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Rakhi tales from the market places in Jayanagar At Jayanagar 4th block, Subhramanyam, the owner of a dainty store is disheartened with the turnout for Raksha Bandhan. "I haven't made many sales this year. There is a lot of variety and price ranges, but the turnout in the market is too less somehow." Pic: Sneha Koilada. When asked for the possible reasons for the disappointing sales, he opines, "There could be any number of reasons. The overall turnout in the market itself is dropping of course. But it could also be that the interest in Rakhi itself is waning. Girls…

Padmini Rao, 60 makes intricate jewellery out of beads and stones. Born and brought up in Jayanagar, near East End circle, she studied BA, Music. After her marriage to B G Rao, who had a transferable job in Indian Oil Corporation, she spent many years in North Indian cities. There she was active in the local community and pursued her hobbies like craftwork and gardening, winning prizes at the UP state level. Padmini Rao, makes intricate jewellery out of beads and stones. Pic Chetan Boray. The couple came back to Bangalore in 1986 for their children's studies. She ran a…

He has been in the hot seat of the Additional Commissioner of Police (Traffic and Security) for nearly two-and-half years. IPS officer Praveen Sood has much to say about the city's motorists. Focusing primarily on maintaining discipline on the road, the traffic police department under his leadership has gone all out on nabbing offenders. With the help of technology and a non-compromising stand in enforcing the law, the department attempts to compensate for its severe staff shortage. Praveen Sood in conversation with Citizen Matters about the technology used to monitor traffic, while demonstrating traffic flow in a major intersection in…

Heads swapped On the day this story was published (29th June), the state government effected transfers to two key officials in the city government. BBMP Commissioner Bharat Lal Meena was transferred to head the BDA, and the latter's commissioner H Siddiah was transferred to head the BBMP. Talking to Citizen Matters on this, Mayor S K Nataraj said he was not consulted on the transfers and that he viewed it as a 'routine' state government decision. The Mayor of Bengaluru S K Nataraj has announced that a separate BBMP council session will be held to discuss road widening in the…

Bullet fired at Art of Living campusAn incident last Saturday at Sri Sri Ravishankar ashram saw a gunman firing a .32 calibre pistol. The lone bullet is reported to have injured a devotee. Security has been increased for Ravishankar, who also invited the gunman to his satsang.IT Investment Region near DevanahalliIT and BT minister Katta Subramanya Naidu says the first phase of an integrated IT city, with 2,500 acres will be completed in two to three years.Mahindra buys out RevaMahindra & Mahindra have bought a 55% stake in Reva Electric Car Company (RECC), the Bangalore-based manufacturer of electric cars. General…

Bengaluru Infinite 2010 is a photo contest organised by InfinityF, a photographers collective.The event is organised in partnership with INTACH, Citizen Matters and Lifeblob. Indian National Trust for Art and Cultural Heritage (INTACH) is a group of volunteers dedicated to conservation of the city's heritage. Lifeblob is a city based startup in the Flickr groups Bangalore Weekend Shoots and Bangalore Photowalks are also lending support.The day long event is to be held on April 25th, from 8 am to 8 pm. The contest is open to all. Participants can photograph any aspect of Bengaluru, in any public space on the…

The plight of women and girls in the village of Golahalli on the southwestern outskirts of Bengaluru rose to prominence last week at Tokyo, at a major journalism awards ceremony conducted by the Asian Development Bank Institute. (Sitting third from left) Supriya Khandekar. Pic courtesy: adbi.org For her report ‘Women of a lesser society', published in Citizen Matters last year, Supriya Khandekar has won the Young Development Journalist of the Year award in Tokyo at the Developing Asia Journalism Awards (DAJA) on Oct 23rd. The Citizen Matters team congratulates to Supriya Khandekar on the award.Supriya’s article, about a precarious future…

Every year the Asian Development Bank Institute (ADBI) invites journalists from developing countries of Asia and the Pacific to submit published articles, as a part of the annual Developing Asia Journalism Awards (DAJA) competition. This year, Citizen Matters is proud to announce one of its staff journalists Supriya Khandekar as a finalist for the DAJA. Supriya’s article Women of a lesser society  about a precarious future for young mothers and girls of Golahalli, a remote village on the outskirts of Bangalore was published in Citizen Matters on September 29th, 2008. Supriya is among 22 journalists who will be traveling to…

AlibabaStepping into Alibaba is like stepping into a different world. Not due to the décor – inspired by the Arabian Nights story – but because of the food. This place has Arabian and Persian food, alien to many of us; there is also Navayathi food, which is completely Indian, and yet, unfamiliar to most of us.Heard of a community known as Navayath? Chances are you haven’t. But a mention of Bhatkal should ring a bell. Situated in northern Karnataka, in the old days, Bhatkal was a port of call for Arab traders from Yemen, Iran and Iraq, who left their…

On Ganesha uthsava eve a few weeks back, the Raghu Dixit Project enthralled audience with their catchy tunes at JP Nagar’s Oxford School grounds in  one of their most memorable performances. The star studded audience included the iconic actor Ambharish as well as ex-chief minister of Karnataka, H D Kumaraswamy who walked in late but was met with a warm response from JP Nagar residents present.Rave music hits such as Nina Pujege bhande  from the movie Psycho and scores such as  Hey Bhagwan,  Kidki, Mysore se aaya, I'm in Mumbai waiting for a miracle had listeners up on their feet…