Society

 Everyone feels festive, and rather generous, on an auspicious day...and many people like to tap into this vein of generosity. Here's the itenerant with his decorated cow...she walks through the streets on festivals like Sankranti (in fact, this was taken on Ekadasi day, on the 4th of March...the 11th day after the new moon)....calls out to householders that good times are coming. The cow is trained to nod its head to every rhetorical question that her  owner asks ("Is prosperity coming to this house? Will happiness rule in this place?") and when the children come running out to see the colourful…

This Sunday, I went with my friends on a nature trail in the Bannerghatta Zoo area, and while there, we watched the camp elephants.... The females and their calves were going into the rear gate of the Zoo, but before that, the two calves had a great time, play-wrestling with each other...and we were delighted to watch!Earlier, we had seen the lone tusker, too...and kept the wall of the JLR Hill View Restaurant safely between us and the animal...tuskers are notoriously unpredictable animals!It was wonderful to watch the two baby elephants...and one of them came up to my friend, and when…

We'd taken our birder friend from Kerala to the Kaikondanahalli Lake. We were greeted by the spot-billed ducks and purple moorhens. And at twilight a big flock of Lesser Whistling Ducks took off (about 200); the sight and sound of a big whistling flock is quite a sensation. It was fairly dark when we reached the swamp area. "Sandpipers" and a friend pointed to activity in the swamp. "Sandpipers" quicky turned to "ringed plover? Painted Snipe!". We could hardly believe our luck. We did try our luck at shooting them too (Snipers, we are not!). We saw at least 3…

This Sunday, I went with my friends on a nature trail in the Bannerghatta Zoo area, and while there, we watched the camp elephants.... The females and their calves were going into the rear gate of the Zoo, but before that, the two calves had a great time, play-wrestling with each other...and we were delighted to watch!Earlier, we had seen the lone tusker, too...and kept the wall of the JLR Hill View Restaurant safely between us and the animal...tuskers are notoriously unpredictable animals!It was wonderful to watch the two baby elephants...and one of them came up to my friend, and when…

We'd taken our birder friend from Kerala to the Kaikondanahalli Lake. We were greeted by the spot-billed ducks and purple moorhens. And at twilight a big flock of Lesser Whistling Ducks took off (about 200); the sight and sound of a big whistling flock is quite a sensation. It was fairly dark when we reached the swamp area. "Sandpipers" and a friend pointed to activity in the swamp. "Sandpipers" quicky turned to "ringed plover? Painted Snipe!". We could hardly believe our luck. We did try our luck at shooting them too (Snipers, we are not!). We saw at least 3…

Swensens, a popular American ice-cream chain is now a well-known hangout place for ice-cream lovers near the 80 feet road in Koramangala. With 40 different Sundae varieties and 24 different flavors, Swensen's has the perfect ambience to relish a scoop of ice-cream. The three popular flavors, which have been attracting a lot of customers, are the nutty crispy tower, Ceit tower at Rs 139 each and the hot fudge bonaza split at Rs 119. Price range is Rs 60 per scoop to Rs 399 for a special Sundae.Address: 621, Ground Floor, Opposite Barista, Near Sony Center Signal, 80 Feet Road,…

Swensens, a popular American ice-cream chain is now a well-known hangout place for ice-cream lovers near the 80 feet road in Koramangala. With 40 different Sundae varieties and 24 different flavors, Swensen's has the perfect ambience to relish a scoop of ice-cream. The three popular flavors, which have been attracting a lot of customers, are the nutty crispy tower, Ceit tower at Rs 139 each and the hot fudge bonaza split at Rs 119. Price range is Rs 60 per scoop to Rs 399 for a special Sundae.Address: 621, Ground Floor, Opposite Barista, Near Sony Center Signal, 80 Feet Road,…

"Uncle Sam, put on back your pants" a line from one of the compositions of Jamaican-Canadian-African dub poet D'bi Young Anitafrika is one that rings in my head on a regular basis. It works as an essential reminder of the number of soulless 'uncles' who abuse children sexually. But according to Young who performed at the Jaaga Creative Common Ground in Bengaluru on 28th January 2012, it is also a metaphor for how selfish capitalists continue to rape and ravage life on earth without sparing a thought about the adverse impact of their actions. Well, if they take the good…

Origami.... Weekly Origami class at Jaaga on Wednesday 7:30pm (updated time)To: Krishna Panyam Hi,Krishna Panyam is changing the class time for the Origami classes at Jaaga, to 7:30pm, as it was a common request from all those who were interested. If necessary, he will postpone the start of the classes to April.The details about the classes:Date: Every Wednesday, starting on Feb 29thTime: 7:30 pm to 8:30pmLocation: Jaaga, on Double Road (www.jaaga.in)Fees: Rs 500 for 6 classes, payable on the first day.Age: At least 8-9 years.What you need to bring: Your hands! All the required materials will be provided.The purpose of the…

"Uncle Sam, put on back your pants" a line from one of the compositions of Jamaican-Canadian-African dub poet D'bi Young Anitafrika is one that rings in my head on a regular basis. It works as an essential reminder of the number of soulless 'uncles' who abuse children sexually. But according to Young who performed at the Jaaga Creative Common Ground in Bengaluru on 28th January 2012, it is also a metaphor for how selfish capitalists continue to rape and ravage life on earth without sparing a thought about the adverse impact of their actions. Well, if they take the good…