Bangalore Sweatbox

Air pollution pretty bad

B'lore air murkier than Chennai, H'bad
Pollution weighs heavily on City

Deccan Herald, 27 Apr 06

Bangalore's air is worse than that of its two famed southern cousins -- Chennai and Hyderabad -- according to the latest official data, which clearly points out the Garden City's failure to check pollution .....

Bangalore's air is worse than that of its two famed southern cousins -- Chennai and Hyderabad -- according to the latest official data, which clearly points out the Garden City's failure to check pollution compared to other cities in Andhra Pradesh, Kerala and Tamil Nadu.

Bangalore's annual level of breathable particles in the air -- 71 micrograms per cubic metre -- is higher than that of Coimbatore, Kozhikode, Hyderabad, Kottyam, Kochi, Tuticorin and Chennai, says the Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB) in its latest air quality monitoring data. Vehicular and industrial pollutions are the two principal sources.

Floods likely during coming rains

Replay of monsoon woes forecast here

Deccan Herald, 27 Apr 06

Is a sequel to last year's october floods waiting to happen this monsoon? Residents of Bilekahalli, Ramanashree and Someshwara layouts on Bannerghatta Road feel this possibility is steadily turning true in their area.

Over 2,000 square feet of land is submerged in sewage water, all because land developers have blocked the water channel from Bilekahalli to Raja Canal. The 20-feet wide valley near Ranka Apartments on Bannerghatta Road which carries all the sewage water of J P Nagar and other adjacent areas has been narrowed down considerably by private builders, says Kumar, a resident of Ramanashree layout. The developers have also raised the landscape to a height of seven to ten feet rendering the layouts, that comprise 150 sites, as 'low-lying' areas, he alleges.

"The encroachments have been steadily increasing in the last one year. As the connecting channels are obstructed, water has stagnated, resulting in mixing of sewage and drinking water.

"Two bores have already been affected due to this," adds Shripal, member of Bilekahalli Residents' Welfare Association.

"We fear flooding each time it rains. We will have no choice but to vacate our houses this rainy season. Large quantity of sewage water is accumulated at the other side of the compound wall of the layout. Any breach of compound wall will definitely bring the sewage water into our houses," Shripal feared.

 

Someone is translating U.S. comic strips into Kannada, the local language of Karnataka province, where Bangalore is:


Courtesy Bangalore Metroblog. 

Interesting post by a young privileged woman who is just realizing there is an increasing gap in India between haves and have-nots. Her thoughts are genuine, even if her perspective is ingenuous.

But I now realize that the so-called rapid development the country is experiencing is benefiting the rich and the educated middle class only. There is still a huge sector apart from IT that still needs to develop in order to absorb the non IT people into the development mainstream.

I guess if I was one of them I too would resent the opportunities and benefits some sections are enjoying while I had no scope for such jobs because my qualification is useless for the IT sector. And it is these people who vote for Communists. I saw Achudanandan* speaking to the media yesterday and he scoffed the 'so-called-development agenda' of the Congress. Suddenly it fell into place. There is a huge sea of people out there that are damn scared. Their skills are no longer relevant in the IT centric economy. They fear the development, which they feel, will benefit the IT sector only.

* sic -- it's actually Achuthanandan 

From The Hindu Business Line newspaper:

When Brand Bangalore took a beating

The Hindu Business Line

The violent aftermath of the death of an iconic film star may have badly dented Bangalore's claims as most-favoured IT destination. Is it a Silicon Valley or a Silicon Volcano waiting to erupt at the slightest provocation

Rarely do seven days pass, without a head honcho of an international technology company or two, passing through Bangalore — and the week gone by, was no exception. A top executive of one of the world's biggest players in the computer storage arena, as well as a key name in networking hardware, were more or less marooned in their hotel rooms for two days. Most of their engagements were cancelled, as the frenzy of violence and arson that followed the death of iconic cinema personality Raj Kumar, engulfed the city.

With little to do — except watch the non-stop coverage on television of burning buses, looting gangs and the odd dead body on the street — the two visiting heads had ample leisure to ponder over the decisions that brought their respective organisations to India's so-called Silicon City.

ANOTHER IT DESTINATION

The networking major had reason to thank his prescience — he had just come from Delhi, having decided to set up the company's newest research centre at Gurgaon, the satellite town that is first emerging as a major Information Technology destination in the North. His visit to Bangalore was more of a recruiting mission — and that could wait for another day.

The storage head had just presided over a session of pumping up of his company's already large development muscle in Bangalore. He was palpably bemused by the way the city responded to the passing away of a beloved father figure — but when this correspondent met him two days ago, he was still upbeat about Bangalore's place in the company's scheme of leadership in its highly competitive niche.

Neither of the visiting executives was ready to write off Bangalore. But for how long? Between them, they represented cumulative investments in this country of around $200 million over the next three years. They— and another thousand like them — represent a reality that is all too often brushed aside as an inconvenient fact when the subject of the city's place in the global ranking of desirable IT destinations is discussed.

Brand Bangalore is a complex combo of happenstance, coincidence and proactive action, going back 26 years, when Texas Instruments first decided to set upa satellite communication dish and create a small Indian brains trust to feed its research and development in digital signal processors back home.

Since then a fortuitous decision to open up the engineering education sector to private enterprise, a generally helpful state administrations and a notably proactive arm of the Centre's Software Technology Parks of India (STPI) have been backed by the cosmopolitan culture and upwardly mobile aspirations of the city's ordinary citizens as well as the commercial class. This typically Indian masala mix of attitudes and opportunities morphed into an international flavour that clicked where it mattered most — in the board rooms of the best information and communication companies of the world.

It is the momentum of such a combination that has made Bangalore the brand that it is today — and let's admit it — the word `Bangalored,' a synonym for having one's job snatched away and handed over to a geeky graduate in Koramangala.

DRAMATIC CHANGE

In late 2003, Newsweek put a picture of Bangalore's International Tech Park on its cover to illustrate its theme: Cutting edge `Capitals of Style'. That was then. Today, if Bangalore pops up in a Google search of world headlines, it usually opens into horror stories of crumbling infrastructure, never ending traffic snarls, erratic power and an increasingly tense and high strung work force which often spends more time coming to and going from work in grandiosely named Electronic Cities than at the work desk.

The compulsions of coalition politics in the State were seen as the main reason why Bangalore appeared to be tragically neglecting all those sectors of a metropolitan administration, deemed crucial to retaining its most valued corporate patrons.

The change of government earlier this year was seen as an opportunity for a fresh start, a new chance to address basic issues such as transport, communication and energy in a hard nosed manner without having to constantly pander to a `them versus us', `rural versus urban' mentality.

There has been some palpable change for the better even if senior administrators in the State still felt compelled to play what many, fed on American police soaps, clearly saw as a "good cop-bad cop" routine: Praise the IT-BT industry today and promise it all sorts of goodies; bash it tomorrow and remind it that `others' matter more.

Last week's orgy of violence was something that no one had factored into any equation of Bangalore's pluses and minuses. An event where sadness should have been reflected in public dignity and grace, was allowed to spiral into a free-for-all where goondaism ruled and genuine outpourings of public sorrow were snuffed out by a mindlessly violent rabble. The post mortem reports are yet to come; but the image of Bangalore has taken an appalling toll. Today, the targets of the mob have been unfocused.

What splinter of provocation will it take, to turn it tomorrow, against all those hundreds of international companies whose glass ensconced high rise headquarters might conceivably be seen as targets upon which to vent one's frustration?

Is Bangalore adequately policed? Does it have the management and the networking to respond to sudden happenings involving huge numbers of people in disaster-like situations? Is it harnessing even a fraction of the high-tech technology that it is supplying to the world, to solve its own problems of urban angst? These are all questions that need to be answered.

UNCOMFORTABLE REALITY

But equally important the city and its government may have to address the uncomfortable reality that many thousands of its citizens have within themselves an uncontrollable rage that is dangerous to ignore. The burning of a dozen buses this week and the tragic loss of life may be an amber signal pointing to larger, unaddressed malcontent. To ignore this is to put at peril all that has gone to create an unbeatable brand name that is the envy of so many other aspiring capitals.

Can a city claim to be an IT capital, if roaming gangs can force a 24X7 industry to down shutters? Will the business process outsourcing and call centre majors — Bangalore's biggest employers — not think twice about operating in an environment where they are forced to declare holidays under pressure, putting at risk their obligations to millions of customers at the end of a telephone line?

The debate whether Bangalore should be called India's Silicon Valley — or Silicon Plateau in view of its special geography — is one of those non-issues that the media throws up every now and then. That may become irrelevant if enough numbers of its hitherto `satisfied customers' decide that it is in fact a Silicon Volcano waiting to erupt at the slightest provocation.

posted by The Bangalorean @ 4/21/2006

 

Excerpts from posts on Bangalore Buzz:

Police and fire response were ineffective, some said:

Raj deserved a much better farewell
Deccan Herald

A day after rioters took over Bangalore, Bangaloreans, from retired police officials to IT honchos to film-makers, are yet to come to terms with Thursday's "shameful" developments.

Mr N R Narayana Murthy, Chairman of Infosys Technologies, said "what happened yesterday was really sad for Karnataka".

"Rajkumar was an extraordinary person who wanted the best for Kannada cinema and culture. This is not the way we should have paid our tributes to him. He deserved a much better farewell," he said.

"Yesterday's violence is a blot on Bangalore's image. The public perception of the City is bound to change. The unruly behaviour of mobs is making Bangaloreans feel insecure," said Kannada writer Baraguru Ramachandrappa.

"Rajkumar deserved an honourable funeral, the fans made a mockery of it. Even his family members had to plead with them to give their final farewell. There was nothing right in the last rites," said producer-actor C R Simha.


Police blamed

Several fingers were pointed at the police department, for "poor planning" and "soft handling of the issue".

Retired senior police officials including M D Singh, C Dinakar and H T Sangliana minced no words when they accused the law-keepers of "lack of proactive action".

"Through past experience, the police should have realised that anything related to Rajkumar could spark off unpredictable reactions. There was no contingency plan made in anticipation of violence. The police should have planned Rajkumar's cremation, in coordination with family members, the film industry and the government. Ambiguity regarding Rajkumar's cremation added fuel to the fire," said M D Singh.

Meanwhile, Mr Dinakar believed that public sentiments had no place when the law and order situation was at stake.

"The police should have taken care of the rowdy elements rather than giving them a long rope," said Mr Dinakar, who was heading the State police when riots broke out following Rajkumar's abduction in 2000.

Mr Sangliana pointed out that the police should have arranged for reinforcement of personnel from neighbouring districts.

"Saying that there were not enough forces is a bad excuse," he said.

"Even the response from the fire department was very slow," he added.

Chief Minister says police bear no blame for the chaos that descended on Bangalore following the death of a famous film star.

HDK blames 'forces' for trouble during Raj funeral
Deccan Herald

Chief Minister H D Kumaaraswamy on Friday refuted allegations that the government and administrative machinery had failed to contain mob violence during the funeral procession of actor Rajkumar on Thursday.

He reiterated that the violence was "incited by some people" after reviewing the situation with top police officials.

Speaking to reporters, Mr Kumaaraswamy said the incident is not a black spot on the image of the government. "There are several things I know, which I do not want to discuss in public," he said refusing to name the forces 'responsible' for inciting violence.

He said the situation would have gotten worse and more innocent people could have been affected, had the police not acted with restraint. Police had taken 563 persons into preventive custody after violence broke out following the demise of Rajkumar, he added.

In an editorial, the Deccan Herald said it was a shame -- taking the opportunity to use my new favorite word, "rowdy-sheeters":

The violence that shook Bangalore during the funeral of Rajkumar is a blot on the fair image of the people of the city. It is unfortunate that eight people lost their lives in violence and police firing in the city, including at the Kanteerava Studios, where the thespian, known for his humanistic outlook, was laid to rest. Among the dead was a Karnataka State Reserve Police constable who was lynched by a mob. The earthly remains of the thespian had been kept at the Kanteerava Stadium from Wednesday night till the cortege left on Thursday, for the countless admirers to pay their last respects. Rajkumar held sway over the minds and hearts of the people of the state, and it was only natural that thousands of them turned up to pay their homage to him. The state government and the police should have anticipated the crowd control problems and deployed police personnel in sufficient strength. It is shocking that there were only 2,000 policemen at the Kanteerava Stadium where more than one lakh emotionally-charged people had gathered. The government could have requisitioned additional police personnel from different districts of the state, besides more men from the Central Reserve Police Force.

It is a known fact that rowdy-sheeters and other anti-social elements take advantage of crowds to kill people, loot shops and houses, and set fire to vehicles and shops. As soon as the government received information about the death of Rajkumar, the police ought to have rounded up all rowdy-sheeters in Bangalore. But they did not as they failed to realise the gravity of the situation, though they have in the past -- particularly during the period Rajkumar was a hostage of Veerappan -- faced trouble from a section of fans and anti-social elements. During the funeral procession, hooligans set fire to 16 buses, 30 cars and two-wheelers and two petrol stations. It is the responsibility of the government to compensate those who have lost their property in the riot.

Many genuine admirers of Rajkumar, including some who had worked with him in his 45-year-long career in the film industry, did not get a chance to pay their last respects to him. Even Rajkumar's family could not mourn in peace. The violence forced the family to complete the burial in a hurry, and Rajkumar's son Shivrajkumar went to the Kanteerava Studios late in the night to complete the religious rites. It's a pity, indeed.

 

These stories are on the news aggregator Bangalore Buzz:

• Mayhem marks last rites of gentle star
• Rajkumar laid to rest amidst widespread violence, eight deaths
• The city was shut down during the funeral riots
• Police were unprepared
• Worst violence in 10 years; hotels attacked
• The police became a target of frustrated mobs
• Police fired entire tear gas arsenal

What a fucking mess! Meanwhile, Bangalore bloggers bemoaned the violence and were sure the city's reputation would be damaged. Yeah -- you think? Blogger Ambar asks, "Who are the rioters?" But on the day after, all seemed normal.

 

And here's a nice blog post on the chaos by blogger Bhaskar Mitra:

As the news pervaded into every single home over the wire through television sets and over FM Radio, Bangalore strangely found itself choking in an atmosphere permeated with smoke from burning tires and nightmarish visions of road side vandalisms. The city dressed itself in charred remains of burnt tires and glass pieces as it got ready to bid its very last farewell to the acting legend. To a person resident in this city only for the last 4 years this was not only beyond comprehension but outright criminal. Petrol pumps were set on fire and public transports stoned to stagnancy. All stores shuttered down and people ran home "shit-scared" in the middle of the afternoon. I saw no remorse in most of the participants who seemingly had found just another excuse for open drunken revelry on the streets to feed their ever ravenous hunger for sadistic destruction of public property.

Read more at his great post. And the interesting comments suggest many residents of Bangalore are embarrassed by the rioting. 

The Deccan Herald writes:

When law and order, too, died

Deccan Herald

Moments after the news of the death of Rajkumar spread, mobs went on the rampage damaging public property, setting fire to buses, cars and other vehicles. Frenzied fans set fire to a petrol bunk near Hudson Circle and torched at least a hundred vehicles, including private and state transport buses in different parts of the City, while scores of vehicles were damaged in the stone-throwing.

Police lobbed tear-gas shells and wielded the lathis to bring the situation under control but with little success even at midnight.

According to police, mobs set fire to six four-wheelers, including two buses, near KR Circle and a bus near Krishi Bhavan. Seven vehicles, including two police vehicles, were set ablaze on Sankey Road. Vandals torched a state car right in front of the Vidhana Soudha and a vehicle in front of the GPO on Ambedkar Road. There were reports of people setting fire to vehicles near Pallavi Theatre. A portion of a consumer fair on Palace Grounds was also torched, the police said.

There were a number of incidents of stone-throwing and burning of tyres on roads. It was an “undeclared bundh” in many areas, as shops and business establishments downed their shutters. The city wore a deserted look by 6 pm. Magadi Road, Kamakshipalya, Vijayanagar, Rajajinagar, Subramanya Nagar, Malleswaram, Srirampuram, Mahalakshmipuram and the City Market were some of the areas which bore the brunt of lawlessness. Violence later spread to areas such as Hudson Circle, Bellary Road, Sampangiram Nagar, Richmond Circle, Ambedkar Veedhi and Basa-veswara Circle. A car was set on fire in Attiguppe, while a bus plying on Uttarahalli Main Road was set ablaze near Gowdanapalya.

The BMTC was forced to withdraw its Volvo services by afternoon and other buses too stopped plying by early evening. As many as 27 BMTC and 18 KSRTC buses, including a Volvo, were damaged. Mobs tried to set fire to two buses on Magadi Road and Bellary Road.

However, police intervened and prevented any untoward incident.

More than 20 platoons of KSRP and 15 platoons of the City Armed Reserve, two platoons of Rapid Action Force have been deployed in the City.

A South Western Railway official said train services were unaffected on Wednesday. The services are not likely to be affected on Thursday.

 

DailyIndia.com writes:

One killed as Bangalore logs out to mourn Rajkumar(LEAD)

By Indo Asian News Service

Bangalore, April 13 (IANS) One person was killed in police firing Thursday as anguished crowds mourning the death of Kannada thespian Rajkumar swarmed the city that came to a grinding halt with all establishments, including hundreds of IT firms, shutting down as a mark of respect.

The police firing took place near the Kanteerva stadium where the body of Kannada thespian Rajkumar was kept for people to pay homage, a top police official said.

'One of the fans, Muniraju, received bullet injuries when the police fired in self-defence after they were attacked by an angry mob with a hail of stones. The victim succumbed to injuries on way to hospital,' Additional Commissioner of Police Gopla Hosur told IANS over the phone.

Police had a tough time controlling the crowds that had gathered from across at the stadium since morning for a glimpse of their celluloid hero.

Explaining what had happened, a senior police official said: 'Though elaborate arrangements were made for people to pay homage to Rajkumar inside the stadium, hundreds of fans grew restless when their turn did not come despite waiting outside for hours.

'As time was running out for the cortege to be taken in a procession for last rites, impatient fans gate crashed into the stadium by attacking the police with stones and sticks.'

The police resorted to firing to regulate the crowds and the state reserve police and Rapid Action Force were deployed in and around the stadium.

With great difficulty, the police managed to allow Rajkumar's family to take out the glass cortege, mounted on a flower-bedecked van, from the stadium in a 15 km procession for the last rites with state honours and 21-gun salute.

The crowds at the stadium comprised young and old, women and children. Many sobbed and chanted 'Rajkumar jai' and 'Annavaru amar rahe' (Longlive Rajkumar).

According to a police official, over 100,000 fans joined the procession that meandered through the city on its last journey for the state funeral.

There were other incidents of violence with torching of buses and sporadic attacks on policemen near the Kanteerva sports stadium.

The corporate world and the government shut down.

While 1,500 IT and BPO firms, including global software majors like Infosys and Wipro, shut for the day, the Karnataka government declared a two-day mourning for the superstar and ordered closure of offices, courts, banks, business establishments, hotels and movie theatres.

Some of the major call centres, however, were working to provide essential services to their global customers on 24x7 basis.

Big-ticket companies like Infosys and Wipro directed their employees to stay put at home and avoid commuting to their workplace in the electronics city on the outskirts of Bangalore in the absence of public transport and an undeclared shutdown.

'As the state government has declared a two-day official mourning Wednesday, we have advised our employees to stay away from work Thursday and report to duty Friday. We intend to make up for the day's loss of work by asking the employees to work either this or next Saturday,' an Infosys official told IANS.

Besides IT and biotech firms, hundreds of manufacturing and allied industries across verticals were also closed as a mark of respect to the legendary matinee idol.

In the wake of sporadic violence, arson and stone-throwing incidents since Wednesday evening, bus services across the city were withdrawn. Even taxis and three-wheeler autos stayed away, leaving the streets deserted on an otherwise working day.

The bustling metropolis turned into a ghost town as even people with private transport decided to stay indoors.

Cable operators across the city blocked national entertainment channels to mourn the actor's death.

 

A second day of rioting today caused many foreign and locally-owned companies to close their doors. The Register says HP and McAfee shut down; Microsoft's building was the target of stone-throwers. Bloomberg said:

PrintPrint
Bangalore Shuts Down, Mourning Death of South Indian Actor

April 13 (Bloomberg) -- India's technology hub of Bangalore came to a standstill as stores, restaurants and companies such as Infosys Technologies Ltd. closed to avoid attacks by mourners from around the province gathering for actor Rajkumar's funeral.

Rajkumar, known to fans as "Aannavru" or elder brother, died yesterday at the age of 76, following a cardiac arrest, according to the NDTV television channel. He had been awarded the Dadasaheb Phalke and Padma Bhushan prizes by the federal government for contributions made during a 45-year career that included more than 200 Kannada-language films.

Fans yesterday burned tires, overturned vehicles and destroyed the glass fronts of buildings, including a Microsoft Corp. office near the actor's home, as they demanded that Rajkumar be posthumously awarded the Bharat Ratna, India's highest civilian honor. Infosys, India's second-largest software exporter, and smaller rival Wipro Ltd. joined the local government in declaring a holiday today.

Karnataka province's Chief Minister H.D. Kumaraswamy and the late actor's wife Parvathamma, a film producer, today made a joint televised appeal to fans to maintain peace in the city to avoid dishonoring the late actor's name. The government is organizing Rajkumar's cremation at a one-acre site at Kanteerava Studios in the city this afternoon, following which a memorial will be built, they said.

Additional police officers were deployed throughout Bangalore yesterday as news of the actor's death spread. Stores and offices shut down early and sought to avoid becoming targets of attack by prominently displaying Rajkumar's posters and red and yellow flags carried by his supporters.


Kidnapping

Rajkumar's kidnapping by sandalwood smuggler Veerappan, an ethnic Tamil, in 2000 led to statewide riots and clashes with migrants from the neighboring state of Tamil Nadu until his release about 100 days later.

Bharatiya Janata Party leader L.K. Advani yesterday canceled his proposed trip to Karnataka following Rajkumar's death, according to the Press Trust of India news agency.

Rajkumar, born Mutturaju Singanalluru Puttaswamayya, is survived by his wife, daughter and three sons. A school-dropout, he had been awarded an honorary doctorate by Mysore University.

Indian cinema has lost a distinguished actor and a versatile personality, Prime Minister Manmohan Singh yesterday said in a statement e-mailed by the government.

Rajkumar demonstrated his commitment to the local Kannada language and sacrificed opportunities to broaden his appeal and gain fame elsewhere in the country by refusing to act in other languages, Kumaraswamy said yesterday in a televised interview.

The Bharat Ratna that Rajkumar's fans have been demanding is awarded for exceptional service toward advancement of art, literature and science and public service of the highest order, according to the annual report of India's ministry of home affairs. It has been conferred on 40 people since it was instituted in 1954 and was last awarded in 2001.

From Bangalore Buzz, this explanation for the disturbances after the death of locally revered film actor Rajkumar:

As the thespian's fans went berserk across Bangalore, chief minister H D Kumaraswamy went on air on all channels appealing to the public to maintain peace. "Don't give in to any emotional turmoil or take hasty decisions. As a fan of Rajkumar, I appeal to you fellow fans not to bring a bad name to him," he said.

What triggered off trouble was the delay in deciding where the body should be kept for public viewing. Kumaraswamy said the initial venue was Palace Grounds, but this was set aside as "it is hard to control crowds there."

I asked a co-worker who is a Bangalore native, and his explanation went something like this: "Rajkumar had the ability to rally his fans for any cause, and over the years he used this power to rally people for one cause or another. So don't believe he was 'only an actor.'" This, he implied, would be like saying Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. was "only a clergyman." 

http://www.nytimes.com/aponline/arts/AP-Obit-Kumar.html

Indian Actor Raj Kumar Dies, Fans Riot

By THE ASSOCIATED PRESS
Published: April 12, 2006

Filed at 12:54 p.m. ET

BANGALORE, India (AP) -- Raj Kumar, a onetime child actor who became one of south India's most beloved movie stars and later was kidnapped by a notorious bandit, died Wednesday at age 77.

He died in a Bangalore hospital of cardiac arrest, Dr. Ramana Rao told the Press Trust of India news agency.

Kumar, whose name was also spelled Rajkumar, appeared in more than 200 Kannada-language films in five decades, with millions of fiercely devoted fans. While he largely gave up acting in the mid-1990s, he remained one of the region's best-loved figures.

Hundreds of distraught fans rioted in Bangalore when police prevented them from forcing their way into the late actor's home, New Delhi Television reported.

Police used bamboo canes to drive away angry fans who shattered the windows of several buses and set a half-dozen cars and motorcycles on fire.

The actor's body was later moved to a large public park in the heart of the city to allow fans to pay their last respects. The regional government in southern India has decided to give Kumar a state funeral, according to Press Trust of India.

Kumar appeared in action films, mythological sagas and romance movies in which he was the star attraction.

Although he played rugged, masculine heroes who triumphed over scheming villains in many of his movies, he also was known for never having smoked cigarettes on screen, or never playing a drunkard after his early days.

He was in the news again in 2000 when he was kidnapped by Veerappan, a famed bandit who had spent decades eluding police in the forests of south India. Kumar was freed by Veerappan after 109 days living in the forests with his gang. Local reports said a large ransom was paid, although Kumar denied that.

Kumar's first glimpse into the world of acting was as a child, when he accompanied his father, an actor who performed in plays in small Indian villages.

Kumar soon dropped out of school to act on the stage and later in the movies.

He won more than 20 national and state awards for his contribution to Indian cinema. His fans called him "Annavaru" meaning "respected elder brother" in the Kannada language.

Movie reviews often told of audiences in cinema halls booing villains who tried to pick fights with him on the big screen. Fans were known to worship his image and pray that his films would be successful at the box office.

He also was a singer whose range extended from dance numbers to classical and devotional songs.

After his retirement, Kumar continued to work behind the scenes as a producer.

Kumar's three sons -- Shivraj, Raghavendra and Puneet -- all became successful actors.

Here is a relatively composed tribute to the actor, whom people seem to grant the honorific "Dr" for no reason I can see.

 

Got this email this morning from the manager of our Bangalore office:

Hi All,

Dr Rajkumar, one of the well known personality in Karnataka expired today noon.
Whole Bangalore is closed today and tomorrow in the view of riots happening.

We will try our best to come into office tomorrow.
In case emergency please try to reach our contact numbers.

Rioting? The guy is an actor, for Chrissakes.

 

From the Deccan Herald, posted at Bangalore Buzz (It seems to be an op-ed or opinion piece, not a hard news piece, but still):

Cleanliness begins and ends at home

Deccan Herald

Cleanliness, like charity, begins at home. However, in India, cleanliness appears to get restricted to the four walls of a home. Everything else is public or government property, so why bother about keeping them clean is an attitude one comes across often.

Take the case of the Karnataka State Road Transport Corporation (KSRTC) and Bangalore Metropolitan Transport Corporation (BMTC) bus stands in the heart of the City which this reporter visited.

Paan-stained walls, blotches of red all over, paper and plastic littered around, smelly corners and dirty overbridge are a common sight. The first reaction of a visitor can only be: Ugh! Unless the visitor's senses are already accustomed to such sights or he or she has seen something worse.

It appears that it is only minutes after the bus stands are cleaned that they look neat and approachable. As the day progresses, these places accumulate garbage and the toilets raise a literal stink!

Walk down from the BMTC bus stand into the KSRTC bus stand over the connecting overbridge and it is the stink of the toilet that welcomes you as you descend. Broken toilet doors, absence of buckets or flush tanks, defunct wash basins and a general sloshy look characterise some of the toilets.

Despite paying to use the toilets, visitors seem to care little about leaving it clean for use by the next person. At times, the very concept of pay and use appears to be the deterrent. Compounding the fact is the collection of Rs 2 instead of Rs 1 as entry fee at the public toilets and the presence of just four toilets each for men and women at a bus station where the movement of people ranges over one lakh.

Besides the use of toilets, the other bother is the habit of people spitting anywhere and everywhere.

So much so that a less alert walker may very well face the disgusting situation of someone spitting right on him or her. "For a person who is keen on cleanliness and hygiene, these bus stands would be a real no-no. Such people would want to keep away from the walls, the toilets and even the seats at the bus stands," says Aruna, a software engineer, who commutes everyday from the BMTC bus stand.

 

From Lonely Planet's site:

When the monsoon finally arrives the rain comes in steadily, generally starting around 1 June in the extreme south and sweeping north to cover the whole country by early July. The main monsoon comes from the southwest, but the southeast coast (and southern Kerala) is largely affected by the short and surprisingly wet northeast monsoon, which brings rain from around October to early December.

Things don't really cool down: at first hot, dry and dusty weather is simply replaced by hot, humid and muddy conditions. It doesn't rain all day, but it rains every day. Followed by the sun this creates a fatiguing steam bath-like environment.

That's it, I'm definitely taking one of those little hand-held fans.

 

 
I found out last week that my company will send me to Bangalore for ten days in July.

Sounds like fun:

Now, power cuts scar 'Brand Bangalore'

Financial Express, 10 April 2006

BANGALORE: Brand Bangalore, plagued by notorious traffic snarls and pot-holed roads, has added one more feather to its infamous cap — frequent power outages. With power demand peaking on the back of mushrooming new companies and surging population, the Karnataka Power Transmission Corporation Ltd (KPTCL) has started feeling the heat this summer like never before.

Power requirement in the Bangalore circle is growing at a rapid pace....

Justifying power cuts, KPTCL sources said the failure of major central and state power generating stations in the southern grid had plunged all southern states, including Karnataka, into crisis. The state is facing shortage of nearly 18 million units a day. However, official sources said KPTCL had floated tenders for generation of additional 200 mw in March for the summer months, but had received no response. The said proposal was too short-term for private power generating companies. Hence, no one has shown interest, sources disclosed.