Articles by Deepthi Sarma

  Nowadays, festival shopping in Bengaluru is no longer about rushing to crowded malls and grabbing that last piece of discounted product off the counter. One cannot think of a single product that cannot be bought over the internet. Sitting at the comfort of your home, you can order just about anything, ranging from electronics, clothes, cosmetics, jewellery, medicines, home needs, toys, books to even pets and plants. The online shopping fever hasn’t spared anyone. As payment and replacement guarantee are in place for most products, even kids buy what they like with the ‘Cash on Delivery’ mode. Sudha, a…

"It is better to adopt and get them off the street so that people stop complaining about them being a menace", wishes Neha Girish for all the street dogs in Bengaluru. Similar sentiments were expressed by all the genuine dog lovers gathered at the great Indian dog show on Sunday 15th April. The show was held at Government veterinary hospital grounds, Queens road. Neha has a one a half year dog, which she found through the CUPA website. Pic: Deepti Sarma Familiarity does breed contempt in the case of our Indian native dogs. They are all over the city but…

For most of us, the first thoughts on Japan would be fast cars, sushi and karate. These facets are complemented by the elaborate culture of the country. The Japan Habba 2012 showcased many such cultural and popular features of Japan. Over one thousand visitors attended the Indo- Japan cultural exchange programme at the  Jnana Jyoti Auditorium, Central College. Aptly named "Kizuna" which means camaraderie, this festival aims for Japanese in Bangalore to learn about India and similarly for Bangaloreans to get a better glimpse of Japanese culture.Toward late afternoon, the auditorium reverberated with popular Indian songs, only difference was that…

On Sunday, 29 January, Kumara Krupa road was transformed into Montmartre, art village of Paris. About 5 lakh people visited the 9th annual Chitra Kala Parishath's (CKP) Chitra santhe. Traffic was blocked on the Kumara Krupa road upto Shivananda circle and neighbouring roads from 7am to7pm to make room for art. Pic: Deepti Sarma Chitra Santhe is held on the last Sunday of January, every year. This year over 1600 artists from all over the country displayed their work. The number of visitors this year has gone up by about 50%. This could be because of more publicity feels C…

850 students from various schools in the state, participated in the state level Abacus competition held on Sunday, 8, January, 2012. Aloha, an organisation that runs advanced abacus and mental arithmetic programme, conducted the competition at Shri Krishna Kalyana Mantapa, Rajaji Nagar. Vaibhav Prakash, attempting the questions in the state level competition. Pic: Deepti Sarma Arithmetic through abacus is a Chinese tool that helps develop the part of brain which controls creativity and integration of information.Each student sported an Aloha Tshirt and was armed with the beaded abacus to solve 60 complex arithmetic Qs in 5 mins! Sounds unattainable? It…

"Oota from your thota" is an initiative by Garden City Farmers Trust to promote better living by encouraging organic urban farming. The immense popularity of the first attempt at oota from your thota in August at BTM, led to this event. The event was this time held at UAS Alumni Association premises next to Veterinary College, Bellary Road, Hebbal on 27th November 2011. Citizen Matters was the media partner for the event. People attending a session on organic farming. Pic: Deepthi Sarma Spearheaded by Dr Viswanath, the Garden City Farmers are a growing tribe of people who believe in greening…

On Republic day, the bright skies of Bangalore were adorned with creative and colourful kites. The 2nd annual Bangalore kites festival was held at the palace grounds. Over ten thousand kite fliers and enthusiasts attended the festival organised by Junior Chamber International (JCI). Preparing the kite for a flight. Pic: Deepti Sarma Over 15 participants from places like Holland, France, Gujarat, Maharastra and Karnataka brought their favourite kites. The skies around palace grounds saw inflated teddy bear, alligator, giant frog, paul -the octopus, tigers and many such creations of these clubs. There were trains of simple symmetric kites too. For…

84 students from seven schools will perform streetplays on child rights and right to education in various parts of Bangalore this November. Bal Jamoore, is an initiative by CRY to make children think and act as social agents of change who respect and stand up for equal rights to all. Pic: Deepthi Sarma. The training program for Bal Jamoore was held on 30th and 31st of October at the CRY office, Cox town. Each participating school has a team of 12-15 students for the street play. The training programme is divided into two segments. The first segment helps the students…

A common sight outside Bangalore homes and a fading folk art in some parts, rangoli creation is many times a tradition passed on from generations. Reviving this tradition was attempted by Shree Vidyraranya Yuvaka Sangha (SVYS) through a Rangoli competition on August 8th. The volunteers who organised the event at APS College grounds in Basavangudi put up an impressive show that saw over 600 participants from various parts of the state and city. The rangoli competition in full swing at the APS College grounds in Basavanagudi. Pic: Deepti Sarma "Reviving the dying tradition of rangoli was the main idea" opines…

Commercial Street is one of the oldest and busiest shopping areas of Bangalore. Known for its eclectic shopping destinations and food joints, Commercial Street is best explored by foot. Aptly located in the heart of the city with ample parking space, this area is the most sought after by youngsters and families alike. With early monsoon setting in, don't let your shopping spree be dampened by the rains. Opt for plastic jumper boots - they are in vogue this season and keep your feet clean. You can also opt for simple yet pretty plastic chappals in various colors. An umbrella…