Lokayukta has done it again; surfacing the bemani properties of corrupt sr.govt officials… this still seems to be the tip of the iceberg …

Lok Ayukta sleuths swooped down on the Bangalore residence of Davangere assistant commissioner (commercial taxes) Amanulla Sharief on Friday morning, They unearthed documents for property worth Rs 1.35 crore and cash from his house, whereas his entire 30 years’ earnings would have come to just Rs 30 lakh.
The Lok Ayukta also raided residences of nine officials, including an IAS officer, a deputy superintendent of police, commercial tax department officers. The raid yielded properties worth Rs 20 crore, disproportionate to their known sources of income. Read more..

What’s happening is not something new; the corruption has deeper roots in almost everything in our country, the lac of drive from political and administrative fronts to uproot the same. The need of hour perhaps is to protect the public wealth and interest rather than compromising our democratic principles and maintain the ‘chalta hai attitude’. The legal framework though has noted this down the ‘suo motto’ actions from political arena must be deep asleep over these cases for sure…

From 26th May, Bangalore city has one more newspaper under circulation. The newspaper is by a Hyderabad based media company Deccan Chronicle, the group which is more famous nationally for being owner of a bottom performer team in recently concluded Indian Premier League(IPL).

The newspaper claims itself to be ‘for Young Minds’ through provocative hoarding ads depicting a lady with news printed on her back. (more…)

I have gone for workshops at PfA and have done some voluntary work for them, and been impressed with this animal shelter and the work they are doing for distressed animals. So I am happy to post an announcement from Ranjan Chacko of PfA. Do participate if you can (though I cannot understand why a marathon event should be scheduled at the height of summer) and make the event a success!

Click on this for one of my previous postings about PfA

Here’s a marathon to bring together the City of Bangalore, to create a platform where its people can gather to show that they truly
care. PFA (People for Animals) Bangalore takes this opportunity to unite Bangaloreans in also spreading the message of conservation through protection of urban wildlife.

PFA, recognised by the Karnataka Forest Department, is an organisation where we believe and work towards being committed to the rescue and rehabilitation of urban wildlife. Through the shelter in Kengeri, the members of PFA and its volunteers have been successful in giving over 7000 avian, mammals and reptiles, a new lease on life.

The marathon, organised by PROCAM, is also a way of being the voice for the voiceless. And this can be achieved through your participation and commitment.

PFA is an officially listed NGO in the marathon and participants can choose to run as an individual or as a corporate team for the organisation. Please remember to select PFA (People for Animals) in the registration form as the NGO you wish to support.

For more information on the same please contact me on 98452-09623; the event helpline: 080 23161416 or email me at ranjanchacko@rediffmail.com

Forms are also available at various branch offices of Standard Chartered, Manipal Cure and Care outlets, Nike Outlets, Sree Kanteerava Stadium, Radio Mirchi office and The Windsor Manor, Bangalore. Those interested can also register online at www.sunfeastworld10k.indiatimes.com

Please pass this email on to your friends and spread the word.

Regards

Ranjan and everyone at PFA.

Those who belong to the “mainstream” are often unaware of some events that touch the lives of those who belong to the “fringes”.

I was walking down the Jayadeva flyover when I noticed these posters:

Here’s the English one:

and the Kannada one:

I had never been aware at all that there was this kind of initiative to give some voice to some of the minority groups in our city. Unfortunately, the posters do not clearly specify where the venue is (I do not know where Bannappa Park is) and so might have lost a lot of their effectiveness in getting a gathering there.

I wonder who organized this rally and cultural event, and how it went.

Life is tough enough when one belongs to the “normal” category; I can only imagine how it must be if society in general does not accept one, and one faces derision and castigation at every turn….many people handle it by not being open about themselves. Those who are honest enough to declare themselves as being “different” are those who face the maximum difficulties.

I saw the posters too late to attend the event; but they made me think a lot about the human condition, and tolerance, or the lack of it, in our society.

A few days ago, as a birder and the author of a light-hearted article on the Bangalore Bird Race I was interviewed by Archana Pai, who wanted to write an article about birders in Bangalore. Later, Hemant Mishra of Mint called me up and we organized a gathering at Lalbagh to do the photo-shoot.

Also called were Nirmit (18) and Abhijna Desai (14)…Abhijna was accompanied by her dad and her younger brother, Ganesh. Here they all are:

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What should get front page coverage in a newspaper? Really, what is it that should get written about on the front page of a newspaper? The latest developments in the political circles, the merger or acquisition news of Indian businesses, the state of Indian cricket or what the Supreme Court decided on a high profile case?
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The simple way perhaps for Dainik jagran is to steal; y’day came across this edition of city plus and was surprised to see my photo from Bengalooru Habba 07 post being used without due credits in their front page Habba news report….

City plus, Saturday Dec 8th 2007

The stolen photo..

Being familiar with Midday using Metblog photo’s now it’s another daily trying to get their hands on the snaps (protected by creative commons). Not a good gesture from print media for sure!!

Well, they are not the first city-focussed magazine but they certainly have a first mover advantage in terms of having Bangalore’s new name Bengaluru in their masthead. I’m certain you would have come across some of their hoarding(s). The first one certainly caused a little of a ripple too!

Ok, I’m talking about ‘The Bengaluru Pages’, a new magazine launched recently - about 3 editions back - and entrenching itself slowly but surely among city folk’s reading habits. I got in touch with their editor and here’s what she has to say to my posers:
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Janet Yegneswaran and ‘TREESFORFREE.ORG’ efforts are maturing; we witnessed the second anniversary of treesforfree.org y’day at Bal bhavan, Cubbon park when it was inaugurated by a truly inspiring personality of ‘Salumarada thimakka of Magadi taluk.

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You must have seen the “Standard Fireworks” hoardings in town - supposedly a visibility exercise before Diwali. A small line on the hoarding says “the finest since 1942″, which makes it a brand that’s 65 years old. It also means familiarity across a wide age spectrum - from today’s 10 year old, to someone who is eighty, or more.

So, what’s the point I’m trying to make ?

When you have a brand that’s practically a household word, how should you be spending your advertising money? The answer : intelligently and responsibly.

Instead of a boring slap-the-logo-on-the-hoarding exercise, the brand owners could have worked on a safety theme for Diwali. Every year we read about accidents during Diwali, that could have been prevented with a little more awareness.

Another soft spot for fire-cracker manufacturers is the child labour angle. So, if the brand owners are squeaky-clean on this issue, that’s another useful theme for the communications.

Okay, even if all this is hard to fathom in terms of strategy and logic, I think the hoardings could have at least carried one simple message : “Happy Diwali !”