Society

Since I was not sure if I would be able to go to the plays tomorrow, I decided to attend the press conference that was organized by India Foundation for the Arts (for which the plays are a fund-raiser).I wanted to hear what the actors who are going to be staging the playlets would have to say about the plays, which they have staged before, in Bangalore, way back in 2002.Both Ratna and Naseeruddin talked about how contemporary they found Ismat's ideas, and how Naseeruddin was inspired to stage her stories. Naseeruddin was very scornful about large production; " I despise…

On 31 January 2009, nine months after Oorvani Media launched citizenmatters.in, Bangalore’s first online community e-newsmagazine, we are committing the Citizen Matters print fortnightly magazine to you.This free, sleek, 16-page magazine is being launched in the south Bangalore localities of JP Nagar and BTM Layout II Stage.  We encourage you to send us your responses and feedback as we grow to cover other areas of the city. What is Citizen Matters and who are we? Citizen Matters is local-news-only product, with high quality reporting and commentary. It is published by Oorvani Media, a local media firm founded by Bangaloreans, Subramaniam…

On 31 January 2009, nine months after Oorvani Media launched citizenmatters.in, Bangalore’s first online community e-newsmagazine, we are committing the Citizen Matters print fortnightly magazine to you.This free, sleek, 16-page magazine is being launched in the south Bangalore localities of JP Nagar and BTM Layout II Stage.  We encourage you to send us your responses and feedback as we grow to cover other areas of the city. What is Citizen Matters and who are we? Citizen Matters is local-news-only product, with high quality reporting and commentary. It is published by Oorvani Media, a local media firm founded by Bangaloreans, Subramaniam…

One  sight that can be seen frequently in the mornings is that of different people reading the morning newspaper. It's a habit deeply ingrained in our culture, and no matter which newspaper it may be...our mornings are not complete without the daily dose of newsprint.We may have the radio, the TV, and the internet...but for most of us, there is no substitute for the peaceful few minutes as we learn about the world around us through the printed page. ⊕

Pankaj Kothari is a well-known Bangalore caterer, and once a year, he brings Kaushik Kothari and his orchestra, the Golden Greats, to Bangalore to stage Rang De Basanti, which stages several evenings of old Hindi film hits, with sumptous dinner being included in the ticket price as well.We went to the show on Monday night and were treated to a medley of rousing songs, patriotic numbers, and mellifluous duets, and several haunting old immortal songs. The dinner that precedes the show is always amazing; there are varieties of pasta, pizza, chaat, and salads as well as the regular food items…

For the past few years, Chitra Kala Parishath (CKP) has been organizing an annual art event, Chitra Santhe (Art Fair) in and around the CKP campus and its environs. It has become a fairly important event in the art scene of the city.This year, the gate of CKP was beautifully decorated as usual:The slogan of the Santhe highlighted the symbiotic relationship between artists and their patrons....CKP also used the opportunity to hightlight some of the other initiatives they are carrying out, such as ICKPAC, the art conservation effort:The range of geographical locations represented at the Santhe was phenomenal, and there…

One  sight that can be seen frequently in the mornings is that of different people reading the morning newspaper. It's a habit deeply ingrained in our culture, and no matter which newspaper it may be...our mornings are not complete without the daily dose of newsprint.We may have the radio, the TV, and the internet...but for most of us, there is no substitute for the peaceful few minutes as we learn about the world around us through the printed page. ⊕

Pankaj Kothari is a well-known Bangalore caterer, and once a year, he brings Kaushik Kothari and his orchestra, the Golden Greats, to Bangalore to stage Rang De Basanti, which stages several evenings of old Hindi film hits, with sumptous dinner being included in the ticket price as well.We went to the show on Monday night and were treated to a medley of rousing songs, patriotic numbers, and mellifluous duets, and several haunting old immortal songs. The dinner that precedes the show is always amazing; there are varieties of pasta, pizza, chaat, and salads as well as the regular food items…

For the past few years, Chitra Kala Parishath (CKP) has been organizing an annual art event, Chitra Santhe (Art Fair) in and around the CKP campus and its environs. It has become a fairly important event in the art scene of the city.This year, the gate of CKP was beautifully decorated as usual:The slogan of the Santhe highlighted the symbiotic relationship between artists and their patrons....CKP also used the opportunity to hightlight some of the other initiatives they are carrying out, such as ICKPAC, the art conservation effort:The range of geographical locations represented at the Santhe was phenomenal, and there…

I went to M G Road on work for Clean and Green today, and decided to visit India Coffee House as well....This part of Bangalore heritage seems doomed to go into the history pages soon. Here's a waiter in the familiar uniform, that I have seen in both Kolkata and here:Several of the waiters have been working in this co-operative for many years, and the chances of their finding another job seem bleak. Bangalore will be the poorer for losing out such parts of what it has been, in the name of commercial development. I still see the demolished top…