A friend of ours has just moved to a place near Hosur and I guess you
can see why. There’s a picturesque lake skirting his backyard.

Just imagine, a place to call home, with a lake attached.
Straight out of a dream sequence.

I didn’t have my regular camera with me and these pictures were taken with
my N72. Not bad at all.

Was passing through Indiranagar the other day and found this immaculately maintained
Royal Enfield. The customizing done on the paint job and seating only add to its appeal.
Makes you want to just kick-start the bike and take it for a chakkar.

The family dropped by at Coffee Day the other day for a steaming night cap, after dinner. When the coffees came, my son pointed out to the smiley poster on the wall. The message there was interesting : If you don’t see a smiley in your cup, the coffee is on the house.

As you can see, my cup had something that looked like a coffee bean - not even remotely close to a smile. I alerted our friendly waiter about the smiley and sure enough, they didn’t charge me for my coffee.

Net takeaway : If there’s no smiley in your coffee cup, there’s bound to be one on your face … when you see the bill. Nice gesture.

(Not sure how long this offer is open, so do check this out the next time you’re at Coffee Day.)

There’s a link to “latte art” here, if you’re interested.

Anita Gracias from Sahai

In Bangalore, there is a dedicated suicide helpline that you can call and hope to find a friendly, helpful voice that gives you hope, courage and strength. To take that one step backward, turn around and face life square in the face. And that helpline is called “Sahai”.

I was talking to Anita Gracias, who also sits by the phone at Sahai as one of their special volunteers. She is ready to answer the phone and listen – as if someone’s life depended on it. She will then forge a relationship with a voice that cries out for help; and gently take it from darkness, to the light at the end of the tunnel.

There’s a lot of good work they do there, so I requested Anita to answer a few questions that could raise awareness levels among people. Hopefully, this interview will get people to work as volunteers as well.

The interview is a long post so I have hosted it at this link.
Please click here : Interview with Anita Gracias

J.B.Hubli is one artist from Karnataka who has defined his own canvas - except that the workspace here is not canvas, but veneer on wood. He has the rare ability to recognize shapes and artforms in pieces of wood that are normally discarded or recycled by saw mills.

Jayant’s favourite hunting ground is a saw mill in Mysore, where machines slice large tree trunks to manufacture plywood. In the initial part of the production run, interesting bits of wood fly off the cutting machines. These pieces are hand-picked to “assemble” a picture - bit by bit, like a jigsaw puzzle.

When you look at his work, you are truly amazed at his mastery over form, in an interplay of images that seem to spring out of nature’s visual tapestry. Jayant has showcased his works of art in most major cities and is currently planning to share his unique perspectives with art lovers in Delhi. This talented young artist is from the Mysore College of Art (CAVA) and also has some very inspiring work in oils, water-colours, charcoal and acrylic.

You can view more of his work on his website. For samples of re-sized digital images of his work, please mail him at : jbhubli@gmail.com

Meet Raju, our dhobiwalla from Frazer Town. He’s been a regular with us over the last 25 years. And a good example of peripheral relationships in old Bangalore. You know all about his kids and he has seen your kids growing up right from the time they were in diapers.

Raju is like our postman, who often drops by for a cup of tea and to chat about how things have changed after “email”.

But Raju is now endangered species - with coal prices spiraling, power tariffs on a shock-spree and shop rents hitting the roof. The “new age” cleaner around the corner is another looming threat to his existence. He is getting old and does not visualize his children getting into the same line. So it won’t be long before his trusty cycle leans against his wall to gather dust.

I don’t know how many old Bangaloreans can identify with this feeling of loss in terms of a close “peripheral relationship”, but I’m sure many of you have grown up with these familiar faces who have been so much a part of your life.

Another closed chapter on the changing face of Bangalore.

When Radio Indigo sent Zubin, a Marketing Manager from Aztec on an all expense paid Formula 1 weekend to Monza, Italy, he became the most envied among F1 fans. For Zubin not just got air tickets, stay at the Four Season’s Hotel but also exclusive Ferrari Paddock passes to watch the race last September. Now what’s lying in wait has got to be the biggest ever treat for a music buff. Radio Indigo and Hard Rock Café is sending one Bangalorean with a friend on an all expense paid weekend to London to watch some of the biggest artists live in concert. ‘Hard Rock Calling’ at Hyde Park, London will have Eric Clapton, Sheryl Crow, John Mayer, K T Tunstall, The Police and Starsailor performing live! Imagine a chance of an all-expense paid trip all the way to London to watch them perform. What’s even better is the STAR treatment. Air tickets, posh hotel accommodation, a limousine to go around town and seats at the VIP grandstands to watch the stars perform up close and personal!

On the contest, Geoffrey Thomas - National Programming Director, “Radio Indigo has always brought the best of International music - on-air and by bringing diverse International talent to perform here. The Indigo experience has always been about bringing the best to our listeners. This is one chance that any music buff will absolutely cherish”

Stay tuned to Radio Indigo for the details.

This post is from an email sent to me by Radio Indigo

My friends at Shiri want me to share this event invitation with the readers of Bangalore
Metblogs - especially those in Bangalore.

Shiri Dance Company invites you to ‘Prayana’- a neo-traditional presentation
progressing from the classical form, into the subtleties of expression and further
into today’s urban reality. Join us for an evening of theatre, movement and verse
featuring guest theatre artiste Anil Desai.

at
‘Nitya Nritya’
Ravindra Kalakshetra
Kannada Bhavan, JC Road
on April 28, 2008, at 6.30 pm

More information from :
shiri dance company
No 16/1, First Floor
Behind Nritya Apartments
18th Cross, Malleswaram,
Bangalore 560 055
Tel: +91+ 2356 2758 / 98451 90333

Talk about marketing gurus wearing many hats, here’s a promising young salesman with at least four, to start with. And he plays more than one key role - handling “product display, sales, finance and supply sourcing”. I found him catching up on the headlines outside the Deccan Herald office on MG Road.

The next time you’re out here, when it’s really, really hot, let’s hope you find this moving hat rack with an amiable smile. And let’s hope you don’t push a bargain in your favor - we don’t want to narrow down his profit margin, do we ?

Last Saturday, I drove down to Eagleton golf resort with a friend who was playing
in the Mercedes Trophy. I just went along for the photo-op and my camera did the rest.
Can’t believe I shot these pictures :)

While the big boys went out to play, I spent all my time with these beauties
that were on special display.

More on Eagleton on their website :

http://www.eagletonindia.com/index.htm