Society

It's called "koley basava" in Karnataka, and in Tamil Nadu, it's called the "boom-boom mAdu"...boom-boom, probably because of the sound produced by the drum the man carries and rubs with a stick. He also usually plays a long wind instrument called the naagaswaram; you can see it covered, slung behind his left shoulder. This duo were "off duty" when I clicked them, so the drum and the nagaswaram were not in use. The man will bring it to the front gate and ask it leading questions like "Is this house resident going to be prosperous and happy?" and the animal…

Namma Bengaluru Foundation's Lake Day aims at raising awareness, increasing community participation and fostering an appreciation of lakes in Bangalore. It is scheduled to be held on the second Saturday of every month, each time at a different venue.  “Bangalore has been blessed with a number of natural and human-made lakes. The water security of Bengaluru lies in us reconnecting with these lakes and safe guarding them” - Sridhar Pabisetty, CEO Namma Bengaluru Foundation The first Lake Day will be at Kaikondrahalli Lake on Saturday, 10th Jan 2015. The event, "Kere Habba 2015" will be a sunrise to sunset event, where…

Namma Bengaluru Foundation's Lake Day aims at raising awareness, increasing community participation and fostering an appreciation of lakes in Bangalore. It is scheduled to be held on the second Saturday of every month, each time at a different venue.  “Bangalore has been blessed with a number of natural and human-made lakes. The water security of Bengaluru lies in us reconnecting with these lakes and safe guarding them” - Sridhar Pabisetty, CEO Namma Bengaluru Foundation The first Lake Day will be at Kaikondrahalli Lake on Saturday, 10th Jan 2015. The event, "Kere Habba 2015" will be a sunrise to sunset event, where…

Caterpillars are creepy? Each time I saw a worm or a caterpillar wriggling, I would let out a shriek that would stun people around me. They sniggered when they found the reason. Times change and I now adore caterpillars. I got into the company of some ardent butterfly watchers, who did not mind lying on slushy ground or walking miles together in pursuit of butterflies. With them, I started to learn fascinating facts about butterflies. Butterflies exhibit mimicry, they migrate, plan amazing strategies to avoid predators; the list goes on. One life time is not enough to learn about them. To understand butterflies better, one has to…

Caterpillars are creepy? Each time I saw a worm or a caterpillar wriggling, I would let out a shriek that would stun people around me. They sniggered when they found the reason. Times change and I now adore caterpillars. I got into the company of some ardent butterfly watchers, who did not mind lying on slushy ground or walking miles together in pursuit of butterflies. With them, I started to learn fascinating facts about butterflies. Butterflies exhibit mimicry, they migrate, plan amazing strategies to avoid predators; the list goes on. One life time is not enough to learn about them. To understand butterflies better, one has to…

Soumya Geetha, a consultant by profession, is extremely passionate about photographing culture and the streets, besides being a rabid traveller. She captured the above bull at the heart of the city - in the Pete. She writes: "During my street photography exploits in the city, I have often encountered traces of other cities in Bengaluru. This particular scene, deep in the by-lanes of the Pete, reminded me of the narrow streets of Varanasi where cows had the right of way. It was also strange because I assumed that given the location of the neighbourhood and its obvious lack of space,…

Soumya Geetha, a consultant by profession, is extremely passionate about photographing culture and the streets, besides being a rabid traveller. She captured the above bull at the heart of the city - in the Pete. She writes: "During my street photography exploits in the city, I have often encountered traces of other cities in Bengaluru. This particular scene, deep in the by-lanes of the Pete, reminded me of the narrow streets of Varanasi where cows had the right of way. It was also strange because I assumed that given the location of the neighbourhood and its obvious lack of space,…

The practice of charging the members of the public for cameras (aftear 8 am or 9 am)at many public spaces is irritating a lot of people. Joiston Pereira writes:"The entry ticket and camera fee....is the Horticulture Department's new money making racket. At Madiwala lake, which is.under the Brihat Bengaluru Mahanagara Palike (BBMP)  and to an extent, the Horticulture Department, the tickets for cameras are a whopping 100 rupees and for video cameras it is  Rs.200, while entry is a modest  Rs, 10  Where all this money goes, God alone knows. The lake clearly isn't maintained very well. "As for the…

The practice of charging the members of the public for cameras (aftear 8 am or 9 am)at many public spaces is irritating a lot of people. Joiston Pereira writes:"The entry ticket and camera fee....is the Horticulture Department's new money making racket. At Madiwala lake, which is.under the Brihat Bengaluru Mahanagara Palike (BBMP)  and to an extent, the Horticulture Department, the tickets for cameras are a whopping 100 rupees and for video cameras it is  Rs.200, while entry is a modest  Rs, 10  Where all this money goes, God alone knows. The lake clearly isn't maintained very well. "As for the…

The song Chaiyya Chaiyya plays on the lawns of the Mehboob studios in Bandra, Mumbai. After the first few lines of the song, the music is switched off. I ask the kids in the audience if any of them want to sing the song. There is a show of hands and two girls sing together. There's a confident smile on one face while the other shows signs of nervousness. Yet both girls sing the song effortlessly. As I sing along with them and later a snippet of the classical raga behind the song, there's a look of dawning comprehension on…