Bijoy Venugopal - a communications professional, travel writer and nature educator. He is the founder editor, The Green Ogre, a narrative based story telling initiative.
Event details:
📅 Sunday,16th Nov
Walk begins at 7:00 AM
Assemble by 6:45 AM
📍Meeting Point: Gazebo at Puttenahalli Lake (JP Nagar 7th Phase)
near Brigade Millennium entrance
Walk details:
Duration: Till around 9:45 AM
Terrain: Level, approximately 1 km around the lake
Suitable for all ages
What to wear:
Dull-coloured clothes
Hats/caps
Comfortable walking shoes (avoid slippers or thin-soled sandals)
It is with a heavy heart that we inform you that PNLIT has withdrawn from protecting and nurturing Puttenahalli Puttakere from 03 July 2025. We were issued a notice to do so by the Lakes Division, BBMP (Notice can be seen in Kannada and English translation). It will come as a shock to you, our associates, well-wishers and supporters, but we had been trying to diffuse and avert a showdown for the last two years.
PNLIT was registered in June 2010 but our endeavour to save the lake began earlier. We shall be as brief and precise in summing up our experience of nearly two decades.
Moved by the plight of the dying lake in our locality, we wanted to moot a public campaign in 2008 to get the municipality to save the lake. Residents in the area tried to dissuade us that government officials would not listen to ordinary people; that lakes were the responsibility of the municipality, not ours, tax payers, etc. We didn’t listen to them and were glad we didn’t.
BBMP rejuvenated the lake in 2009/2010 and their Environment Cell team was so encouraging and cooperative that it led to our signing an MoU with them on 17th May 2011 and we became Bengaluru’s first citizen caretakers of a lake. With regard to financial assistance to meet maintenance expenses, we were told, “If we (BBMP) had the money, why would we give the lake to you?”
Indeed, as per the MoU 2011 - 2014, Section 1. Role of PNLIT item xvii, we had to “Bear the full cost of all the above (maintenance) activities (i to xvi).”
We were also told that if anyone complained about the bad condition of the lake, we would be held responsible.
We took our new assignment seriously and involved the neighbourhood. People’s skepticism gave way to enthusiastic participation. They pitched in with volunteer and fund support through donations. [Note PNLIT is a registered charitable trust with 80G exemption for donors, and fully audited and tax compliant.]
We hired the staff and carried out developments which, over the years transformed the lake into a thriving, rich ecosystem. This would not have been possible without the unflagging support of the then Environment Cell and indeed, several other government departments and the community. PNLIT was the bridge between them. We were deeply grateful for their support.
In 2020, the 10th year of PNLIT, we gifted longtime supporters with a tree in their name and the next year, 2021, our nomination fetched BBMP the Earth Day Network Star Municipal Leadership award for its work in restoring 18 lakes in Bengaluru and initiating work on seven more. Following the Lakes Division notice, we have removed the name boards.
Board names
Removing the board names
Star Municipal Leadership Trophy
In Mar 2020, BBMP did not renew their MoUs with us, citizen groups, citing a High Court order in WP 38401/2014 passed on 04 March 2020 which read “...the State Government shall not execute any such MOU with any Corporate Entity (emphasis added). However, this order will not prevent the State Government from taking funds from the Corporate Entities for rejuvenation of lakes.”
Four of us, citizen groups, were admitted as respondents to the writ in 2021 and we waited to tell the Hon’ble Court about our role and contribution to lake conservation. On the strength of the support from the then Lakes Division, we continued to maintain Puttakere for the next two years and then they turned volte face. We were unable to find out the reasons for this sudden loss of trust and breakdown in communication. We started suspending our volunteer engagements, environment awareness programmes, requested donors to withhold their contributions for lake maintenance, and reduced our activities to essential gardening chores. In the belief that the biggest threats to a lake were sewage influx and encroachment, we continued to protect the lake from these. After 17 years, we were on the verge of achieving the seemingly impossible goal of rehabilitating those residing illegally in the lake premises when we got the marching orders. Links to Prajavani reports in English of 27th and 30th March 2025. https://keremanju.blogspot.com/2025/05/puttenahalli-lake-neglect-of.html;
This notice was the second from the Lakes Division. The first (Ref. No. AEE/Lakes (South)/PR/25/2023-24 dated 09/10/2023) asked us to stop treated water inflow from the STP in South City with immediate effect as it was ‘polluting’ the lake. We were served the notice even after sending photographs and documents to show that the toxic pollutant was leachate from the garbage trucks outside the apartment complex and that the treated water in fact, was diluting it. We continued to be questioned till we resolved it once and for all in March 2025 through MLA Shri M Krishnappa who got the garbage transfer point shifted.
Though uncertain about the future, we decided to celebrate the 15th year of PNLIT with our stakeholders. We had already invited, in person, the heads of government departments when we received the notice on 19th June. We went ahead with our celebration on the 28th. Two days later, we sent our response to the notice and withdrew our staff.
We hope that the court will not delay its verdict and that it would enable BBMP to renew their MOU with us and our fellow citizen groups. Meanwhile, our Trust Deed permits other initiatives to improve the areas surrounding the lake. We will consider these in due course. For the present, we shall take a break from community service, surely well-deserved after more than 15 years of “living with the lake” each day!
Having expelled us, the Lakes Division is bound to take excellent care of Puttenahalli Puttakere. We’d like to urge them to take equally good care of all the lakes that still exist in the city and which are in their custody because every lake matters.
Puttenahalli Lake was a triumph of collective action. This video captured the essence of the endeavour.
With heartfelt thanks to all for your tremendous support to PNLIT and Puttenahalli Puttakere.
Of our three gardeners, Ramu has been with us the longest and recently completed 10 years of service at the lake. They are all good in their work with each one using a special skill which he has honed over time at the lake. If the lake and the premises look so clean, it is because of these three men.
In addition to Kannada, Ramu speaks Hindi, and understands English. In our absence, he briefs visitors about the lake and PNLIT. He has developed an interest in photography and keeps us visually updated of happenings at the lake. Today we surprised him with a gift cheque for Rs.10,000. Former trustee, Prasanna, showed his appreciation with Rs. 1,000. It was indeed a happy moment for all of us.
We wish you all a wonderful holiday season and a great new year.
We wish ourselves the same too! For, truth be told, 2023 was a period of endless challenges for us at PNLIT. Puttenahalli Puttakere sailed through the year but we had to fight hard to protect it, help it thrive. Officers changed and we had to brief them on what we'd had done, build rapport with them. They changed once again and the cycle started once again. In short, 2023 was a test of endurance!
We did overcome a few challenges such as getting our FCRA certificate renewed two years and six months after submitting it for renewal. Arathi can rightly pat herself on her back for this achievement.
Usha continued the struggle to protect the lake from encroachment. Just when the light seemed to glimmer, the tunnel grew longer. The High Court had ordered eviction of the encroachers in July 2022. As soon as they got the notice, they obtained a stay order. On behalf of PNLIT, she filed an IA to implead in the writ and place the facts before the court. The Judge rejected the IA in Oct 2023 because, in his opinion, 'the Trust would not be a necessary party to the proceedings' as the petition was 'only for a mandamus for rehabilitation of the petitioners who are alleged encroachers by way of allotment of sites, so that they could vacate the encroachment.'
Who's going to allot the sites? When? Two questions for which the answers have been wrapped in layers of uncertainty from 2019.
The many crises through the year brought OP Ramaswamy out of his semi-retirement to avert what would have led to the termination of two of our gardeners. Without Ramu, Jayanna, Seena and Soma, we wouldn't have been able to maintain the lake. Ramu has been with us since 2013!
Nupur put an end to our vacillation on whether to revamp our website or go with a new one. With tech help from her husband Pranshu and text assistance from Usha, she launched a colourful https://www.puttenahallilake.in/ rich in photos and comprehensive in contents in June 2023.
Our garden expert Sangita was luckier this year with the mealy bugs and borers and other pests lying low. The trees, shrubs and climbers are growing so lush and thick.
But for Divya's meticulous updating of our timeline, scrapbook of newspaper clippings, and quarterly reports, we would have forgotten half of what we had done in 2023! Time flies not only when one is having fun but also when crossing hurdles!
Our treasurer, Nandhini, is the one to thank for the receipts to your donations. Give her more work. Donations (and volunteer support) are how you can help our Puttenahalli Puttakere.
Our core volunteers deserve special mention - Vijayalakshmi Kutty, editor, Ripples and Sapana Rawat, events coordinator. They are irreplaceable. Jayashree Govind is a welcome addition to the editorial team!
Nurturing a public space like a lake is always going to be difficult. Our prayer for the new year is for less stress with old issues and more strength to tackle fresh ones. Together let's preserve and protect our little neighbourhood lake.
All things considered, there was subtle alchemy infused in the evening of November 18the at Puttenahalli Lake - A young magician, all of 13, a glorious evening with the sun catching the soft ripples on the lake and a large enchanted crowd that included a throng of spell-bound, wide-eyed children.
Young Jayant is a whiz of a conjurer; an illusionist with a deceptive sleight of hand and a charmer who combines his magic with theatre and subtle humour. Whether cuffed up tightly with strong clamps or bound and bundled in a bag, Jayant would emerge grinning and free of all shackles in a few minutes. As the ‘Blind Surgeon’, blindfolded Jayant had the head of a headless clown fixed with a swipe of towel! And congratulations to all the volunteers who courageously put their fate in Jayant’s hands; like the five year old who was wholly willing to have his head chopped off into a basket he held! Macabre! But rest assured your life is safe with Jayant! And in between all this fascinating wizardry, Jayant pulls out confetti and silk ribbons out of his mouth or a hat!
Our appreciation and compliments go to Jayant’s parents whose staunch support and encouragement have nurtured this child prodigy who is a national awardee, author of “Covid Thief’, a magician and a kidpreneur. Do get to know more about him at https://www.instagram.com/just.be.jayant/
A long time ago, I saw a live show by a great Magician, Illusionist par excellence PC Sorcar Jr. The show is etched in my memory and I vividly remember many interesting illusionary tricks. Sorcar was famous for performing magic shows in Fish Market and busy bazaars of Kolkata. Once he and a locomotive and the famous Taj Mahal disappeared in front of a large audience. I saw a blindfolded Sorcar correct algebraic expressions and once corrected the famous E=mc2 as well. He performed an Aladdin-style Indian rope trick in which the blowing of Pungi (an Indian pipe instrument) moved the rope up, suspended in the air. He climbed the rope as well. We also read about Harry Houdini and his famous escape tricks.
When 13-year-old Jayant Patwari put up a show in front of a live audience in our Puttakere (Puttenahalli lake), no one would have expected Sorcar’s tricks and Houdinisque escape. I thought he would pull Rabbits out of the hat (pigeons if rabbits are expensive to procure for a free show) and a few more cards and stick-becoming bouquet tricks. On the contrary, our young magician turned out to be a master illusionist, a great stage presence and mesmerized the audience kids and old alike. He performed blindfolded tricks and a couple of escape sequences with aplomb and panache. He identified numbers and played with numbers with a blindfold, removed handcuffs, brought back Clown’s head with his head inside a bag and in the finale, he escaped truly Houdini-style, and came out of a tightly closed sack in less than 2 minutes!
I wonder if he is an adult but created the illusion of 13 years. Who knows? Let's see what new trick he has up on his sleeve.
Enjoy this descriptive report of the Bioblitz held at Puttenahalli Lake on Sep 23rd byDeepa Mohan,a wildlife volunteer, a bird educator and an avid naturalistwho also led the session along with another naturalist and a biologist Kaustubh Rau.
I had been conducting walks for both adults and children at Puttenahalli Kere (J P Nagar) for many years; it has been a favourite place for me to take children, especially. Dr Kaustubh Rau had been conducting similar walks recently; so when Usha Rajagopalan and Sapana of Puttenahalli Neighbourhood Lake Improvement Trust (PNLIT) asked me to conduct a walk, I reached out to Kaustubh at once, so that we could conduct the nature walk together.
We had a reasonable number of people at the start, and Usha and Sapana, along with Govindan Iyer and Vijayalakshmi (Viji) all volunteers for PNLIT, were there to welcome us. Usha spoke a few words about how she and her team have rescued the moribund lake and maintained it against many odds, and we started our ramble.
As we walked down the path, each of us (Kaustubh and I) pointed out several life-forms that caught our attention. The lake is a place where a variety of trees have been planted by the team, and some of them have grown into majesty. The Cassia grandis (also called the Pink Shower Tree), the Sampige, the Buddha Coconut, even the Sandalwood. It was lovely to walk through an avenue lined with these, with the bank of the lake edged with beautiful flowers such as Penta, Ixora, Canna and so on.
The birds were both waterfowl and the woodland species; we watched the group feeding behaviour of the Little Cormorants, the diving of the Oriental Darter, the electric blue feathers of the White-throated Kingfisher, while several Little Grebes and Eurasian Coots bobbed about in the water. We looked at the Purple Swamp hens foraging in the reeds, with their huge feet allowing them to walk on floating vegetation.
Several insects caught our attention too. I told people how the Mexican Beetle had been introduced to control the Parthenium plants and how we were now trying to see how to control these beetles, which have had, apparently, no effect on the plants!
It was delightful that there was no sign at all of the invasive Lantana or the Chromolaena; obviously, the PNLIT team knows how to prevent these species from gaining a toehold at the lake. We looked at the beautiful berries of the Karanda, I asked some people to taste the Clover leaves (tart and tasty!) , walked under a guard of honour that is, a pergola of Thunbergia mysorensis flowers, hanging down like a group of lovely chandeliers!
We were able to see a few butterflies too; we got a Tiger sighting when a Plain Tiger flitted past. A Pale Grass Blue sat on a leaf, and I was able to talk about Batesian mimicry when we found a Common Mormon female, which imitates the Crimson Rose (a butterfly that is toxic to birds).
We walked past the area where people are living, and from there we could sight a Purple and a Grey Heron on the island. I was also able to show the many vegetables and gourds which made up a lovely garden - Brinjals, Tomatoes, Chilies and papayas, one participant said this was the first time he had seen a papaya tree!
We turned back towards the entrance pavilion, walking under the shade (and the lovely flowers) of the Portia trees. All too soon, the walk was over, and Govindan sir and Viji distributed brochures which gave information about the lake (with great photographs and an index of the many life forms seen at the lake), and there were Early Bird bird brochures for sale, too.
My heartfelt thanks to Usha and the PNLIT team for this great opportunity to disprove a statement someone made to me once: "Puttenahalli Kere? It's such a small place. There is nothing interesting there!". Well, certainly the participants on the walk would say that there is quite a lot to see, observe and enjoy at the lake!
Magical lands, extraordinary castles, quaint country roads, powerful heroes, ferocious beasts, angelic fairies and more are all possible in the realm of stories and storytelling. And to bring this to life today ( Sep 9th) , Snehadhara Foundation was at Puttenahalli Lake for the 'One Day One Story' event organised in collaboration withPNLITand Pratham Books to celebrate the International Literacy Day, marking our 10th year of this event together.
Children, parents, passerbys and all joined us at the beautiful gazebo nestled at the corner of the Puttenahalli lake. The calm waters, serene green scapes with quacking ducks and chirping birds would be our home for an hour of storytelling with drama, song, dance and play. Two beautiful stories were showcased this year Hakeem's Hiccups and Hello Sun. From the Hakeem plagued with a case of the never ending hiccups to the little boy's endless bright sunny smiles, the Snehadhara team enlivened the pages of the storybook and drew the audience into their world.
The adorable audience of little tots and big tots experienced their own transformation as hesitant "hello-s" turned to tentative imitations and the end, any inhibitions seemed to fly away as full blown cheers with initiatives to call out, sing, dance and hop along with people they had met just a few minutes ago! This space that drew them all in led to them opening up to each other, coming together in such seamless ways marking a new experience of inclusion through the arts.
Here's a peak at the absolute magic at the lake today!
In 1826, a French inventor called Nicephore Niepce made the first photograph, using a pewter plate coated with bitumen, and exposing it to the sun over eight hours. In 1829, Niepce and French artist, Louis Daguerre, developed an improved process that came to be known as Daguerreotype. In 1839, the French government purchased the patent from Daguerre. And onAugust 19th, 1839, the French government released the Daguerreotype photographic process to the public for free. That is why this date is considered the beginning of the era of Photography.
PNLIT celebrated the World PhotographyDay at Puttenahalli lake by conducting a workshop and photowalk. The event was led by SK Srinivas, who by his own definition, is a serious amateur in photography. He has been a PNLIT volunteer for the last ten years, and has captured many memorable moments at the lake in his camera.
Here is what the participants had to say about him and the photowalk !
Recently, a friend of mine forwarded the announcement of a Photowalk & Workshop to be conducted at Puttenahalli Lake on Aug 19th. World Photography Day. I had been looking to attend just such a workshop for many days so I quickly registered for it. Another attraction was that the event conducted by PNLIT was free of cost and open to all!
The photography expert Mr. SK Srinivas (Srini) and PNLIT events coordinator Sapana were cordial and welcoming. Srini began by asking how well each of the participants were acquainted with photography. Most of us were early beginners. We spent a good amount of time learning about the basics of photography and the technicalities of different types of cameras. This was no doubt very useful but it also meant that out of the two hours, the time we got to spend on actually photographing the birds and knowing how to spot them got reduced.
Srini also talked about how human activities are damaging Bangalore lakes, their ecosystems and the fauna dependent on them. We were fortunate to have the right venue for the photo workshop. Puttenahalli lake, JP Nagar is indeed a "hidden gem" as described by the participants and I fully agree.
We are grateful to Srini and the organisers for this opportunity. I would request him to conduct more photography related events for participants with different levels of skill. This will help us to become better nature photographers.
On the occasion of World Photography Day (Aug 19) about 20 of us met at Puttenahalli Lake in JP Nagar 7th phase. The objective was to be given a few basic lessons on photography and how to plan and execute good photos by Mr. SK Srinivas (Srini).
Srini is a photography and wildlife enthusiast and has immense knowledge on cameras, photography and taking great shots.
We were greeted by a light drizzle which would have been otherwise welcome after a long dry spell but threatened to wash out the workshop. Srini started with the history of photography and how it has evolved over the ages from camera obscuras (pinhole cameras) to mirrorless DSLRs. He then explained how good photography is fundamentally about camera optics and explained how to manage trade-offs among aperture size, shutter speed and ISO settings and that practice makes perfect.
We then walked around the lake which was full of water and had plenty of aquatic birds as subjects to practise our newly acquired knowledge and dispersed by about 11 am after a group photo.
We are deeply saddened to say that in the passing of Mr. Vijay Thiruvady yesterday, 1 Aug.2023, we have lost a dear friend and the city, a renowned botanist and historian.
We had the good fortune of establishing contact with him sometime in 2013 when Mrs. Shanta Ramachandran gifted us a book, Heritage Trees written by her brother, Vijay Thiruvady. She lived in the vicinity of the lake and was a regular visitor to Puttakere. Later when Mr. T S Srinivasa, one of our tree experts, published a pocket book titled Discover Garden Climbers we thought it would be good to organize a book release function since we were growing climbers at the lake. Mr. Thiruvady readily agreed to do the honours. Photos of this event held in Jan 2018 are attached, link to the report is here.
Mr. Thiruvady, was Trustee, Bangalore Environment Trust, who conducted Green Heritage Walks in Lalbagh, Imperial Colonial Walks in Cubbon Park and Military Heritage Walks at the MEG&C. His mesmerizing stories and anecdotesmade these a memorable experience. Our Editor, Mrs. Vijayalakshmi Kutty who had gone twice on the Green Heritage Walk (which ended with breakfast at MTR), interviewed him for Ripples, our bi-annual newsletter. The Tree Walker appeared in the July 2020 issue.
For more than 30 years, Mr. Thiruvady had been collecting the letters and documents of his grandfather, Dr K S Krishnan, the renowned physicist who together with CV Raman had discovered the Raman Effect. One of these letters was a signed appeal from Albert Einstein! Mr Thiruvady sent a photo of this with the news that he had just handed over these memorabilia to NCBS. To hear of his demise only four days later was indeed a big shock.
Tripod Finds a Friend and Other Stories by Dr. Roopa Satish and Anitha Murthywas released by Usha Rajagopalan at Puttenahalli Lake on Saturday July 22nd.
The interactions between Usha, the authors and the audience were engaging and never ending! It was indeed so absorbing that no one paid heed to the drizzle that started when the discussion was underway. Each one simply picked up their chair and shifted to the gazebo. For once, the star of the event was not the lake butTripod and its authors.
Read below some of the feedback we received on this event and the book. The first by a 13 year old who’s clearly a Harry Potter fan!
Meeting a wildlife veterinarian who can speak …... hm..mhm.. PARSEL TONGUE!!! -- Just an attempt to make it spooky (I hope it was) --
So, ignore everything that is spooky. Now let me tell you that there’s an endangered animal known as the “Tripod”. Tripod? What’s that? Read on to find out!
It was an exciting day, filled with happiness and a day filled with “chirps” all along the Puttenahalli lake, as I stood in front of a gathering of wildlife enthusiasts, curious readers, and writers. Here is what I learnt from the conversation between Dr. Roopa Satish, Ms. Anitha Murthy, and Ms. Usha Rajagopalan:
• I got to know about the Red Eared Slider invasion in the lake. • I got to know a lot about the amazing patients whom Dr. Roopa Satish has rehabilitated at the Bannerghatta Wildlife Rescue and Rehabilitation Center (WRRC). • I heard this astonishing tale of her giving CPR to a snake. Yeah! That was when I found out she knew Parsel tongue. • I got to know a lot about the snake bites and also got helpful tips to save the mother snake at my apartment complex from people who want to kill it. • I finally found someone who could help me save a Rose-ringed parakeet that was caged and beaten up by her owners.
For now, I look forward to reading the book and knowing more about wildlife to achieve my dream of becoming an owner of all types of pets and also be a forest officer. Lastly, I found out there were 2 lovely dogs in the lake that like to interact with everyone. Thank you PNLIT (Puttenahalli Neighbourhood Lake Improvement Trust) for such an eye opener session and a learning opportunity.
Tripod Finds a Friend and other stories by Dr Roopa Satish and Anitha Murthy is not an ordinary book. It is a squeeze of the life experience of a Vet and her bubbling passion for wildlife. The subtext of the book is Stories of wildlife rescue and rehabilitation. They are heartwarming and at the same time revelatory for city dwellers like me. We also got to know about many faceless unknown champions who are driven by their passion to save wildlife and create shared and safe space for non-human species.
Did you know that in our urban vicinity we have animals like Slender Loris, Pangolin, and Fox? How would you distinguish a Turtle, Terrapin and Tortoise? You might have spotted a Civet cat and Mongoose but mentioned them interchangeably without a second thought? Thanks to our commercial celluloid projections and popular beliefs, do you think of snakes as reptiles, slithering and dangerous for human beings? What is the difference between poisonous and venomous?
We learned these and more in a mesmerizing interaction with the authors. Dr. Roopa Satish enthralled the audience, kids and grown-ups alike, with her animated storytelling, dark humour and sometimes narrating the harrowing experiences in a lighter vein.
It was good to see how young readers in the gathering seemed to understand the subject matter better than adults. This is a positive sign that our civilization will progress forward along with the doomsayer's prediction of the climate crisis and global warming.
This book is well-written, and tightly edited but it deserves better print quality. I hope the authors will take care to correct the text alignment and fonts in the next edition. Nonetheless, such shortcomings did not make the stories any less interesting. Soon after the book was released and discussions began, the sky opened up and mother nature showered her blessings. Kudos to Dr. Roopa Satish and Anitha Murthy for bringing out such a wonderful compilation of real stories from the wild. Such stories need happy endings. Let the world of Tripod, Mooshie and their ilk educate and create greater awareness among us, and make us sensitive and responsible humans.
I attended a book launch on July 22nd of Tripod Finds a Friend, and other stories co-authored by Dr. Roopa Satish and Anitha Murthy. I am a sucker for children's books, and Tripod... is not only beautifully written - thrilling, compassionate, with a touch of crime - it is filled with fun-facts and learning. One learning I had from the book was about "imprinting" - never touch a baby wild animal with bare hands, or cuddle it (no matter how much affection you feel for it) because you transfer your germs onto it and it may not be accepted back by its clan and this can be disastrous for its survival.
At the book launch event, it was an absolute pleasure listening to Dr. Roopa Satish speak. Her passion for her work (which is as niche as it can get) and her compassion for all things living, including snakes and humans, is palpable. She shared many interesting anecdotes, and facts, about human animal interaction, which had everyone in the audience captivated and wanting to know more.
Anyone who is looking for their next guest speaker at a corporate event, I would highly recommend inviting Dr. Roopa Satish i.e. if she can drag herself away from performing intricate surgeries on terrapins or mouth-to-mouth resuscitation on cobras!
