P-panels: Hazzle ? Or a help ?

The concept was customized to great extent. We developed in-house software to select the members, with certain criteria like 1/3 to be educated with at least PUC qualification, 1/3 women etc.. . .More

Bangalore: The transformation from a sleepy town to booming metropolis

About Bangalore with love - a bit of history and geography, some nostalgia, many memories...

The Black and White King

What appalls me is the never ending tributes that one encounters over the Internet for this man. A man who was never comfortable in his own colored skin. A man who was never proud of his race or color. A man who was so ashamed of his African roots that he engineered ‘white children’ with white women so that the Jackson name would be carried on by white progenies from the next generation onwards...more.

Knitting with Ma

This is my mother, who has been knitting for more than 60 years now. She loves it, and not even the heat of summer can keep her from handling the wool. She only had to hear of another great-grandchild on the way, than she arranged for wool to be sent from Delhi by my sister, and she started on a layette . More. . .

First day, third show!

Is "first day, first show" really the very first show (i.e, the morning show) of the day when the movie is first released? Till today, I thought so. I'm sure that this is the popular belief too. Few say it isn't! Accordingly, first day, first show is actually the evening show of the first day! Confused? So was I! ..... More

Tree Policy of MGP

During the recent controversy about cutting trees on Lalit Mahal Road to widen it, allegations were made in the media that NGOs including Mysore Grahakara Parishat were blindly against all development. Claims were also made that MGP opposes tree cutting selectively, that it vehemently opposes tree cutting in some places and turns a blind eye to tree cuttings elsewhere. The current tree policy of MGP presented here clarifies the issue...... More

What we learn with pleasure we never forget.

What we learn with pleasure we never forget.
-Alfred Mercier

Scene 1

Friend 1: The syllabus here is so bad. My daughter is learning nothing in school

Me : Is it? She is in nursery, isn’t she?

Friend 1: Yes, and in India, she would be learning spelling and writing and everything.

Me: But, she is quite young isn’t she? She is not even 4.

Friend 1: All they do is sing and play.. Take them on farm visits – no proper studies! I have brought the syllabus books from India and I teach her in the evenings.

Read more

Sthala Purana : Does anyone care ?

Instead of giving that historical bit of news what do we give to quench the thirst of the inquiring tourist? In the picture the notice board next to famous Nandi sculpture in Chamundi Hills does not give any detail about the monument. . .More. . .

Jewellery? But naturally!

Who would've thought something like carambola would make such exquisite jewellery! It's a fruit for heaven's sake!
But then, this is the work of Nubia Goncalves from Rio de Janeiro. Nubia uses Brazilian natural products, including gemstones and nuts, to craft such beautiful jewellery

Once upon a bird-bath

At one corner of the grassy patch which I euphemistically call a lawn, is a rocky area.....
Some of the rock got exposed ages ago and the elements have carved out a small depression on one. I keep this filled with water and my 'bird-bath' seems to have become popular among the birds. Famous even, I would say, considering the number of migratory birds who stop by every year !

A rain tree of memories

Sometimes we used to climb the tree despite the warning that the branches were not very strong. To my knowledge however, no one has ever fallen off the tree. Anyway, for children scrambling up a low mango tree was definitely better than climbing the rain tree...

A wedding at a tree-loving family

At the wedding of his daughter in Mysore Mr K Pugglendi presented each of his guests with two fruit yielding tree saplings. Volunteers were seen asking the guests to plant them in their backyards. . .More. . .

Dr. Thomas Varghese Kalekattil – a man to ride the river with

One of the problems with old age is the trauma that comes with the passing away of friends. Reminiscences about the person who is no more – the good times together, shared moments of difficulties and happiness – cascade through the mind. These thoughts are mingled with the awareness that one’s time is coming too, may be soon, in any case not too far away...

Greening plan for D Urs Rd.

Considering the intersecting roads, electric poles and a gap of at least 15 feet between adjacent saplings, 240 trees can be planted (both sides included)...To get a sense of his plan,and view the images Ashwin has in mind for Devaraja Urs Road, access Sapgreen. . . .More. . .

Chennapatna Toys

If given proper help and infrastructure they can come out with toy car models and scaled down models of buildings etc . Our officials travel far and wide, make junkets to China, but do not find time to promote safer local toys in International market!. . .More. . .

I find her everywhere

She yearned to meet him again. She knew, there was no hope left whatsoever of inspiring love for her in him. It was made obvious by his silence to her proposal. Her pride was badly bruised by his refusal. She loved him, no doubt, but she never realised that it was her pride which dominated her thoughts about him rather than her love towards him. She had unconsciously decided to seek validation for her existence through his acceptance.

JNNURM: High Cost of non-involvement of Mysoreans

Mysore is one of the lucky cities to be chosen to be included to receive grants under centrally promoted Jawaharlal Nehru National Urban Renewal Mission. NURM commenced in 2005 and is expected to be completed in 2012. One of the main goals of NURM is to promote public participation through investment and also in advisory capacity. Unfortunately....... More

The Bridegroom Arrives....

From the temple the bridegroom and the entourage were taken to the wedding pandal in a slow procession with the accompaniment of nadaswaram and gaslights. In the early days it was a procession on foot, with the bridegroom garlanded. But even here changes came over gradually, and the bridegroom was seated in an open coach drawn by slow trotting horses. More.....

The Silk Cotton Tree

There was once a parrot which sat on a tree and watched its blossoms turn into shining green fruits. The parrot waited and waited for them to ripen to take its first bite from the fruits. More....

People Get the Governance They Deserve

What is common between Lalit Mahal Tree Felling protest, JUSCO contract to improve water supply, implementation of JNNURM, rampant violations of building code violations, disappearing footpaths, drowning in garbage, donation menace in educational institutions etc? It is the total indifference of professionals, and the literate class to take their civic responsibilities seriously..... More

Appellate Tribunal Orders Re-hearing of MGP Cases

Since the power demand in Karnataka is growing, more and more power generating stations are being built and the electricity distribution companies are entering into new power purchase agreements (PPAs) with the producers of power. In olden days, there was little regulation of this process and as a result..... More

The New Road Humps Are A Nuisance

Recently there was an item in the newspapers criticizing the new pedestrian crossing-cum-road humps which are being installed all over Mysore. One of the criticisms was that many of these crossings are not at all provided with drainage channels and the channels that are provided are inadequate. It was predicted..... More

MGP clarifies

Mysore Grahakara Prishat had recently issued a press statement in which it urged the Commissioner of MCC to pass orders on a complaint filed by Dr.S.R.Anil Kumar claiming that structures constructed by Sri Ganapathi Sachidananda Ashram on Survey No.106/2 and 106/3, Nanjangud Road in 1992-93 were illegal, and that MCC incorrectly accorded permission for the construction even though the application was not accompanied by the title deed for the land.... More

Photos: Temple scenes

Kerala, their Kerala

Wouldn’t rate this a ‘must-read’ for Malayalees, but I guess few Keralites who happen by a volume at a book store or on your shelf would fail to buy it or borrow. And then this volume mayleave you somewhat unsatified . . .More

Why Twitter ?

When you use it, you 'tweet' like a bird and make a short announcement to the world: examples, "Just found the best Dosa joint in all of East Delhi [ Images ] at..." or "sighted Priyanka Chopra [ Images ] at Bangalore airport" or if you are more serious, "Shashi Tharoor [ Images ] is with Fareed Zakaria [ Images ] on CNN right now.". . .More. . .

Curry bashing: A view from Down Under

I am reproducing below a comment on my post Australia: Curry bashing and ‘convict stains’ received from Mr. A. Antony, an Indian who has been living in Australia for 15 years. My response to what he has written is also given.

Photos: Birds in flight by KO Isaac

Is YouTube scared of China?

China banning Twitter and other social networking sites is not a big surprise, but YouTube putting restrictions on a video about China is definitely so!

Here is the link of the BBC video which I first saw on Churumuri.com. Later, when I went back to churumuri blog, the original video wasn't there. The reason- YouTube had disabled the embedding option "on request"!

Can you help identify these flowers form Olavipe?

Blogging: Legal and other problems of ‘anonymous’ comments

This is in continuation to my earlier post, Bloggers, beware of legal implications.

Every blogger normally welcomes comments on what he writes. These comments are something more personal than letters to the Editor in the print media. Blog comments generative active interaction between the writer and the reader. Sometimes there is severe criticism of what is written; if objective, they should be appreciated. Occasionally mistakes are pointed out. For that too one has to be grateful. Most of the comments are of an appreciative nature...

One down and two more to go

Just now came back home after finishing Company Law paper of CS Inter exams. More than the exam, the most difficult part for me was to reach the exam venue, I left home almost one and a half hour before the exam schedule time! Bangalore being new to me, I usually... More

Unique Way to Celebrate Environment Day

This year, the best way to celebrate World Environmental Day, on June 5th would be for all concerned Mysoreans to protest peacefully against the felling of 123 majestic and beautiful, carbondioxide-consuming, oxygen-giving trees for road-widening. Some of these trees are over 100 years old. More...

Weddings - Part 3 Welcoming the Bridegroom's Party

Once the bridegroom’s party arrived at the street corner, they were welcomed by the bride’s people warmly to the accompaniment of the auspicious notes of the nadaswaram and escorted to the house arranged for them. More.....

Motta maadis. . .

The Kannadiga community in South Chennai used to have an interesting event on their calendar.
Potluck dinner on the beach.
I am not sure if they continue with this wonderful idea.
Their destination was Elliots Beach in Besant Nagar...More

Keeping it simple and sensible

SUVIDHA ELECTRONICS has recently come out with the pencil battery Mobile Charger - "a product that can charge any Mobile Phone using 4 pencil batteries...This device will ensure that your Mobile is never switched off, even while travelling and you need not worry about power source...More

Kochi to Trivandrum

This is what I woke up to on my first day in Kochi. A glowering sun trying to burn through looming monsoon clouds which threatened to unload any minute. Luckily for me, the sunshine won out....More

Suddenly, I know I want a lily pond of my own. Maybe not a big one like Monet's inspiration or even the one at Maryknoll.
I think I could be very content gazing at a serene urli of water on my balcony, afloat with water lillies....More

Our Lake District experience

The place which was the inspiration behind William Wordsworth’s poetry and Beatrix Potter’s lovely stories – Lake District. England’s Lake district also boasts of Scafell Pike – its highest mountain, Wastwater – its deepest lake apart from one of the most scenic locales in the country...More

This is your ... errr...captain

Took a flight here on the splendid Emirates airlines. For roughly the price of an ipod, I got pampered by the stewardess (intrguingly named 'Dragana'), got to watch two and a half movies on a tilting lcd screen, and developed double vision thanks to the copious Dewars Whisky plied by the said Dragana. But the thing that prompted me to write this post is the way pilots talk to us passengers when the plane is - how shall I put it - irrevocably in the air...More

Mumbai Dairy I: Live Dosa, Taxi Ride, Dog Bark

After I got into the cab, the driver suggested I pay the money and that he would give me a receipt. I was surprised why he wanted the money before he had taken me to the destination. He parked the taxi by the roadside, wrote out the receipt and gave me, implying I must hand him the money...More

Another Monsoon

Another monsoon awaits us and I hear that the final “venal mazha” or the Summer rains are now pouring down. This time they have predicted the monsoon to arrive earlier. The monsoon seems to have turned out to be a like a choosy lady these days! Anyway, as long as she continues her much awaited visits, it is fine...More

The Kangaroo Land (Australia) – Economically Developed, Culturally Impoverished

No matter how much economic development a country may have achieved, it does not necessarily guarantee that the country enjoys a truly refined and cultured society. This extremely unpleasant fact was again proved by the recent spate of racial attacks on the Indian students in Australia...More

A case of Nigerian con trick

Srihari is a friend, but we are not that close for him to e-mail me for money. Besides, the e-mail English was somewhat fractured; not the language one associates with a newspaper editorial writer that the Srihari I know is. As the e-mail read:...More

???

We were on our way to my Dentist and saw a bunch of people looking over a wall of a house in the busy Vellayambalam road . I was thinking,it might be some poisonous snake and people might be looking where its hiding...More

The ‘Kuri’ systems of Kerala

It was certainly interesting to trace the beginnings of this system. While the Kuri system itself has very ancient connections to Kavu Tattakam’s and other monetary schools practiced in various primitive civilizations, the system as such was social banking, created for the good of the needy...More

Unconference - Buzz 140

I am proud to announce the Buzz 140, an unconference in Chennai on June 21. People who know me will know that where there is KN, there is a quiz... so you wont be disappointed here :)...More

Dragons

The story of the life cycle of dragons fascinates me even today. Old Chinese believed that Chinese dragons have several different life stages and can live at least 6000 years...More

Leave behind your MEMORIES - Tree Plantation at Karur Public School

We at NISARGA, work a lot with schools as we do Nature & Outdoor based education programs all across Karnataka. On one of such program I met Santosh who is young and so passionate to give one of the best of the best education to his students...More

Mysore's Little Jewel

This time, I discovered a little jewel, though, just around the corner from the Ginger hotel where we stayed. An added bonus. More

Memorabilia from a Golden Era

a carpet that has seen a lot of history of this home in the last century and still spread out, but out of view for obvious reasons!

Shifting of houses for various reasons is also a process of disposing old and 'unwanted' things and move out lighter...More

Dagger!

Any old cloud can be fluffy!

Any old cloud can be plump.

But I want to be a dagger

And aim for that old tree stump!...More

A Detour to Melkote

We took one such impulsive decision yesterday which took us to Melkote, an ancient temple near Mysore...More

Brazil: Pele, Ronaldinho, Samba

Their ignorance is understandable. This land is so far, so remote in one's imagination, that to believe that all of Latin America speaks Spanish; that to Samba is the same as to tango is natural though not true.At my Brazilian end too, I get questions. "What is common and what is starkly different between Brazil and India?"...More

Is it too late to start?

Once in a while, you come across stories of ultra successful people. When you see their track record, it seems like they were born with success. But were they really much different from you when they started off? Consider these examples:....More

A Day in the Life of the Woman Centre

I just could not imagine that barely two years ago this place did not exist. What strikes you as you walk into the big yellow gate after having knocked at it and have someone open it for you, is a feeling of comfort and ease. It is a happy place...More

Social Conscience Part II and MNCs

Just the other day were thinking..what is it about US that has brought them at the top of the world.......see we Indians are forever copying them, so why shouldnt we copy that trait:).
After a lot of discussion we came to the conclusion may be it is their openness and freedom they give to every individual...More

Leaves of Life

In the early hours of the morning before the sky lights up over the horizon the city wakes up to urgent feet scrambling to make their rendezvous with street-side markets in Dadar, and elsewhere...More

When I went Rafting

It was not too difficult to be poetic there. The lively energy of the environment, the breathless excitement that mounted with every second, the sudden increase in adrenalin at the unpredictability of the situation inspired creativity...More

Gun Control

Let me start by saying I am not trying to take on the NRA. I do need to ask: what is the obsession with guns?! The second amendment really has no relevance now, we have a national military, and we all know the stats about gun deaths....More

Taste of Summer

A latecomer tree was a surprise. Its green fruit is very sour, but turned out to be very delicious when ripened. Folks in the know say that the more sour it is when it is green, the sweeter it is when it is ripe. More.....

The language of work

All the team members talked in their respective language and soon enough a situation developed when there was a total communication breakdown between employees, teams and departments besides fierce protection of team members by team manager even if they were not upto the mark. Performance appraisals were similarly rigged in favor of team members...more

Australia: Curry bashing and ‘convict stains’

Australia’s original image as ‘Penal Colony’ slowly faded away after the World War II. People had forgotten that once it was a country of offenders shipped out from Great Britain, the so called ‘debris of British convictism’. Perhaps only the Barmy Army tried to keep that image alive with taunts like the song,

‘We are a convict colony,
We carry balls and chains’....

Premiere show of "Spaces for Rent"

I'm very happy to announce that the premiere show of the first major production of GangwayZ media house, Spaces for Rent or Jaaga Doreyuttade, has been fixed and the details are as below:

Date :6th June, Saturday
Place :Senate Hall, CIST, Manasagangotri Campus, Mysore
Time :5pm onwards

All are cordially invited. More...

How Much Should You Pay Your Newspaper Agent?

When an agent delivers a newspaper to your doorstep, do you know, as an enlightened consumer, how much you have to pay him? Many customers are paying more than they should. Let us first look at how many issues are delivered in a year. More..

Oldies but Goldies

The Vintage Car Rally marks the end of the 'Season' at Ooty. We do have a month long program of events which include a Boat Regatta, Dance and Music, Photographic Shows

Random Memories of My Travels

New photos of Ixora coccinea

Verse is Worse

A year long theatre training course in Rangayana was replete with theatre games. Prashanth Hiremath - one of the best theatre teachers I have ever seen - introduced us to a very interesting game during the course. .. .More. . .

A mockery of the law

The Persons With Disabilities (Equal Opportunities, Protection of Rights and Full Participation) Act mandates that all staircases in public buildings should be supplemented by ramps. The ramp here is so steep that no one but a superman can negotiate it. "Obeying the letter of the law but not the spirit" can not have a better example. . .More. . .