Column: Being The Ugly Indian

Calling all artists, musicians, performers to light up dark and dingy subways into warm and vibrant public spaces! Can Bengaluru show the way this Independence day season?

It had been nine years since Nandan and Co had tried and met with limited success. What else can one do? Go to the press? File an RTI application? Or is there something else they can do?

The Ugly Indian gives a brief of the other world that lies beneath Bangalore’s roads and footpaths.

Read how The Ugly Indian quashed denials of public littering with photographic evidence. The last and final part of Chapter 11, ‘Steal Proofing’, from The Ugly Indian book.

If you thought The Ugly Indian is a random cleaning group, read this up. You will find out how brainy they are, and how they arrive at scientific solutions to city’s public space problems.

Anything and everything on the Indian street can be stolen – especially if it offers a resale value, or is reusable. The crucial thing, is to make your design steal-proof. Part 1 (of 3) of Chapter 11 of The Ugly Indian book.

Veliyamma has dumped garbage in that very corner every morning, for the past 8 years. But today she had not done so. We asked her to come back later to help in the clean-up, and here she was! – Chapter 10 of The Ugly Indian book

Analyse a dump! Diagnose what was wrong? What was wrong with these guys – seems like they were the ones who needed their heads analysed and diagnosed! Chapter 9 from The Ugly Indian story.

Until we respect our sanitation workers and give them a better quality of life, we cannot expect them to clean our streets to the level we demand… Read the Ugly Indian Story!

Though the bins were removed in the year 2000, people still think of the area as a place to dump garbage. The look and feel of the area just adds to this assumption.

He cleared the tea cups from the drain, placed the dustbin in a strategic position and waited — next 20 cups went straight into the bin, not the drain!

Garbage can tell you more about a person or household than any amount of surveillance can! So, it is actually easy to find out who’s the dumper – if you’re ready to get your hands dirty.