The Village which Defied Democracy

When the whole world stands up to salute the Democrat processes of India, this little village on the outskirts of the silicon city of Bangalore defied this very same process and also wounded it with a nail right through the heart of Democracy.
Ramagondanahalli 16 kilometers away from the center of the garden city of Bangalore and 10 kilometers away from the electronic city (Silicon City) stayed away from exercising their franchise except for one black sheep in the whole of the village.
Though many newspapers in the city of Bangalore and the TV crews missed the non voting defiance by the villagers against their farm land grab by the Bangalore Development Authority, the DNA Bangalore edition had a small single column in their 24th April, 2009. Since the next day was Saturday and I had got myself into a relax mode, did nor bother nor take any pain to follow it up. But on Sunday, I was hell bend on going to the village to speak to the people who had defied Democracy.
When I reached Ramagondanahalli along with Preetha S Kumar (one of the few present day journalists who likes to go on the field), while most others would rather than sit in the office and collect them on the phone or worse still were some of them make up quotes with fabricated names, may god bless them.
The serene surrounding of the village was a pleasure to see and then talking to the residents who defied to vote and to add insult to injury they also told us that how they shooed away the visiting candidates of the Bangalore North constituency.
So talking to them became very easy as they obliged us and the village elders took us around and allowed us to cross question anyone at will in their village as to why they did not go to vote.
Most of the villager’s young and old whom we spoke to had one answer with them and that was the Bangalore Development Authority was acquiring their farming land in the name of development and compensating them with 40 percent of the authentic value of their land. This they say with a chorus ‘was robbing them of their livelihood and also undermining them as illiterates.’ So we decided to teach the whole Indian political system a lesson, which if this system is rightfully put to use will be – By the people, for the people and of the people – while this no longer exists. The motto now by the present political system is – By the people, for my family and of my family - one need not take a guess at what I am trying to convey.
There was revolution in Ramagondanahalli. The villagers want their land back from the BDA. As DNA reported, the protest came to a head in Thursday’s poll. The entire village, barring one resident, just refused to cast their ballots. Below are some of the reactions from the angry village on Sunday, three days after the polls, and found its residents fuming and remorseless.
Below are the pictures taken by me along with the angry quotes of the villagers against the BDA acquiring their homes as well as their farming land for the every land hungry citizens of the silicon city.

Dreams to be razed: Some of the portions of the Ramagondanahalli village which houses 1300 odd residents with some of them who have constructed their dream homes will be razed to the ground by the ever growing city of Bangalore. These farming lands along with their homes will be shortly converted into Bangalore Development Authority (BDA) plots, for the ever demanding land hungry citizens of the silicon valley.

Elders Speak: Lakshmamma, 90, right, with her daughter-in-law Ratnamma, 30. She says she would definitely have voted, had the BDA reversed its decision (left), as Veerappa, 85, with wife Sakamma, 70, and daughter, 32, are likely to lose their livelihood if the BDA acquires their half-acre farmland. (right)

Farmers Say: Munai Gowda, 26, works on his only farm which BDA is acquiring (left) as V Narayanappa, 53, has five acres of arable land. He is not happy with BDA’s suggestion that he can retain 40 per cent of his land. (right)

Tough Talk: N Srinivasaiyya, 53, has a large family, with 35 dependants. He is an arecanut farmer and the loss of land will spell doom for his family, (left) Sokkamma, 84, is furious at BDA’s attempt to acquire her land. “Can you tell us what will we eat? Mud perhaps?” she yells. (right)

Youth Anger:Harshita, 18, seen above with her family, decided to forgo the opportunity to vote for the first time, in solidarity with the rest of the village (left), Sreenivas, 44, Anusuyamma, 32, and Mavitha S, 25, show their voters’ identification cards, which, of course, they didn’t use.(right)

Woman Power: Vyankantamma, 45, with her 25, year old daughter Gangamma have 10 quintals of land with a few cows and a small house which they will lose to the BDA land grab (left), as Shanthamma, 30, owns half an acre of land. She stares at a bleak future as the BDA remains steadfast in its decision to acquire land. (right)

Family Fury: Vajramani, 50, along with his mother Siddhamma, 74 and wife Padma, 45 who own 32 quintals of land say that they will have to eat mud if the BDA takes away their land and home (left), as Ramaswamy, right, 50, with wife Mahalakshmi, 38, and daughter Mamta, 18. They do not regret their decision to abstain from voting. (right)

M Shyamanna, 65 who has two wives and four daughters yet to be married says that the political system in this country stinks from head to toe, and adds that he can not sell his 5 acre land because of the BDA litigations against their village, (left) as N Muniraju, 45 who aslo owns 5 acres along with his 4 other brothers and with a joint family strength of 25 members, he said that the BDA is paying us 40 percent of the actual value of the land and where do they expect our 25 members to sleep and cook their daily meal.

The villagers say that they will boycott all future elections and not let any candidate in their village ever if the BDA does not stall the land acquisition. “Let the BDA cancel the acquisition first, then we'll think of something else. Until then, there is no question of voting even next year or even during the upcoming councilor polls” said the whole village in one voice.
If this happens it will put democracy to back in time to rethink where our elected democrats will be worried about, since if this issue is allowed to boil many such Ramagondanahalli's will be born in the world’s largest country which flaunts of a sovereign, socialist, secular and Democratic Republic in their constitution only on paper.

Sightless get new view of Sanchi Stupas

This story and picture of the then Leader of opposition of Sri Lanka Ranil Wickramasinghe and that of the Blind children of the Arushi were a double whammy for me and one can say just landed on my lap while I was a private visit to the Sanchi Stupa with my wife in November 2000. First their was a huge crowd surrounding the former Prime Minister of Sri Lanka and later I saw some blind children gathered around the board and trying to read what was written in Braille to their in-charge. My passion for photographing them started much to the annoyance of my wife. I still went ahead and started to speak to the children and to my surprise I landed a national level story for the underprivileged.
So after I went back to Bhopal and released the pictures of the Sri Lankan’s visit to the holy Sanchi Stupa and later asked my Editor if I could go ahead and write about the blind children’s involvement in putting up a board in Braille to help the other visually impaired visitors to this world heritage site in Madhya Pradesh. Below is the Story which on the front page of the Hindustan Times all India editions and the picture of the Sri Lankan leader which was used in the Bhopal Edition of the Hindustan Times.

RANIL WICKRAMASINGHE LEADER OF OPPOSITION IN THE SRI LANKAN PARLIAMENT GOES AROUND THE SANCHI STUPA BEFORE BEING BLESSED BY THE SACRED RELICS OF ARAHANS SARIPUTTA AND MOGGALLAN THE CLOSE DISCIPLES OF LORD BUDDHA AT SANCHI STUPA DURING HIS VISIT TO INDIA IN THE MONTH OF NOVEMBER 2000.


Sightless get new view of Sanchi Stupas

Even if Radheshyam Panwaria cannot savour the visual splendour of the Sanchi stupas, he can at least delve into its glorious past now. Courtesy a novel initiative by the Archaecological Survey of India (ASI), Bhopal Circle and an NGO Arushi, a brief on the world famous Buddhist monuments has been put up in Braille and a wheel chair provided at the site for the physically impaired.
Thousands of others afflicted from visual and other forms of physical disability can look forward to visiting this World Heritage monument built by King Ashoka.
There are also plans for putting up more Braille boards at six other archaeological sites through out Madhya Pradesh by the end of next year.
For Starters, this facility has created history in itself, as it if the first of it's kind in the country for the visually impaired where the incidence of partial and total visual disability is very high. This could well be a learning experience for both the governments at the State and the Center to set information boards in Braille at various other historical sites - starting maybe from the Taj Mahal in Agra?
Anil Mudgal, a volunteer of Arushi, mooted the concept. He was bombarded with questions every time he took blind students to Sanchi. "This time when these students were given these details in Braille, they were satisfied. They did not forget anything they had learned through the Braille and this is what provoked me to push this project through."
Dr Mishra said that he was aware of this facility, having seen it in Munich, Germany and at a Roman site, which he visited some years ago. "When the Arushi people approached me, I was thrilled and we went ahead with the project. I feel it will be a success."

Dr Mishra said that the ASI - Arushi endeavour was to put up Braille details and the wheelchair facility in world -famous sites like Khajuraho, Mandu and Bhimbetka. ASI and Arushi are also coming up with other useful projects like information on historical sites in the Braille book format and the audio-cassettes to help the physically challenged. Dr Mishra will be shortly requesting his fellow officers of other ASI zones to make such facilites for the disabled. He feels that it will not be a difficult task since the cost factor is minimal.
Radheshyam, who was seen checking for grammatical or spelling mistakes on the Braille board at Sanchi said that these efforts would "help people like us." Incidentally, he would also pit his chess skills against none other than Vishwanath Anand some time next month!

Thirsty doves quench his 'Soul'

This story which you read below was the first I wrote for the Bangalore Mirror Edition on June 23rd , 2007. The BM was launched on the 15th of June 2007 and since I liked writing soft human interest stories, I caught on this story during my early morning visit to Cubbon Park on June 22nd 2007 morning, only to see thousands of pigeons surrounding a man patiently pouring water into pots kept at various points of the High Court lawns facing the Vidhan Soudha. I got very curious and tried to get closer to talk to him only to scare the pigeons. So I first captured all the pictures I needed and waited for another half an hour or so, for the man could get free and was available to speak to me. Below is what transpired between him and me.

Many Bangaloreans love that morning walk through the serene environs of Cubbon Park. Those taking the route through the High Court road often see pigeons being fed grains and crushed corn by bird enthusiasts and morning walkers.
But if you spot hundreds of pigeons fluttering around one particular man, it's not because of 'something special' that he's feeding them. He's the man responsible for quenching their thirst. For 52 year old Shivalinge Gowda, this act of his is not just therapeutic, it's something he says has changed his life.
Gowda places little clay water bowls on the premises of the High Court lawns and fills them with water to feed the pigeons during his morning walk.
That he's surrounded by so many birds every time he walks there is proof that they are thirsty too. It all began three years ago, when Gowda - at that time an emotionally broken man - accidentally took a stroll through the High Court lawns and was surprised to see many people feeding the doves, but not quenching their thirst.

"Feeding is a good form of charity, but leaving them without water does not complete the circle of charity. I decided to take up the task, providing them with water. It makes me feel good that they don't feel thirsty," Gowda Says. Gowda's novel form of charity begins at 7:15 am every day and continues for over an hour. "I have bought a plastic pot and clay water bowls and personally carry water to feed these birds," he explained. This philanthropic work has brought its own rewards, said Gowda. "I don't know how, but I have regained my lost happiness and I have become stronger emotionally and mentally."

Tale of two Shiva temples

During my visit to the Bhojeshwar temple in Bhojpur about 40 kilometers away from Bhopal in 2001 I realized that the Shivling at this temple so resembled the one at Thanjavur’s Brihadeeswara temple, which is also is earmarked as a World Heritage site. So I met a couple of ASI officials though they were left astounded by the revelation, and later went through numerous books on these two temple to finally find out how the then Raja Bhoj, King of Dhar had hit upon the idea after finding that Raja Raja Chola had send a large number of men on elephants to get huge hillocks all the way from river Narmada, to the temple town of India to build the Shivalinga for the Brihadeeswara temple. After that the story which I wrote appeared in the all India edition of the Hindustan Times in March 2, 2002.

ANU MALIK and members of his ilk can take heart. Copying ideas from the South has its roots even in ancient history. At least since a 1,000 years, if not more. The Shiva temples of Bhojpur and Thanjavur, if not carbon copies, have many things in common. And the antiquity of the Thanjavur temples makes it a logical predecessor of its Bhojpur counterpart.
Built by Raja Raja Chola in 910 AD, the Brihadeeswara temple in Thanjavur, seems to have the natural inspiration for the Bhojeshwar temple. Built by Raja Bhoj, the legendary King of Dhar in 1010-53 AD, the outer structure of the Bhojpur Shiv-ling was never completed. The one in Thanjavur, however, stands a majestic testament to the glory of Cholan architecture. Both are single-rock structures and boast of being the tallest among Shiv-lings anywhere in India. And thus the debate as to which is the bigger one. According to master craftsman S Devasenapathy Sathpathy at Swamimalai (the seventh generation of Sathpathies employed by Raja Raja Chola to build the Big Temple), the Shiv-ling at Thanjavur is the tallest in the world. A Quick measure, however, reveals a different tale.

To begin with, the height of the Thanjavur Shiv-ling is 13 feet. Taken with its five feet base, the monolith totals 18 feet. The Bhojpur Shiv-ling stands at 20.65 feet, with a base of 12.99 feet high and thus wins hands down on the tall count. However, in width the Bhojpur icon measures 52 feet, while the Thanjavur one is 54 feet. While the Thanjavur Shiv-ling is made of black ston, the Bhojpur one is of red polished stone. Residents can treasure the association preserved by the Thanjavur Shiv-ling, the rock for which went down all the way to South from the Narmada river.
For S Devasenapathy Sathpathy a Shiv-ling at Bhojpur similar to the one in Thanjavur is a revelation. But he says the “the idea could have been taken form Raja Raja Chola, when the black stone for the Thanjavur temple was being ferried to the South from the Narmada before the year 910 AD.”
Maybe the ASIs at Bhopal and Thanjavur could clear the air by telling the real tale of the two temples, built 143 years apart and , linked by more than one common bonds.

Quick Gun Ramanna

From the Asiad to school championship's his steady trigger finger has launched a thousand races. As one of the nation's oldest and most respected starters at athletic events, Ramanna has devised his own unique pistol for the purpose.

This story so happened when I went to cove the Inter School athletic meet at the Kanteerva stadium when I saw an old friend Ramanna sir, (as he was known to us in 1980 - 85 when I used to take part in the Inter school Athletic meets), to my surprise Ramanna sir was there after a gap of more than 23 years, still firing away his pistol at the starting point. This time he had a modernized pistol which he had designed himself which he does always. So I quickly walked up to him wished him and he at once recognized me to my luck. I quickly asked him if I could write about him and his passion for making pistol used for starting any race, to which he obliged and below is the story which was published in the Bangalore Mirror edition on July 3rd, 2008.

GET SET, READY, GO RAMANNA
His is a life as an aperitif. Unobtrusive, not quite the main course but the mandatory shot required to set things into motion. That about sums up A Ramanna’s life, as a starter at athletic events across the country. A vocation requiring a split second of work, but a critical second at that.
For, can any of the athletes sprint across without Ramanna’s boom. A starter is the person who sounds the gun-shot at athletic events, the boom sounding the go-ahead for runners poised in their on-your-mark positions. And Ramanna has been doing this for a livelihood for decades now, since 1978.

70 year old Ramanna the Race Starter fires to start yet another race in the Inter school meet in Bangalore on Wednesday 2nd July 2008. Ramanna fires from his own patented pistol which has two triggers, one for starting the race and the other to recall the runner in case of a foul start. He also trains youngesters who are intrested in becoming starters.

The septuagenarian has grown so fond of his job of 30 years, that he has now designed his own pistol or starting gun. “I have collected sulphur from crackers, made pellets of them and designed a contraption that holds this in place, like a pistol. But this can be used only for sports, it only makes the right sound and emits some smoke but is not dangerous at all” explains Ramanna.

LABOUR OF LOVE
Surprisingly, the man, who has been with the Karnataka State Athletic Association, has thus far not received a single gun for this rather important shot. This prompted him to design his own pistols and distribute them free to sundry starters across the country. “I have not received any encouragement from the Association but I’m doing this for myself because I love this job. When there is an athletic meet, I just get some remuneration “says Ramanna, who according to the rolls of the Association is called a Technical Official.
Name any major athletic meet in any part of the country and he’s been there, right from the Asiad at New Delhi in 1982 to the recent Inter National athletic meet in Bangalore. He has stepped out of India once to Sri Lanka for a sporting event. The 70-year old has designed some 15 pistols or starter guns so far, all with his own money.

A PERFECTIONIST
When he’s not attending athletic meets, he meticulously collects information on the right kind of starter pistol that can go off without any hitch. As some other officials at the Kantreeva stadium recall, there have been days when a gong or some other gun had to be used for the purpose when athletes would literally be waiting with bated breath. “The latest one I have designed has two triggers, one for the actual shot and another for recalling, if an anxious runner starts before the signal is sounded,” says Ramanna.
Smoking barrels, doesn’t the Athletic Association really think he doesn’t deserve a thing for wielding a megaphone and sounding a start?
Says Satyanarayana, secretary of the KSAA, “Ramanna retired from HAL and whenever he is the starter at a meet, he gets Rs 1000 a day. There are lots of people like him who work as starters simply for the work enjoyment ad the sense of involvement.

Redskins Shake for Red Royal Challengers of Bangalore

The first edition of the Indian Premier League (IPL) saw some of the cheerleaders from USA in various city's in the country cheering for their team and also ensuring that the cricket crazy fans of the country got a look at what all cheer leading is all about. The Vijay Mallya owned Royal Challengers of Bangalore roped in the NFL Redskins from the Washington to dance and cheer the red from toe to head team through out the month long cricket gala.
The Redskins came a swiped away the crowd and also their cricket team. At the end of the month long event the owner of the team Vijay Mallya was left red faced from his red team’s performance ending up as the second best team from the bottom. It was all red every where and that’s why in all probability VM as he is known in Bangalore circles choose to bring down another US Varsity cheer leading team the ‘White Mischief’ this time around in the ongoing second edition of the IPL. But with three games gone for the men in red have managed to win only one so far, looks like VM will have to look for another team in the third edition too.
Anyway that is far fetched as of now. Take a back seat to have a close look at some of the pictures taken by me of the redskins during the first edition of the IPL in Bangalore.

BACK GROUND OF REDSKINS

First Ladies of Football
From the Redskinettes to the First Ladies of Football, the Redskins Cheerleaders are the longest running cheerleading team in the NFL. Founded in 1962, and originally named the Redskinettes, this team has brought worldwide recognition to the Washington, D.C. area, the Redskins football team, and the NFL.

The Redskins Cheerleaders team for the Bangalore Royal Challengers pose exclusively for the Mumbai Mirror and the Bangalore Mirror editions.

Partnered with the largest and most prominent Alumni Association among cheer leading teams--in 2008 over 1,000 strong--the women who have cheered and continued to support the Redskins have also helped raise millions since the team’s inception and support more charities and community events every year.
In the most powerful city in the world, the most popular professional sports team is only a part of FedEx Field. The Washington Redskins Cheerleaders are growing across the country and around the world. They are lighting up the airwaves and the media with new routines, uniforms, attitudes and have raised the bar of excellence for every other NFL cheer leading squad.

The Redskins Cheerleaders team for the Bangalore Royal Challengers along with their Director and Choreographer pose exclusively for the Mumbai Mirror and the Bangalore Mirror editions.

Adorned in burgundy and gold, flanking the field on every side and executing routines that would make even the fastest football player gasp for air, these ladies strive for one thing--to make a difference.

The Legacy
The Washington Redskins Cheerleaders are the oldest active cheer leading organization in the NFL. On September 30, 1962, 30 talented and beautiful women made their debut as the Redskinettes. As they marched down the field in their Native American costumes to join the band, they stepped into history and the tradition began. In their 45-year history, these ladies have become the most talented, innovative and personable in the NFL.

The Redskins practice at the Chinnaswamy stadium grounds the home to the Bangalore Royal Challengers. These cheerleaders spend hours training and stretching so that they stay in shape and perform at their best at any given point of time.

In the early 1980s, the Redskins Cheerleaders toured China to promote American-made products; toured Turkey, Italy, Sicily, Spain and France as part of the USO; filmed TV commercials for Sassoon and Barbara Ellen; were featured on the David Letterman’s Top 10 list and won the ESPN celebrity pool tournament. They have been featured in National magazines such as Newsweek, FHM, Ebony, Black Hair Magazine, Salon One, Cosmopolitan, Maxim and Sports Illustrated; performed with Country Grammy award winner Gretchen Wilson, Latin sensation Ricky Martin, Larry King, Jerry Lee Lewis, James Brown, K.C. and the Sunshine Band, the Pointer Sisters and Nancy Reagan; and filmed two E! Channel specials, are the stars of Comcast SportsNet show “Beauties on the Beach”, Are the Champions from the battle of the NFL Cheerleaders at the 2007 Super Bowl and were featured on the NFL Networks Cheerleader Challenge. Men’s Journal called the 2007 squad the Best in the NFL and Michael Strahan wrote in his book that the Redskins Cheerleaders are the Hottest in the NFL.

The Redskins perform for the Bangalore Royal Challenger fans before the start of the match between the Rajastan Royals who eventually became the IPL inaugural winners.

Who is interested in the match: The Bangalore Royal Challenger fans taking a close look at the Redskins performing even as Cricket takes a back seat. At the end of the nights match the fans went home with red cheeked and goose pimples on their face after watching the redskins performing with their eyes wide opened without an wink for more than 5 hours.
With their international appeal and stardom on the rise, the First Ladies of Football have transformed into the NFL cheerleaders of the millennium by breaking new ground with their sleek new style and amazing talents. From the simple, yet very visible redesign of the uniform, to the rejuvenated commitment to charity and community, these ladies have established themselves as the premier squad in the NFL.

THE INDIVIDUALS OF REDSKINS

Jenny sports the Redskins ring and is also one of the key members of the Redskins Cheerleaders team. Jenny is a mother of two children and fell in love with India during her month long stay.

Klohver one of the key members of the Redskins Cheerleaders team for the Bangalore Royal Challengers. She is a lawyer by profession.

Barbra (left) and Sooin (right) are key members of the Redskins Cheerleaders team for the Bangalore Royal Challengers. They are the main ones according to their team leader who make the best moves.

IF FANS CAN HAVE FUN I TOO CAN FROM A CLOSER RANGE: Rajastan Royals Player Shane Watson looks at the Redskins cheerleaders perform to the cheering crowd at the inaugural DLF - IPL match between the Bangalore Royal Challengers at the Chinnaswamy stadium in Bangalore on Saturday 26th April 2008.