Childhood colours...

Party balloons are mostly made of natural latex tapped from rubber trees and can be filled with air, helium, water, or any other suitable liquid or gas. The rubber allows for elasticity which makes the volume adjustable. Most of this rubber is made from recycled material, such as old tires and tennis shoes.
Filling with air is done with the mouth, with a manual or electric inflator (such as a hand pump) or a source of compressed air. More >> 

Breakfast ..anybody?

Such eateries are lifelines of Bangalore, hot and sumptous breakfast at a very affordable price remains the the USP..... More >>

 

So called Antiques...

The world of Antiques has mesmerized many, from the footpaths to the swanky showrooms these objects of desires are available, many modern ( redone) antiques are up for sale from a street vendor on MG Road....

The definition of antique varies from source to source, product to product and year to year. But, some time-tested definitions of antique deserve consideration:

An item which is at least 75 years old and is collected or desirable due to rarity, condition, utility, or some other unique feature. Motor vehicles, in contrast, are considered antiques in the U.S. if older than 25 years, and some electronic gadgets of more recent vintage may be considered antiques

antique (noun) - Any piece of furniture or decorative object or the like produced in a former period and valuable because of its beauty or rarity.

Using this definition allows distinctions between genuine antique pieces, vintage items and collectible objects.

The term is sometimes conventionally restricted to the remains of ancient art, such as sculptures, gems, medals, seals, &c. In a most limited sense it applies only to Greek and Roman art, and includes neither the artistic remains of other ancient nations nor any product of classical art of a later date than the fall of the western empire.

 

Roadside stalls...

Typical roadside stalls setup over weekends to help residents with the nessasities and saving the pain of driving down to citycenter. The 'known' customers do have a choice of getting them delivered to their doorstep too...

 

Lambani, Gypsies of India

The Lambani women embroider bright rainbow-coloured fabrics covered with a mosaic of patchwork mirrors. Their work is sought after by collectors for its vibrancy of pattern and colour, and for the unusual technique of sewing hundreds of small mirrors into the compostion. Each piece depicts an aspect of the Lambani creation myths.

Lambanis, also called banjaras, originally hail from Rajasthan. It is said that the Lambanis were working as soldiers in the army of Rajputs. After the decline of Rajputs, the Britishers took over the reigns of the country. It was then that the lambanis left their home towns in groups and settled in hillocks and faraway places to save themselves from the Britishers. Thousands of families settled down in Karnataka too. These people speak their own language which has no script. But they have also learnt Kannada. Lambanis are traditionally engaged in the collection of firewood, construction work and knitting lambani dresses.

Modernism may have made inroads into their tradition, but nearly 70 per cent of the people are still continuing in the footsteps of their predecessors. More >>

 

Living stray....

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The number of stray dogs in the city has come down to 47,000 from two lakhs five years ago due to sterilisation programmes, animal rights organisations claim.
There are four organisations, including the Animal Rights Fund, Krupa, Karuna and Compassion Unlimited Plus Action (CUPA), that work in the area through a mandate provided by the Bangalore Mahanagara Palike.
All of them patrol the city each day for stray dogs and take them to the pounds for sterilisation. Once this is done, the dogs are returned to the same area. More >>

Sunset from Nandi Hills

60 kms north of Bangalore is the summer resort called Nandi Hills. Also known as Nandidurga, it was one of the summer retreats of Tipu Sultan. Nandi Hills was popular with the British too who built bungalows and laid out gardens here.
Nandidurg was traditionally held impregnable, and its storming by Lord Cornwallis in 1791 was one of the most notable incidents of the first war against Tipu Sultan of Mysore. It was formerly a favorite resort for British Raj officials during the hot season. Francis Cunningham built the summer residence here for Sir Mark Cubbon.
Today of course, it's a hot favourite among Bangaloreans who find this an ideal get-away for weekends. The 1478-m high Nandi Hills is the originating point of some rivers and the forests surrounding the hills, abound with wild animals. Bangalore. Here, are two ancient temples, the Bhoganandeeswara temple at the foothills and the Yoganandeeswara hill temple.

 

Nation of the small retailer

India is indeed a nation of shop-keepers. We are a nation of the small retailer. 98 per cent of all our businesses are small-retail controlled, despite the emergence of the super-market and other forms of aggregated trade having been around for the last 15 years.

Diversity of the shopping experience in India is one of its joys. The small shop in many ways is run by the small entrepreneur. Run in a small manner of thinking and a small manner of management. And small remains beautiful. Small remains personalised!

Construction Mania...

City is budding to be a metro, the old houses getting converted into apartment houses and shopping area's are gulping the Garden cities calm... the developement bring's money and is invested into realty. Government too seems to be cashing in...

Real estate has transformed into a separate asset class and a new avenue of investment for individuals. The most significant advantage of real estate investment is that such investments do not require day-today tracking unlike investment in stocks and shares where rate of interest fluctuates every now and then. This characteristic of real estate investment would be further enhanced on account of favourable inflation and low interest rate regime. Within this framework, investment in real estate has become a good option.

An independent study has estimated that over 100 million sqft of space will be required across the major cities by 2008. To date, less than 5 per cent of the Fortune 500 companies have moved significant operations offshore. As the trend gathers momentum, employment growth in India is expected to accelerate rapidly.

God save our cities....

 

Life of a beggar

It is very difficult to generalize how and where panhandling begins in the life of a beggar. Some inherited from their ancestors others are thrown into it. There are all kinds of beggars whose period of begging spans from five minutes to fifty years.
GUIC in India, says the focus must be on modest material goals, such as the study centre set up for children in Bangalore, and on teaching decision-makers to genuinely listen to the young. More >>

 

Snake-charmers...

Those who do it for a living - so-called ‘snake-charmers.’ Most are illiterate or barely educated and it’s generally a hereditary profession. Between Mysore and Bangalore alone there are about 119 families, while the number for Karnataka is approximately 1,000. More >>

Many snake charmers live a wandering existence, visiting towns and villages on market days and during festivals. With a few rare exceptions, however, they typically make every effort to keep themselves from harm's way. For one, the charmer typically sits out of biting range, and his animal is sluggish and reluctant to attack anyway. More drastic means of protection include removing the creature's fangs or venom glands, or even sewing the snake's mouth shut. The most popular species are those native to the snake charmer's home region, typically various kinds of cobra, though vipers and other types are also used. More >>

Conservationists or rescuers: They catch a snake in as humane a way as possible, and then release it into a safe habitat like a wildlife sanctuary/forest. There are about 15 in Karnataka. And since they don’t get paid for it and are doing it out of a passion for the snake, they hold regular bread-and-butter jobs.

 

Cycle rickshaw

A cycle rickshaw, also known as a pedicab, velotaxi, or trishaw, is a human-powered vehicle for hire, usually with one or two seats for carrying passengers in addition to the driver. Though Cycle rickshaws are widely used for transportation in many parts of India, where they have largely replaced less-efficient hand-pulled rickshaws that required the driver to walk or run while pulling the vehicle.

In Bangalore it is yet unique and not that widely used, the one's I saw are being used to carry goods and sometimes people... More >>

Monsoon Sale...

Shoppers paradise, the monsoon sale is here, most of the shops have great offers towards the clearance of goods stacked up since last mega season...the upcoming deepawali festive season in October will caste new stocks of the current sale succeeds... 

Andhra Meals ...

Andhra meals in general could be found in all the south indian hotels & restaurants. People in Bangalore love eating andhra meals in lunch/dinner. One could also find Special Andhra meals in specialized south Andhra hotels and resutaurants such as Nandhini, Amarawati, Bheema's and my favorite on CMH road..Hotel Sridevi to name the few... Where one can reliss this great Andhra food served hot on a banana leaf...

A full Andhra vegetarian meal generally consists of: Annamu - (cooked Rice), eaten together with each of the following items:

> Pappu - Pappu the Telugu word for cooked Lentils
> 2 or 3 'Koora' - (vegetable entrees/curries): Examples include bendakaya (okra), vankaya (eggplant/brinjal)
> Pachhadi - pickle - Aavakaaya(spicy mango pickle) and gongura are examples
> Sambaar (Boiling spicy vegetable soup)
> Pulusu - A vegetable broth resembling sambar, but very different in preparation and taste
> Rasam (a lighter version of Sambaar without vegetables)
> Majjiga pulusu - (a variation of pulusu, made with majjiga (buttermilk))
> Pulihora- (tamarind rice)
> Perugu - Curd (yogurt)
> Appadalu - fried tacos made from rice (usually eaten with pulusu or sambar)
> 1-2 sweet dishes, including one made of milk. Payasam is a very common example, another is bobbatu and poornalu which taste sweet and delicious.

Non-vegetarian menus would include other items, such as:
> Chepala pulusu (fish soup)
> Kodi koora (chicken curry)
> Pottelu mamsam(Goat/Sheep curry) ..

 

Recycling paper

Globally, over 85million tonnes of waste paper are recycled each year to produce paper and board. However this is a small percentage of the total amount of paper produced most of which is not recycled. These waste paper merchants who sort the waste into various grades. There are ten main groups of paper including clean white paper, newspapers and magazines, brown sacks and boxes down to the lowest grades of mixed waste paper which provide the raw material for packaging papers and boards.

Traditionally in India these paper merchants exist in each city at every nook and corner, they help preserve our national forest reserves as they contribute via recycling the old papers.

More >>

Celebrating I-Day...back to school!

Schoolchildren clad in neat uniforms were all around the city — unlike as on a Sunday. Inside the school compounds, they presented impressive march-pasts and cultural programmes while listening to speeches by eminent personalities.

Few juniors watch the performance sitting on the benches under the watchful eyes of teachers...dreaming them to be the one's who will make it to participate in the program in future... Bangalore was busy celebrating the I-day all over...

Vande Mataram....

वन्दे मातरम्
सुजलां सुफलां मलयजशीतलाम्
शस्य श्यामलां मातरंम् ॥ वन्दे...

शुभ्र ज्योत्सनाम् पुलकित यामिनीम्
फुल्ल कुसुमित द्रुमदलशोभिनीम्,
सुहासिनीं सुमधुर भाषिणीम् .
सुखदां वरदां मातरम् ॥ वन्दे...

This song, since my childhood has been the "Beloved". On occation of independence day y'day, heard this again from all over Bangalore, from schools, communities and every TV channel chanting this ...

Please join me saluting the spirit of this song, realize it's connection to the heart of every Indian anywhere in the world...

Vande Mataram (in Bangla: বন্দে মাতরম Bônde Matorom) is the national song of India. The song was composed by Bankim Chandra Chatterjee in a highly Sanskritized form of the Bengali language. The song first appeared in his book Anandamatha, published in 1882 amid fears of a ban by British Raj, though the song itself was actually written six years prior in 1876. "Vande Mataram" was the national cry for freedom from British oppression during the freedom movement. Large rallies, fermenting initially in West Bengal, in the major metropolis of Calcutta (Kolkata), would work themselves up into a patriotic fever by shouting the slogan "Vande Mataram," or "Hail to the Mother(land)!". The British, fearful of the potential danger of an incited Indian populace, at one point banned the utterance of the motto in public forums and jailed many freedom fighters for disobeying the proscription. To this day, "Vande Mataram" is seen as a national mantra describing the love of patriots for the country of India. Rabindranath Tagore sang 'Vande Mataram' in 1896 at the Calcutta (Kolkata) Congress Session. Poet Sarala Devi Chaudurani sang 'Vande Mataram' in the Benares Congress Session in 1905. Lala Lajpat Rai started a journal called Vande Mataram from Lahore. More >>

The Annual flower show

The Indian Independence day horticultural show is organized from August 8 to 15 in the Glass House at Lal Bagh, Bangalore.

The annual flower show was inaugurated at the Lal Bagh Glass House on Tuesday as part of Independence day celebrations. This event is jointly organized by the Mysore Horticultural Society and the state's department of horticulture.

People from all over Bangalore flock to the venue to view this beautiful event. The school children are brought in batches to visit this place. The artists have been very creative in designing the Indian Flag with Anthurium flowers.

Such flower-shows are conducted twice a year in this historical Glass House in Lalbagh, Bangalore. One in January and the other in August-Septemb since 1922. Since 1951, these shows are organized coinciding with the Republic Day celebrations and the Independence Day celebrations respectively. For a period of 8-10 days that attract not only the people of Bangalore city but also people from outside the State and country.

HELPING THE WORKING CHILDREN TO DECIDE THEIR FUTURE

The Concerned for Working Children (CWC) is a non-governmental organisation based out of Bangalore, which works with local governments, the community and working children themselves to implement viable, comprehensive and appropriate solutions to the problem of child labour. CWC has many programmes to help children help themselves and protect them from harmful, both physically and emotionally, working conditions.

Project Dhruva's Vision > A world where there are are organisations of adults and children who are committed and able to ensure children’s participation and the realisation of their rights. More >>

In order to achieve this, CWC works with local governments, community and working children themselves to implement viable, comprehensive, sustainable and appropriate solutions in partnership with all the major actors, so that children do not have to work. It empowers working children so that they may be their own first line of defence and participate in an informed manner in all decisions concerning themselves.

 

Towards celebrating Indian Independence....

India was freed on August 15,1947. It was free to govern its destiny. The Indian history had written yet another chapter in its book. Soon the pages will be turned and another chapter would be written. Time has the quality to put a blanket over the past. At the time of independence, India was just recovering from the effects of second world war and the post-war reconstruction schemes had to be completed without delay.

Since independence, India has made enormous strides & faced enormous problems. The mere fact that India has not like so many other Third World countries, succumbed to dictatorships, military rule or wholesale foreign invasion is a testament to the basic strength of the country's government and institutions. Economy has made major steps forward in improving agricultural Output and Industries have expanded to the stage where India is one of the World's top ten Industrial powers.

Today, the Indian economy is a dynamic one & a vibrant one. The true measure of India's success is that India has transformed itself from a Third world country into one of the World's fastest growing economies. More >>

Wearing Helmets....

Just about few weeks ago, Police had installed two signature campaign boards at the entrance of Brigade Road near the Arts and Crafts junction and Opera junction where people signed in favour of the helmet campaign then. This RTO drive on the awareness on wearing Helmets have been nulled by the recent news.

Despite statistics and the opinion of doctors, the Karnataka government has backtracked once again on the implementation of the helmet rule for two-wheeler riders. Lives, which could have been saved, will continue to be lost as wearing a helmet on the state's roads will continue to be optional.

Because safety should not be optional...

In 57 samples of Coca-Cola and PepsiCo drinks produced in 12 Indian states, the CSE found the average amount of pesticide residues to be 11.85 parts per billion (ppb), 34 times higher than the permitted limit set by the Bureau of Indian Standards. These standards by the BIS have been drafted but not implemented. News Report>>

Coke and Pepsi are not the only contaminated food products, however. A previous study by CSE found pesticide residues in many bottled water brands sold in India, and a committee set up by the Indian Ministry of Agriculture also found (JPC Report) pesticide residues such as DDT (dichloro diphenyl trichloroethane), HCH (hexachlorocyclohexane) and BHC (benzene hexachloride) in everything from milk and baby milk powder to honey, fruit jam, and fresh fruit. Events>>

The problem has as much to do with agricultural practices encouraged by the Indian government - a focus on boosting yields with pesticides and chemicals - as it does with growing demand for water. Across much of India, tube wells have lowered the water table, leaving those pesticides that have trickled into the groundwater at ever-increasing concentrations. More >>

 

Wall Hanging's from a Street Vendor...

Making a living was never a challenge for creative minds, Home decor simplified via these golden hanging's with mirror work and sold directly to the consumers by this street vendor. In a short span of 15-20 minutes he managed to sell all of these...

A large section of street vendors in urban areas are those with low skills and who have migrated to the larger cities from rural areas or small towns in search of employment. These people take to street vending when they do not find other means of livelihood. Though the income in this profession is low, the investment too is low and the people do not require special skills or training. Hence for these people, men and women, street vending is the easiest form for earning their livelihood.

Moreover, as such hawkers have no other means of livelihood, they too have no option but to carry on with their trade, even if it means facing police beatings and harassment by municipal staff, who have a vested interest in keeping the vendors insecure and grovelling. They use the illegal status of the vendors to fleece them of a good part of their earnings. National Association of Street Vendors of India (NASVI) was initiated by SEWA in September 1998 to bring together the street vendor organisations of India so as to collectively struggle for macro-level changes which had become imminent to support the livelihood of around 10 million vendors which stood severely threatened due to outdated laws and changing policies, practices and attitudes of the powers that be. More >>

 

Celebrating "Raksha Bandhan" today...

Rakhi or Raksha is a sacred thread embellished with sister's love and affection for her brother. On the day of Raksha Bandhan sisters tie Rakhi on their brother's wrist and express their love for him. By accepting a Rakhi from a sister a brother gladly takes on the responsibility of protecting her sister. In Indian tradition the frail thread of Rakhi is considered stronger than iron chains as it binds brothers and sisters in an inseparable bond of love and trust.

Rakhi Festival holds immense significance in Indian cultural ethos. The custom of celebrating Rakhi started in Vedic times and even today brothers and sisters consider it must to celebrate the occasion in traditional manner. When brothers are away sisters send Rakhi to them and express their love. Accepting the Rakhi with grace brothers send Return gifts to their sister. This loving gesture goes a long way in strengthening brother sister relationship and building stronger family ties. The importance of Raksha Bandhan is same as Diwali festival in India. More >>