HERITAGE

It's quite unusual to go to review a play that's been running for some time, but I did just that on the 23rd of January, as I went to watch "The Incredible Mullah Nasruddin" at Ranga Shankara. This was their 13th show. The play is a production by the "AHA!" children's theatre wing of Ranga Shankara. The main protaganist is Mullah Nasruddin, who, in this version, comes from Arabia to India to garner wisdom, and undergoes various experiences, depicted in 21 short vignettes. The play had several features unusual in children's theatre. For one, there was a blue turban that…

What is it -A city, town or village?'Twas a pensioners' paradise it seemsHaving a colonial hangoverAmidst MEG, BEL, HMT, ITIUsurped by the silicon dumpWith its Nagars, Towns and hallis'Tis an escape no moreFrom the heat of HyderabadOr the sweat of MadrasOh, it's not the Bangalore of yore!

What is it -A city, town or village?'Twas a pensioners' paradise it seemsHaving a colonial hangoverAmidst MEG, BEL, HMT, ITIUsurped by the silicon dumpWith its Nagars, Towns and hallis'Tis an escape no moreFrom the heat of HyderabadOr the sweat of MadrasOh, it's not the Bangalore of yore!

She’s naked, covered with ashes, her hair matted with snakes in them, a garland of skulls and freshly cut heads around her neck. She laughs like madness herself, dancing to the chaotic rhythm of death, dragging a corpse behind her which she licks with her blood-red tongue from time to time. Now imagine meeting her in the middle of the night on a dark lonely path. Here’s an old description - a dhyana mantra of Guhya Kali, one of the forms of Kali. The tantric text is called Tantrasaara and is written by Krishnananda Aagamavgisa. “She is dark as a great cloud, clad in…

She’s naked, covered with ashes, her hair matted with snakes in them, a garland of skulls and freshly cut heads around her neck. She laughs like madness herself, dancing to the chaotic rhythm of death, dragging a corpse behind her which she licks with her blood-red tongue from time to time. Now imagine meeting her in the middle of the night on a dark lonely path. Here’s an old description - a dhyana mantra of Guhya Kali, one of the forms of Kali. The tantric text is called Tantrasaara and is written by Krishnananda Aagamavgisa. “She is dark as a great cloud, clad in…

Last Sunday I took a friend and her nine-year-old daughter to Bull Temple in Bangalore. It’s the place with the country’s largest monolith bull - known to be Nandi, the servant bull of Shiva. The majestic Nandi far surpasses the tiny Shiva (who you almost miss in a small alcove behind the bull) in size, structure and sheer architecture. I promised this little nine-year-old lady who was too sleepy to be excited about a temple, with a true story after she had seen the Nandi in the temple. Once she was slightly woken up (and I was fast realising it was hard to…

Last Sunday I took a friend and her nine-year-old daughter to Bull Temple in Bangalore. It’s the place with the country’s largest monolith bull - known to be Nandi, the servant bull of Shiva. The majestic Nandi far surpasses the tiny Shiva (who you almost miss in a small alcove behind the bull) in size, structure and sheer architecture. I promised this little nine-year-old lady who was too sleepy to be excited about a temple, with a true story after she had seen the Nandi in the temple. Once she was slightly woken up (and I was fast realising it was hard to…

Subramanyapura Uttarahalli Lake Improvement Trust (SUNLIT) is trying to clean up the Kalyani (temple tank) situated next to Vasanthapura Sai Baba Temple, Subramanyapura (South Bangalore).    ***** Phanisai Bharadwaj, Managing Trustee of SUNLIT invites citizens to join the effort...    Dear friends, Lake chains, not just lakes.Because of the valleys on which Bangalore is located, the lakes cascade naturally from higher elevation to lower elevation. As the lake on the higher elevation filled up, water would flow into the lower lakes. Bangalore has three main valley systems: Hebbal, Koramangala-Challaghatta, Vrishabhavati. The lakes thereby form a chain of reservoirs in each…

Subramanyapura Uttarahalli Lake Improvement Trust (SUNLIT) is trying to clean up the Kalyani (temple tank) situated next to Vasanthapura Sai Baba Temple, Subramanyapura (South Bangalore).    ***** Phanisai Bharadwaj, Managing Trustee of SUNLIT invites citizens to join the effort...    Dear friends, Lake chains, not just lakes.Because of the valleys on which Bangalore is located, the lakes cascade naturally from higher elevation to lower elevation. As the lake on the higher elevation filled up, water would flow into the lower lakes. Bangalore has three main valley systems: Hebbal, Koramangala-Challaghatta, Vrishabhavati. The lakes thereby form a chain of reservoirs in each…

Ganjam in association with Bangalore Little Theatre presents `Tiger ! Tiger ! ‘ by (the late) Dina Mehta, a site-specific theatre exploration that is being performed at the Bangalore Fort. The performance is a part of the prestigious History of Ideas programme of Bangalore Little Theatre and is in partnership with the Centre for Public History as a part of the `Tiger comes to Town'.The performance marks the first time a heritage site in the city will open itself out to a unique experiment that will enable an audience to experience a historical event at its very location.`Tiger ! Tiger…