. Several organizations like the BTM Cultural Academy and Rama Lalita Kala mandira have joined hands for this fest. Organizers are confident that the fest will quench the thirst of music lovers.[Tuesday, June 3 Udayavani] CIVIC Notice to building violators In the wake of incessant rain, the BBMP has issued notices to the residents of nine areas to vacate the place. Officials say…

From its 18th century incarnation as a military town, Bangalore has morphed into a hotbed of the information technology revolution in the 21st first century. And the city has witnessed significant changes in its social and physical landscapes. Most contemporary reflections on the city are framed primarily through the lens of its collapsing infrastructure, and the paradoxical rise of glitzy commercial and residential spaces following the economic boom of the 1990s. The political, social and economic changes unleashed by this IT-led boom have been far reaching. New services, new social and occupational groups and a whole new philosophy of ‘living…

Going by the good responses photography workshops elicit, most people, having invested in a good camera, seem to feel the need for learning the basics right to become better photographers. So when Kalyan Varma, a naturalist and wildlife photographer (www.kalyanvarma.net) advertised a two-day digital photography workshop on his blog kalyan.livejournal.com I decided to attend. This was Kalyan's first-ever photography workshop, and he held it on 10-11 May at hotel Nandana Grand in Koramangala. The content was broadly divided into four sections distributed over the two days. On day one, Kalyan had scheduled the basics of photography and composition, purchase and…

This report captures a range of developments from hooch smugglers smashing street lights to a government school being demolished for road-widening. Also, state officials appear to be thwarting attempts to amend the state civil services law to give more teeth to the Lokayukta. Thursday, May 22 Kannada Prabha Ever wondered why the streetlights on P S K Naidu road in Cox Town never light up? Because hooch smugglers smash them to carryout their operations under cover of darkness. And what's more, they are indirectly helped by the BBMP in their efforts. Fed up by constantly replacing the smashed lights, the…