The Cosmic Conundrum

We dis respect our history when we neglect our museums. The Government Museum at Kasturba Road Bangalore is a young city that lives in the present. Despite the efforts of Kannada scholars and the city’s cultural elites to remind us of the city’s pre-colonial, medieval past, young people would rather believe Bangalore was founded by the IT companies that provide today’s jobs and is watered by the numerous pubs that dot its gritty cityscape. The indifference to the past is exemplified by the fate of the Government Museum situated on Kasturba Road in the city centre. Established in the second half of the 19 th century under the stewardship of Scottish surgeon Edward Balfour, Bangalore Museum is the oldest museum in South India after Chennai. Despite its striking neoclassical style and ochre-red hue, the building stands with a forlorn and forgotten look on its façade. On entering the museum, the signs of neglect are everywhere. The halls are dimly lit, the paint work ...

The Cyber Crime Cell of Bangalore registered 1348 cases this year, till the end of August. Central Crime Record Bureau (CCRB) statistics show the number stood at 762 for the whole of last year. Cyber-crime cases encompass fake online job offers; debit/credit card fraud, fraudulent online transfers, impersonation and identity theft among others. The CCRB said that one of the reasons for the sharp rise is the ransom-wares that attacked the world this year. Ransom-ware software, once executed, encrypts the entire contents of a personal computer and demands ransom for the decryption key. The Wanna Cry ransom ware that attacked computers running on Microsoft Windows operating system across the world in May of this year affected 48,000 computers in India according to a report published in indiatoday.in Cyber crime cases against women stood at 42 out of the total 1348 by August end. These cases range from harassment via e-mails, cyber pornography, cyber stalking to defamation amon...

Road leading to the government high school in Kumbalgodu Three roads in Kumbalgodu await repair jobs two years after sewage pipelines were laid by the Gram Panchayat. Old Post Office Road, Bethel Road and High School Road are not usable. Rukmani Amma who runs a provision store on the Old Post Office Road said, “What roads? No road here since a long time. We can’t even walk on it on rainy days.” All three roads are covered with gravel and have large stones protruding along their entire stretch. Travelling in an auto is a jaw rattling experience; two wheelers have a harrowing ride. “On my way to the office my bike slipped. I had a bad fall. This is a dangerous road. I sustained injuries on my hands and knees. My bike needs repairs. Sadly I have to use the same road daily,” spoke Mr. Palani Swami, a civil engineer, who fell two weeks ago. Bethel Street at Kumbalgodu Bethel India Mission School is located on Bethel Street. Parents of the children studying in the s...

People have broken the mesh to cross the road Two people have died trying to cross the Mysore Road at Kumbalgudu since January this year. People find the skywalk inconvenient to use, and instead try to run across. Shahzan a student of Don Bosco Institute in the area said that it was a waste of time to climb the skywalk. “It is a waste of energy,” he said. Police records from January till August of this year show seven fatal accidents and 17 non-fatal accidents on that stretch of Mysore Road. Bhaga Ram, owner of Parameshwar Metal Store in Kumbalgudu said, “It is normal to see people crossing the road and getting bumped by speeding cars. They even broke the stand to cross the road and nobody has repaired it yet,” pointing to the iron mesh barricade in the middle of the two lane thoroughfare that people had broken. The skywalk, erected for the safety of the people is dangerous to use. The iron railings have rusted over the years and the floor is full of holes. The stair...

The Bannerghatta Butterfly Park has reason to celebrate. The butterfly population has gone up, and the migrant butterflies, who had not visited for three years, are slowly returning. The Common Mormon (male) has distinctive white spots at the edges of its black wings Lokanath V, senior entomologist at the Park said, “As far as the endemic butterfly species is concerned we have seen a sudden increase in their population here. We have around  2,500 butterflies of 20 different species at the Butterfly Park. In migratory species, so far, we have spotted Common Emigrant.” The continued efforts of senior entomologist, Loknath V has led to a rise in the variety of butterflies in the BBP Swarms of butterflies migrate from the Western to Eastern Ghats twice a year. This bi-annual event which hasn’t been seen for three years is now making a comeback.   Butterfly enthusiasts in the city have now spotted migratory butterflies making their journey back from the E...