Society

In my foray into the world of kitchen gardening, I have undergone many eye-opening changes along the way. In the early days I would buy seeds wherever I got them, and I would still recommend this to beginners as it can get a bit overwhelming at that stage to try to search for a particular type or origin of seed. With a bit more experience under my belt, I began to realize why it is important for farmers (even small time ones like us) to opt for native or heirloom varieties. The No. 1 reason for this of course being…

I don’t really know his name. Never need it I guess. The conversation with him happens because we cannot find a parking spot. It is eight in the night on a road near Commercial Street. The shops are still open and cars fill the tiny road. Me and husband are hungry and want to buy a burger from a shop nearby. A rickshaw driver stands parked on the road, blocking the space our car can fit it. I get down, request him to back it a little and direct my car in triumphantly. While the burgers are being ordered, since…

I don’t really know his name. Never need it I guess. The conversation with him happens because we cannot find a parking spot. It is eight in the night on a road near Commercial Street. The shops are still open and cars fill the tiny road. Me and husband are hungry and want to buy a burger from a shop nearby. A rickshaw driver stands parked on the road, blocking the space our car can fit it. I get down, request him to back it a little and direct my car in triumphantly. While the burgers are being ordered, since…

Maintaining our Puttenahalli Lake is really so full of challenges which tax, vex and worry us at times but it also springs surprises that make our hearts sing! Today morning was one such great day. Yellappa, the fisherman contractor called to say that his men were on their way to the lake to plant the stakes, remove the new shoots of weeds, clean the water of stray plastic, etc. They had come at 5 a.m. and left the fibre glass coracle at the lake.   My friends and I swung into action. We had already bought the casuarina poles, three of…

Maintaining our Puttenahalli Lake is really so full of challenges which tax, vex and worry us at times but it also springs surprises that make our hearts sing! Today morning was one such great day. Yellappa, the fisherman contractor called to say that his men were on their way to the lake to plant the stakes, remove the new shoots of weeds, clean the water of stray plastic, etc. They had come at 5 a.m. and left the fibre glass coracle at the lake.   My friends and I swung into action. We had already bought the casuarina poles, three of…

One week. One well-planned week is all it will take to make an entire locality having around 1000 households to start segregation. So if we had just about 10 interested people in each ward, we could get the whole of Bangalore to segregate at source in just one week. I mean it. This begs the question – Why on earth is it not happening? It is after all not so difficult to get 10 people in each ward to get this going, right? Ah, that’s where we are completely missing the point; the garbage crisis here has nothing to do…

One week. One well-planned week is all it will take to make an entire locality having around 1000 households to start segregation. So if we had just about 10 interested people in each ward, we could get the whole of Bangalore to segregate at source in just one week. I mean it. This begs the question – Why on earth is it not happening? It is after all not so difficult to get 10 people in each ward to get this going, right? Ah, that’s where we are completely missing the point; the garbage crisis here has nothing to do…

Some of the happenings about Bangalore's lakes this past month. Click the links to read the full stories and reports. Ganesha immersions  The days of Ganesh Chaturthi are usually high tension for lake lovers in Bangalore. A couple of weeks before the festival there were reports of how BBMP was gearing up, given that 3 lakh idols were expected to be immersed. There was a lot of publicity to persuade people to get eco-Ganeshas and encourage immersions in mobile tanks. Worshippers though seem to have had other ideas to please God. While there is no accurate record of the actual number of Ganeshas sold or…

Some of the happenings about Bangalore's lakes this past month. Click the links to read the full stories and reports. Ganesha immersions  The days of Ganesh Chaturthi are usually high tension for lake lovers in Bangalore. A couple of weeks before the festival there were reports of how BBMP was gearing up, given that 3 lakh idols were expected to be immersed. There was a lot of publicity to persuade people to get eco-Ganeshas and encourage immersions in mobile tanks. Worshippers though seem to have had other ideas to please God. While there is no accurate record of the actual number of Ganeshas sold or…

Last night, I lay in bed, unable to fall asleep. Nishi and Tigger, my dogs, were curled up with me. I had been away for a month, getting my dog training education in Norway, from one of the leading experts in canine communication – Turid Rugaas. Ever since I got back from Norway, they are sticking close to me. As Nishi’s head pushed against my neck, I could feel her twitching and making tiny whimpering noises. She sounded afraid. I wondered what she was dreaming of. I went through all the things she had done during the day and wondered…