7 March 2013. We were at the last leg of an ambitious project, diverting surface runoff from the Brigade Millennium Avenue nearby into the lake. It was a calculated risk BBMP was taking at our behest. Everything depended on the force of the water entering the trench because the road sloped sharply away to theContinue reading “Stung By a Woman”
Author Archives: Usha Rajagopalan ("Lakeika")
Death of a Great Cormorant
Several people in our locality are as deeply attached to our Puttenahalli Puttakere as we trustees are. One of them is S K Srinivas, our inhouse water expert, bird watcher, and photographer. In his recent blog post, a heartbreaking, angry, helpless narrative, he has written about the agonizing death of a Great cormorant at the lake yesterday. Continue reading “Death of a Great Cormorant”
That First Monsoon
While rejuvenating our Puttenahalli lake in 2010, BBMP had provided five inlets for rainwater to enter and one waste weir for the excess to flow out. Of the five inlets, one was at the entrance, another further down, roughly midway to where the white silk cotton tree now towers over the walking track like aContinue reading “That First Monsoon”
A Narrow Escape for our Precious Lake
The vigilance of our gardeners is to be applauded. On 3rd Aug, at around 5.30 p.m., they telephoned to say that “black oil” was entering the lake. We replied that it may be from the two-wheeler mechanic shop across the road and asked them to get it stopped. We were wrong. Our gardeners followed theContinue reading “A Narrow Escape for our Precious Lake”
A Darter in Distress
To nurture the Puttakere we maintain a To Do list which is like Hydra’s head. Each time we tick off one task, two appear in its place. Divya, Nupur and I met at the lake yesterday, 29th June, at 1:30 p.m. to discuss, among others, trimming trees, ground cover plants, events, share updates on new initiativesContinue reading “A Darter in Distress”
Homage to Our Mentor
Mr. Bhoja Shetty, IFS (retd) (4 Sept. 1922 – 6 Mar. 2022) A fallen flower on the pathway at the lake stopped me short on 5th March 2022. I looked up at the tree and saw one big cluster of flowers way above and buds a little lower. Our mentor Mr. Bhoja Shetty who had retiredContinue reading “Homage to Our Mentor”
Writing On The (Black) Wall
Some ideas are simple and yet so effective, they take the breath away. They quite often come into being such that it is difficult to pinpoint the exact moment of their appearance or trace their evolution. There’s no such doubt about the origin of one of our best ideas – black paint the external wallContinue reading “Writing On The (Black) Wall”
Reflections on the Buddha Coconut
I hadn’t heard of a tree called Buddha Coconut till BBMP gave four saplings for our first tree plantation drive in July 2010. I hadn’t heard of some others too but we were getting them for free at a point when we, trustees, didn’t have the money to organize such an exercise. The planting siteContinue reading “Reflections on the Buddha Coconut”
Wrapping Up The Year at Puttenahalli Lake
Yet again this year, Puttenahalli Puttakere taught us the importance of perseverance and the need to stay hopeful. When it seemed as if our ‘trial by sewage’ which had begun in 2017 would never end, BWSSB came through in April 2021 and plugged the leaks in the underground drain they had laid last year. TheContinue reading “Wrapping Up The Year at Puttenahalli Lake”
Dr. V. Kurien and I
Dr. V. Kurien 26 November 1921 – 9 September 2012 I was at crossroads that December of 1982. Newly married, I had taken a short break as Editorial Assistant at the Indian Institute of Management, Ahmedabad to accompany my husband who had just joined the Institute of Rural Management at Anand. My dilemma was whetherContinue reading “Dr. V. Kurien and I”
Usha Rajagopalan "Lakeika" 