Commute

During the October RTI clinic at Cubbon Park, I met Jacob P (name changed to protect identity), a private sector employee who participated in the September edition for the first time. After that, he has never missed a clinic and has been updating me on the status of his applications regularly. "The commitment and enthusiasm of some of the RTI activists I met during the clinic inspired me to use the Act in public interest. I have told one of my friends about what I saw and heard and hope to bring him along next time", said Jacob. In October…

Indian personaliites like to become celebrities. One way of achieving this is to put up cutouts of their photographs in sizes large enough to stop passing clouds....Mr Kheny can be proud of the fact that he's now permanently overseeing the road that he built.....I'd like to know who the other two faces are....couldn't read the names as we went past. Are they the ones mentioned below Mr Kheny's name?If this had been Tamil Nadu, the name would have been followed by some laudatory phrase such as " our honoured builder of roads".....⊕

Indian personaliites like to become celebrities. One way of achieving this is to put up cutouts of their photographs in sizes large enough to stop passing clouds....Mr Kheny can be proud of the fact that he's now permanently overseeing the road that he built.....I'd like to know who the other two faces are....couldn't read the names as we went past. Are they the ones mentioned below Mr Kheny's name?If this had been Tamil Nadu, the name would have been followed by some laudatory phrase such as " our honoured builder of roads".....⊕

As soon as I read that Bangalore was hosting the International Wheelchair and Amputee Sports Federation's (IWAS) biennial event, I decided that I would definitely see these remarkable people whom I have viewed a bit on the telly. Although I attended only the colourful and slightly chaotic opening ceremony and also witnessed some of the confusion prevalent among the organizers, I felt enriched and elated! When I asked Mr. David Premnath, the event's Technical Director about the motivation behind bringing the games to India he promptly replied, "We wanted to create awareness about these games, here." However, despite the occasion's specialty,…

Driving from Bangalore to Chennai, or the other way, gives us the option of driving on roads of two different kinds....one is the old type of road. (Yes, it is now called the Old Madras Road...the "old" referring to the road, not to the city!)Perhaps not always in immaculate condition (though in Tamil Nadu, they mostly are, now...tremendous improvement.)Somewhat narrow. But so picturesque, with gnarled old tamarind and banyan trees lining the sides, with fields and villages all around...I am in my air-conditioned bubble no doubt, but I am in the heart of India....And the other kind, which is really…

As soon as I read that Bangalore was hosting the International Wheelchair and Amputee Sports Federation's (IWAS) biennial event, I decided that I would definitely see these remarkable people whom I have viewed a bit on the telly. Although I attended only the colourful and slightly chaotic opening ceremony and also witnessed some of the confusion prevalent among the organizers, I felt enriched and elated! When I asked Mr. David Premnath, the event's Technical Director about the motivation behind bringing the games to India he promptly replied, "We wanted to create awareness about these games, here." However, despite the occasion's specialty,…

Driving from Bangalore to Chennai, or the other way, gives us the option of driving on roads of two different kinds....one is the old type of road. (Yes, it is now called the Old Madras Road...the "old" referring to the road, not to the city!)Perhaps not always in immaculate condition (though in Tamil Nadu, they mostly are, now...tremendous improvement.)Somewhat narrow. But so picturesque, with gnarled old tamarind and banyan trees lining the sides, with fields and villages all around...I am in my air-conditioned bubble no doubt, but I am in the heart of India....And the other kind, which is really…

'Save GKVK' Campaign - Community ProtestDate: 10:00 am - 11:00 am, Sunday, October 11, 2009Venue: GKVK Main Gate on Bellary RoadProgram: Protest against proposed 80 feet link road through GKVK campusIssueProposed construction of a major 80 feet link road through GKVK campus entailing cutting of 3000 trees and destruction of several research plotsCurrent StatusGKVK has transferred the land to BBMP. BBMP has felled hundreds of trees and has initiated civil works. Court has issued stay order on further felling of trees. Forest department has filed a FIR and is investigating the issue. However, BBMP is still planning to carry on…

'Save GKVK' Campaign - Community ProtestDate: 10:00 am - 11:00 am, Sunday, October 11, 2009Venue: GKVK Main Gate on Bellary RoadProgram: Protest against proposed 80 feet link road through GKVK campusIssueProposed construction of a major 80 feet link road through GKVK campus entailing cutting of 3000 trees and destruction of several research plotsCurrent StatusGKVK has transferred the land to BBMP. BBMP has felled hundreds of trees and has initiated civil works. Court has issued stay order on further felling of trees. Forest department has filed a FIR and is investigating the issue. However, BBMP is still planning to carry on…

There is a funny thing about ill-conceived policy. The longer it is accepted by the people, the harder it becomes to reverse course later. The destination signboards on Bengaluru’s ‘sada’ buses, run by the public-sector BMTC have been Kannada-only for along time. English is not used.Citizen Matters asked the state government’s transport minister R Ashoka about this and he said that only Kannada people use these buses and when reminded that this was a multicultural city, he said, “What do I do?”. But bus drivers, conductors and commuters themselves are not opposed to bilingual signboards -- don’t miss our special…