2008, 2009,++

BDP wishes all the vistors and wellwishers a great new year ahead....

To enjoy the transition BDP takes a small vacation to return back in Jan09 first week....

till then...!!

Santas Cap...

Festive symbol, Santas cap being sold and purchased by almost everyone to participate and enjoy the festive spirit while on the move too!!

Merry Christmas And a Happy New Year

Balloon Seller...

He comes on a bicycle and all kids in the neighborhood eagerly wait for him in morning, the balloon seller makes rounds to such areas to make his living day in day out.

X-mas Shopping...

Shops are fully loaded with the decoration items for X-mas, the festivities have begun. Many Bangloreans are already enjoying their vacations with the families and winter is catching up great! Great shopping!!

Tabebuia @Off-season..

Winter might not be the season for Tabebuia bloom, yet there are some flowers one can spot on Tabebuia trees in the city, this one is from Cubbon park!

Pickles Anyone?

Pickles, perhaps a must for any Indian meal and crave for the different variants be it with pungent and spicy remains the preferred choice. These sampling stalls selling pickles thus can be found in any food court of exhibitions throughout the year....

The Peacock

The Silk mark expo currently in the city houses more than 100+ different silk traders with latest and large collection of silk wear. This golden peacock embroidery on a silk sari in one of the traditional design art form on textile….

Pink Guavas

Pink Guavas are on sale; it seems that the winter adds to the taste and many relish them in this cold climate. The roadside vendors know the pulse of the crowd and make a quick buck on weekends in busy market areas...

Makeshift Market…

Early morning as the night shift employees leave from the major establishments like HAL and BEML, the smart vendors setup their roadside stalls to make best of the opportunity. This market opens as early as 6.30am and winds up by 9am….

Global warming??

While moving around a petrol pump (station) in the city, this air pressure monitor caught my attention... the petrol pumps provide free air facility for the cars and generally drivers tend to tip the attendant, thus to avoid this they have put up this no tipping sign there but I tend to read between the lines on this with global context on global warming. Like Air saying to us "NO TIPs PLEASE" let me be as pure as I can....so true?

Buses n colors...

The private buses of the city are artifacts; the creativity one can find here is incomparable. It generally does not stop only on windows but the entire body used as a canvas... This one too has a beautiful peacock feather painted to make it unique and attractive....

Wedding Season...

Wedding season is on, the bride and the groom holding each others hands and a coconut perhaps symbolizes the wedding. these social gatherings and meeting people with such occasions followed by great food marks month of December...

Corns on Charcol...

For the corn lovers this is another alternative, corns roasted on charcol. ona winter morning this roadside delight served hot with salt, chilli powder and lime... indeed all time favorite of mine!!

Toy Train...

Children enjoy a toy train ride in bal bhavan, the old train engine kept nearby is a major attraction for the kids visiting Cubbon Park. Currently the tracks are in maintenance and kids await their rides eagerly….

Egg Express..

Fulfilling the demands of the egg lovers this wholesale team is soring out the local deliveries early morning on the road...

Boiled Corn...

Boiled sweet corns kept for sale on a roadside cart. Though this city enjoys them all round the year, it becomes more relevant in winter morning or late evenings to munch along... a great option to beat the hunger and stay warm...

First fog!!

It's back! The winter morning fog that takes the city under cover... Indeed a great time to walk around the streets catching cool wind and inhaling foggy breaths waiting for sunshine!!

Obbattu or Holigea feast..

This traditional Karnataka meal is served to me on a banana leaf on occasion of satyanarayana pooja prasad, The meal is loaded with different sweets like Sevai Kheer, Sheera and the festive attraction is obbattu or holigea-flat, thin, wafer-like chappati filled with a mixture of jaggery, coconut and sugar and fried gently on a skillet and served with hot ghee …

Winter mornings...

Winter is here and the signs are everywhere, early morning street shot does suggest the same. People have pulled out winter wares, those who are used to cold continue to work. Few do enjoy their hot cuppa coffee too...

Metro Work...

Metro work on OMR (old madras Road) seem going smooth, there are good signs of development in the construction work. Everyone in the city has an eye on this ambitious project that is hopeful of helping commuters greatly...

Working together...

Another great aspect of city parks is a group exercise / workouts, There are many enthusiasts who participate in such group activities, what a great beginning of the day!!

Unwind...

Weekend Morning at Cubbon park is a great unwinding mechanism, pick up a solitary bench under a tree and enjoy the atmosphere. City provides such great breathing spots for the city, i.e parks which are very peaceful early mornings specially winter mornings...

Quick Shine!!

Roadside quick shoe-shine, the service often chose by the frequenters in the business area in the city. The shoemaker does this along his repair business and selling accessories like soles, strings etc...

Peace Tribute...

In an initiative to give voice to the angst and anguish of a shaken nation after the Mumbai terrorist attacks last week, people from all walks of life in six metros got together y'day to condemn terror and demand a change in the system, The Bangaloreans gathered in the Cubbon park carrying candles and placards in memory of the victims …

Call 108...for Arogya Kavacha!

The Emergency Response Service, titled Arogya Kavacha-108, was launched in the city on 2nd Nov 08 by former President of India A.P.J. Abdul Kalam on the occasion of Kannada Rajyotsava Day. The fleet of 66 ambulances commenced their operation under the project in Bangalore.
Now, in case of an emergency, like ill health, accidents or fire, one has to just dial 108. A fully equipped state-of-the-art ambulance will arrive within 20 minutes anywhere in the city. The medical staff in the ambulance will not only transport the affected person to hospital, but will also provide pre-hospitalizations treatment free of cost. A great initiative indeed!!

Colors of Tranquility

The city echoes the trauma of mumbai, the 'sick' terror attacks have shaken everyone and had even bonded us together to unite, be aware and restore peace. There were many who came together to sympathize with victims and lit candles across locations in the city. The serene togetherness just reflect the sky-full of colors of tranquility...

Routines...

After a weekend outing ( could not post on Saturday and Sunday) I reached the city early morning and the first thing I see is this school going kid with his mother waiting for his school bus, that reminded me about the daily routines …

Rainy Days...

Past two days the city is witnessing freezing cold winds and rains, the winterwares are the need for hours... the atmosphere is so chilling that one really needs motivation to get off the bed and step out of the home...a warm coffee, a great book to read is what I need today!!

Cubbon Park Blossoms...

Tabebuia blossoms has painted Cubbon Park pink / purple !! This fortnight long blossom was so spectacular that despite pulling lot of visitors it appeared on national TV too! The morning walk in the garden was a great feeling, as if joining hands with nature in the winter celebrations...

Coffee & Friends ...

Winter mornings, great company of friends ovar hot sips of coffee outside MTR is a guaraneeted happy moment. Few friends enjoy MTR coffee early morning, conversations that inculcate bonding and hapiness to be together... a real nostalgic feeling for many!!

Now showing...

On the box office this week, the compound walls play major role in the decorum and display of the current block busters. The city showcases many different language movies like Kannada, Tamil, Hindi etc...

The Great Maharaja of Mysore..

This elegant status of Sri Chamarajendra Wodeyar Bahadur stands amidst lush green surrounding in Cubbon Park. Chamaraja Wadiyar X(Wodeyar) (1863-94) was the ruling Maharaja of Mysore between 1881 and 1894. Although his reign proved to be a brief one, he left an indelible mark on the Kingdom of Mysore and thereby on the present day Indian state of Karnataka.

Weekend Morning Tea...

For a universe of PG's (paying guests) in the city, morning tea on a weekend is with a nearby store that serves him latest news bytes, neighborhood update along the hot sips. The lonely lives of PG's and their lifestyle is a story on it's own....

Kid's day out…

Four on one, on the busy roads this rider seems to take chances taking kids for a ride….or does he intend to take administration for a ride, wearing a helmet he seems to obey the traffic rules but seems not aware that he might still get a ‘ticket’ for carrying more passengers….

Facing Winter...

Winter morning does make lot of changes the way people dress, specially while on the way to work or even waiting for the transport. Protecting yourself from the winter chills becomes a priority, the sweaters, pullovers and scarf’s are out of the wardrobe for sure...

Working out & along…

Morning run, on the IT corridors of the city such scenes are commons, these ex-pats must be working out along some organization and work out in the same area. Many hotels, serviced apartments are co-located nearby Whitefield to save travel time of the visitors …After all a great winter morning is quite tempting for a brisk walk or even jogging….

Marathalli@Morning...

Early morning at Marathalli flyover, the misty road looks like heaven... i.e. those who used to ply from the city to Whitefield via Marathalli few years before can relate this 'heaven' as the old bridge used to clog the traffic for hours. This new six-lane (and drivers/vehicles make it eight when plying busy) flyover made it easy and smooth to pass through...and enjoy the winter fog setting over the city!!

Grocery charts...

In midst of the turmoil’s on the stock exchanges and inflation worries groceries have skyrocketed since few months. Recently some relief is seen as veggies and few commodities are settling down a bit, for a common man in the city that could be good news...

Metro Work@M G Road...

Namma Metro progress is good, atleast there are visible signs of work happening. The much needed metro will start working on year 2011 for the first phase, The M G road work has eaten half of the road and most of the bollevard trees...

Winter Collection...

Winter brings a pleasant bloom to Purple Trumpet, or ‘Tabebuia impetiginosa’ from Tabebuia family. This bloom just mesmerizes entire city as many streets wear the ‘purple’ collection, this one is captured on Old Airport Road ….

Food Street@VV Puram

Food Street of VV puram was kept on my place-to-visit list for long, despite exactly other side of the city from my residence me and couple friends drove down midst of evening traffic ( oh my!!) and reached the small lane (wiki link here) full of ‘mouthwatering’ choices…. You name it and they seem to have it ‘famous varieties of indian fast food’, I spot one chinease one too selling along Bombay pav-bhavi and vada pav stall there! For foodies this should become on of the ‘must’ places to visit on top of their charts.

All carts, stalls and roadside shops offering variety of fast food open for business from 4pm in the evening till 11pm late night. A delightful and fulfilling was the experience, I must say….

Soothening the senses

Anthuriums are being watered in lalbagh nursery early morning. The varieties of plants offered by this nursery is amazing, i generally visit this whenever i get to go to Lalbagh and to my surprise they always have different set of plants to offer... early morning after a brisk walk visitng this nursery while being watered is a great experience I must say..Soothening the senses!

Picture perfect...

Beautiful skyline after sunset from BIAL terminal, the large terminal building acts like a virtual frame to the skyline and the colurs reflected from the window panes add more glamour, what a beauty!

This city have many such wonderful scenes to offer...

Morning Yoga...

Such scenes are common if you land up in lalbagh early morning, there are many who visit the parks for daily exercises such as walking, jogging and yoga etc. The best of the things city can offer are these serene and peaceful natural surroundings making it relaxing and motivating for the health concious folks...

Breakfast@MTR ...

The Plain Dosa and Chandrahara at MTR, a breakfast menu I choose to start with then. The new dessert called chandrahara that I tried for the first time gave me one more reason to visit MTR... The Dosa as always served with Ghee , green mint, chilli n coconut chutney and hot sambar was a delight..

Janapada Jaatre...

Janapada jaatre is all about taking folk culture of villages to cities. This two day festival is being organised regularly over past few years. This year event was too organised for two days, 8th and 9th November, at Lalbagh.
The distinction between folk culture and mass culture rests on the difference between two basic types of society. The fast growing urbanization requires to look back at the very beggining of lifestyles to enrich ourselves with the rich traditions and culture of the local… the festival provides introward look at the sociery to help the population relate with it ….check my older posts on metblogs here..

Chandrayaan – Embracing the Moon!

Historical day for India and for Bangaluru, the mission to Moon is a great success. Certainly a feather in the cap for the city from where this mission is managed by Indian scientists…
Sending a constant stream of data from 45 km away was the Indian Deep Space Network at Byalalu, where two dish antennae —18 m and 32 m — have been tracking Chandrayaan’s every move since its launch on October 22. The spacecraft is now orbiting at an elliptical orbit that passes over the polar regions of the Moon. The nearest point of this orbit (periselene) lies at a distance of about 500 km from the moon’s surface while the farthest point (aposelene) lies at about 7,500 km. In the next few days the height of Chandrayaan’s orbit will be brought down to 100 km above the Moon’s surface .Reports Hindu….

The Great escape..

Early morning at cubbon park, a real good relaxation amidst nature. There are many joggers, walkers and even few who just have drive to get off early from their bed and reach this nature nirvana in the city center called cubbon park….

Sugercane juice...

Fresh Sugarcane juice always remain my favorite drink, be it on a sunny day or after a day long shopping episode this is the source of instant energy. Many prefer to have it along with some lemons cruched along with the cane or other simple add some pinapple chunks to make it more delightful...

Swanky Tales...

The terminal building of BIAL, the all new Bangalore international airports size and style just mesmerizes commuters. The airport is now only choice for the city and makes many wonder why such a great terminal was not build along the old HAL airport inside the city. The debate still continues while everyone is forced to travel abnormal distance from the city (40 kms) to this airport even for short distance domestic travel...