The Sensible Bengalurian

Tuesday, February 3, 2015

Bengaluru: Two brothers studying in St Joseph’s Indian High school on Vittal Mallya Road and staying at the boarding hostel run by the school were subjected to corporal punishment.

The hostel warden allegedly tonsured the elder brother for not attending the classes regularly, while the younger one’s head was shaved next day after the elder brother left the hostel without informing the authorities. The school management has, however, told the police that tonsuring was done because they were infected with lice.

Following the incident, their father, Sebastian Augustine, filed a complaint with the Cubbon Park police against the school authorities. The police are consulting legal experts to take the case forward.

Police said Augustine had stated in his complaint that hostel warden Brother Kiran tonsured his elder son Francis Sebastian, a grade 10 student, on January 28, citing that he was not attending the classes regularly. Francis felt humiliated and returned home. The next day, he received a call from his younger son Charles Sebastian, a grade 9 student, that his head was also shaved off as Francis had left the hostel without permission.

Augustine alleged that when he enquired with the school management, he was reportedly told that his sons were infected with lice and they were tonsured to maintain hygiene.

“Recently my sons had a haircut when they visited home. Even if they were infected with lice, the school authorities could have informed me. This is not the way to deal with it,” he said.

Further he said that his elder son had told him that the warden was very strict. “He had also told me that the warden had tonsured many other students to punish them,” Augustine said.

DCP (Central) Sandeep Patil said Cubbon Park police have taken up the case. Meanwhile Fr. Anil D’Mello, head of the school, said, “Recently, three students of the school had gone to Velankani Feast and they were infected with lice. Augustine’s sons and five other students were also infected with lice and dandruff. Thus, other students were hesitating to sit next to them and so eight students’ heads were tonsured. Parents should not take it as corporal punishment.”

Monday, February 2, 2015

Washington: A new study has recently revealed that men and women misinterpret the signals regarding sexual interests a lot while having the conversation it has been reported.

Researchers at the Department of Psychology at the Norwegian University of Science and Technology (NTNU), stated ‘women reported that men often misinterpret their signals of friendliness as sexual interest’. Conversely, the men in the study reported that women often misinterpret their signals of sexual interest as friendliness.

In most areas of psychology, there is little to no difference between genders: mental capacity, intellectual achievements, food preferences, men and women are all more or less the same. But when it comes to reproduction and challenges related to finding a sexual partner, there are suddenly differences to be found.

Evolutionary psychology is the study of how the human mind has evolved, developed and adapted over time. One thing that evolutionary psychologists are specifically interested in was gendered sexual psychology between cultures and social groups.

Seen through the lens of evolutionary psychology, they can better understand why men often wrongly assume that women who smile and laugh during conversation might want to sleep with them.

A man's ability to reproduce was all about seizing every opportunity. He has to spend both money and time on courtship, which still may not lead to sex. But it costs even more to not try, because then he won't be able to reproduce.

A woman can have sex with multiple men over a short period of time without producing any more children. So for men, it was a low-risk, potentially high-reward situation for men to have sex with women whenever the opportunity presents itself.

On the other hand, the cost was potentially great for a woman if she thinks that a man was more sexually interested than she was. A woman risks pregnancy, birth, nursing and raising the child, as well as lost opportunities to reproduce with others.

Across thousands of generations, women's psychology has evolved to set the bar higher, which means they need much clearer signals than men before they consider sex.

The results showed that both men and women find that their social signals are misinterpreted by the opposite sex. Women in the study answered that they had acted friendly towards a man and had this misinterpreted as sexual interest about 3.5 times over the past year on average. The men in the study also reported having been misinterpreted by the opposite sex in this way, but far less often.

The results also showed that men rarely misinterpret women who actually do signal sexual interest. The study showed that this was independent of whether or not the person was in a steady relationship or not.

Read more on iSuggi.com: Why men think 'sex' when women just want to be 'friends' | iSuggi News

Monday, January 26, 2015

Bangalore, now known as Bengaluru, is the capital city of Karnataka in south India. Bangalore is a city of salubrious climate, and always bubbling with life and energy, representing a potpourri of people and culture. One of India's largest cities, it's earned several names such as Silicon Valley of India, Pub Capital of India, Air Conditioned City, and City of Gardens.

1. Vidana Soudha

Built in 1954, Vidana Soudha is a landmark of Bangalore. This enormous building is a massive example of neo-Dravidian architecture, with four domes on its four corners. It houses the Legislative Chamber of Karnataka Government, as well as accommodates many government departments. It's stunningly illuminated at night.

2. Attara Kacheri (High Court) and Surroundings

This two-storied building, built in 1867 under the reign of Tipu Sultan, is painted in red with Corinthian columns in Gothic style architecture. It's located at the entrance to Cubbon Park, and houses the High Court and many lower courts.

Close to the Court is the State Central Library building, which has the "Pompeian red" color and architectural style of stone and fluted pillars, with walls finished in lime plaster. Nearby, the Government Museum houses many exotic collection of coins, sculptures, inscriptions, and old paintings. Adjacent to the Museum is Venkatappa Art Gallery, displaying famous paintings, plaster of Paris works and wooden sculptures of the well known artist Venkatappa, and of other contemporary artists.

3. Lalbagh Botanical Garden

This enchanting garden is set on 240 acres with a rare collection of tropical and sub-tropical trees and plants, and a majestic glasshouse built on the lines of London's Crystal Palace. The garden was made in the 17th century -- started by Hyder Ali, and later completed by his son Tipu Sultan. It derives its name "Lal Bagh" from a collection of red roses that bloom throughout the year there. The glasshouse, which was constructed in the year 1889 to commemorate the visit of the Prince of Wales, is the jewel of this garden.

Lalbagh takes on a festive look during India's Independence Day and Republic Day, with a captivating show of over 200 varieties of flowers. The show also features an exhibition of hybrid vegetables.

4. Cubbon Park

Located in the heart of city, set on a 300 acre area, Cubbon Park is a great place to laze around in the lush green paradise. It has a treasure of different species of exotic plants. The park was named after the erstwhile Commissioner of Bangalore, Sir Mark Cubbon. Many ornamental and flowering trees, both exotic and indigenous, can be found in the park. It's a popular place for walkers, joggers, and nature lovers. Bal Bhavan in the park is a great place for the kids to enjoy. An aquarium is also located in Cubbon Park, with many varieties of exotic and ornamental fish.

5. Bangalore Palace

Built in 1887 by Chamaraja Wodeyar, Bangalore Palace is inspired by England's Windsor Castle. This beautiful palace has Tudor style architecture, with fortified towers, arches, green lawns, and elegant woodcarvings in its interiors.

6. Tipu Sultan's Palace and Fort

Tipu Sultan's Palace and Fort was originally built by Chikkadeva Raya in mud. Later, Hyder Ali started reconstruction in Indo-Islamic architecture. This was completed by his son, Tipu Sultan, in 1791. The Hindu temple seen in the courtyard of the fort is the proof of Tipu Sultan's religious tolerance.

7. Ulsoor Lake

The beautiful Ulsoor Lake is spread over an area of 125 acres. It was constructed by Kempegowda II. Boating and swimming pool are the great attractions of the lake.

8. Jawaharlal Nehru Planetarium

Jawaharlal Nehru Planetarium was founded in 1989, with an aim of spreading awareness among students and the public about astronomy. Two shows are held here daily except on Mondays.

9. Crazy Waters Amusement Park

This amusement park is located amidst a rocky landscape in Bannerghatta Main Road, and provides thrill, splash and excitement.

10. Other Bangalore Attractions

Apart from the above, Gandhi Bhavan exhibiting photos of Mahatma Gandhi’s life, several religious places, as well as great shopping malls, world class hospital facilities, and educational institutions attract people to this beautiful city. There are also many attractions around the city.

In 1997, while I was enjoying myself grappling with the policy challenges of the power sector, I was abruptly told that I must hand over my charge to an appointed successor – I was the Additional Secretary in the Energy Department, Karnataka – and take command of a tottering public sector undertaking, the Karnataka Agro Industries Corporation, as its Chairperson and Managing Director. I was aghast; but there was no going against the appointment. The Karnataka Agro Industries Corporation, a once proud institution that owed its prominence to the fact that it was a near monopoly provider of fertilizer retailing in the days of regulation, had not made the transition to a liberalized era smoothly. It was on its last legs, a leviathan that could not keep pace with its nimble private sector competitors. My brief was an unpleasant one; I was to close the company down as painlessly as possible. That was not a pleasant task; there were nearly a thousand employees in the company, most of them as middle aged as I am now, but who were unwilling to recognize that their glory days were over. They expected me to wrest back monopolistic contracts from the government, but the best that I could do was to offer them what I thought was a good golden handshake deal. To say that that was not appreciated, is a masterly understatement. But in the rather somber environs of a decaying institution, there was still some sunshine on offer. The Agro Industries Corporation was the majority shareholder in a tripartite joint venture company named the Karnataka Compost Development Corporation (the KCDC), the other shareholders being the Karnataka Cooperative Marketing Federation and the Bangalore City Corporation. The job of the KCDC was to turn Bangalore city’s garbage into compost, which it sold to farmers and it did a pretty good job at it. The KCDC composting plant was not as smelly or dirty as one would imagine; it was a haven for me; an escape from the travails of dealing with its dying parent. Introduction to garbage mafia! I was fascinated by garbage and its rotting. I devoured anything that had to do with an understanding of rubbish, learning the microbial processes that went on in composting and the techniques of how to accelerate it. Then I chanced upon the larger picture; the garbage collection mafia, how some garbage is really valuable, the corruption that permeates the entire garbage collection and disposal business and the quacks who sell magic remedies to solve the city’s garbage problem. The first thing I realized is that the city’s garbage comprises of a significant quantity, in terms of weight, of mud, dust and construction waste. A lot of it is inert material and was perfectly useless for my business of composting; in fact, it was a distinct disadvantage for my company to accept that kind of rubbish. What I needed was un-adulterated organic rubbish; green waste unsullied by paper, plastic, soil and metal. And that kind of garbage was scarce. In fact, I found that we were being cheated out of such garbage by other privateers, who were in the composting business as well. The best garbage was generated mostly from the city’s wholesale vegetable and fruit markets, and my drivers – we had a few trucks of our own as well – were bribing city road cleaning staff to lay their hands on that good stuff. Food waste was also highly coveted, particularly if it did not have any mixing of animal and meat waste. However, I was unable to get my hands on that; most of the food waste was collected from the large scale generators of waste – the hotels – by piggeries, which sent out their nimble autorickshaws on their collection rounds at night. Beginning wih aerobic composting Once we got our daily dose of good vegetable and fruit waste, we laid them down on concrete platforms that were as large as football fields, where they rotted into brown, odourless compost, in about two months’ time. This was not as simple a task as it sounds. Production was similar to an assembly line and small earth movers constantly shuffled in and out of the day-wise piles, turning them, and ensuring that composting was even. When it rained, our teams of dedicated workers ran around covering the open air platform with plastic sheet, to prevent these piles from getting sodden, which would slow down the composting process. What happens when a giant pile of green organic waste is left to compost? The first thing is that it begins to heat up, as rotting sets in. This first phase, when the compost undergoes rapid, anaerobic decomposition, is similar to fermentation. Increased microbial activity can increase the temperature to as high as 70 degrees. Sometimes this is high enough to ignite inflammable material that might be trapped inside the pile. The high temperature cauterizes the pile and also drives out moisture. Then, when the temperature subsides, the pile of garbage shrinks. This is the time to turn it around and allow for aeration of the compost. Finally, in two months, when the pile is composted, it is sieved to remove metal, plastic and other inert material, before being packed into sacks and sold. We had a long waiting list for our compost. And one of our biggest buyers was a vineyard, who swore by the efficacy of our plum cake like product.

T R Raghunandan

Friday, January 23, 2015

This is a story of a Old man (around 80yrs old) an Ex HAL employee, Blore & also a part time Engineer. He has 4 children (2 daughters n 2 sons) who is happily settled in Blore city. They working as Inspectors, Engineers n IT professionals. The 80yrs old man (Mr.Ramakutty) is in Blore since 60+yrs n can speak & understand English, Tamil, Malayalam, Hindi & Kannada. I met him near Chinmaya Hosp, Indira Nagar. Infact he was trying 2 stop the motorist for a drop to the Old madras rd. I stopped.. He sat on my bike holding my shoulder tight (tighter than my wife holds me when I Zoom in my bike) He was heading to his rented home in Lingarajpuram ...where his 70+yrs wife is...She is bedridden since yrs. I asked the old man why ru on the rds in this freezing weather... He said for a JOB ???? I was stun to hear this from a 80yrs old man... I asked Why !!! he said 'To feed himself & his wife' I imdly stopped my bike n asked 'did u have ur lunch ? He said NO... I took him 2 the nearest tea shop bought him a tea n snacks. I could see some energy building in the old man’s body after having the food n later quietly he said ...he eats once a day only....to save money !!!! I asked him for his sons/daughters phone numbers...He hesitated to give... After 20min I asked him once again before dropping him to ring rd...He said 'they will scold him'… I asked Why will they scold u ? he said my children r annoyed with me n my wife coz I have not build them houses/bought anything till now !!!!

I was fortunate to meet him I could say.... I give my phone number & said 2 call if he needs anything... Now some will say 'good Job SANTY' n others will 'click like' but this I'm posting for the 4 great children who thinks house, cars n money is bigger than parents !!!! SO PLZ SHARE ........ Im sure this info/message will go to his children.....MY HUMBLE REQUEST to all players... plz take care of ur parents....

Story By

Santosh Nair

Most of the roads in Bangalore have European names as the main city roads and areas were planned and built by the British. But somehow over the years the significance behind the names have been lost.

Till 1948 MG Road was known as South Parade

Mahatma Gandhi, Sir Mark Cubbon, B.R Ambedkar apart from being historic personalities also share the distinction of having roads named after them. After having lived in Bangalore for quite sometime, most of us always tend to wonder about the origin of names of neighborhoods that we reside in or have visited. Though most of the roads have been named after historic greats from across the world, some seem to have lost their identities over time. People living in Yeshwanthpur or Sadashivnagar in Bangalore would not know, why their areas are known by that name.

In fact not many even know the hidden stories behind the names of some of the prominent areas that is frequented by a large part of Bangaloreans. Most of the areas in Bangalore are named after the British monarch who reigned over India for the greater part of its most dominant period. Delving into the origin of the names of places is an interesting but a difficult task as there is no definitive compilation of these names and the story behind them. In a bid to throw light upon the origin of these names, we bring to you stories behind some of the most prominent areas in Bangalore.

Mahatma Gandhi Road – There are vast eat-outs, shopping centres and book houses on MG Road. It is one of the most popular shopping destinations in Bangalore and attracts a large amount of tourists every single day. It runs east from Trinity Circle to Anil Kumble Circle and has the famous Parade Grounds on the other side. Till 1948 the road was known as South Parade and was later renamed as Mahatma Gandhi Road post-independence on 26 February 1948.

Cantonment Area - The lovely and serene Cantonment area which still represents Old Bangalore was initially named Civil and Military (C&M) Station. It was home to the British Military Garrison and the names given to the roads in the area were according to the military arrangement and campus. Thus, there was Artillery Road, Brigade Road, Infantry Road, Cavalry Road.. Though some names have been changed for certain roads and circles, old-timers in the city still tend to use these names. Since a large part of the British soldiers stayed in the Cantonment area, they heavily influenced the colonial style of architecture which is still seen in some of the houses today.

Lavelle Road – The posh and uptown Lavelle Road which is now home to many International fashion brands was named after an Irish soldier Michael. F. Lavelle, who re-discovered the gold mines in Kolar. It is claimed that mining had completely stopped until M.F. Lavelle applied to the Mysore Government for the exclusive privilege of starting mining in the Kolar district. It is said that he made a living out of the riches he made from the gold mines.

Residency Road – Residency Road is a posh residential locality admired for its good houses and seemingly straight roads. In the earlier days the house of the British resident of Mysore was located on Residency Road and that’s how the name came to be. Around 1883, three new extensions were added to the Municipal area of the region - Richmond Town, followed by Benson Town and Cleveland Town – all named after British aristocrats.

Jayanagar – Jayanagar is considered to be one of the largest planned residential areas. It is home to prominent names like Infosys co-founder, N R Narayana Murthy and late actor Vishnuvardhan, this area has wide roads, well planned layouts and good public transport facilities. The area came into existence in 1948 and is named after Maharajah Jayachamrajendra Wodeyar, who was the 25th and the last Maharaja of the princely state of Mysore. He was a noted philosopher and musicologist who richly contributed to the field of science and music.

Malleswaram - Malleswaram is one of those areas in Bangalore which still retains the old world charm and can be called as one of the most prominent cultural hubs in the city. The area got its name after the Kaadu Malleshwara Temple in the old Mallapura village which was built by Venkoji, the step brother of Chhatrapati Shivaji in 1669. However the area was founded by an aristocrat named Sri Venkatranga Iyengar. He envisioned a locality of affluent who would lead a rich and cultured life and suggested the area of Kaadu Malleshwara be converted into a locality.

Basavanagudi - Basavanagudi is one of the oldest areas in Bangalore which is surrounded by lush greenery and stands out as one of the coveted constituencies in the city. The name ‘Basavanagudi’ refers to the Bull Temple that is located there, which is a monolith statue of the Nandi Bull. The temple was built by Kempe Gowda in the 16th century and the statue has been carved out of single granite rock. Basava in Kannada, means bull and gudi means temple, hence the name Basavanagudi.