On August 23rd, people in 192 cities around the world will go on a “photo walk” apparently to celebrate the launch of some book. Yes…it hardly sounds like a worthwhile reason to expend energy on a Saturday morning, but look at it this way… it’s just cool that the whole world will come together under a few common flickr tags that day. So if you’d like to know more about this event and register for it, please visit:

http://www.photoshopuser.com/photowalk/city/bangalore.html

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INTACH Bangalore is organizing a walk through Ulsoor

A reminder about the upcoming Parichay event. We will visit the
Someshwara temple and then walk through parts of the Ulsoor area. You
probably already know that the Someshwara temple is one of Bangalore’s
oldest temples. It dates back to the Chola period with several
additions made during the Vijayanagar period by the founder of
Bangalore, Kempegowda. The interesting thing is you can see the
architectural elements from both these periods quite clearly in the
temple. Ulsoor is, of course, one of Bangalore’s oldest settlements.

Sathya Prakash Varanashi, former Professor & Head of the Department of
Architecture at Bangalore Institute of Technology, will lead us
through parts of the residential areas and markets of Ulsoor. HR
Prathibha, Convenor, Intach Bangalore, will talk to us about the
temple.

We will meet at 9:30 am on Sunday, 27th July 2008, outside the
Someshwara temple. We expect to finish the day’s programme by about
12:30. The temple is on a little lane opposite the Ulsoor Police
Station, off Old Madras Road. There is some parking available on the
lane outside the temple.

If you have questions, call Pankaj (93421 35215), Swathi (98451 32181)
or Meera (99860 23014).

Here are the details about the second Bangalore Photo Walk, to be conducted on June 1, 2008, as given by S Karthik, who is organizing it:

* The walk will happen on 1st June 2008 between Ravindra Kalakshetra and the erstwhile Central Jail
* We begin at 7:30 am sharp - it’s a slightly longish route and there are too many things worth photographing on the route so I think we should start early
* From what I see, I think it’ll be a building-oriented walk. Lots of good buildings in the route
* Some of the buildings that we’ll see during the walk
o Ravindra Kalakshetra
o Sir Puttannachetty Town Hall
o The LIC Building
o The Corporation Building
o Bux-Ranka house
o Hudson Church
o YMCA
o RBI (though I’m not sure if it’s safe to photograph it)
o Daly Hall
o UVCE
o Central Jail
* We should end the walk by around 10 am near the Central Jail, following which we will proceed to Kamat Yatri Nivas for breakfast
* All are welcome. You are welcome even if you don’t carry a camera and are just interested in walking along with us on a nice Sunday morning. Of course you should be prepared to walk
* I’m not sure of parking facilities around the Ravindra Kalakshetra. The nearest bus stop is Town Hall, to where you should get buses from all over the city
* As usual, you don’t need to pay anything. Except for the breakfast of course.
* I would advise you to carry a cap, a water bottle and a camera. I would also advise you to wear comfortable footwear.
* There is a yahoo group I’ve started. it’s called blorephotowalk. Join. I need to approve your membership though
* I request you to give more publicity for this walk. On your blog or website or maybe even in some papers or something :P .
* RSVP. Either leave a comment here (with your name) or mail me at skthewimp[at]yahoo[dot]com
* The latest issue of Bengaluru pages, and citizen matters have carried reviews of the first walk. The CitizenMatters article is at

http://www.citizenmatters.in/articles/view/180-walk-click

Karthik has a very interesting blog at

http://skthewimp.livejournal.com

http://bcp.wikidot.com/city-walks:old-city-urban-space-event

BANGALORE CITY PROJECT PRESENTS
PAYTAY, KOTAY, KERAY, THOTA
AN OLD CITY URBAN SPACE EVENT
8.00–11:30 A.M. ON SUNDAY, 18 MAY 2008

Now that you have explored Gavipuram (the first BCP Urban Space Event, held on March 8, 2008) and the Whitefield heritage space (held on 26 April 2008), it’s time to delve deeper into the City’s history and culture – with the Old City Urban Space Event; a walk titled “Kotay, Paytay, Keray, Thota – Changing Geographies & Fragile Futures.”

The history of a place is writ large on its cultural landscape. Opportunities exploited, imaginations expressed/withheld, memories recollected and forgotten, injustice and inequality negotiated from different positions of power and powerlessness. The city is fraught with complex and not-always-pretty stories.

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