Society

"The Emperor of All Maladies", a Pulitzer-winning book by Siddharth Mukherjee, is an intense book about that dreaded "C" word...cancer, and looks at the dread ailment via multiple lenses...history, biography, describing the several discoveries, obstacles,triumphs and failures in humanity's long journey with, and battle against, cancer. To base a play on a book like this is a major challenge, and Bangalore Little Theatre rose up to that challenge with their play, which I watched at Ranga Shankara on the 27th of February, '19. The theatre group had produced an excellent brochure, which described the play. I skimmed through it, wanting…

The fifth edition of the habba is the most talked about community event in the neighbourhood of ORR-Sarjapur Road. Kere Habba or Lake Festival is an annual day long conservation-focused celebration of the gorgeous Kaikondrahalli lake, planned this time on February 17. 2019. It is an amalgamation of music, theatre, fitness, art, design and fun - all talking the same idiom of ecology and environment. Some of the most prominent names in the world of conservation, ecology and science conduct pro bono sessions to raise funds to support and maintain this lake. Their sessions are jam-packed and draw huge crowds. One of…

It's always a tug-of-war on the second Sunday of every month. I have learnt a lot on the Lalbagh walks, but since I am generally committed to the 3rd and 4th Sunday walks, I do like to go to other birding spots with my friends. Well, on the 13th of January, the tug was decided by the fact that the Asian Waterfowl Census, or AWC ) is on, and we could contribute data and pretend to be very scientific, while following the experts around and getting to see a lot of birds! So off we went to Hoskote kere, after…

Those of you who have travelled by train from Chennai Central towards Arakkonam would have noticed a natural waterway which runs parallel to the railway track (northern side) between Vyasarpadi and Perambur Railway Stations. This canal is adjacent to a man made storm water drain and both discharge the flood waters into the Buckingham Canal during the monsoon.     Over the recent past we have noticed debris and garbage being dumped into this canal in bit and pieces. The property along the railway tracks belongs to the Indian Railways. Migrant workers have set up temporary shelters near the Vyasarpadi Railway…

Bannerghatta Road is already a mess, as one-third of the road is blocked for the work on the Metro. There is no transparency on how long the work will take, and no timeline for completion, though a vague time of 2020 AD has been given. Meanwhile, residences and hospitals as well as malls and offices bear the brunt of the noise, often unbearable at night. Pedestrians, who were finding the road hard enough to cross after the grade separation, are now finding it impossible to do so. No thought has been given to the hapless people-who-walk; they fight for their…

Sometimes the shadow is just as interesting as the substance. I was privileged to peep in on a shadow puppet workshop that Michael and Wendy Dacre conducted at Kathalaya, BTM Layout, Bangalore, on 23rd November 2018. Nikhil from the Hindu interviews Michael and Wendy, while Geeta looks on. Shadow puppet theatre has long been a part of the traditional arts of many cultures,but when Wendy first got interested in it, she found that there was no tradition of it at all, in the United Kingdom. She built up her shadow puppets, and the shadow puppet theatre, from scratch, using any…

I was about to write something about this event for my blog, and realized my official report for the Karnataka Forest Dept would do just as well! The founder-members of Bangalore Butterfly Club (BBC), from Nagraj's slide presentation: The Karwar Swift, not very common. The second Butterfly Festival at Doresanipalya Forest Research Station, celebrated on 17th November, 2018, was very successful. These ladies, making the rangoli, brought as much of colour as the butterflies did, to the event. Though limitations on the space available at the venue, in terms of the hall for presentations, resulted in the event not being…

While walking home from my daughter's, I caught the sunlight, slanting in beams in the dusty morning air: Ironic that it's the pollution in our air which shows up the shafts of sunlight! The scene also illustrates why traffic problems in our city, and country, are rather more complicated than elsewhere. There is such a variety of vehicles, motorized and non-motorized; two-, three- and four-wheelers jostling for the road, and amidst all the chaos, the hapless pedestrians, making their way too. I wish I'd been able to capture the bullock-cart that went past just before I clicked! For all the…

Once in a while our best laid plans go awry at the lake. For instance, from the time the lake was getting rejuvenated in early 2010, we had reserved a prime space for a Red-Silk Cotton tree (Bombax ceiba). It is deciduous but the flowers more than make up for the absence of leaves. The beautiful bright red flowers attract birds in hordes. They visit not just for the nectar but also for the water that collects in the cup like flower. But it seemed impossible to get a sapling. Finally, Mr. Ramachandran, a regular visitor to the lake got…

Today, an urban citizen lives in a concrete jungle, with no connection to nature. No one knows where the food they eat comes from. More and more agriculture area is getting converted to residential and there is not enough land left for growing food. This has also led to a percentage of population trying to grow what they can in their surroundings, in the available space. Terrace gardens are such attempts, gaining popularity in cities.   An Organic Terrace Vegetable Garden at your home is easy to create. Fresh home-grown vegetables taste delicious, are good for health and safe from synthesized…