[ Sajith M ]

Arghh!!! WTF. That summarizes my reaction.

Okay, so assuming that you have just returned from Mars, here is a quick summary. Effective today (November 01, 2006), Bangalore will be known as Bangalooru. This is supposed to be the state government’s gift to the people on the 50th anniversary of Karnataka state.
Oh! thanks for the un-pronounceable gift. Can i return it Mr. Chief Minister?

For note, I think Bangalooru is utterly un-pronounceable and has (sort of) a rural sleepy village feel to it as compared to relatively well know, well pronounceable and cosmopolitan sounding Bangalore. Just my personal thoughts, I think at least some people would be able to pronounce it.

Btw, I am sure that the government did not have anything better to do when it thought of this wonderful plan. I mean, hey its just a matter of getting the name right. Once the name is right, the infrastructure will take care of itself. And of course, the same applies to other problems of Bangalore like the law and order situation, increasing regional chauvinism etc etc

So does this mean that Bangalore too disappears into history – just like Bombay and Madras? Or does it mean that people will continue to be Bangaloreans in Bangalore and Bangalooru will be restricted to the government world?

Link 01: Bangalore, names and Nehambal by Neha Viswanathan.
Link 02: Everything is in a name by Aviraj.

Posted under: City Life , Bangalore , Uncategorized
Tagged with: Bangalooru, Bangalore

To give you a quick summary, If you are driving a two wheeler (irrespective of engine size and bhp) in Bangalore City limits, you are supposed to wear a helmet. For now the pillion riders don’t need to wear a helmet.

As a person who always wears a helmet while riding, you would expect me to perhaps welcome this move..
And why as a person who anyways wears a helmet, am I opposed to this new regulation you might ask?

The biggest argument given in favor of wearing helmets is that it will reduce serious head injuries. And I sort of agree with it. However,

1. Is there anything to prove that helmets do actually bring down the number of serious injuries?
2. Will someone take count of injuries after this rule comes into effect, and repeal the law if its not working?
3. Is it not also a proven fact that in most two wheeler accidents, it is the pillion rider who ends up being more seriously injured?
4. Won’t improving the road conditions (potholes, bad lights etc) help in reducing accidents and (subsequent) injuries more than imposing helmets?

And why do our governments (the ones we are supposed to elect as adults) treat us the same way as some kindergarten kids. Why do we need to be told what to wear and what not to wear? [rant]What to drink, what not to drink; when to drink, when not to drink; when to sleep, when not to sleep (sorry, looks like we don’t have a law about the last one yet)[/rant]

The beauty of this rule is that it ignores the causes for deaths and injuries (bad roads), and focuses on the remedies (helmets). And somehow it makes it look like our law makers don’t think that citizens can think for themselves. Ah, well…

Posted under: City Life , Bangalore , Uncategorized
Tagged with: accidents, bad roads, Bangalore, deaths, head injuries, helmet, injuries, road conditions, two wheeler

What if the average Bangalorean is least bothered about which state Belgaum belongs to, that sure is no deterrent for Kannada Chaluvali Paksha and Karnataka Rakshna Vedike from calling for a 12 hour strike (6AM to 6PM) to protest against UPA government’s ‘step motherly’ treatment in border row with Maharashtra. Ah well…

So we have a daylong strike paralyzing normal life across Bangalore (and perhaps whole Karnataka), thanks to Kannada activists defending the status of Belgaum as an integral part of Karnataka. Btw, if you thought that the near complete shutdown was because people were passionate or seriously concerned about Belgaum issue, then you are mistaken. It was mostly due to the fear psychosis and forced shutdowns.

Thankfully, this time the police was actually present on the streets. This I believe was the reason the bandh went off peacefully, and we did not see a repeat of incidents that took place following Rajkumar’s death.

The traffic was pretty low, and I was able to cover the 22 Kilometers from HSR Layout to HRBR Layout (Kalyan Nagar, Banaswadi) in less than 20 minute while being able to take a few snaps on my way.. I would have loved to put up the photos that I managed to get showing cops doing the rounds (and thanks to them we did not have any untoward incidents today), but none of them came out well.. so here are the ones that I managed.

Posted under: City Life , Bangalore , Uncategorized
Tagged with: bandh, Bangalore, Belgaum, Karnataka, strike