Happy New Year!!

May the New Year sunrise bring you the prosperity, charm and enlightens your soul!!
BDP is taking off till first week of Jan 2011 and will resume posting next year!! Warm wishes!!

Misty December!!

The winter is warm, yeah with all its beauty, the warm vibes of caring, times of hot coffee togetherness and tucking in the blankets till late, the winter for me is always a warm affair!! The city is earing a shawl of mist, early morning walks are heaven!!

Onion Cry!!

The soaring prices of onions in the market are making consumers cry, the heavy rains in the parts of the onion growing regions have spoiled the crop and the retail market rates are touching the sky wherein prime minister had to intervene and stop the export mitigating local needs...

Public transport..

These swanky air conditioned volvos are now seamlessly integrated with the narrow lanes of the neighborhoods! the swiftness of the drivers is worth a mention as they maneuver the narrow lanes, tree trunks and parked vehicles...

Big Boys, Toys....

The City is blessed with many top end toys that make the roads vibrant, there are quite a few such attractions parked by... The big Hummer on the Kormangala interior road!!

Morning Haze...

The winter is setting in, so is the haze..soon the days will wear the fog and stay up cozy till late mornings, its a pleasant walk around!!

Kite Flying...

The Mobile towers are now added to the enemies of kites, the enthusiast now find way of flying them above the trees as well as cell phone towers, the kite flying though has few takers as many kids choose the digital indoor games way this skill still remains exciting with few experts ....

Veggies...

What’s selling in the markets, the fresh vegetables on the sellers deck keeps changing with seasons, here is a quick snap on what’s there this month...

Traditional Attire..

In the new era of the modern clothing, it is good to see elders with traditional attire, the comfortable cotton kurta (shirt), Dhoti and the cap, with a cotton bag ( called shabnum) ...

Creative Hands...

Creativity begins at school, so true, this beautiful tree made with handprints in a school called Parikrama leading by example, this is a definite moral boost for students to look at life creatively and share the vibe with others...

Betal nut Cracker...

Perhaps everyone in India can relate to this, a betel nut cracker was a household tool used for many centuries, this one is the modern steel version but the oldies prefer the ones made from iron...

Friendly Pets

Like any other kids, this young one seems to have liked the love bird as the mother introduced him to these small beauties in the nearby hobby shop, the seeds of hobbies are thus planted when you are young!!

Ragpicker Carts...

This is something new, the rag pickers used to carry large sacks on their backs as they used to go around collecting plastic from the garbage bins and roadside waste, few of them have upgraded themselves and now have big bicycle carts to help them collect more and be efficient, these are the unorganized pillars of recycling chain bringing back lot of waste plastic back in the value chain!

Tracks in the sky...

Come Early next year these silent tracks will start rumbling, the metro first phase testing was schduled to begin this month and city is eagre to see the train will start playing ...all eyes!!

Street sellers..

Their business is to roam around the city, neighbourhoods and sell what they claim the medicinal and spiritual beeds, the banjaras are a tribe which makes their living by moving all their life from on area to other and make living by selling herbal medicines etc...

Solitude...

Everyone needs a place for their own, away from the crowd and for themselves. Surprizingly many public places do have such options on weekdays, and few take good advantage of it...this lady seem to have got the right place in the HAL aero museum canteen which is flooded otherwise with people on weekends....

Last few..

The forest fire bloom is over, the flowers will fall and the pods will emerge, the winter is setting in and so are the signs of the change...

Tomatos..

The heap of tomatos kept for sale in the local market, the fresh good arrive early and get sold out quickly during weekends...

Go Purple..

The purple Tabebuia on the bloom, the winter collection is out! The month of December will wear purple along...

stripes and colours..

The Clubbing is sporting too! the city has few sports cafes that provide great amount of fun and learning in the youth, more and more pool cafes are seen in almost all residential areas and remain crowded ...

Colors n patterns..

The colorful laces that is used in handicrafts, the small shop had such a large customers mostly those who have an eye and interest in design and stitching...

Late Morning...

The corner shop in a neighboring area, its beyond selling, the interactions between neighbors, passing time for elders, kids around, the bicycle ready after shopping the needful items, the street comes alive via so many such humane gestures....

Floral Dreams..

While making garlands this flower seller seems to be in deep thoughts as see almost freezed when I paned my camera, being around that market for last few years few faces start becoming familier, this is one of them!!

Hot chips...

That how the the shops selling fries are called, Hot Chips! this crispy option is most prefered and there are many such shops around the city with creative chips with tangy masala ....

One Kilo...

Now that is the most commonly seen measure on the vegetable vendor’s weigh-scale, the most commonly used term to communicate cost of veggies, perhaps this look has not changed since decades as I remember seeing this since my childhood!!

Catchup over tea

The corner tea shops are great way to catchup with friends, over a laid back weekend what best to do rather than hanging out with friends sipping hot tea or coffee in a cold winter morning...

Farm Fresh...

The eggs from the home farm, thats what is in demand for chickens raised in the open villages ( Locally known as 'nati') the bamboo basket is traditional way eggs are caried as against the egg trays commonly used in the poultry's, it is widely believed that these eggs are more nutritious than the industrial poultries....

Water Boy...

Fetching water on a bicycle, this boy is carrying water for his roadside business, especially when the business like small eatery needs a regular supply of water and the need is solved by carrying the water from nearby supply....

Few Wheelers...

The two wheelers in the city are quite a few; the roadside parking shows a stack of different bikes and scooters and the range of daily users. This option is friendlier when homes are not directly connected by public transport and people have freedom to travel quickly from one part to another...

Take the bus...

More and more air-conditioned buses are now plying on the city roads connecting different areas helping people commute easily and conveniently, the skilled drivers do their best to negotiate narrow lanes avoiding traffic, pedestrians and trees simultaneously...

Last Mile...

The shops on the roads where Metro work happened have done a lot sacrifice for the city. Dust, less or no customers, intruptions was a daily affair for last few years ...Though it's almost over yet customers have moved their choice of markets to other area and will take time to return...the shopkeepers do keep the hope!!

Rangoli...

Being the month of festivities many religious ceremonies are lined up in this month, here is a colorful rangoli on a house-warming pooja, the presence of which is devine....

Work-Life Balance...

A street vendor is pulling cart, making her son sit atop. The roadside selling is a difficult job, she has to pull her cart from one area to another to earn a living! a true life adventure of work life balance indeed!

Changing Horizons...

The Metro Stations are getting ready as the last leg of the project. The roof work has commenced, it won't be long when the trials will begin as Coaches have already arrived in the terminus...

Sunshine..

The Sun is back and shining over the city, the cloud cover is open and clear skies are back!

The flowers are fresh and so is the climate...just right!

Veggies..

The seasonal snapshot of veggies on the stand in a neaby market, the glimse of these make me feel better due to the colorful varieties...

Rains, Rains & More Rains...

The city is witnessing rains and drizzles over past two or more weeks, these are winter showers from the south east. the climate is wet, cloudy and cold... City needs sunshine!!

On the shelf...

The Fruits and veggies on display in a nearby departmental store, the seasonal fruits concept is slowly dying as many fruits are imported from other parts of the world or stored via cold storage and sold all round the year, veggies though are not in that league yet!!

Festive Lights..

The festival of lights has charmed the senses and rejuvenated the city with lot of love and affection of near and dears, the winter is setting in and the preparations for Xmas will soon begin with similar enthusiasm and excitement...

Lanes for planes...

The wider road that connects the city with the new airport is making life little easier, this section near hebbal flyover is as wide as it can get and the trafic seems to be flowing smoother, off course this is off peak hours scenario!

Price Points

The grocery stores display price tags for the varieties of grains and pulses nearby a market area. Most of the households still prefer buying their monthly groceries from such neighborhood shops....

Red Compaund Hibiscus..

There are many vairieties of hibiscus found in the city, The flowers are large, conspicuous, trumpet-shaped, with five or more petals, ranging from white to pink, red, orange, purple or yellow, and from 4–18 cm broad....

Sky..

The rains have settled down after a week long drizzle, the last sunset was visble in the sky... climate is good and it's getting bit warm today!

Changing Seasons..

The winter is here to spell the magic, south eastern monsoon is still lingering around and the weather is cold yet partly sunny for last two days, this beautiful butterfly is enjoying the Bougainvillea honey in a peaceful and tranquil state...

Diwali Diyas...

Usually made of clay these lamps are fueled by ghee or oil and a cotton wool as the wick. Though in these days different materials are replacing the clay ones or even people use electric lights, the significance of a diva (lamp) still at the center of the charm of traditional Diwali festivities...

More Crackers...

The weather is playing hard and its constant rains that has taken the temperature down below 20 deg Celsius, the excitement of crackers is now limited in the evening time when it does not rain, the store still stock them in anticipation!!

Janmejay, light combat!

This fighter helicopter from HAL is the new addition to the fleet, city has a proud presence of many defense establishments and such public holdings are a common sight while driving around old airport road!!

Crackers...

busting crackers and eating sweets, this is the way I remember Diwali, in my childhood, now when I see my son and his young cousin enjoying the festivities in similar fashion like the tradition continues... May you all too have a celebration and bring joy to you and your families too!

Happy Diwali, 2010

Here is wishing all the patrons of BDP a Happy Diwali...

This floral Rangoli is tribute from the school children of Parikrma, I has a privilege to participate in the function at their Kormangala school y'day evening! This prize winning display is from their "PLUTO" division...

Read more about Parikrma here..

@The Wheel..

This is a typical gesture of a BMTC driver, waiting at the traffic light, the large network of these BMTC buses promote public transport and connect virtually every part of the city...