Citizen Matters, Bangalore's own interactive newsmagazine

7 right foods for the summer

Sweta Uchil-Purohit — Fri, 24 May 2013 00:00:00 +0000

With hot days and rainy nights, check what’s on your plate. And there is a place for leftover rice too!

Summertime always brings fond childhood memories of summer vacations, lazing around with a good book, ice creams and yummy mangoes. With the temperatures already soaring, looks like we will be having one long and hot summer. Luckily there are some great summer foods and beverages that can help in keeping you cool. Here are some of the foods to include this summer:

Water: Dehydration is a common problem during summers and this may be one of the reasons why you feel tired and drained out for no apparent reason during summers. Keep the body hydrated throughout the…

Bengaluru's connection to Nobel prize in Economics deepens

News Desk — Fri, 24 May 2013 00:00:00 +0000

Bangalore ecologist Harini Nagendra is a 2013 Elinor Ostrom awardee, instituted in the name of the 2009 Nobel Prize winner.

For Bangalore-based ecologist Harini Nagendra, whose name has just been announced as a winner of the 2013 Elinor Ostrom award, it is a bittersweet moment.

The award has been instituted in the name of Elinor Ostrom, the USA-based scholar who received the Nobel Prize for economics in 2009 for her long standing body of work on the governance of the commons. For Harini, Elinor was, apart from being one of the most brilliant, incisive and deeply humanistic scholars, a very dear friend, collaborator and mentor with whom she worked closely for 12 years. Says Harini, "The award…

Being a mom means becoming a better manager

Reshmi Chakraborty — Thu, 23 May 2013 00:00:00 +0000

Being a full-time mom teaches you all skills in life and makes you a better manager. Here’s why essential, everyday mommy skills would be an asset in any job.

When I quit full-time work to bring up the babies, I often wondered how difficult or impossible would it be to get back on the career track. Eight years and two brats have taught me how nonsensical that thought was. If you are a full-time mom (and all moms are full-time, whether working or staying at home), you have skills that are valuable in any and every work area. They just haven’t been discovered yet, or else every headhunter would be hunting for new recruits among moms. Here’s why essential, everyday mommy skills would be an asset in any job.…

Our lake of dreams coming true

Usha Rajagopalan — Thu, 23 May 2013 00:00:00 +0000

Based on a total station survey done by Enzen Global in Aug. 2011, PNLIT got the BBMP to install a new diversion channel (DC) to harvest surface run off from the Brigade Millennium road into the lake. After some unavoidable delays, complicated government procedures, worker issues, etc. the DC was finally completed a month ago.

The intermittent drizzle over the past couple of weeks indicated that the DC could work but we were not sure just how well it would till the downpour last night. Glimpses of the lake lit by lightning last night were exciting, raising our…

Where does Bangalore get its water from?

News Desk — Wed, 22 May 2013 00:00:00 +0000

How is the city’s water demand met? Why is it important to reuse water or not waste it? How can people make best use of treated water? Can treated water be used to recharge bore wells?

We all depend on groundwater. The single largest source of water that Bangalore has created apart from Cauvery, is actually a hole in the ground!

We are pulling water that has been down there for hundreds of years, that is somebody else's right as much as it is ours. Some use Cauvery water or groundwater to flush the toilets, while some others are not getting water even to drink.

Where does ground water come from?

We all live above common aquifers – spaces between soil particles and cracks, fissures and faults in the rocks. The spread of aquifer is…

Jurisdiction problem: No takers for garbage

News Desk — Wed, 22 May 2013 00:00:00 +0000

The garbage dumped in an area that falls in between S K Garden and Jayamahal remained untouched since 15 May 2013; The Congress councillors of both wards got busy shifting the blame on one another.
The garbage dumped in an area that falls in between S K Garden and Jayamahal has remained untouched since 15 May 2013; The Congress councillors of both wards are busy shifting the blame on one another.

What do garbage contractors do when they need to dispose of the garbage lying in a border area, in between two wards? Do nothing, leave the garbage where it is. The easy excuse is, it is not in their limit.

One such case was reported in Benson town, at a road that lies between S K Garden (ward 61) and Jayamahal (ward 63). The street in…

Discussion by Hasiru-Usiru analyses the tragedy of commons

Tue, 21 May 2013 00:00:00 +0000

The discussion organised by Hasiru-Usiru at the Alternative Law Forum, went into the details of the cause and effect of the erratic development in Bangalore, and ways to counter it.

“Everyone should claim the city. What’s happening today is an outcome of many interactions between citizens. We need a collective and shared understanding of things” said Dr H S Sudhira, referring to the present situation of ‘commons’ in Bangalore in the Public Discussion Series organised by Hasiru Usiru, at the Alternative Law Forum on 18 May 2013. The talk titled 'Re-imagining Bangalore: Transcending the ‘Tragedy of Commons’ was moderated by Vinay K Sreenivas, Researcher, Alternative Law Forum and a volunteer for Hasiru Usiru.

In the process of its evolution, the city has been pushed and pulled in…

Students of an Actor prepares (aAp) showcase their talent

Nalme Nachiyar — Tue, 21 May 2013 00:00:00 +0000

The Institute offers three-months weekend course on acting, as well as dance classes on weekdays. The first graduation ceremony saw eight students stealing the limelight with their talent.

The first batch of students from aAp - an Actor prepares Acting and Performing Institute (for film and television) in Nagarbhavi, graduated on 19 May 2013. The occasion was marked by a finale performance that showcased the talents of the first batch of eight students - two girls and six boys, who underwent a three-month course. The show was held at the City Central Library Auditorium, RPC Layout, Vijayanagar on Sunday.

aAp was started on 20th February, 2013 by Usha Bhandary, stage and tele-serial actress and Ravi Theja, actor and director. Usha is an alumnus of NINASAM…

The man who managed Bangalore's famous mills

Hemant Sirur — Mon, 20 May 2013 00:00:00 +0000

Bangalore's Mysore Mills and Minerva Mills have faded into history. However, the entrepreneurial spirit of Dattatreya Narayan Sirur who managed them are ever-inspiring.

It was a warm week-day afternoon, around the early 1950's. I had just finished my school day and was crossing the road to pick up my father from the office of N Sirur & Company, at Kalaghoda, Fort, Bombay.

As I reached the other side I chanced upon Ramakrishna A Lajmi, who had retired from the firm a decade earlier. Relying on a walking stick, attired in his customary shirt, dhoti, coat, black cap and chappals, he portrayed the quintessential Saraswat gentleman of a past age. For some inexplicable reason, he held my arm and spoke to me in Konkani:"Vhai re…

Bangalore’s water crisis averted, temporarily

Navya P K — Mon, 20 May 2013 00:00:00 +0000

The three-member committee formed by the Chief Minister has finalised plans to bring Hemavathi water to KRS to avert the water crisis in Bangalore, even as the rain blessed Bangalore last evening.
Bangalore's water crisis has been averted for now, with a newly-formed committee appointed to look into the water supply to the city. One tmc ft (thousand million cubic feet) of water will be diverted from Hemavathi river to the KRS dam; currently there is one tmc ft of live storage existing in KRS dam as well. "Together, this two tmc ft water will meet the requirement of Bangalore till monsoon. The water requirement of Bangalore is 1.2 tmc ft per month," says a senior BWSSB officer, on condition of anonymity.

The committee to oversee the process, was appointed after a meeting…