Society

You are visiting Bangalore and want to spend a few hours outside with your family or friends, preferably in a clean and green environment. Or are an 'old' Bangalorean who wants to relive her/his childhood. Where do you go? Cubbon Park, a lovely lung space in the heart of the city is a great option. And the Jawahar Bal Bhavan, a place for children inside the one hundred and forty year old park is a lot of fun too. Spread over 12.5 acres, it has a toy train, swings, slides, boating and a lot of trees and grassy patches for…

  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…

I find that BBMP/BMTC combination has been experimenting with various designs for bus stops...but still, a very vital piece is missing from almost every bus stop that I see. This...is a board that should, at the very least, announce what bus routes are going through the stop. Why is there no provision for this essential piece of information on any bus stop, when there seems to be so much space devoted to advertising?Another instance of the BMTC/BBMP being less user-friendly than they should be. All it takes is a little imagination..or observation, when our top officials go junketing to Singapore…

  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…

I find that BBMP/BMTC combination has been experimenting with various designs for bus stops...but still, a very vital piece is missing from almost every bus stop that I see. This...is a board that should, at the very least, announce what bus routes are going through the stop. Why is there no provision for this essential piece of information on any bus stop, when there seems to be so much space devoted to advertising?Another instance of the BMTC/BBMP being less user-friendly than they should be. All it takes is a little imagination..or observation, when our top officials go junketing to Singapore…

"Sumin", as my young daughter used to say, is what I do regularly in the summer. Sumin is such a great all-round exercise; and if there is a pool in your own apartment building, like I have, you don't have to brave the city traffic to get to the pool, either. A quick change of costume, and there I am, ready to slip into the pool (this is a nice way of ssying that I am still afraid to jump in!).I still do only the backstroke, as it gets far less water into my Ear-Nose-Throat system, and the other compelling…

"Sumin", as my young daughter used to say, is what I do regularly in the summer. Sumin is such a great all-round exercise; and if there is a pool in your own apartment building, like I have, you don't have to brave the city traffic to get to the pool, either. A quick change of costume, and there I am, ready to slip into the pool (this is a nice way of ssying that I am still afraid to jump in!).I still do only the backstroke, as it gets far less water into my Ear-Nose-Throat system, and the other compelling…

Every year, Mothers Day comes and goes on May 7th just as Womens Day on Mar 8th. But the unwritten and unaccounted subsidy that capable, productive, educated, women provide to public life is usually forgotten.Most often, our elders get care at home from homemakers. Second, domestic help and cooks and their unpredictable schedules are 'managed' at the cost of our homemakers' time. Third, everything from receiving LPG cylinders, couriers, mail, to daycare and pre-school centre timings are run today around the premise of homemakers' availability.These assumptions about life itself will breakdown locally if more women pursued full-time work by their…

Every year, Mothers Day comes and goes on May 7th just as Womens Day on Mar 8th. But the unwritten and unaccounted subsidy that capable, productive, educated, women provide to public life is usually forgotten.Most often, our elders get care at home from homemakers. Second, domestic help and cooks and their unpredictable schedules are 'managed' at the cost of our homemakers' time. Third, everything from receiving LPG cylinders, couriers, mail, to daycare and pre-school centre timings are run today around the premise of homemakers' availability.These assumptions about life itself will breakdown locally if more women pursued full-time work by their…

  Our pavements (or footpaths or sidewalks) are very interesting places. No bland stretch of tiles or cement for us; we have a rich variety of life teeming on our footpaths (indeed, I often think they are called footpaths because the local Government makes them a foot higher than the road...so they are not meant for the easy use of pedestrians, but for people to earn their livelihoods on space-without-rent!)I walked to Jayangar 9th Block a few days ago, and got...The "alteration" tailors.They set up shop with their treadle (note, no electricity..very green!)machines, and for a pittance, will mend tears and…