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community kitchen garden
CUBA’s GARDENS INSPIRE JP NAGAR page 11
6 Nimma Neighbour S Vishwanath 6 JP Nagar stone cutting: update 7 So many into leaf mulching, but not BBMP 8 No bars for Salad Bars
9 All for Kala 10 So why did BDA stop the flyover work? 17 Weekend trip to Devarayanadurga Plus your favourite columns...
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Vol-4 Issue-03
10-23 mar 2012
Citizen Matters Vol-4 Issue-03, 10-23 mar 2012 KARENG/2009/28904. Published & printed by Meera K for Oorvani Media Pvt Ltd. Printed at Lavanya Mudrana, 19, 15th cross, Vidyapeeta Circle, BSK I Stage, Bangalore 560060 Place of publication Oorvani Media, 165, I cross, I block, Kmgla, Bangalore 560034. Editor Subramaniam Vincent.
SQUINT: All you need to know Introduction The importance of eyes not only lies in giving us vision but also in making us look beautiful. Nature has given us a pair of perfect and beautiful eyes. But due to certain aberrations, this perfection is lost and the eyes tend to lose harmony amongst each other and create several problems to the human being. What is Squint? Eyes are meant to be straight and properly aligned to provide good quality vision and any deviation of eyes from its normal axis makes a person look odd. This wrong alignment of eyes or crossed eyes is called Squint (Strabismus or Crossed eyes). Squint can be present in all age groups from a small child to an adult. A person may have normal straight looking eyes before and can develop squint later in life after any loss in vision due to injury to the eye or any ocular abnormality. How to detect? Squint in very young children is difficult to detect. Many times, child’s squint is detected by a child specialist or general physician when parents take their child for some illness or during vaccination process. Some observant parents may find changes in the alignment of the eyes in their child and report to the doctor very early. It is a very good practice to take children of age younger than 5 years to the eye specialist once to check for squint and also to find whether the vision is normal or not.
Advertiser Feature
Children often tilt their head or turn
Squint in right eye of a young child
becomes straight during other times. Some patients with squint will also have eye strain, double vision or difficulty in opening eyes in bright light. What is the treatment?
Before surgery
Early detection and treatment of squint is very important as uncorrected squint for a longer period will lead to decrease or loss of vision in one eye. Often, a squinting eye will have less vision compared to the other eye and this condition is known as amblyopia or lazy eye. A person suspected to have squint has to be examined by a qualified eye specialist (Strabismologist).
After Squint surgery Tips
Squint or crossed eyes can be seen in any age group. Detection of squint and its early correction is very important to maintain proper vision and prevent occurrence of lazy eye in children. During summer holidays, parents can schedule a regular eye checkup of their school going child. Evaluation of any refractive error and squint helps in improving the vision of the child. For any eye condition, consult a qualified eye specialist (ophthalmologist) to assess and get proper treatment. Avoid self medication and blind belief in myths. Shekar Nethralaya has an advanced squint speciality set-up with all the tools and advanced equipments like synaptophore, vision charts, stereoacuity charts etc. which will help detect squint properly and will be treated by highly trained eye specialists in the field of squint. their face to one side to minimize the effect of squint. A person with intermittent squint may have squint eyes only during stress or fatigue and
Assessment of any refractive error (eye glass power) is done first and if required spectacles are provided. Very often, squint is reduced or corrected by just wearing glasses. The doctor may advise patching of one eye to improve vision in the lazy eye. In other cases, eye surgery may be required for squint correction. Squint surgery involves adjustment of the eye muscles in order to correct the deviation. Correction of squint is also important in maintaining stereopsis (3-dimensional vision). Squint surgery can be performed on infants as young as six months old to elderly patients.
Dr Raja Shekar Y L is the Medical Director, Shekar Nethralaya
633, 100 feet Ring Road JP Nagar 3rd Phase, Bengaluru - 560078 Tel: 08026593210 fax: 08041209197 drrajashekaryl@shekarnethralaya.com Ph:9980562020 info@shekarnethralaya.com www.shekarnethralaya.com
KSPCB acts tough on stone cutting units On 24 February, the Karnataka State Pollution Control Board (KSPCB) called for a hearing on the basis of the complaints given by the residents of the Brigade Palm Springs, JP Nagar 7th phase, against the noise caused by granite cutting and polishing units functioning in their neighbourhood. The residents had given a written complaint to Environment officer, South one on 6 February. JP Nagar, where these factories are situated comes under the jurisdiction of South One department. The complaint was against Ashwini Granites, Alankar Granites and Vijaya Granites, which are situated near the apartments. The complaint letter also carried a letter signed by around 65 residents of Brigade Palm Springs. Citizen Matter has a copy of the letter. At the hearing, Sadiq Ahmed, Senior Environmental Officer, said that the units were operational in a residential area without obtaining land conversion certificate of the board and they should be moved out. After the hearing, a Notice of Proposed Action (NPD) was issued to the granite owners. A copy of the NPD would also be sent to BESCOM.
Residents of Brigade Palm Springs at KSPCB office. Pic: Deepthi M S.
to commit , in writing, to a date by which they will be moving out. After that, the factories will get a maximum of one month time to vacate. If the granite factory owners choose to ignore the NPD, even after 15 days, the Environment Officer will be forced to take legal action. Power supply would be cut off and subsequently they would be forcefully vacated.
Deepthi MS
Once the factories get the NPD, they will have 15 days Vol-4 Issue-03 10-23 mar 2012 CITIZEN MATTERS 5
jayanagar jp nagar & BTM
Traffic Man for ORR’s IT firms
If traffic on the outer ring road is disrupted due to road digging, he is flooded with calls. His ‘Common Bus’ initiative helped in saving some fuel. He has proposed a solution for safe auto rides. And do not be surprised if you find him managing traffic on a road. He is Viswanath Seetharam, 37, Manager at an MNC, Advisor, Outer Ring Road Companies Association (ORRCA) and a resident of Jayanagar.
Nimma neighbour
What makes you take up social initiatives?
It is something that I have learnt from my parents. I remember those days where my mother would come home by the crowded BTS bus, before getting off, she would give some extra money to the conductor and the driver for driving safely. I do whatever is possible from my side in my capacity. I do not expect anything in return for what I do, but most of the time, good things return to me in some way or the other. I believe, when you work without expectations, you will start loving your life.
How do you find solutions? How did ORRCA happen? When you actually start thinking about the problem, you will come across various solutions to it. It was the same thing with the ORRCA’s initiative. Everybody had problems and everybody complained. Somebody had to start looking at the solutions. That started the mailchains. Finally, we got 13 companies on the Outer Ring
Road to agree to the plan. The plan was to hire guards, who would maintain traffic. Then, I felt that something had to be done to decrease the number of vehicles travelling on that road. That led to the Common Bus System. It soon led to Bus Day by BMTC.
The autorickshaw problems in Jayanagar made you create the safe auto website. Are they any other initiatives that you are taking in Jayanagar? I want to create awareness on fire safety among people. Especially, for those living in apartments. I want to go to every apartment, inform them about Emergency Fire Team (ERT). Most people do not know about it. This is a plan that I have for Jayanagar, it is yet to start.
deepthi M S
No response to BTM’s plea to restore park Residents of KEB Layout in BTM 1st stage have been petitioning BBMP about a public park that was demolished to benefit a private party. Citizen Matters had reported the issue in October 22 issue. BBMP had built the road through the only park here to facilitate traffic to a Sai Baba temple nearby, violating laws that mandate park protection. This also led to severe congestion by vehicles parking in inner roads of the layout. But BBMP is not swayed, even after receiving residents’ petitions and letters from Dr Shalini Rajneesh, state
Secretary for Rural Development and Panchayat Raj. In December, Shalini had written to BBMP Commissioner, pointing out that the road had destroyed the park and caused public nuisance. Besides, the temple, which benefits from the road, stood on BDA-allotted land while violating the terms of land lease says Shalini in her letter. Residents filed separate petition with BBMP, with a copy of Shalini’s letter. “After a few days and many repeated calls, BBMP told us that they had not received our petition. We chased across many offices and found
6 CITIZEN MATTERS 10-23 mar 2012 Vol-4 Issue-03
the concerned Assistant Engineer (Jayangar East), R Benakesha,” says Umesh P N, Secretary of KEB Layout RWA. Benakesha says that he had submitted the report to Jayanagar AEE Annegowda, who forwarded it to higher officials including A B Hemachandra, Joint Commissioner (South), who is in charge of entire South zone. The report reiterates that the road was built to ease traffic to Sai Baba temple on the directions of Jayangar MLA B N Vijayakumar, and seeks directions Continued in page 7 >>
Left: Garbage set on fire . Pic: P S Ramanathan. Right: The leaf composting at NGV. Pic: Meera Rajesh
local matters
Leaf litter
Citizens show BBMP the way
BBMP said no, but leaves continue to be burnt. Meanwhile committed citizens take composting into their own hands. Rajee Shanker, a resident of Kalyan Nagar is troubled by falling leaves on all roads and empty sites. “For the past 5 months, nobody has been entrusted with cleaning of roads and removal of leaves,” she says. This is a common issue in all residential areas in the city especially the winter/ post winter season. Despite the BBMP Commissioner’s order, pourakarmikas often burn the leaves, to make their job easier. Citizens initiatives With the reality of inadequate space for individuals to compost large volumes, S Laxminarayan of the Garden City Farmers Trust recently suggested the possibility of community composting of dry leaves, in “Organic Terrace
Gardening” online forum. The idea met with keen enthusiasm and a lot of individuals readily volunteered to participate. Based on the positive response, Laxminarayan took the next logical step to find a suitable community space. He contacted the principal of Loyola College on Banerghatta Road who then approved of initiating this on their campus.
P S Ramanathan from Banashankari has repeatedly written to the BBMP Commissioner after reading about public reporting garbage burning and the offer for 1000 Rs reward for the same. He says, “as usual the garbage collection at the corner of 15th Cross and 6th Main of Banashankari II Stage was set on fire today too”. Meera Rajesh and her team from the National Games Village apartments (Tungabhadra block) in Koramangala
has also been mulching leaves at a community level for the last year. Recently, Balbir Bora, an engineer, who is working on planting thousands of trees involving the corporate world and the forest department, has bought more than 4 tonnes of leaf mulch from Meera to ensure better nutrition for the trees he and his volunteers plant! BBMP does act on complaints of leaves burning Laxminarayan was pleasantly surprised at the prompt response he received for his mail to comm@bbmp. gov.in assuring him that the respective BBMP office will be informed to act on this matter.
However P S Ramanathan of Banashankari 2nd stage wrote to the BBMP Commissioner’s office on the same issue, and says he has not received even an acknowledgement of his complaint/letter so far.
Vinita
BTM KEB Park... Contd rom P6
from higher officials for further action. Citizen Matters has a copy of the report. In mid-February, Dr Shalini again intervened on residents’ request, after which BBMP Commissioner’s office asked Hemachandra to take action. But on Citizen Matters’ enquiry, both Hemachandra and Chief Engineer M C Prakash seemed
unaware of the issue itself. Prakash later said that the issue had been referred to a junior officer. Dr Shalini says that she has not got any response from BBMP either and that she will take it up with BBMP again. MLA Vijayakumar says that he will not interfere in the issue again. “The fight is between BBMP and residents now.
Hundreds of vehicles going to the temple use that road; how can it be removed now? Also, only 1015 houses are affected.” Navya P K Errata: The article “Round and round we go chasing BBMP” dated 25 Feb was wrongly attributed to Umesh P N instead of Newsdesk. The error is regretted.
Vol-4 Issue-03 10-23 mar 2012 CITIZEN MATTERS 7
check outs
Salads for the calorie counter in you Gorging on delicious but high calorie junk food no doubt gives pleasure to our taste buds, but along with it comes guilt and weight; guilt of having indulged on so much fat and so many calories. The result is crash diets and skipping dinners, which are believed to be extremely unhealthy. It is a myth that healthy food cannot be tasty. You will realise this when you visit Nature Nest, a food joint in Jayanagar. This place offers a variety of fruit salads, vegetable salads, vegetable soups, vegetable sprouts, ice creams made only out of fruit pulps and tender coconut water in 18 different flavours. The prices range from Rs 25 to Rs 65 which can be considered reasonable. Nature Nest is six months old with two outlets, one in Jayanagar and the other in Rajajinagar. The most sought after and unique dish here is ‘Hareera’, a sweet dish made of ragi, wheat and dry fruits. “Hareera is a very tasty and healthy dish, an energy booster, helps in weight control and is good for anaemic patients”, says Manikandan, 25, Assistant Manager. “We do not use oil and sugar, we use honey instead of sugar in everything prepared here. Honey is considered healthier than sugar and has lower
calories,” says Kiran Kumar, 22, one of the employees at the restaurant. Nature Nest opens at 6 am and closes by 11 pm; home delivery is available for those in the radius of 3 kms. Special 10% discount is given for students. Address: #260/79, 7th Block, 2nd main, Jayanagar Ph: 08026633304 Another comparable place in Jayanagar is Pure and Natural. This food joint specialises in hot and cold salads, fruit and vegetable juices, sandwiches and mocktails. Beans sprout salad – sprouts and vegetables with French dressing, corn and mushroom salad mixed in vinaigrette dressing, fruit chaat – a mixture of different fruits, pineapple chaat, honalulu – a vegetable salad, vegetables in yogurt are some of the must tryouts here. Healthy juices like carrot beetroot juice priced at Rs 45, carrot beetroot with ginger, fresh tomato juice, spinach with a hint of mint juice are always on demand. There are about 32 different types of salad (both hot and cold) and the price ranges from Rs 30 to Rs 75. The ambience is bright and youthful, and can be called as an ideal hang out for friends and college students. It is a perfect place for health freaks and calorie conscious people #26/1, 27th cross, Yediyur, opposite Bajaj Showroom, 6th block Jayanagar. Ph: 9008264641
Nagashree Gururaj
8 CITIZEN MATTERS 10-23 mar 2012 Vol-4 Issue-03
K H Kala Soudha
Specially for amateur theatre groups
known as KH Kala Soudha. “It was totally in ruins. It was surprising that nobody cared about it,” says Sathish Chandra, now the Director of Kala Soudha. In three years, the rejuvenated Kala Soudha has hosted around 600-700 shows. “In the beginning, we had very few bookings. It started with 6 to 7 shows a month, but it slowly picked up,” says R Kumaraswamy, Manager, K H Kala Soudha.
Situated beside the Ramanjaneya Temple in Hanumantha Nagar, this auditorium was gathering dust until three years ago. Today, it is a sought after auditorium for theatre groups. A few years ago, P D Sathish Chandra, actor and a part of the theatre group Pradarshana Kala Samsthe (Pra.Ka.Sam.), a nonprofit arm unit of Fourth Corner communication consultants, was looking out for a theatre. He had six plays in the pipeline, and needed an auditorium. He then spotted an auditorium built by the BBMP, which was in a bad state, in Hanumantha Nagar. He got BBMP to lease the auditorium to his company and got it restored. And there began the journey of Kengal Hanumanthaiah Kala Soudha,
Satish Chandra, who has always been interested in the technical aspects of hosting a play, says, “I give more importance to lighting, props, sound, costume and the sets. So, I have made sure Kala Soudha is technically sound.”
Along with hosting plays, Kala Soudha also promotes dance, music, drama and documentary movies. “Most theatre spaces in the city ask for a lot of details before allowing a group to perform. They ask about their experience, the number of times they have performed on stage etc.” says Sathish Chandra, explaining the difficulties faced by amateur groups. He adds that Kala Soudha’s main aim is to give opportunities to amateur groups. “It is a good option for amateur groups, they just have to come and book a show,” says Rangaraj Bhattacharya, Founder, WeMove Theatre. The 5-year-old group has performed 11 shows of the play ‘Malgudi Dayz’ at Kala Soudha.
Deepthi M S
Vol-4 Issue-03 10-23 mar 2012 CITIZEN MATTERS 9
CM SPECIAL
BDA had not completed feasibility study for the project even six months after tenders were invited and awarded in June. Also, work was started without completing the DPR (Detailed Project Report) for 16 other junctions in the corridor. The DPRs were prepared only for the Koramangala junctions, and are still being prepared for other junctions. BDA’s reason for starting work was that land acquisition would be minimal in Koramangala. However, residents allege that the work started in a hurry to benefit builders of upcoming projects in Sarjapur.
underpass/flyover work at 4 koramangala junctions
Another major aspect of the PIL is the variance in data from different traffic studies. Due to residents’ protest, BDA had done a second traffic study in November 2011, in which the numbers varied highly from its initial October 2010 study.
BDA can no longer work on the five grade separator projects planned in Koramangala. On February 27th, High Court ordered a stay based on a PIL filed by Koramangala residents. Residents had been in discussions with BDA for over six months to reconsider flyover and underpass projects at Koramangala water tank, Krupanidhi college, 80-feet road - Sarjapur road intersection and Jakkasandra junctions. These works alone cost Rs 120 cr. This is part of the larger signal-free corridor project from Agara to Sirsi Circle, planned by BBMP in 2009. The project is implemented by BDA.
Pic: Deepthi MS
BDA says Go, CM says Hmmm... HC says stop
Take the case of Krupanidhi College junction. Here BDA’s old figures had shown that the 7.5 m underpass would carry 64% of the traffic, and that the 5.5 m slip road towards Madiwala will carry 36% of traffic. These numbers are almost reversed now, with only 35% vehicles going towards underpass direction and 65% vehicles going in slip road direction to Madiwala. PIL also says that congestion on Sarjapur road is caused mainly by vehicles coming from Hosur road and IRR; and that if these roads are improved, the new project would not be required.
Residents’ objections to the project -The project had no proper traffic study and feasibility study -Disrupt local traffic and ruin Koramangala's residential character. -No Environment Impact Assessment clearance for cutting 88 trees for the four junction works. -No planning for pedestrian, non-motorised traffic.
There are also concerns that while the corridor will bring arterial road connectivity, it will affect local traffic. Slip roads planned beside the grade separators are too narrow and will cause congestion of vehicles that are moving In a meeting in December, Chief Minister Sadananda around in Koramangala, petitioners say. Hence they Gowda told residents and BDA that the project will be demand elevated corridors instead of grade separators, as stopped until a detailed review is done. But in January, elevated corridors consume lesser space and do not affect work started again and had to be stopped by residents. on-ground traffic. Congestion will affect the residential character of Koramangala, they say. BDA had rejected the In the petition, residents have not elevated corridor plan, citing paucity of demanded termination of the project, Who are the petitioners? funds, but the Chief Minister had agreed but have said that detailed studies to consider it. Civil society group CAF should be done and alternatives Residents had filed the PIL as BDA was not responding to their objections. Though BDA stopped works after discussions, it was restarted soon after, discreetly.
considered.
Vijayan Menon, one of the petitioners, says, “We are using this case to highlight problems in all infrastructure projects in the city. Residents should be consulted and information disclosed for every project.”
(Citizens Action Forum), RWAs of Koramangala 1st and 3rd block, Kuvempu Nagara and Visvesvaraya Nagara, and three individual residents of Koramangala. Case is against BBMP, BDA and traffic police.
In the PIL, petitioners point out that 10 CITIZEN MATTERS 10-23 mar 2012 Vol-4 Issue-03
A BDA engineer in charge of the project has confirmed that the project has been suspended. “Since the stay is on the entire corridor, we are not working on the DPR for the other junctions also,” he says. Next hearing of the case is on March 20th.
Navya P K
exclusive
Small start, big dreams A 50x80 piece of land located amidst prime real estate in JP Nagar is now the site of a new community gardening initiative. Bangalore’s gardening movement has carved a new milestone. Nirmala H S, 38, a HSR Layout-resident has always been interested in gardening but had never been able to pursue it. That changed recently when she started volunteering at an organic community gardening initiative in JP Nagar. This is a 50x80 plot of land or ‘patch’ located amidst prime real estate on 17th Main Road on JP Nagar II phase.
At work in the community garden patch on 17th Main Road, at JP Nagar II Phase. Pic: Jyothi Nagaraj.
gardening enthusiast and Jyothi Nagaraj, 37, a resident of RBI Layout in JP Nagar and her colleagues from GCF. GCF is led by Dr B N Vishwanath and S Lakshminarayan, who along with Jyothi are helping set up urban farms and terrace gardens. “The idea is for a group of garden enthusiasts to get together and grow vegetables and fruits collectively”, says Jyothi. Like Aparna and Nirmala, Jyothi is also an IT professional. She was a manager at HP before she swiched to IT consulting and pursue her other interests. The plot is owned by one of the residents on the same road. It has high tension lines going over it and as a result cannot be used for a building as per city rules. The owner, who did not wish to be named, was interested in supporting the initiative.
Nirmala and a number of other volunteers are together growing tomatoes, chillies, radish, coriander, dhantu soppu, and other produce at the patch now. “While growing up in Davanagere, in central Karnataka, I watched my father and grandmother growing vegetables” says Nirmala, She used to work for a major IT firm and is now a homemaker. BTM-layout based Aparna George, 35 is another volunteer. Aparna, like Nirmala, is an IT employee turned homemaker. Her tryst with gardening started last August at the Oota from your Thota event held at BTM Layout by Garden City Farmers Trust (GCF). GCF is a green NGO that promotes organic farming, conservation of bio-diversity, and increasing green-cover. Citizen Matters was the media partner for the event. The community garden is the initiative of avid
“I am interested in finding more spaces to grow and encourage organic farming” Jyothi Nagaraj, 37, an IT consultant and Secretary of Garden City Farmers Trust. She is also an amateur radio operator, painter and hiker.
For her part, Jyothi wants to take this further. “I am interested in finding more spaces to grow and encourage organic farming”, she says. Jyothi herself has been inspired by the organic vegetable garden movement in Cuba. 90% of Havana’s population is fed by vegetables from inner-city garden patches, BBC has reported. In its own way, the initiative is also helping volunteers along their own journeys. Nirmala has her own dreams. “I want to promote gardening in schools” she says. Aparna, also wants to promote the cause, although for the moment she is eyeing the produce to come. “The only big dreams at the moment are concerning future ‘veggie’ harvests”, she quips. Subramaniam Vincent
Vol-4 Issue-03 10-23 mar 2012 CITIZEN MATTERS 11
for your Info
DEMYSTIFYING THE MYTHS OF ANTIBIOTICS - II ÑAntibiotics need to be taken after food, at least after milk. Col (Retd.) Dr Mukul Saxena üOne needs to enquire Cough and cold specifically with a doctor. Some antibiotics should be cured have their absorption delayed after milk. with antibiotics ÑI need not worry about infection or my workplace or dining area being dirty. I can without always take antibiotics. consulting your üAntibiotics are no substitute for doctor. You hygiene, hand wash and preventive certainly cannot practices. buy them over the ÑDoctors keep spreading panic about counter. Here are drug resistance. I have been taking ciprofloxacin at the drop of a hat. Nothing some truths about happened to me. antibiotics that üPossibly nothing happened to you you did not know. but an 18 year old boy had to undergo surgery for perforated intestinal typhoid ulcer, because he had taken antibiotics against typhoid, for his frequent cough and cold, and typhoid microbe became resistant. This boy could have been yours. health matters
ÑI can take antibiotic injections at home given by a nurse. üSome antibiotics cause severe allergic reactions even leading to death. In hospitals, there is expert staff and equipment available to save life, in the event of reactions. At home, such facilities do not exist. Confirm with your doctor whether the antibiotic can be given at home. ÑI can just walk up to the nearest chemist and buy antibiotics. üAlthough it happens frequently, but the chemist is not supposed to give you antibiotics without a doctor’s prescription. ÑDoctor gave me antibiotics for five days. I am alright after two days. It is a waste of money to take them for next three days. üYou must take antibiotics as directed by doctor. Stopping antibiotics too soon may allow some bacteria to survive, reinfect you or produce resistant strains.
Weed is good! Most of us who have tried to grow plants are sure to have encountered these ‘troublemakers’. They have often ‘spoilt’ our well-laid plans for the garden, or harassed us into spending extra time, clearing them from the garden.
Why are weeds useful? For one, weeds are actually an important indicator of the quality of soil. For instance, the clover or hulichikku soppu is something that grows prolifically in my garden. And guess what - apart from being told not to pluck it by my 6 yr old because she The berries from Kaasi soppu taste great. Pic: Vinita
and her friends love to eat it (it’s tangy I believe!), and finding out that it has medicinal properties, I discovered that this plant actually indicates a low level of nitrogen in the soil. Weeds also usually have a long root system that penetrates through the soil and enables better aeration and drainage of the soil. If it were not for the weeds, we would have lost most of our top soil by now. Over time as they grow and decay, they improve the soil by providing it necessary nutrients; thus preparing the soil for other species that will follow. These pioneer plants usually have either a bitter taste, thorns, or may even be poisonous, so that they are uneaten by animals and are left to do their work of soil building and improvement. And yet, this is not to say that one can let weeds take over the primary plant. Observe the plants and soil and take
12 CITIZEN MATTERS 10-23 mar 2012 Vol-4 Issue-03
Edible weeds - Clover / hulichikki soppu. Rich in vitamin C, with a lemony taste. - Similarly the nelanelli soppu. Looks like the drumstick plant, it has medicinal value. - Hongone soppu grows tall with alternate leaves and white flower. - Ganke/kaasi soppu with black berries. - Daglaare / Keere soppu - Mullu harive soppu has thorns necessary steps to improve the soil so that the primary plants thrive and the weeds don’t necessarily become too numerous. In fertile soil, that is alive (with microbes) and rich in humus, weeds are not such a problem because the rich soil will decompose and digest some of the weed seeds, preventing them from sprouting. When looking at controlling these plants, we can make sure that we use only organic methods such as mulching and hand-weeding.
Vinita
womens’ day
What men think... An entire day dedicated to celebrating womanhood. She’s egged on to claim her rights, her individuality, to embrace her womanhood, buy jewellery, go to spas and celebrate. What does the ‘other half’ of the population think of this celebration? Do they embrace it or do they question it? Abhishek Chakraborty, 31, Software Engineer, Indiranagar “The role of a woman is very important in society. But it is insane to attribute this only on a particular day. Dedicating a day to her will not make a difference. Instead, show her that you care for her everyday and you wouldn’t need a day to make her feel special. But yes, to take an initiative for this, Women’s Day can be considered.” Vijaykumar Jiandani, 45, Restaurant Businessman, Cooks Town
“In today’s hustle and bustle, people have forgotten the importance of women in their lives. Like we need Valentine’s Day to make our love special, Friendship Day to make our friends feel special, we do need a Women’s Day to make all the women in our life feel special. Though I never really get any special gifts for my wife on this day!” (looks at wife and grins)
Col. Devbrat Ohri, 48, Recruitment Leader, Hebbal
“Socially and culturally our country is biased towards men and it needs to be balanced as our country grows. This day helps us realise their importance in our lives.”
Aritra Sarkhel, 23, Mission road “Be it Women’s day, Father’s day, dog day, cat day. The list goes on. Celebrating specific days don’t give any particular impetus to the cause of women’s upliftment or any other motive. It’s just hyperbole when we decide to celebrate and highlight issues. If we do have to work for any cause, then let’s just do it rather than celebrating days.” Anisha Nair Vol-4 Issue-03 10-23 mar 2012 CITIZEN MATTERS 13
EDITORIAL
Gardeners hit back with green Well-attended events, expanding There’s been plenty of loss felt at the nurseries and garden businesses are cutback on trees due to Bengaluru’s good indicators. The growing may rapid expansion. Equally, there has simply be in a few pots on a balcony or also been anger felt at the enthusiasm in a backyard full of vegetable patches, of city authorities to build all over the but gardening has surely city and uproot trees, bounced back as a leisure virtually at will, on Another movement has questionable projects. been quietly mushroom- activity. Bengaluru’s ‘Garden ing. This one may get Gardening is special also city’ tag has thus been Bangalore back to being because people find it under a cloud for a a garden city after all. quietly rewarding and even while now, especially stress-relieving. Working for new comers who with the earth appears to only find a city jammed with traffic and also root us in better things even as our dust-laden air. city lives proceed at a reckless pace. The comeback of gardening is also special Citizens have tried to hit back. While the most evident form has been for another reason: this generation of citizens getting into it are more increasing protests and action at the industrious, methodical, and ambitious. High Courts, another movement has been quietly mushrooming. This one One of them, who has launched a may get Bangalore back to being community garden initiative in JP Nagar a garden city after all, even if in a in inspired by Cuba’s famous organic different avatar. garden movement, which is rooted in the cities. And all this is only going Across the city from Hebbal to Electronics to deepen and expand Bangaloreans’ City and Vijayanagar to Whitefield, more and more citizens are getting interested green consciousness further. in gardening and growing vegetables. So much for authorities uprooting trees.
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FORM IV (See Rule 8) Statement about ownership and other particulars about newspaper Citizen Matters to be published in the first issue every year after the last day of February. 1. Place of publication: Bangalore 2. Periodicity of its publication: Fortnightly (alternate Saturdays) 3. Printer’s Name: Meera K Nationality: Indian Address: Flat No. 7G, West Wing, Fernhill Gardens, No.46, Ring Road, HSR Layout, Bangalore-34 4. Publisher’s Name: Meera K Nationality: Indian Address: Flat No. 7G, West Wing, Fernhill Gardens, No.46, Ring Road, HSR Layout, Bangalore-34 5. Editor’s Name: Subramaniam Vincent Nationality: Indian Address: A1205, Mantri Elegance, Bannerghata Road, NS Palya,Bangalore 560076 SHAREHOLDERS 6. Names and addresses of individuals who own the newspaper and partners or shareholders holding more than one per cent of the total capital. a) Subramaniam Vincent, A1205, Mantri Elegance, Bannerghata Road, NS Palya, Blr-76 b) Meera K, Flat No. 7G-W, Fernhill Gardens, No.46, Ring Road, HSR Layout Blr-34 c) V Ravichandar, 17, Moyenville Road, Langford Town, Blr-25 d) Rajiv Kuchhal, 612, Embassy Tranquil, Koramangala 3rd Block, Blr-34 e) C S Prasad Subramanian, B-204, Adarsh Residency, 47th Cross, 8th Block, Jayanagar, Blr-82 f ) Hari Krishnan and Usha Krishnan. Flat 241, TIME, 268, 6th Cross, 1st Stg, Indiranagar, Blr-38 g) Rajan Narayanan, C1103, Sterling Terraces, 100 Feet Ring Road, V Block, BSK 3rd Stage, Blr-85 h) V Boopathi, C-708, CASSIA Block, Brigade Millennium, J P Nagar 7th Phase, Blr-78 i) Vishy Kuruganti, G-104, Spruce Block, Raheja Residency, Koramangala 3rd Block, Blr-34 j) Anand Sudarshan, Flat No 604, Embassy Tranquil, 22, 8th Main, 3rd Block, Koramangala, Blr-34 I, Meera K, hereby declare that the particulars given above are true to the best of my knowledge and belief. Date: 12-Mar-2011 Sd/ Meera K Publisher
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music/dance HYBRID by Céline PradeuKanagasabai Lecture – Demonstration: A fusion of Bharatnatyam and Contemporary Dance. Thur, 15 Mar, 7.30 pm, Alliance Française, Vasanth Nagar, Ph:40808181 Nadasurabhi Concert Grand Vocal Concert by Abhishek Raghuram, BU Ganesh Prasad Violin, Arjun Kumar - Mridangam, Pramath Kiran Morsing Sunday, 18th March 2012 at 4.15 PM, The Indian Heritage Academy Hal~ 6th Block, Near Police Station, Koramangala Waterlines Devised by the children of HeadStart Children’s repertory, directed by Abhishek Majumdar and Ashwini Kumar Chakre on the partition of India. Tickets:9538041764 7.30 pm , 17 Mar; 3.30 pm & 7.30 pm, 18 Mar, Auditorium , Alliance Française, Vasanth Nagar, Alivilla Vishvakke Mankutimma 125th Birthday celebration of literatteur Dr D V Gundappa special programmes.
17th Mar 10.30 am to 8.00 pm, Gayana Samaja, K R Road, Basavanagudi, Ph: 9448171069 , 9986372503, 9886721181
FILMS
Kannada Feature Film “KRAURYA” Directed by: Girish Kasaravalli Sunday 11 Mar 5pm, K V Subbanna Aaptha Rangamandira, Teachers’ colony 1st stage, Kumarswamy Layout Partners in Crime A rollicking trip through the grey worlds of copyright, art and the market in a story about love, money and crime. 11 Mar, 11 am, Suchitra, 36, 9th Main, BV Karanth Road, Bangalore 560070 | Ph: 080 26711785
TALK
NGMA Arboretum Walk Vijay Thiruvady will tell us about the trees in bloom during this month. 10 Mar, 3.30 pm, NGMA. Manikyavelu Mansion, 49 Palace Road “The Question Hour in India - Some Diagnostics” by Dr. Srikrishna Ayyangar, RSVP phone No. 98865 99675. Fri, 16 March, 6.30 pm, Bangalore International Centre,TERI Complex, 4th Main, 2nd Cross, Domlur II Stage
Theatre Rangashankara 9 Fri to 11 Sun: Stories in a Song EngHin (also at 3.30 pm on Sun) 13 Tue: Karvalho -Kan 14 Wed: Rama Dhanya -Kan 15 Thu to 17 Sat: Tango – Eng (also at 3.30 pm on Sat) 18 Sun Ranga Ugadi – A day long celebration of Dr. Chandrashekhara Kambar. Play - ‘Ali Baba’ – (for children above 5 years) Laavani – ‘Helatene
16 CITIZEN MATTERS 10-23 mar 2012 Vol-4 Issue-03
Kela’, Play -‘Kharokhara’, Play ‘Karimaayi’, Recitation of Kambar’s poems, Play - ‘Chaalesha’, Discussion with Dr Kambar 20 Tue-21 Wed: Mandra Kannada 22 Thu-23 Fri: The Devil’s Tree English Rangashankara, JP Nagar August: Osage County India Foundation for the Arts is bringing Lillete Dubey’s play, written by Tracy Letts, is directed by Lillete Dubey. Sun 11 Mar, Chowdiah Memorial Hall at 7.30 pm.
Workshops
SYMPOSIUM ON CARNATIC MUSIC APPRECIATION - 1 Sun 18 Mar 10 am, Auditorium of Bangalore Gayana Samaja Story & craft hour (4 to 9 yrs) Ph: 8762462302. Limited Seats! Sat 17 Mar, 11am, Just Books 3rd Block Koramangala “Practical Philosophy” 1st level course For new comers tryout: first class with admission free. Ph: 9663326625, 42065280. Starts March 13, every Tuesday 7-9 pm, 14 sessions. New Acropolis Bangalore, #203 HM Studios, 67 St. Mark’s road AHA! Summer Express ‘12 16 workshops for 7 to 17 year olds, by 14 of India’s well-known arts practitioners. There are workshops on Theatre, Acting, Music, Filmmaking, Writing, Visual Arts, etc. 9 Apr -7 May. Registrations begin on 10 Mar. Rangashankara Art workshops in Apr-May Ph:98863 94195, 98861 53297
feature
Devarayanadurga – A splendid wilderness Devarayanadurga in Tumkur district is a well-known pilgrim spot amidst green hills and is guaranteed to revive your spirits with its beautiful rocky terrain. A coup d’oeil of Devarayanadurga history The place is also known as Karigiri which means elephant hill in Kannada. When the Devarayanadurga hill is seen from the east side it resembles an elephant. The hillock got its name Devarayanadurga after it was captured by Mysore king Chikka Devaraja Wodeyar in 1696. Earlier it was known by the name Anebiddasari and later Jadakana Durga when a chief named Jadaka ruled the town. The hill is situated at an altitude of 3940 feet and is home to diverse flora and fauna. Devarayanadurga is the birthplace of rivers like Jayamangala which joins the Krishna river and the Shimsha river, both of which join the river Kaveri at Shivanasamudra. The hill chains at Devarayanadurga also mark the boundary of Krishna and Kaveri river basins. Seventeenth century fort ruins, historical remains dating back to Hoysala and Vijayanagara period, and the traces of Wodeyar dynasty rule can be seen in Devarayanadurga village and the Kumbhi hills of Devarayanadurga.
Just 60 kilometres away from the hustlebustle of Silicon City is a quiet countryside with breathtaking views, century-old temples and rocky hills. This is an ideal place for those looking for divine blessings or adventure. The rocky terrain offers opportunities for trekking. The hill is at about 1188 metres and is great for moderate trekking. Check out bmcindia.org/ events/ for more details. Cycling enthusiasts can register for cycling events at www.icycle. in The trails are not f o r beginners as they are level 3 trails. But you can check out level 1 trails meant for beginners.
When to go Two important festivals taking place at Devarayanadurga are the car festival during March/April and the Narasimha Jayanthi during May. How to get there The route to be followed is Bangalore-Nelamangala - Dabaspet - Devarayanadurga. When you reach Dabaspet you need to take a right under the flyover. After another 20 kilometers you reach Devarayanadurga. If you are planning to travel by bus then there are buses till Dabaspet from Majestic bus stand. From Dabaspet you will need to take an auto to reach the temple. Where to eat? En route to Devarayanadurga you get popular hotels like Kamat Ruchi and CafĂŠ Coffee day. The base of the hill also has shops selling tender coconut and light snacks like biscuits, cut fruits and salted cucumber. Usha Hariprasad is a freelance writer.
Pics: Usha Hariprasad
Vol-4 Issue-03 10-23 mar 2012 CITIZEN MATTERS 17
last word
Avoid competition, listen to your child Once, when the older brat was two years old, I was visiting relatives in Delhi and came across a bubbly young lady who was thrilled at having won a very special gift hamper. It turned out that her son, also two, had just been judged ‘Best smile’’ baby in a Healthy Baby Competition he (or rather she) had participated in. My eyes had almost popped out of their sockets. Did such competitions still exist? Weren’t they rather regressive, pitting one baby over another purely on the basis of their looks and if I may add, chubbiness?
Rajagopalan Shah, “It makes people want to do their best.” The trouble, Anupama thinks, arises when the pressure to excel becomes so much that kids end up compromising on their sleep, rest and free time. Anupama, who has two and half year old twin daughters of her own, feels competitions are best avoided
I may have dismissed Mommy Best Smile and her competitive streak but did wonder for a split second if the boy would have made the cut. You see, competition is like that ad for Rin soap. You may not be a participant but you can’t help but wonder- Bhala uski kameez meri kameez se zyada safed kaise? Especially if you have children.
confessionS of a second time mom
Last week, the son’s Karate organisation had a competition. I kept him out of it as it fell on a day when we had prior engagements and mainly because he wasn’t much interested. But I also wondered if I had committed some parenting faux pas by letting him avoid it and not egging him on like the good mothers in Bournvita ads. Then I thought, he’s six. There will be enough competitions all throughout later in life. More importantly, I decided to change channels during the Bournvita ads. Jokes apart, there is something like ‘healthy competition’ also, but many people would call it an oxymoron. “A little amount of pressure is good,” says clinical psychologist Anupama
Reshmi Chakraborty until children are at least six. “As they grow older they understand that there is something
Pic: Wikimedia commons
happening in terms of group activity and they want to do well.” But what if your child is not ready? My friend Arshia Das had a tough time trying to convince her son to participate in a skating competition. “I thought he was good at it, and so did his coach. But he was just not interested as he had school projects to complete. Eventually, I let it be.” Anupama thinks children generally tend to say no but as a parent you need to explain and expose them to things as much as you can to see if they like that activity/competition or not. But she also warns parents against forcing a child who comes across as repeatedly disinterested or majorly upset about having to take part. Listen to your child, she says, especially once they are older and able to express themselves. Arshia agrees. “It took me some time to convince myself that my son is eight and knows his mind and to accept that. He completed his project and he’s ready to take part in the next skating competition once it comes up.”
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