Happy Yugaadi, 2012.

"Gandhada Gudi", a Shadow Play, 2011.

When you are away from the land of your upbringing, any activity that you run into in the far away region has special meaning to you, particularly when the activity involves unique talent. And, what talent among the troupe, identified only as "Gaampara Gumpu"¹, that presented "Gandhada Gudi", a special shadow play describing the history and diversity of the State of Karnataka!

Happy Yugaadi, 2012.

This was a very beautiful, carefully selected, presentation of the various aspects of the State of Karnataka, with very appropriate musical backgrounds. This was performed as part of the cultural Yugaadi 2012 program that the Kannada Koota of Northern California presented on 7 April 2012 in Campbell, California. (The embedded video in this blog post, however, is what was presented in Sacramento in 2011, but is very representative of what was presented in Campbell).

Kannadigas everywhere, take note! The "Gaampara Gumpu" troupe of Sacramento, California, ought to make you feel proud. This presentation is an excellent realization of the motto of the State of Karnataka: "ಸಿರಿಗನ್ನಡಂ ಗೆಲ್ಗೆ, ಸಿರಿಗನ್ನಡಂ ಬಾಳ್ಗೆ".

Kannada is living well in California.

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¹The quotes are not mine: the troupe refers to itself with the quotes. For those who know Kannada, it is ಗಾಂಪರ ಗುಂಪು.

Bangalore and a Specialty Snack (ತೇಂಕೊಳಲು).

Although Bangalore is famous for Masala Dosa, there are many other tasty snacks that are somewhat unique to Bangalore in general, and South India in particular.

ತೇಂಕೊಳಲು

One such eatable is known in Kannada as ತೇಂಕೊಳಲು — pronounced tenkolalu, see inset picture — and, being able to enjoy a home-made version of that snack in America is a very special treat.

Recently, a very special "guest"¹ to our home in California blessed us with not only her visit, but with ತೇಂಕೊಳಲು and a whole host of other snacks. (If you know how to read and understand Kannada, you can read about it on a separate blog).

My best wishes to you, the reader, that you get a chance to enjoy this savoury soon.

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¹I have used the word "guest" only to avoid needless publication of the guest's identity.

Google Maps and Bangalore's Namma Metro.

(Cross-posted from a post on Musings of a Computing Professional)

Google has seen it fit to map different parts of the world, and Bangalore, India, is no exception.

Recently, on 20 October 2011, a segment of the Bangalore Metro, between Baiyappanahalli & M G Road, went online for passenger traffic.

Namma Metro Route Map

While the route map of the Namma Metro, shown here and provided by the Bangalore Metro Rail Corporation Limited (BMRCL), offers a logical view that is helpful in a lot of contexts, it is sometimes also valuable to have a view that is superimposed on the geography-based map of Bangalore, of all the stations that currently serve passenger traffic. There is also a list of stations in the rail network, provided on the BMRCL web site.

It is said that the rail system offers free Wi-Fi connection on the train to all of its riders.

This Google map given below is a public map and I expect to update it to match the state of the Namma Metro in the coming months and years.

View Namma Metro (Bengaluru) Google Map in a larger map

Other information Namma Metro on the Internet:
Namma Metro on Wikipedia.
Bangalore Metro Map by MapsofIndia.com.

An Open Suggestion to BBMP - On Parking & Living.

(Cross-posted from a post on Through Tinted Glasses).

Every time I visit Bangalore, I feel an inner need to reflect on what particular work can improve life in Bangalore.

On this visit, one Bangalore fact that sticks out in my mind is its parking problem. Most roads in residential neighborhoods in Bangalore, are created by the Bangalore Developmental Authority, and have a 30' width, not including the space needed for drainage. So, if you leave about 5' on either side for pedestrians, you really only have about 20', or about 10' for traffic in one direction. (A frequently found sedan on Bangalore roads these days, such as the Maruti Suzuki SX4 Model, is 69", or nearly 6', wide).

But, the problem is that cars are frequently parked during the day on either side of the street, thus using up to 15' for the 30' width. Pedestrians thus are forced to walk on the asphalt, and this reduces the available asphalted portion for automobiles even further, to barely accommodate a moving car in a single direction.

What is the solution?

A Residential  Building, at Chestnut & Octavia in San Francisco.

A possible solution is to adapt, within the city limits, what cities like San Francisco have been practicing for quite some time. (It was not long ago that San Francisco and Bangalore established a sister city relationship). The accompanying picture shows one neighborhood in San Francisco, specifically at the intersection of Chestnut and Octavia streets.

A key point to be noted in this picture is that the garage doors seen here are very deceptive. The parking space is not just for one car: As a car enters through the garage door, the entire ground floor is opened up for parking, and living space starts at the next floor — 1st floor in Indian parlance or 2nd floor in American parlance. An immediate consequence of this arrangement is that the streets are left free for moving automobiles and pedestrians and, where possible, for curb-side parking.

Thus, if all future construction within Bangalore City Corporation limits takes place in such a way that adequate parking space is provided for inhabitants, and visitors, of a building, an important problem will have been solved. Otherwise, we will create many more Mantri Square-like disasters throughout the city.

Is anyone from BBMP or the Bangalore Team of the San Francisco-Bangalore Sister City Initiative or the Bangalore Developmental Authority listening?