Society

Bangalore Literature Festival (BLF), the flagship literary event on the cultural calendar of Bangalore city, is all set to roll out its fourth edition on December 5th and 6th 2015 at Hotel Royal Orchid, Old Airport Road. The BLF has emerged as the second largest literary conclave in the country that brings the best of minds in the world of literature to Bengaluru. Building on the success of the earlier editions, this time the festival brings together nearly a hundred stalwarts from the world of literature, in various languages, both from India and abroad. Subodh Sankar, Vikram Sampath and Shinie Antony…

Part I: How C V Raman came to BangalorePart II: The Raman Effect on Indian Institute of SciencePart III: Raman, his research institute and his many hobbies The collection of specimens in his museum and his reputation as the greatest scientist of India attracted many visitors from around the world to Raman’s institute. But not all were welcome. Proposals made by government representatives to offer Raman the much-needed funds, only if he could in exchange provide the government with certain kinds of research helpful for Defence Ministry, had enraged him. He had developed a natural distrust and aversion towards politicians.…

Kamakshi Vidyaakar is a quiet and industrious girl who has been with Udavum Karangal from her infancy.  She completed her schooling at Ramakrishna Vidya Niketan and trained as a nurse at Jeevan School of Nursing. She has been handling various challenging assignments on her own. The phrase Udavum Karangal means ‘Helping Hands.” It is not just a metaphor. For Vidyaakar, who founded it, it is the one principle that he has lived and breathed during his chosen life. His are the ‘helping hands’ for the thousands of children – young and old, man, woman, child and infant, the dying and…

Art enables us to find ourselves and lose ourselves at the same time - Thomas Merton Bengaluru is teeming with artists of every kind. For the visual arts, there are several great places that showcase diverse works by artists - featuring both Bengalureans and out-of-towners! National Gallery of Modern Art The National Gallery of Modern Art, Bengaluru was opened to the public in February 2009 at the Manikyavelu Mansion at 49 Palace Road, Bengaluru. The gracious heritage building, previously a residence, transformed into an art gallery with plenty of space for displays  - both for its permanent collection and the periodic…

For part 1 of the series, click here: How C V Raman came to Bangalore. For part 2, click here: The Raman effect on IISc C V Raman with his Nobel prize. Pic courtesy: Raman Research Institute While still serving as a professor at Indian Institute of Science (IISc), Raman had planned for a private institute where he could carry out research work on subjects that interested him personally, without having to go through a long and tedious procedure of getting approvals from a complex bureaucratic system at IISc. He had saved a considerable amount of money for this purpose…

Shankareshwara temple located on the hilltop at Hutridurga. Pic: Akshatha M On a lazy weekend, if you are desperate to escape from the hustle bustle of maddening city crowd and venture into an adventurous yet peaceful excursion, Hutridurga is the place to go. This hill located approximately 60 km away from Bengaluru on Magadi-Kunigal road, offers a refreshing trekking experience, which is reasonably easy even for a first time trekker. Hutridurga, popularly known as Hutribetta among the villagers, is a hill with historical significance. The name Hutridurga is derived from a village named Hutri located near the hill. It is…

To read part I of the series, click here: How C V Raman came to Bangalore The house of Tatas had always hoped to have an Indian director for the institute one day, which was not very feasible in the colonised country. But the opportunity to economise on the weight carried by Raman’s international reputation, by his knighthood and the Nobel Prize, was quickly seized by the Tatas, and for the first time ever since its inception in 1909, an Indian was appointed as the director of IISc in 1933. Many nationalists at that time harboured a feeling that the…

The International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) is calling on engineers, designers, the scientific and innovation community, persons with disabilities, humanitarians, manufacturers, investors and entrepreneurs to join forces in the ‘Enable Makeathon’ to develop affordable solutions for challenges faced by persons with disabilities in rural areas. Image source: Nihal Kashinath, IoTBLR The Enable Makeathon is a 60-day programme taking place between November 2015 and January 2016. It consists of an ‘Online Track’ for teams from all around the world, and an ‘Onsite Track’ with a series of events in Bengaluru. Teams will work towards finding innovative solutions to nine…

On October 31st 2015, a group of friends will be running from Freedom Park in Bengaluru to Chintamani, near Chikkaballapur. The following day, November 1st, they will make their way back to Bengaluru, once again on foot. Across the two days, they will cover a distance equivalent to that of seven half-marathons (a half-marathon marathon equals 21.097 kilometres). But this is no average run… it is an opportunity to raise funds to support the farmers in Chintamani. Some members of the team that will run during Ride2Light 2.0. Pic: Siddarth Dudheria Citizen Matters spoke to Siddarth Dudheria, a product manager…

C V Raman in his classroom. Pic courtesy: Oldindianphotos.in November 2015 marks the 127th birthday, and the 45th year of demise, of Chandrasekhar Venkata Raman, one of the greatest minds produced in the twentieth century. Bengaluru was home to this great mind, nobel laureate who is popular as Sir C V Raman. The city bears many landmarks and institutions in his memory,  such as Raman Research Institute,  Panchavati - C V Raman’s home in Malleshwaram where he lived, and C V Raman Nagar. Born in Thiruvanaikaval near Trichinopoly to Chandrashekar Iyer and Parvathi Ammal on November 7, 1888, Raman was…