Monthly Archives: June 2015

Bengaluru misses Charles Correa too

Arts, Culture & Entertainment, Leaders, Records, All, World Opinion

CharlesTELAN19jun2015

The Hyderabad-born architect had strong links with Bengaluru too.

“One has to open up to the skies… only then will your buildings look up to light and ventilation in a scientific way,” renowned architect Charles Correa, who passed away at 84 in Mumbai yesterday, had said during one of his visits to Bengaluru.

He had many ideas on art and architecture and their role in shaping the building environment and urban landscape at large, particularly public spaces of Bengaluru. He passionately combined old-world charm and new age design philosophies that spoke of his strength to retain green values. His book, “A Place in the Shade” strongly exhort habitats to “respond to the overriding parameters of climate, culture and financial resources”.

He was known for his forthright comments on changing Mumabai’s landscape and bringing in local sensibilities into its architectural make-up. The Hyderabad-born architect had strong links with Bengaluru too.

Some of Correa’s buildings well-known in Bengaluru are the Jawaharlal Nehru Science Centre, off Jakkur, his own house that he built for his daughter at Koramangala where Fab India presently operates from, and the renowned LIC Tower or the Vishweshwaraya Centre where his exposed concrete work comes into reference even after 40 years of its historic handling for architects today.

He had strong views on the laying of Metro on M.G. Road. “The track on M.G. Road should have gone underground; or at least the elevated part should have been in steel instead of the ugly concrete expressions with gigantic pillars running all along,” Mr. Correa had said in an interview with The Hindu.

He, however, wanted the metro running elevated especially on the Vidhana Soudha Road. “Although I haven’t studied the buildings and the flow pattern near the Vidhana Soudha, it could have proved a heavenly addition to be above-ground. I can visualise the rail running 20-feet above the ground in steel, this gossamer being a typical contemporary narrative adding to the drama amidst the traditional looking State Assembly and the Karnataka High Court,” he had said.

Architects mourn death

Well-known architect Nagaraj Vastarey says about Correa: “There would never be a masterly figure as him in architecture anymore. Correa, apart from Balakrishna Doshi, was a point of reference to most of us growing up as architects.” Mr. Vastarey explained that in those days studying architecture was different as there wasn’t much of theory, but practical buildings from Correa meant lessons to all of us for references.”

Says architect Sandeep J. of Architecture Paradigm, “Correa rode the architectural world like a colossus, leaving behind a trail of master-pieces that are hard to match. The very aura around the man indicated that you were in the presence of a master architect, making you think twice before you decided to start a conversation.”

We have many architects who create wonderful forms and also those who create great spaces. “Charles Correa stands tall in Indian architecture as a creator of both form and space, as could be seen in Bharath Bhavan, Bhopal,” says Architect Sathya Prakash Varanashi. “His sense of scale, colour and visual aesthetics compliment the overall design, which together resulted in projects like Jawahar Kala Kendra in Jaipur, adding a new dimension to the history of modern architecture in India.”

Mr. Varanashi explained that Correa did not experiment with innovative structures or international styles, which possibly helped him to perfect his ideas across varied building locations and types. Alternately, he explored each project without getting stuck to the earlier projects, to the extent where one building appears totally different from the other. The Bengaluru projects Vishweshwaraya Tower opposite Vidhana Soudha and Jawaharlal Nehru Center for Advanced Studies may not even appear as designed by same architect. Correa had a mind that never got stuck, letting him explore designs like very few world architects could.

Those who have frequented the earlier Fab India showroom in Koramangala, Bengaluru have walked into the house which Correa designed for his stay in Bengaluru! “The fact that a house gets the new avatar as a shop, without losing its spirits, shows the flexibility with which the house has been conceived,” said Mr. Varanashi.

The early buildings of Correa, including the famous Gandhi Smarak Sangrahalay at Sabarmati Ashram, synthesized his international exposure with the local contexts, charted a new road map for architecture in India. His fluency in dealing with residential houses – from LIC Colony in Bengaluru to Kanchanganga Apartments in Mumbai – shows a variety very few architects have been able to even think of.

source: http://www.thehindu.com / The Hindu / Home> News> Cities> Bengaluru / by Ranjani Govind / Bengaluru – June 17th, 2015

Organic Food Delivered at Your Doorstep

Business & Economy, Inspiration/ Positive News and Features

Queen’s Road :

A group of passionate foodies have come together to launch a website (www.homemadeonline.in) that brings women entrepreneurs and cottage industries into one domain to manufacture and distribute food products to consumers.

Through the platform, one can buy and sell homemade food products, which will be delivered fresh at the customer’s doorstep.

AjantaBF17jun2015

Ajanta Chandan, managing partner of Homemadeonline, says, “There are a lot of talented entrepreneurs amongst us who don’t know how to reach the masses. Our website gives them an opportunity to meet the demands of the people who are looking for non-commercial and organic food products online.”

Started two months ago, the website aims at bringing back the forgotten local food items and encouraging vendors to sell good quality products. Health-oriented people who could be working professionals, young students and diabetic patients are the company’s target group.

“We currently have around 1,000 regional food products on offer being supplied by over 200 registered vendors. Besides food, we are also promoting many entrepreneurs who are into handicrafts,” she adds.

OrganicBF17jun2015

Homemadeonline has on display a wide range of products including organic spices, masala powders, pickles, papad, homemade chocolate, herbal products, millet products, health and nutritional products, regional delicacies and healthy breakfast options.

Chandan says, “Within six months, we plan to expand our business in South India and in the years to come, we hope to spread all over India.”

source: http://www.newindianexpress.com / The New Indian Express / Home> Cities> Bengaluru / by Express News Service / June 17th, 2015

A new world, in photos

Arts, Culture & Entertainment, Nri's / Pio's, Travel, World Opinion
Youngsters in the mahout community look at the camera. Photo courtesy: CLIC Abroad Foundation
Youngsters in the mahout community look at the camera. Photo courtesy: CLIC Abroad Foundation

CLIC Abroad is an initiative for American students to immerse themselves in India and take back an understanding of our similarities and differences.

The best way to learn about a country and its culture is to live in the community and follow their daily life, and even better, photograph them to take stories back to friends at home. Students from American high schools have had several such experiences in India, living in States as diverse as Assam to Karnataka, through CLIC Abroad or ‘Children Learning International Cultures’, an organisation founded by travel writer and photographer Bhaskar Krishnamurthy from Karnataka.

Bhaskar Krishnamurthy. Photo courtesy: CLIC Abroad Foundation
Bhaskar Krishnamurthy. Photo courtesy: CLIC Abroad Foundation

Bhaskar has lived through many photography experiences, including, he says, an ULFA militant kidnapping in 1999 before he moved to the U.S.A.! “Photography is often seen as an elitist thing. I didn’t want it to stay that way,” says Bhaskar, explaining how he involved the local communities of Augusta, Georgia, where he lives, in photography festivals. Based on the success of those projects, the engineer felt it was a great idea to do something like this in India. So in 2009, he, along with friends set up CLIC Abroad, with the idea that children from America and people from India mingle at photography workshops held within communities here and together build and narrate stories. Most visits last about 12 days.

“The first camp we had was in Bodoland; after initial hiccups, over 5,000 rural people participated in the rural photo exhibition. My focus is on education through visual representation and empowerment through participation,” he reiterates. A product of SIT Tumkur, Bhaskar studied mostly in various parts of rural Karnataka and then moved to Bengaluru.

“Till date we have brought down over 100 American children studying in classes nine to 12. Just last month was our latest venture where a group of students from the Abraham Baldwin Agricultural College lived with elephant mahout communities in Karnataka in Dubare, Sakrebylu, and Aane Chowku (Nagarhole), talking, among other things about the gaps between conservation and the man-animal conflict,” says Bhaskar. CLIC Abroad currently has a tie up with about eight high schools and colleges in America.

“The idea is to understand the dynamics of the community, and figure out how best to participate or help,” adds Bhaskar, giving examples of how sometimes students donate something as simple as shoes and socks which children in remote India don’t have to wear to school. On the other hand, they helped light up an entire village that didn’t have electricity, using solar lamps. The students raise their own funds or save up to pay for their trip.

Shelby Evans, a 20-year-old communication student, says of her recent trip to Karnataka: “Rural, where I’m from, and ‘rural’ in India were very different. Farms were smaller, crops were unusual, and the farm equipment was handcrafted. However, while I found the landscape and the culture to be incredibly different, the people were kind and hospitable. The kindness here is not unlike the kindness of the Southern (American) hospitality, I find at home. It was comforting for me to see that kindness across the world.” Her classmate Austin Morris got to straddle two worlds – riding elephants, coming across King Cobras, and then visiting schools and interacting with children across age groups and seeing how they learn.

Thomas Grant, assistant professor of journalism at Abraham Baldwin Agricultural College, in an email response, says: “My students and I couldn’t begin to understand India until we had travelled there. In CLIC Abroad, what students get is a chance to touch and feel India in a way that no movie or book ever can. It allows young people from both nations to embrace their similarities and understand their differences in a personal way. I could never teach this. In Coorg, we came to understand India’s relationship with nature. In America, nature is often something to be dominated. If a wolf eats a sheep, the farmer is allowed to shoot it. But in Coorg, we saw wild elephants trampling through coffee estates, yet the farmer was not angry with the elephant. He wanted it to leave, but he wouldn’t harm it. We talked to two girls whose mother had been killed by an elephant, yet they wished no harm on the elephant.

They merely wished that that the elephant would be moved far away. This respect for nature was one of our most incredible takeaways from India. Indians have learned to live with nature, and Americans could learn much from that.”

For details look up www.clicabroad.org

source: http://www.thehindu.com / The Hindu / Home> Features> MetroPlus> Society / by Bhumika  K / June 17th, 2015

‘I always dreamt of owning the best cars’

Arts, Culture & Entertainment, Historical Links, Pre-Independence, Records, All, Sports

CarBF16jun2015

Personal diaries have always been around. Confidential and distinctive, personal diaries capture some memorable moments, in the life of an individual. However, VP Manohar. a passionate hoarder of machines of all ages, has a list of cars written down in his diary! 
It all started when he was a kid. Manohar would write down the names of the cars that he liked and the ones he saw on the roads. Not only did he know the names of the best cars that roared on the streets of old Bangalore, but would also write down the information about the owners of these cars. “I always dreamt of owning the best cars,” says Manohar, currently the managing partner of Southam and Company. He says, “I remember that my father owned just one car. I made sure I washed it regularly.” However, it was in 1967 that Manohar was gifted his first car — the Triumph Herald. He later owned a few more beauties, including a Ford and a Contessa, after which his love shifted to vintage and classic machines.His first classic car was a 1966 Mercedes Benz, a royal blue queen, which ruled the automobile markets for eleven years. “These cars are called classic for the obvious reasons. They were strong and weighed over two tons,” he explains. The second entrant into his collection was the very stylish 1984 Jaguar XJ6 Sovereign. A rare car with twin fuel tanks, it has the glass headlight cover, which is not to be seen in the present-day models.“The old models of Jaguar are better built than the newer ones. This car has twin fuel tank with a button that can switch from one tank to the other. The 1984 model is premium when compared to the recent models,” he opines. After the ‘panthera’ beauty came the beastly wagon — 1946 Chevrolet Fleetmaster. A synonym for luxury, it has a fastback styling, comfortable upholstery and white-walled tyres. A roar of the car is enough to know its majesty. “I have the original keys for this car. I have the bill from 1946 with me too,” he quips.

A love for these classic beauties has turned his house into a workshop of sorts. “The Benz was in a pretty good condition. But the other two needed complete restoration. I would never leave my cars at the workshop. Instead, I would get the mechanics home and my house was altered into a workshop,” he informs.

His Mercedes Benz has driven one lakh miles. He says, “The Germans built this machine ahead of technology and hence it has remained intact, without any rust or wear and tear.” While most of the parts of Jaguar were imported from the US, the Chevy’s parts were available in the country. “I even have the original petrol cap for my Chevy,” he says.

A member of Karnataka Vintage and Classic Car Club, he takes out his cars every Sunday and says he likes the attention he gets while driving these old cars. He has been a part of rallies for many years now. Drawing a parallel to the rallies of the old times, he says, “The rallies of the olden times were tougher. Now it is just a 600 to 800 km rally. But I have taken part in 2,000 km rallies and one had to be a strong driver to take part in them.”

It is his passion that has brought him thus far and inspired him to learn a great deal about cars, from assembling to reassembling. He concludes saying, “I want to own a vintage Rolls Royce in future.”

source: http://www.deccanherald.com / Deccan Herald / Home> Supplements> MetroLife / by Pragna GR – DHNS / June 16th, 2015

The Fête de la Musique is Back

Arts, Culture & Entertainment, Records, All

Thimmaiah Road :

Musicians will be jamming it out in various venues around the city on June 20 and June 21 to celebrate the International Music Day.

FeteDeLaMusicBF16jun2015

Since its inception in France in the year 1982, The Fête de la Musique has ramified into other countries. The Fête de la Musique was hosted in 700 cities in over 100 countries not including the country of origin in 2014. In India,  Bengaluru, Chennai, Delhi,  Kolkata, Pune and Puducherry organize the event on a very large scale. In accordance with each country’s cultural specificities, The Fête de la Musique – International Music Day is celebrated on June 21 around the world. Bengaluru’s first Fête de la Musique took place in 1984 in collaboration with the Bangalore School of Music.

The Fête  is free to all and open for all to participate across genres. This year, some venues have chosen to represent certain genres. For example: Church Street Social is going all out to celebrate Electronica and Toit Brewpub has Acoustic Rock acts, whereas SAIACS CEO Centre is focusing on Jazz and Bangalore School of Music is more  focussed on Western Classical. This is also the year where a lot of professional acts will be sharing the stage with amateurs – Galeej Gurus, Perfect Strangers, Peepal Tree, to name a few.

Another noteworthy performance to lookout for from  a group of young girls from The Baale Mane Trust who will be the first ever female troupe to play the Dollu Kunitha, a Kannada percussion always played by men.

In most of Europe, public spaces host the Fête de la Musique. People step out at cross roads, footpaths, city squares for one big jam session. In Bengaluru, such an idea may not work given our unpredictable weather. This year though, BMRCL official U V Vasanth Rao himself opened up the Rangoli Metro Art Centre (Rangasthala and Hoovina Haadi) as well as select Metro stations for the event. Venues include the Bangalore School of Music, The Humming Tree, Octavium, Big Pitcher, Toit, Church Street Social, SAIACS CEO Centre, Goobe’s Book Republic, Guruskool, The Warehouse, Blistering Barnacles and Alliance de Française.

source: http://www.timesofindia.indiatimes.com / The Times of India / Home> Cities> Bengaluru / by Shalini Raman / June 16th, 2015

All pets, domestic animals need licence

Arts, Culture & Entertainment, Business & Economy

Bengaluru :

It’s not just your pet dog that will need a licence. That cow grazing on the footpath or the buffalo which suddenly parks itself in the middle of the road need one too.

Owners of all domestic animals will henceforth have to get a licence if they want to keep them, and also ensure they are not left to stray on roads and other public places. A dedicated hygienic enclosure is part of the rules under the licensing system.

Exasperated with cows, buffaloes and other animals straying on the roads and blocking up traffic, the BBMP has submitted a proposal to the urban development department seeking its approval for extension of norms to all kinds of pets and domestic animals, including pigs, donkeys, horses etc. Currently, the licence ambit covers only pet dogs, and there is no compulsion as such.

Dr KA Nanjappa, deputy director (animal husbandry), BBMP, told TOI they have provision to impose a penalty on owners of cows and other domestic animals who let their animals out on the streets, as finding the owners has become a challenge. “If the licence is made compulsory, we can give unique numbers to these animals so the owners can be identified,” he added. From 2011 to 2015, as many as 4,730 domestic animals were caught straying on the roads by BBMP officials and a total of Rs 3,35,173 was collected in penalty from the owners.

source: http://www.timesofindia.indiatimes.com / The Times of India / Home> City> Bangalore / TNN / June 16th, 2015

Bescom’s solar generation reaches 1 MW

Business & Economy, Green Initiatives / Environment, Science & Technology

Nearly eight months after the launch of its ambitious solar rooftop project, the Bangalore Electricity Supply Company (Bescom) finally reached a milestone by generating 1,000 kW (1 MW ) of solar power.

Getting off to a slow start, the power utility now has 409 applications registered with an overall proposed solar generating capacity of 19 MW.

Among the major contributors to Bescom’s solar generating capacity are: the Karnataka State Cricket Association, which has installed a 400 kW rooftop solar power plant at M. Chinnaswamy Stadium, St. Joseph’s College and National Institute of Advanced Sciences (100 Kwp each).

A Bescom release said that process and technical committees have been formed to encourage solar rooftop power distribution generation.

A solar help desk has also been constituted (080-22340816 andsolarhelpdesk@bescom.co.in) for those interested in installing solar rooftop plants.

source: http://www.thehindu.com / The Hindu / Home> News> Cities> Bengaluru / by Staff Reporter / Bengaluru – June 16th, 2015

Belagavi’s tower clock to fall silent

Arts, Culture & Entertainment, Historical Links, Pre-Independence, Records, All, Travel, World Opinion

Belagavi :

A British-era tower clock here will be silenced forever to enable widening of a road.

Looking to widen Kalmath Road to 45 feet under its master plan, the Belagavi City Corporation has instructed authorities of the Pioneer Urban Cooperative Bank to raze the %part of the building where the tower clock stands. The bank authorities have secured a week’s time to do so.

The clock on the bank’s building on Kalmath Road sounds its bell every half an hour. Residents of surrounding areas, like %Kalmath Road, Ganapati Galli and Maruti Galli, have an emotional attachment with it. The clock helps some manage their schedules.

The building was constructed 110 years ago. In 1939, the bank management awarded the contract to manufacture the clock to Mumbai’s Swadeshi Electric Clock Company. A large bell from John Tailor Company was fitted into the clock 75 years ago.

The bank has employed a person to wind the clock once a week, and to maintain the tower.

Speaking to STOI, bank manager D R Jadhav lamented that the antique will soon become part of history.

In 1940, the management spent around Rs 40,000 on constructing the bank building. Now, the bank pays a like amount %as property tax, the manager said.

source: http://www.timesofindia.indiatimes.com / The Times of India / Home> City> Bengaluru / by Ravindra Uppar, TNN / June 14th, 2015

Sharing is the new black

Business & Economy

There’s a new kind of shopping fad catching the fancy of Bengaluru’s fashionable set and it doesn’t have to do with sucking up tummies to fit into that impossibly small crop top or pre-ordering the next season’s collection of their favourite brand. If anything, youngsters in the city are air-kissing their approvals to the concept of clothes swapping – a trend that reportedly started in the US in the 90s and has been gaining popularity ever since recession hit the world economy in the noughties and people woke up to the burden of an overflowing wardrobe and its attendant credit card woes.

Clothes swapping, or ‘swishing’ as the movement is referred to as, involves a get-together where guests exchange their unused clothes and or accessories between themselves and the exchange is almost always done for free or for a major discount.Environment-friendly collaborative consumption that is also… no wonder the concept has the world’s shopaholics in thrall.

Last Saturday, Bengaluru’s shopaholics got a taste of this with Clothary, the brainchild of Isabella Escobedo. “Clothary is an attempt at making fashion sustainable and affordable by breaking away from conventional patterns of the retail industry. With one eye on conscious consumption and the other on the latest trends, Clothary wants to be a walk-in wardrobe, a clothes library where sharing is the new possessing and renting the new purchasing,” reads the initiative’s Facebook page. Talking about the event and how it was received by Bengalureans, Escobedo says, “The event was very successful and while around a 100 had accepted our Facebook invite, about 65 people – mostly youngsters – turned up. And by the response, the participants were happy with the exchange.There were people who’d come to access fashion for free, some came to declutter their wardrobes, and some came because they thought it was a sustainable idea that contributed to a better environment.”

The Exchange Room is another city-based initiative that was started by four friends who “always had wardrobes full of clothes but never had anything ‘new’ to wear.” “It was from this dilemma that we hit upon the idea of exchanging clothes amongst ourselves rather than go on shopping sprees,” says Sai Sangeet, one of the co-founders. “But from a project that started between four close friends, the idea gained traction among our wider circle of friends; we’ve got a Facebook page and even conducted two events that were successful. Though we focus mainly on clothes exchange, we also give away clothes for low prices when some people do not have anything to offer in exchange.”

The Street Store Bangalore sets its model on the South Africa-based ‘open-source’ movement, The Street Store. Explains founder Samridhi Agarwal, “The Street Store is a worldwide movement that first started in South Africa. It’s basically a nonprofit drive where we tie up with various NGOs to set up a store in a public place and provide an amazing shopping experience to the needy.” But that’s not all. “Taking a leaf out of the clothes swap idea, we’ve recently started an exchange forum for women called Revamp My Closet where we buy used clothes from people that we personally pick from their homes.Customers can then either accept cash or shop at our store where we sell clothes at highly discounted rates,” Agarwal informs.

Finally, giving a spin to the concept of barter trading is AdalBdal (pronounced A-Dal-B-Dal). Explains founder Bal Krishn Birla, “We started AdalBdal over a year ago to kickstart the trend of moneyless transactions and renewing the system of barter. We function in two ways – one is through our online portal where people can upload pictures of things they want to give away and choose what they want in return. The second are the numerous donation drives we organize in apartments where we give away whatever is collected to the needy. “To impress upon kids the credo of sharing-is-caring, AdalBdal “has also partnered with the Freethinking School for their event Freeswap Summer Camp Barter Weekend Program, to introduce kids to the system of exchange without letting money come into the equation. We bring up the issue of money all the time in front of kids today. This initiative is a way to teach them that there is joy in giving and receiving something with no monetary consideration involved.”

source: http://www.timesofindia.indiatimes.com / The Times of India / Home> City> Bengaluru / by Mahalakshmi  P,  TNN / June 14th, 2015

Unified remote-sensing centre launched in Bengaluru

Science & Technology

The State government on Thursday launched a central remote-sensing centre that brings all remote-sensing data activity under one roof – different from the three centres that were handling the work previously.

Former chairman of Isro, K Kasturirangan, and ST, BT & IT Minister, S R Patil, inaugurated the centre – billed as the first of its kind – on Major Sandeep Unnikrishnan Road in Yelahanka.

Kasturirangan, a former member of the Planning Commission, said the centralised office would help people and institutions approach a single centre instead of three previously. All the remote-sensing data collected from Isro’s satellites would be processed here, making satellite data available at one location.

Karnataka was one among the first states in the country to use GIS-Data and remote-sensing data in planning. The technologies have been used in agriculture, farming, forestry and rural and urban development. The new centre which consolidates all technologies and data under one roof makes planning easier across sectors.

Minister Patil said Bengaluru and Karnataka were still ahead of all the cities and states in information technology. By 2020, Karnataka will have reached four lakh crore worth of IT exports. The government, he said, was ready to take measures to consolidate this lead and continue to be the number one IT destination in the country.

source: http://www.deccanherald.com / Deccan Herald / Home> State / DHNS – Bengaluru, June 12th, 2015