Environment

Once upon a time, not so long ago, our city with its salubrious climate, smooth roads and countless trees made it a pensioners’ paradise. Indeed, Bengaluru had at least two other names as well – The Garden City and the City of Lakes. All this changed within the last three decades or so. The tree cover has been blown and the lakes are vanishing. If in the 1830s there were an incredible 19,800 lakes and tanks, by the 1960s the number dwindled to 280 and reduced further by 1990 to less than 80. They vanished as quickly as the population…

As a creative writer I am constantly discovering new things about places, people and myself. Since the last four years though I have been privileged to tackle perhaps my greatest discovery - the Puttenahalli Lake in J.P. Nagar, 7th Phase. What began as a wish to prevent misuse of the lake gathered momentum and led to the formation of the Puttenahalli Neighbourhood Lake Improvement Trust (PNLIT) in June 2010. Eleven months later, we signed a Memorandum of Understanding with the BBMP to formally maintain the lake, the first citizens’ group to do so. Every time we visit the lake, my…

As a creative writer I am constantly discovering new things about places, people and myself. Since the last four years though I have been privileged to tackle perhaps my greatest discovery - the Puttenahalli Lake in J.P. Nagar, 7th Phase. What began as a wish to prevent misuse of the lake gathered momentum and led to the formation of the Puttenahalli Neighbourhood Lake Improvement Trust (PNLIT) in June 2010. Eleven months later, we signed a Memorandum of Understanding with the BBMP to formally maintain the lake, the first citizens’ group to do so. Every time we visit the lake, my…

  It's rare to find a book written for one city, that can be used as a ready reckoner for several others! But that's the case with "Just Look Up....to see the magic in the trees around you", a very handy booklet written by Sadhana Ramchander, and published by Blue Pencil Creative.The book may be aimed at children...but it is very useful for adults, too, who'd like to look around them at the common trees in the cities.Many "handbooks" or field guides are rather unwieldy to take along with one on one's outings; especially if they are hardbound. Sadhana's book is…

  It's rare to find a book written for one city, that can be used as a ready reckoner for several others! But that's the case with "Just Look Up....to see the magic in the trees around you", a very handy booklet written by Sadhana Ramchander, and published by Blue Pencil Creative.The book may be aimed at children...but it is very useful for adults, too, who'd like to look around them at the common trees in the cities.Many "handbooks" or field guides are rather unwieldy to take along with one on one's outings; especially if they are hardbound. Sadhana's book is…

  Though the bird count at the Bannerghatta Zoo area was on the low side today (this seemed to be more of an "audio" than a "visual" day, with many more birds being heard than seen!)...we did see a lot of interesting stuff as usual. Here's one: Isn't that really beautiful...and doesn't it look like the prismatic effect of an oil slick on the puddle? Well...it does, and though it IS an oil slick in a way, it's far more complex than that.Diatoms( here is the Wiki link about them)are a type of phytoplankton, which originated during the Jurassic period. Now, they…

  Though the bird count at the Bannerghatta Zoo area was on the low side today (this seemed to be more of an "audio" than a "visual" day, with many more birds being heard than seen!)...we did see a lot of interesting stuff as usual. Here's one: Isn't that really beautiful...and doesn't it look like the prismatic effect of an oil slick on the puddle? Well...it does, and though it IS an oil slick in a way, it's far more complex than that.Diatoms( here is the Wiki link about them)are a type of phytoplankton, which originated during the Jurassic period. Now, they…

There is a Tiger in our backyards, yes that's right, and not only in our backyards but chances are that you would have encountered one as you walked down the road preoccupied with the business at hand. But there is no need to panic as I am only referring to The Striped Tiger Butterfly, Danaus genutia. Adult Striped Tiger butterfly Pic: Vikram Nanjappa I have often come across them at the Indian Christian Cemetery on Hosur Road while waiting for my daughter to finish school and have even seen them from my balcony at home. I live on the ground…

There is a Tiger in our backyards, yes that's right, and not only in our backyards but chances are that you would have encountered one as you walked down the road preoccupied with the business at hand. But there is no need to panic as I am only referring to The Striped Tiger Butterfly, Danaus genutia. Adult Striped Tiger butterfly Pic: Vikram Nanjappa I have often come across them at the Indian Christian Cemetery on Hosur Road while waiting for my daughter to finish school and have even seen them from my balcony at home. I live on the ground…

Praying Mantis camouflaged. Pic: Vikram Nanjappa. A couple of weeks ago I found myself spending my mornings at the Indian Christian Cemetery on Hosur Road. My daughter Tara’s school is next to the cemetery and I have often photographed a variety of butterflies, birds and squirrels while waiting for her to finish. One day I decided to spend my mornings wandering around the cemetery instead of coming home and then returning to pick her up. The cemetery has a lot of green cover with flowering shrubs and large trees. At least this part of the green cover in Bengaluru will…