Society

On Sunday, the 27 April, 2008 at 8 AM, a group of eleven people met up in front of the Apsara theatre at K R market and embarked upon what could well be called Bangalore's first ever PhotoWalk. As the name suggests, a PhotoWalk is all about people walking and taking pictures of whatever they find interesting along the way. They walk along as a group and click photographs, while sharing their information related to photography, to the buildings they pass by, or about anything else they find relevant. This concept as first mooted and implemented in Chennai by blogger…

This report captures stories from the polling booths to a new scandal emerging on land conversions and registrations. There are also briefs on the deplorable state at the High Grounds Police station and a new volunteer effort by engineering college students to help with blood donations and finding matches. Thursday, 15 May Kannada Prabha Two more underpasses will come up in J P Nagar and Kadirenahalli in Bangalore South. The success of underpass near Cauvery theatre prompted BBMP to have such underpasses in different places of city. But new underpasses will be constructed in the traditional style, instead of the…

Every year, as summer rolls in and the mercury rises, I head for the swimming pool (well, poolette, actually!) in our apartment building, and my mind goes back a few years... One of the advantages of living in residential apartments in Bangalore is the fact that one gets to enjoy some common amenities: a gym, a swimming pool, a common green area, and so on. And one summer, I realized that there was someone willing to teach the ladies in the complex, how to swim. Learning to swim was not something new to me. Like the man who said, "Giving…

Our first report in this weekly series captures a hectic election week marking the changing face of political campaigning in Bangalore. There are also reports about a police inspector running away fearing a raid and the return of the dog menace, and a scoop of other stories. Thursday (May 1)Kannada PrabhaPeople from all parts of the country live in the Bommanahalli assembly constituency in south Bangalore. Due to IT, BT and BPO companies, non-Kannada speakers are more in this constituency. Candidates campaigning here are forced to speak in other languages to attract voters. * Candidates seeking votes are made to…

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…