PEOPLE

It is election season in the city and the rest of the state. Most of the local news is about the strengths and weaknesses of the candidates and various political parties, campaign activities, problems existing in different constituencies and . In addition to this, are stories about voter awareness drives, poll code violations, contestant support campaigns by groups such as B.PAC and Praja Rajakiya Vedike, a political platform launched in 2010. Apart from all this, there are some specific groups of people who have brought out what they expect of the representatives to be elected, through detailed manifestos. These include…

In its fourth edition, with a record 61,000 nominations for nine categories in the prestigious Namma Bengaluru Award, 2012 (NBA) which recognizes the "unsung heroes; ordinary people who do extraordinary things so that the city can move forth in to the future" the odds of winning were stacked against everybody.We had been shortlisted last year and the excitement continued this year as well. However, with a great deal of work yet to be done to make the lake ready for the monsoon, we tried not to think too much about the NBA. Our lake was in no condition to receive visitors…

In its fourth edition, with a record 61,000 nominations for nine categories in the prestigious Namma Bengaluru Award, 2012 (NBA) which recognizes the "unsung heroes; ordinary people who do extraordinary things so that the city can move forth in to the future" the odds of winning were stacked against everybody.We had been shortlisted last year and the excitement continued this year as well. However, with a great deal of work yet to be done to make the lake ready for the monsoon, we tried not to think too much about the NBA. Our lake was in no condition to receive visitors…

At first glance, the store called "Himalayan Dowry An Anti-Dowry Store" seems like any other place dealing in Kashmiri handicrafts, except for its name. Only on enquiring, would one realize that there is more to this outlet situated on M. G. Road. Incidentally, it is in the basement of a building near the office of the Printers (Mysore) Pvt. Ltd. (publishing Deccan Herald, Prajavani, et al). According to the website of the store, it traces its origins to an establishment in Kashmir in the year 1809. This was founded by a great Sufi and healer, Kh. Naqi Ali Shawl from…

At first glance, the store called "Himalayan Dowry An Anti-Dowry Store" seems like any other place dealing in Kashmiri handicrafts, except for its name. Only on enquiring, would one realize that there is more to this outlet situated on M. G. Road. Incidentally, it is in the basement of a building near the office of the Printers (Mysore) Pvt. Ltd. (publishing Deccan Herald, Prajavani, et al). According to the website of the store, it traces its origins to an establishment in Kashmir in the year 1809. This was founded by a great Sufi and healer, Kh. Naqi Ali Shawl from…

"Freedom is another word for nothing left to lose", said someone. But, for many people who often lose the little that they have, freedom is another wor(l)d. And that wor(l)d did not appear on 15th August 1947 or later for the majority who live in India at present. In fact, such a wor(l)d may never exist at all for this majority. So, sometime in mid 2007 some of us in Bangalore and other parts of the country decided that we should support and celebrate ongoing struggles for freedom. From that emerged the idea of a Civil Society Summit (CSS) -…

"Freedom is another word for nothing left to lose", said someone. But, for many people who often lose the little that they have, freedom is another wor(l)d. And that wor(l)d did not appear on 15th August 1947 or later for the majority who live in India at present. In fact, such a wor(l)d may never exist at all for this majority. So, sometime in mid 2007 some of us in Bangalore and other parts of the country decided that we should support and celebrate ongoing struggles for freedom. From that emerged the idea of a Civil Society Summit (CSS) -…

There inature, conservation and bird-watching communities in Bangalore are deeply saddened  at the loss of one of their  champions, Deepak Arya.   Deepak Arya was well-known to the rock-climbing and birding communities of Bangalore; he had been quite active in protesting against the privatization of public commons, and his last major initiative was for the protection of the Turahalli Forest, which was under threat. He was also documenting the history of the common vegetables that we use.Under the email id of "z_axis" (he explained to me once that we had the 'x' and 'y' axis in a graph, so he wanted to…

There inature, conservation and bird-watching communities in Bangalore are deeply saddened  at the loss of one of their  champions, Deepak Arya.   Deepak Arya was well-known to the rock-climbing and birding communities of Bangalore; he had been quite active in protesting against the privatization of public commons, and his last major initiative was for the protection of the Turahalli Forest, which was under threat. He was also documenting the history of the common vegetables that we use.Under the email id of "z_axis" (he explained to me once that we had the 'x' and 'y' axis in a graph, so he wanted to…

Here's a photography exhibition that the nature/wildlife/photography enthusiasts would not want to miss - 'Where The Wild Things Are' is a photography exhibition of recent works by Aditya Singh, Ganesh Shankar, Jayanth Sharma and Kalyan Varma. This exhibition brings together four individuals whose passion for wildlife photography comes through in the visions they create with their cameras. Some of the photographs (all are limited edition) are intimate portraits, and others include breath-taking vistas. The exhibition is on till the 26th of this month at the Five Forty Five, the art gallery in Indiranagar. 545, 6th Main, 4th Cross, Indira Nagar…