This Girls on the Run event is partnered with YLG Salon and Spa; each participant will receive a YLG MyWaxer Gift Voucher! Come to experience breakthrough services at conveniently located YLG salon and spa exclusively for women in Bangalore. And do join YLG on Facebook, just click here.

We would love to see women coming forward and joining us – and don’t worry if you’re not confident about running – the event is mainly to encourage all of you to get out your shoes and get walking, skipping and active and maybe rediscover your love for the outdoors! So drop your inhibitions – you have nothing to lose but some morning sleep!

The directions to the venue are on this page.

Don’t forget to send off a mail to girlsontherun at runnergirlsindia.com register for the run. And please spread the word around!

Men, do encourage the women in your lives to participate and don’t forget to forward this message to them!

The speakers are acclaimed experts from the Yahoo! International team. They bring with them the expertise and global perspective of the constantly changing world of technology, online products & communities and the internet space in general.

This time the topic is:
Sociotechnical Design and Engineering: Putting People First

The speaker is Elizabeth Churchill, a Principal Research Scientist at Yahoo! Research, where she manages the research area of Internet Experiences. A psychologist by training, for the past 15 years she has drawn on diverse areas to consider how to design effective communication situations both face to face and technologically mediated. Applications developed and/or evaluated include cell phone interfaces, textual and 3d graphical environments, interactive digital posterboards and animated interface personas.

Abstract: Sociotechnical design is concerned with understanding how users and technologies shape each other. When studying how people use systems and applications, it is often possible to see inconsistencies between anticipated use and actual use in everyday life. By taking a social and human activity-centered perspective, we can tease out where expectation and practice converge and diverge – allowing us to identify opportunities for innovation, and to design more useful applications and services. In this talk Churchill explores these topics through case studies of several internet applications.

More details are here…

If you find the topic of interest and relevance, you can register yourself for the event.

Date/Time:
Friday, Sep 11, 2009
Time: 3:00-5:00pm
Grand Ballroom, The Leela, Bangalore

The solution:
If we can raise enough donations to buy a new vehicle, we would be back on the road again, planting trees, cooling the globe and healing the earth. The vehicle ideally suited for our operations is a Mahindra pickup. It costs 4 lacs. If 4000 of us gave just 100 rupees each, then the planting can start again.

How you can help:
Donate as much as you can. All donations are tax exempt under 80 G and you will be given a receipt. After you send/transfer money, please send a mail to vinod.eshwer@gmail.com with the amount sent/transferred and the names of people who donated + address where you want the receipts to be delivered.

How you can help:
Donate as much as you can. All donations are tax exempt under 80 G and you will be given a receipt.

1. Bank Transfer
Contact vinod.eshwer@gmail.com for the bank details and then send the amount ransferred and the names of people who donated + address where you want the receipts to be delivered.

Or

2. A cheque in favour of ‘Rajanet Yegneswaran Charitable Trust’ and send it to
Rajanet Yegneswaran Charitable Trust
No 11, 20 L Cross, Sri Rama temple Road,
Ejipura, Viveknagar Post, Bangalore-560 047
Tel: +91 9845449703

Thank you in advance from all the babies, birds, bees and other beings to come :)

Treesforfree Blog
TreesforFree Website

Janet -rajanetyeg@gmail.com, 9845449703 (m)

Play in the Mud

More details here:
Bangalore Bicycle Championships

The Government Civil Defense department (the dept. which runs the area Surakasha Mita scheme) has requested our support for a tree-planting drive set-to kick off this month.

The group Hasiru Usiru is set to help them in their ambitious plan to plant 50,000 saplings. The planting will happen in the next couple of weeks since the roots of tree saplings register MAXIMUM growth during end June to mid September.

We need volunteers to help in this drive. If you are interested, please contact Sheshadri – 98455 68182, prepress555@rediffmail.com or Santosh Min – 99860 37010 , santhosh_b_min@yahoo.com

The area wise planting has been planned as follows –

1. Bangalore University. 20,000 saplings
Each and every one of them are endemic like terminalia arjuna, mitragyna parviflora, Hebbiduru ,thespesia populnea etc for lakesides. albizzia procera , Gmelina arborea, putranjeeva for plains.Ficus racemosa (atti mara) and pride of india for valleys, also fancy species like saraca ashoka and of course honge jackfruit nerle etc…

2.Arekere. 10,000 saplings including bamboos and pride of india for lakeside for below areas we had to include exotics like tabebuia,mahogany, jacaranda coz no choice.

3. Rajarajeshwarinagar . 10,000 saplings

4. Jayanagar 2000 saplings.

5. KPTCL Layout, Sarjapur road , 2000 saplings

6. D J Halli 6000 and Ulsoor lake and the homeguards campus.
approx figures.

If you live around or close by, do contact the numbers mentioned!

The folks at My Sunny Balcony (MSB) can suggest how to transform an empty forlorn space into a veritable green heaven…

Complete with the sound of soothing water, a herb garden and beautiful terracotta pots, the MSB use different means to give your garden a brand new look.

So, folks – if you have a balcony going to waste and looking utterly dejected – all you have to do is call up the folks at My Sunny Balcony. Most of us living in flats have this experience of letting our balconies turn into storage spaces or worse still, lie empty.

This is what the MSB team has to say: “Any space that receives even a little bit of sunlight is a potential MySunnyBalcony space: A tiny unusable patch outside your front door, an ugly terrace on your roof, or even a back balcony in your high rise apartment. It doesn’t matter how high up or small your space is, we’ll work with it. We’ll also tell you what you can do and what you can’t. You’ll be surprised at the immense number of green possibilities that even a tiny amount of space can hold!”

More in their words: “Welcome to MySunnyBalcony! We’re a group of garden enthusiasts dedicated to creating customized landscapes for urban environments. With almost no space left in the city for home gardens, we’ve decided to take our gardens up the elevator and into your balconies and terraces. We do concept gardens, designer balconies and terrific terraces. We have a host of theme balconies to choose from, based on your lifestyle and interests. Just tell us what you want and we’ll try and make it possible for you. A little herb or veggie patch that looks as fabulous as it tastes? Sure! A sunny spot with flowers bursting out from every corner? Why not? Or perhaps a tranquil zen-style space to contemplate in? With a quiet fountain gurgling away in the background? You got it!”

Athreya, Reena, Shailesh and Sriram – the foursome who have started this unique initiative are very hands on – they will come by and provide you with what you need to do to get a super looking balcony in a jiffy. And they still do everything themselves – so this is the right time to catch them – before they become famous and have assistants doing the work!

And it won’t be long before that happens – they’ve already been covered in DNA, 080 and other newspaper articles. This is a labour of love for these guys and the stunning makeovers they already created are testimony to the hard work they put in so that your space looks like a million dollars!

More:
– My Sunny Balcony
– Contact them on: info@mysunnybalcony.com

But for how long? We’ve all seen how many trees are getting felled. How the Metro has destroyed some of our best roads. But we’ve got to make efforts, we have to do everything possible to retain our green cover, plant more trees, start thinking in a more eco-friendly manner.

It’s heart-warming to see people cycle to work nowadays – all geared up with their helmets and face masks – what a great step it is towards de-clogging our roads. It’s one less person in a car. Imagine, if even a few thousand of us got onto bikes and cycled to work, what a change this city can see! I tried cycling to office myself one day to see if I could manage the traffic. And yes – it was bad – but I made a start. Now, at least I know I can do it.

And I don’t think it’s that big a deal once you start. Yes, there’s traffic. But you’re being a part of the solution, not the problem when you start looking at eco-friendly ways of commuting instead of the fuel guzzling alternatives. Try it out sometime – maybe once or twice a week. It’s worth it. You’ll realise that a 10km distance on a cycle is actually not much at all.

And besides you’ll have the intense satisfaction that you’re doing your bit towards making Bangalore traffic more bearable. Many people say they “can’t” do it, that they can’t handle the traffic. But I don’t believe this is true – anything is possible – you just need to start. Even in our vehicles we have to battle traffic. It’s the same thing on a cycle, except that you’re on 2 wheels and it’s actually sometimes easier! I went from not knowing how to cycle (last year) to slowly making my way around on cycle in Bangalore and hopefully will be more confident in traffic in a couple of months. It’s an effort but it’s definitely worth taking!

Here’s an initiative that believes in “Doing good while doing well“. Net Impact is an international nonprofit organization whose mission is to inspire, educate, and equip individuals to use the power of business to create a more socially and environmentally sustainable world.

When : July 17, 2009
Where : Bangalore – From home to office/college and back home
Who : You, me and every Bengaluru resident.

And not just the 17th, let’s sustain this everyday!

More details here:
http://gogreen4netimpactbangalore.eventbrite.com/

Facts we should worry about:
1. Bengaluru’s population is about 8 million.
2. Bengaluru is considered to have the highest density of traffic in the world.
3. Traffic population is doubling every 5 years.4. Road space used by a person in a bus is 3% of a person in a car and 5% of a person in 2 wheeler.
5. Air Quality Index (AQI) is between 150-300 in different areas of Bengaluru. AQI>100 is severe air pollution.
6. Bengaluru has the highest number of 2-wheelers in the world.
7. About 40 lakh ltrs of petrol and 80 lakh ltrs of diesel is consumed each day in Karnataka alone

Poster: Kundun

The second – Kundun – is a 1997 film written by Melissa Mathison (at the behest of the Dalai Lama himself) and directed by Martin Scorsese. It is based on the life and writings of the Dalai Lama, the exiled political and spiritual leader of Tibet. It stars Tenzin Thuthob Tsarong, a grand nephew of the Dalai Lama as the adult Dalai Lama. It traces his life in episodes from the time he was “found” to the time when he had to flee Tibet. Kundun was nominated for four Academy Awards.

The rest of the schedule is as follows:

Friday, May 15
5.30 pm, “DREAMING OF TIBET”, Will Parrinello
6.40 pm, “WINDHORSE”, Paul Wagner

Saturday, May 16
5.30 pm, “THE LOST WORLD OF TIBET”, Emma Hindley
7.10 pm, DREAMING LHASA”
8.15 pm, “LEAVING FEAR BEHIND”

Sunday, May 17
5:30 pm, “UNWINKING GAZE”, Joshua Dugdale
6:50 pm, “THE CUP: AN INSPIRING TRUE STORY”, Khyentse Norbu
7:10 pm, “H.H. The DALAI LAMA in conversation with RAJIV MEHROTRA”

Monday, May 18
8:10 pm, “TIBET’S CRY FOR FREEDOM”, Lara Damiani

Tuesday, May 19
5:30 pm, “ART IN EXILE”, Nidhi Tuli, Ashraf Abbas
6:10 pm, “DRAMGYEN: THE LUTE”, ashi Eugyalaversion
6:30 pm, “RICHARD GERE IS MY HERO”, ashi Wangchuk, Tsultrim Dorjee
8:10 pm, “UNDERCOVER TIBET”, Channel 4

CKSL also offers courses in various Buddhist meditation techniques and teachings on the various aspects of the graduated path to enlightenment. Teachings are offered free to the public and are conducted in English or in Tibetan (with translation in English). In addition to regular teachings every few weeks the Center invites senior Lamas to give talks on important aspects of the Buddhist path.

For those interested in Tibet, its history and the present day problems and issues, this is a good chance to catch a few of these films. And do pass the word around!

For more information, you can check out the The Center’s Website or call them on 080-41486497.

It’s no mean achievement but under the umbrella of her organisation treeforfree.org, Janet has planted as many as 11,550 trees! In her own words: “We’ve been busy doing what we do best- planting trees that cool the globe and heal the earth.”

She continues: “We know this number is a humble statistic when compared to the number of trees that have been chopped and are slated to go under the axe, to make way for “development”.) But every leaf that sprouts on every new tree that is planted brings back hope.

A reassuring sign in these dreary times.

It’s a mad race of tree cutters versus tree planters. And you just have to look around to see who’s in the lead.

But hey, remember the tortoise and the hare?

We’re getting there. One tree at a time.

So relax, and enjoy your long weekend in a place far from the madding concrete jungle.”

If you are interested to plant a tree, gift someone a tree in their name (it makes for a great gift, you’d agree I am sure) or even volunteer to help Janet, do get in touch with her.

http://www.treesforfree.org

http://treesforfree.blogspot.com/

Sign the petition to save Lalbagh trees

“The merits gained by planting trees for the benefit of others last forever.” – Buddha

Organised along with Sankara Eye Care, the ICARE Walkathon will raise funds toward corrective cataract surgery for a thousand people in Karnataka, who otherwise cannot afford it. It also aims to provide funds for preventive eye care programs for children, eye banking and corneal transplantation. Your participation
fee of Rs. 100 will help make this difference. It aims to raise funds to treat vision related problems among the poor, with no cost to them.

Details are given on the website www.uwbengaluru.org.

Do come out in support by participating in the event!