photography

Entry to Lalbagh Botanical Gardens is free up to 8.30am, and cameras are not charged. The entry ticket business has been outsourced to some private organization. Yesterday (13 September 2015), we noticed people from this organization chasing visitors at about 9.30am and asking them to pay for their cameras. Some groups, visiting for special purposes, have special permission; eg, the Bird Watchers Field Club, which has a bird walk in Lalbagh on the 2nd Sunday of every month, has permission for the group until 10.30am. I cannot understand why officials should chase visitors after 9am and start charging for cameras,…

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Ganga Madappa, Staff Reporter and Community Manager at Citizen Matters, writes: Here's a side of the Ulsoor lake that not too many people notice. To the left of the kalyani at the lake, is a storm water drain that comes all the way from Richards Town. And along with rain water, it also carries an unimaginable amount of filth. Plastic, clothes, shoes, leaf litter etc make their way into the water. Workers clearing this filth claim to have found even pillows and suitcases...    This alone makes for a strong case for the city authorities to enforce waste segregation.  

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Ganga Madappa, Staff Reporter and Community Manager at Citizen Matters, writes: Here's a side of the Ulsoor lake that not too many people notice. To the left of the kalyani at the lake, is a storm water drain that comes all the way from Richards Town. And along with rain water, it also carries an unimaginable amount of filth. Plastic, clothes, shoes, leaf litter etc make their way into the water. Workers clearing this filth claim to have found even pillows and suitcases...    This alone makes for a strong case for the city authorities to enforce waste segregation.  

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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,…

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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,…

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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…

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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…

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Email to the bngbirds egroup: It was very pleasant to be able to go to Kaikondrahalli Kere after a long time and find that, apart from the dumping and levelling going on down one side of it, the lake is generally still well-maintained. An ambling walk of a couple of hours was very productive from the birding point of view, and we watched the nesting behaviour of the Great Cormorants, and the fishing by almost all of the waterfowl. Several juvenile Brahminy Kites, swooping at the surface of the water now and then, provided the raptor touch. The flock of…

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Email to the bngbirds egroup: It was very pleasant to be able to go to Kaikondrahalli Kere after a long time and find that, apart from the dumping and levelling going on down one side of it, the lake is generally still well-maintained. An ambling walk of a couple of hours was very productive from the birding point of view, and we watched the nesting behaviour of the Great Cormorants, and the fishing by almost all of the waterfowl. Several juvenile Brahminy Kites, swooping at the surface of the water now and then, provided the raptor touch. The flock of…

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Mangoes on your mind

When you're facing the summer sun When your skin burns and it's no fun To walk in the sunshine, it's too bright The summer glare hurts your head and sight... You've got mangoes on your mind....     You pick up the fruit, scattered all round Or in the market they can be found. Small and raw, or with golden ripe sheen Or any of the stages that happen in between, You've got mangoes on your mind....   Made into pickle or eaten with salt Made into milkshakes or a thick juicy malt Any of the numerous varieties you get…

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