Early this morning I was to meet the popular TV journalist Rajdeep Sardesai for a breakfast interview regarding the upcoming Lok Sabha elections in Mysuru-Kodagu region. We agreed to meet at the now ‘must stop-over’ breakfast place for outsiders — Mylari Hotel in Nazarbad. I arrived first and settled into what I believed to be…
Crossing over to Politics
April 6, 2024The process of filing nomination papers is underway nationwide for a phase-wise election and two nominations caught my eye: Retired IAS Officer and former Mysuru DC G. Kumar Naik, who will contest from Raichur on a Congress ticket and former Calcutta High Court Judge, Justice Abhijit Gangopadhyay, who will contest on a BJP ticket. As…
Too Hot ? It’s Tree Time
March 30, 2024Our city is getting hotter with every passing year. As temperatures soared yesterday, the Karnataka Government advised citizens to turn into camels: “Drink sufficient water whenever possible, even if you are NOT thirsty.” But where is the water to drink when our cities are as dry as a desert? Instead of just issuing some orders…
Yaduveer, we’ll wait & watch
March 16, 2024At long last, the BJP has announced its candidate. Yaduveer Krishnadatta Chamaraja Wadiyar, the BJP’s choice of a royal candidate, has ignited a flurry of reactions in the Mysuru-Kodagu region. Yaduveer’s selection has sparked sophisticated discussions in drawing rooms, lively banter in tea shops, concern in chaat stands and passionate debates in smokers’ corners. For…
BJP: Vikas & Vishwas
March 9, 2024This morning, sources in New Delhi told Star of Mysore that Mysuru-Kodagu MP Prathap Simha’s chances of getting a ticket for the 2024 Lok Sabha election are 50/50. This reminds me of the saying: ‘If it ain’t broke, don’t fix it.’ Our MP is working. So why the change? Is it because of senior State…
We need Lakes, Now
March 2, 2024Summer is here and water woes are set to begin as water levels in KRS and Kabini Reservoirs are steadily diminishing. But not to worry, the Mysuru City Corporation (MCC) is prepared like it always is with, unfortunately, a temporary solution. But when will we get a permanent solution? The MCC, realising that the KRS…
Yella OK, MUDA Beke?
February 24, 2024Ah, behold the whimsical tale of Mysuru Urban Development Authority (MUDA), a veritable comedy of errors in the grand theatre of urban planning ! As we eagerly await the spectacle of their annual Budget presentation on Feb. 28, one cannot help but wonder: Yella OK, MUDA Beke? Last year’s Budget left Mysureans scratching their heads…
Love & Loss in DIGITAL AGE
February 16, 2024Two days ago, on Valentine’s Day, I visited a cousin’s house. There, I met my niece who was visiting home. She’s typically effervescent and exuberant but on that day, she was veiled in an aura of melancholy. The cause? She had just broken up with her boyfriend of over a year. She said they had…
Falling branches & More Shaktimans
February 10, 2024On Tuesday, a man died when a tree branch fell on his head. Even his helmet couldn’t save him. But what could have saved him was probably the timely pruning of the tree. Every year, people die in our city as tree branches fall due to lack of timely pruning. Yet citizens are confused about…
Humped & Barricaded: Time to wake up !
February 3, 2024Six days ago, within 12 hours, between 9 pm and 9 am, 20 people met with accidents. Three young men lost their lives. Two young women become widows. Three children became fatherless. Three families lost their primary breadwinner and three families were destroyed…all because of two unscientific road humps. Shockingly, not a single MLA has…
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