Countries in the West have autonomous school boards that report to citizens and encourage participatory practices. Sure they have their share of problems, but at least these problems are aired and responses are required to be made.
Let me start with Akshara Foundation, with which I am most familiar. Since early 2000, we have had only one mission: Every child in Bangalore in school and learning well.
Type: Article
New indignation, new alignment
Sometimes, it seems as though much of the world is trying to crowd into Bangalore. Hold that thought. At almost seven million, our population in this city is already more than the population of new-age countries such as Ireland, and almost half of that of Chile.
Do cities have DO cities have a self image? Does Bangalore think of itself the way others see it?
Over the past three years, I have had occasion to travel around the world, attending conferences and meeting thought leaders in different countries. Maybe 1 should not be surprised, but I always am, when many of the people I talk to are keenly aware of Bangalore. Primarily of course, they see it as the software capital of India. Woefully, they have also picked up stories of its inadequate infrastructure. And yet, whether we like it or not, Bangalore has clearly become one of THE cities of the world.
Campaign Read India: Get Them Glued To Books, Happily
ON International Literacy Day, it is time to do some stock-taking. And statistics do not console when it comes to the continuing high rate of school dropouts and the inability of even 50 percent of children going to government schools to read fluently.
But the picture is not entirely bleak. In Bangalore, the Akshara Foundation is spearheading the ‘Read India’ initiative, a nationwide campaign by Pratham Resource Centre. ‘Read India’ is a three-pronged strategy which aims to inculcate the reading habit in one million children in the next five years.
The ‘Why Why Girl’ launched –
The Vice- Captain of the Indian cricket team, Rahul Dravid, on Monday released the noted writer Ma- hashveta Devi’s book, “The Why Why Girl”, under the Read India Movement aimed at bringing down the number of illiterate children.
The book has been brought out by Pratham, of which the Bangtilore-based Akshara Foundation is a member. Lauding the work done by Pratham, Rahul Dravid said, “It is a fantastic and terrific effort.”
BANGALORE FAST FORWARD – Knowledge City
Bangalore is a Happening City. We’ve heard it so many times. But what does that mean? Did the people of Magadha say it was a happening city? Or the citizens of Awadh? Or nearer in time, did Bombayites think their city was happening? And did this actually start getting said because the city in some sense had already happened? That it had all the great hallmarks of a metropolis – a growing business/trade district, participatory politics, arts and culture, tolerance o f migration, social peace -and an aspirational status that allows everyone and anyone regardless o f class and caste, to think o f it as a desirable destination.
In that sense, Bangalore has already happened.
North-South Hatthira Bandaaga (Kannada)
North-South Hatthira Bandaaga (Kannada).
Prajaa Vaani.
Nirmaadane (Kannada)
Nirmaadane (Kannada).
Prajaa Vaani.
Premier Book Shop
Does everyone in Bangalore know how to get to Premier Book Shop? Of course not. You have to get to M.G.Road and then find platform Nine and Three Fourths! Clearly, you have to be a wizard to actually shop at Premier.
At a very special lunch at the warm home of Ramchandra Guha and Sujata Keshavan, on Sunday , January 27th, many wizards spoke about then dependency on the little store on Church Street. Proprietor T.S.Shanbhag, normally rather cleverly disguised as an ordinary, balding, indifferent gentleman without credit card facilities, was seen to blush and preen. Speaker after speaker spoke in the most extreme language about their
experiences at‘Premier.
The Journey to yoga class – Iyengar Yoga classes
For the past two and a half years, 1 have regularly attended Iyengar Yoga classes in Bangalore, the Silicon Valley of India. I practice under the guidance of Yogacharya Shri H.S.Arun, a long time student of “Guruji” BKS Iyengar.
The class is about seven kilometers away from my home. I travel by car, and am usually
chauffeurea. As anywhere in urban India, the route is noisy, polluted and ridden with
chaos. Often, there are roadblocks due to repair/construction work, or there are little
accidents between swaggering commuters or then, there may be slowdowns due to rain.