Articles by Poornima Dasharathi

Is it a memoir or another book depicting the glory of old Mysore? Is it about the politics and administration of the kingdom of Mysore? It is hard to categorise MA Sreenivasan’s ‘The Last Mysore Pradhan’. I presumed it would be the author’s autobiography when I had started reading it. But the book had much more to offer.Sreenivasan started his career as a young Mysore Civil Service (M.C.S) officer in 1918. He served as with both Mysore Kingdom and then the Government of British India. He was made a minister (pradhan) in 1943. In 1947, he was invited by the…

I thought it would be a very daunting task to seek an interview with Narendra Babu, three times MLA, Congress, from Rajajinagar, and currently the MLA from the newly carved constituency, Mahalakshmi Layout. So when I called on his mobile, his friendly response and immediate ‘yes' shattered the myth of hard-to-get politicians. Narendra Babu (left) speaking to citizens (Pic courtesy: Narendra Babu) His residence-cum-office turned out to be a laid back middle class home with his office on the first floor. A tulsi plant and a few other flowering shrubs completed the picture. The office itself was a simple hall…

A cluster of banyans that are home to seven thousand bats A 150 foot tall araucaria tree from New Caledonia! Gnarled and irregular trunks of ancient tamarind trees that are around 800 years old in a Devarakadu (god’s grove) near Bangalore! A keelback snake just about to swallow its breakfast in Lalbagh. These are extracts from Heritage Trees and Green Heritage Sites by Vijay Thiruvady, published by Bangalore Environment Trust on behalf of their project sponsors. To say that Thiruvady is a walking encyclopaedia on trees and wooded areas in and around Bangalore would not be far from the truth.…

Much has been written in recent years about rainwater harvesting. While the literature has certainly elevated interest in this practice, there is very little material to explain in simple terms how people can carry out an informed attempt to introduce RWH in their homes and communities. This Citizen Matters 4-part series authored by Bangalore-based Rainwater Club shows the way to implementing rainwater harvesting in a particular context: the gated layout. In the beginning When residents move into their new homes in a layout, they are occupied with setting up the home and making sure their daily requirements of water, electricity,…

The Indian National Trust for Art and Cultural Heritage (INTACH) had organised a cultural program in the beautiful lawns of the Bangalore Fort on April 18th, the World Heritage Day.   It was an evening affair. Though it was the usual busy traffic outside, the atmosphere inside the Fort was surreal. The invitees were soon absorbed in the colourful photo exhibition ‘Portraits of Bangalore', compiled by Bangalore Weekend Shoots (BWS), a group of photography enthusiasts. The collection was later released as postcards.   The function had many visitors - both young and old - spread out on the green lawns…

The invite stated – ‘expected start 6.30 – 6.45 PM’, but when the programme actually started, my watch had ticked over to 8.30 PM. We shouldn’t have expected anything better, with two senior politicians busy in the middle of a pitched election campaign. Most people landed up on time, to see the production crew still setting up the stage and the mosquito repellent machine doing its thing. However, sitting in the open grounds with the beautifully illuminated Bangalore Palace in the background and anticipating a lively discussion made the sizeable audience forgive the delay. Government smartvote addressing show (Pic: Poornima…

Sorry for this post. But today's headlines from the Hindu is so depressing.  Controversial satellite launch by North Korea triggers alarmTaliban threatens two attacks per week in Pakistan  andthis..    Antarctic iceberg ‘set to collapse'  So dont worry about Korea's ballistic missiles that can reach as far as Japan or Taliban's systematic annihilation of Pakistan; if nothing works out, global warming will certainly help us to doom.  Oh yes, by the way, some cheer. India is on the verge of winning the NZ Test series. What a satire! ⊕

A few months back, the road leading to our area was given a makeover. Once pot-holed with moon craters, it is now a smooth ride. But without any pavements, the pedestrians, cars, dogs, dump trucks, buses etc all share the shiny road. There has been a lot of complaints & rants in Citizen Matters, on the usage of pavements as extended shops and garages. But all that does not answer my question - When will all roads in our city get pavements? Good pavements that are user friendly - no teetering granite slabs, no overgrown trees without concrete borders that…

“You see this fan, ma’am? When this turns, air is sent into a compression chamber. The compressed air is then mixed with fuel that is sent through the fuel injectors and the mixture is ignited. The resultant hot gas provides a thrust for the turbines to turn." Walrus Overhaul (Pic: HAL museum) I nodded my head eagerly as Ranjan, the guide at the HAL Aerospace museum, explained the mechanics of turbo fan engine which is used in the Light Combat Aircraft (LCA) built by HAL. We were standing in front of the engine model in the HAL museum and vague…

Is there anything such as 'Blogger's Block'? Sure if the writers can get writer's block, what's stopping the bloggers from getting one? My feeble attempt at pun aside, we do get it. What gets my goat is that when no idea hits me, there is no dearth for advice. Putting down a few. Stop working in front of the computer. Go out. Keep looking, there are loads of topics. You just have to keep your eyes open. I know; writing is hard. That's what I have been telling you. Do something different. Drink a glass of water. Walk around. Close…