Environment

I had been to Barcamp7 at IIM-B, and participated in a freewheeling discussion on finding accomodation in Bangalore, along with Meera. On the way out, simultaneous sunshine and showers brought out this beautiful double rainbow against the African Tulips and the Sampige trees.I was moved to pen these lines:You're feeling down and out.You feel old.There's a storm about.You feel cold.The storm clouds mass;the showers come to pass.Suddenly, in the shrouds of grey rainclouds--A rainbow in the sky! No...there are two!Science can tell you why....but whoWants to know why? Do you?A rainbow is like life:Full of both happiness and strife.When there…

I was walking down the Inner Ring Road, from Jayadeva Circle towards Silk Board, and was struck by the difference in the way roads are designed now. No trees, no shade, to make the pedestrians' lot a little easier....but that was less of a problem than the amount of space allocated to walk on. Here's the footpath just past the Jayadeva flyover....If you drive on the new roads of Bangalore, you are likely to be late, but if you try to walk on the new roads of Bangalore, you may be the late pedestrian!⊕

I was walking down the Inner Ring Road, from Jayadeva Circle towards Silk Board, and was struck by the difference in the way roads are designed now. No trees, no shade, to make the pedestrians' lot a little easier....but that was less of a problem than the amount of space allocated to walk on. Here's the footpath just past the Jayadeva flyover....If you drive on the new roads of Bangalore, you are likely to be late, but if you try to walk on the new roads of Bangalore, you may be the late pedestrian!⊕

There is so much of disposable products in our lives. From plastic bags to diapers to pens (whatever happened to ballpoint refills - does nobody use those anymore?) For a cup of tea in a clean glass When I am outside and I feel like having some hot tea, I think twice before getting a cup. Most of our small tea shops or vending machines use plastic cups, occasionally paper cups (which do have a plastic coating).I generally ask for a glass or steel tumblers. Even if they are available, the downside is the hygiene level of the tumblers. I…

There is so much of disposable products in our lives. From plastic bags to diapers to pens (whatever happened to ballpoint refills - does nobody use those anymore?) For a cup of tea in a clean glass When I am outside and I feel like having some hot tea, I think twice before getting a cup. Most of our small tea shops or vending machines use plastic cups, occasionally paper cups (which do have a plastic coating).I generally ask for a glass or steel tumblers. Even if they are available, the downside is the hygiene level of the tumblers. I…

Surely BBMP, which seems, sometimes, to go out of its way to cut down full-grown trees, can take a leaf out of the book of these people, who own a shop in Vyalikaval. Messrs. P Mohanlal Bhanwarlal, who run a jewellery and pawnbroker's shop near Chowdiah Memorial Hall, decided that, as devout Jains, they could not offer "himsa" to the living tree; therefore, they actually built their shop around it.Doesn't the presence of the tree hinder the customers? "Actually," say the owners, "Our customers are happy to see this, and the way you saw it and came in, it is…

Surely BBMP, which seems, sometimes, to go out of its way to cut down full-grown trees, can take a leaf out of the book of these people, who own a shop in Vyalikaval. Messrs. P Mohanlal Bhanwarlal, who run a jewellery and pawnbroker's shop near Chowdiah Memorial Hall, decided that, as devout Jains, they could not offer "himsa" to the living tree; therefore, they actually built their shop around it.Doesn't the presence of the tree hinder the customers? "Actually," say the owners, "Our customers are happy to see this, and the way you saw it and came in, it is…

I spent a very pleasant morning at Lalbagh today....I started at the Glass House, where the floral exhibits for Independence Day are taking shape, and this Anthurium exhibit was stunning....As I walked around, both cultivated and "grow-on-the=tree" flowers caught my eye.Here's an insect pollinating one flower:The Seeta Ashoka tree still has some flowers, though it's strictly not the season:The water lilies on the lake are breathtakingly beautiful...The spider lilies, aptly named for their shape, bloom along the shores of the water bodies:But I couldn't identify this tree, which had such beautiful flowers:I walked past the old pavilion; what tales it…

I spent a very pleasant morning at Lalbagh today....I started at the Glass House, where the floral exhibits for Independence Day are taking shape, and this Anthurium exhibit was stunning....As I walked around, both cultivated and "grow-on-the=tree" flowers caught my eye.Here's an insect pollinating one flower:The Seeta Ashoka tree still has some flowers, though it's strictly not the season:The water lilies on the lake are breathtakingly beautiful...The spider lilies, aptly named for their shape, bloom along the shores of the water bodies:But I couldn't identify this tree, which had such beautiful flowers:I walked past the old pavilion; what tales it…

At the outskirts of Bangalore, many small-scale vendors try to beat the middlemen by selling direct-to-consumer....First one sees one basket of custard apples...Then a few..Then a few more...And if one takes the larger view, one can see that it is definitely custard apple season now, all down the road!I wonder..when the baskets are arrayed in serried ranks like that...is there a cartel that dictates the minimum price? How can the sellers hope to get a reasonable margin on their fruit? And an interesting point about those baskets is, they seem to be made from lantana twigs...surely a good use of…