Mr. Rakesh Jhunjhunwala - RIP

At every opportunity, we thank our donors and well wishers. This is not lip service but comes from the heart. The amount each one gives is not important. What is, is their benevolence, their faith in us and our work as custodians of Puttenahalli Lake. If it hadn't been for these individuals, almost all of them live in the vicinity of the lake, we would not have been able to maintain our Puttakere. 

Once in a (rare) while, we get donations from people from other cities thanks to a friend or relative sharing the Puttenahalli Lake story with them. 

In Dec. 2012, we received a letter and a cheque from Rakesh Jhunjhunwala Foundation. To say we were taken aback would be an understatement for not only was the letter a surprise but the cheque was for Rs. One Lakh! How did he even know of us? It turned out someone from Bangalore had told him about our lake restoration endeavour and the benevolent man immediately wrote a cheque! 

We sent him a thank you note inviting him to visit the lake some time. He never did. His wonderful gesture to our Puttakere reinforced for us the goodness in people, even strangers in high places. 

RIP, Mr. Rakesh Jhunjhunwala

PNLIT team

Flocks at the lake

Puttenahalli Lake is looking truly gorgeous... 

Aerial view of Puttenahalli Lake, 22-Aug-2016 (Pic: Geetha Srikrishnan)

... not only to humans but to birds as well. Last Saturday, Madhurima, a resident of South City, who's been keeping a weekly bird census, spotted twenty Cormorants in all the three sizes. This is great news but the even better news is the presence of so many young ones. 

Indian Cormorants

Indian Cormorants (adult and juvenile)

Grey Heron (juvenile)

Night Heron (juvenile and adult)

Grey-headed Swamphen (earlier known as Purple Swamphen) (juvenile)
(Pics: Madhurima Das)

One month after launching our donation drive, we have raised Rs.3 Lakhs against our target of Rs.6 lakhs. We need to raise the remaining amount at the earliest so that we can wrap up the donation drive for the year and move on to making further improvements in the lake. 

Just as little drops of water make the ocean, our small steps over the past several years have given a new lease of life to the lake. Likewise, please donate whatever you can. Your contribution will help PNLIT nurture this precious bird haven. 

Donations may be made by cash, cheque, direct remittance or online through donation partners. For details on how to donate, please see here.

If you are making an online payment, please send a screen shot of the transaction and your contact details to enable us to send you the receipt. 

Cheques in the name of "PNLIT" or "Puttenahalli Neighbourhood Lake Improvement Trust" may be sent to our registered office: 

PNLIT, Usha Rajagopalan,
B3, 502, South City, Arekere Mico Layout, Off Bannerghatta Road, Bangalore 560 076 

Donations are eligible for income tax exemption, u/s 80G of the Income Tax Act (50% deduction from taxable income) 

Heartwarming gestures by our children

Over the past few years, we've done many things to raise funds for PNLIT, and we've realised that fund-raising is quite a challenge. To a social-cause fund-raiser who may knock on your door, the most disheartening experience is when you express regret and shut the door. Donations apart, we have often found it difficult to get people to part with Rs 220 for a PNLIT calendar, or even Rs 30, in exchange for a PNLIT wristband.  

However, there are many generous souls out there, generous both in terms of time and monetary support, who share our dreams, who believe that together we can make a change, and because of whom we have sustained. When these generous souls are children, it is truly heart-warming.

Recently, Sanjay Dev, a young boy of 9  years, donated Rs 1000 to PNLIT. Sanjay had put up a car racing game stall at his apartment's Christmas celebration on 24th Dec 2015. After paying the stall charges, his net profit was Rs 500. His father Reghunath had promised to make an equal contribution, which is how the figure reached Rs 1000. 

Sanjay, at his car racing game stall

Another young donor is Rohan Mishra, a Std 12 student, who like Sanjay lives in the Puttenahalli Lake area and believes that "charity begins at home". A few months ago Rohan said he would like to contribute by donating Rs 1000 from his pocket money every other month. And he does! Apart from monetary contribution, over the past year, Rohan has spared some of his time doing a few back-office things for PNLIT.    

Some months ago, another young enthusiast Vishnu Sreenivas, who was then in high school, took a group of children for a nature walk around Puttenahalli Lake, charging a small fee. And he donated the money he had collected to PNLIT. 

We've also had our children actively promote the PNLIT cloth bags, while dissuading the use of plastic carry bags. 

Thank you children, and thank you parents.

"Parents can only give good advice or put them on the right paths, but the final forming of a person's character lies in their own hands." - Anne Frank

Puttenahalli Lake needs you

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Click the links below for more information

How to donate          PNLIT website          PNLIT Blog          PNLIT on Facebook          PNLIT on Twitter

On the divine and the rain

If Dussehra 2013 was unique for PNLIT with a South City resident replicating Puttenahalli Lake in her Golu, this year it was a lady from Brigade Millennium who took us by surprise. Mrs. Anjana Shivakumar wanted to donate to PNLIT, the money she would otherwise have spent on gifts for her guests invited for Haldi kumkum! 

What better celebration can there be of Mother Nature than by taking care of a lake? Mrs. Shivakumar and her 40 friends chanted Lalitha Sahasarnama invoking the Mother Goddess. When it ended, she announced that she was giving Rs. 5000 to PNLIT towards nurturing the lake. We hope at least some of them (and many of you, readers) would follow her example and donate to the upkeep of the lake. 

To reciprocate her thoughtful, indeed unique, gesture, PNLIT has "gifted" her and her friends with a tree, a Sheesham , more popularly called Indian Rosewood. What's special about this particular tree is that it was brought from Golden Temple, Amritsar when our fellow trustee Arathi Manay last visited the shrine. It therefore occupies the pride of place in the viewing deck. We are renaming this tree "Haldi kumkum tree" for a year and shall soon put up a board to this effect. 

Haldi kumkum tree (Sheesham)

PNLIT's Dussehra celebration was a small, simple affair confined to one day - Ayudha Puja. Not surprising since we have a whole array of garden equipment and tools!

Ayudha Puja

Every drop of rain that falls sends our hope soaring. How much of it will enter the lake is the first question that comes to our minds. The rain last evening was no different. Today morning we went to the lake to check the level against our own personal markers (a stone sticking out of the water, distance between a dead tree and the edge of water, etc.) At first glance it did indeed seem that the level had gone up considerably from the last such downpour on Sept. 25th. Two of the dead trees we'd planted in the lake bed were now standing in water! The water had not yet circled the base of the island but yes, the two ends had come a little closer. Compared to this time last year, however, the level is far too low! 

After the rain, Oct 6, 2014

After the rain, Oct 8, 2013 (a year ago)

The birds were not many too - only a pair of Spot Billed Ducks, a few Common Coots and the Swamp Hens. Just when we were sighing over the low water level and the few birds, there was a flash of bright green over our heads! Ah ha! A Barbet? Just that sight was enough to elevate our morale. We certainly hope that the divine will shower more rain and send more birds flocking to our lake in the coming months!

Usha

PNLIT donation drive

PNLIT continues to maintain Puttenahalli Lake with support from all of you in terms of donations and volunteering. We are happy to tell you that we have recently renewed our MoU with the BBMP to maintain Puttenahalli Lake for another term of three years (upto 2017).

Over the last three years, the lake has been transformed into a place that the young and old use for relaxation, jogging and walking. With trees and plants of different varieties, many blooming with flowers, and birds of various species, people who have an interest and a passion for these are drawn to the lake.

Many of you and your children have participated in events conducted at the lake. We urge you to continue to use the place and ask your friends also to do so.

As per the MOU, the trust needs to do routine maintenance by nurturing the plants, keeping the place neat and tidy, repairs, etc. We need to incur expenditure on the gardeners and other staff, maintenance consumables and the like. Overhead expenditure is minimal. Our annual expenses are approximately Rs 6 lakhs.

We need your support  through your generous donations to cover this years fund requirement. The trust account is audited and income tax returns since inception have been filed. Please visit our web site http://www.puttenahallilake.in.
Please free to call us for further information.

Donations may be made in cash, cheque or by direct remittance. Donations are eligible for income tax exemption, u/s 80G of the Income Tax Act (50% deduction from taxable income) 

Donations in cash or cheque (in favour of "PNLIT") may be given to any of the PNLIT trustees. 

Details for direct remittance -

Branch name: State Bank of India, RBI Layout, Bangalore 560078 

Savings Account no: 31209228099 in the name of "Puttenahalli Neighbourhood Lake Improvement Trust"
MICR Code: 560002090
IFSC Code: SBIN0004408

Thanking you,

PNLIT-TRUSTEE
O.P.RAMASWAMY

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1% of your purchases will reach PNLIT from Gudville.

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Convert your shopping to donation for Puttenahalli Neighbourhood Lake Improvement Trust When you shop on our partner stores Amazon.in or Flipkart.com using these email-links, Puttenahalli Neighbourhood Lake Improvement Trust earns 1% of your purchases as donation from Gudville. You can track this donation and also how your impact grows every time you shop.

Donations to PNLIT Corpus Fund

As another financial year draws to a close, we at PNLIT look back, happy that we were able to meet the lake maintenance expenses, and hopeful of being able to get similar support in the year ahead.

As we've communicated through our blog / emails in the past (see our earlier appeal here), we meet our Rs 40,000-50,000 monthly expenses (workers' salaries, ad hoc labour, gardening material, general maintenance, consumables, etc) from donations made by residents of the area and other well wishers. We are working to build up a corpus of about Rs 60 lakhs, which, in the long run, will meet most of our annual expenditure from the interest. 

If you have not yet fulfilled your charity commitments for this year, please consider donating to the PNLIT corpus fund. If you are assessed to tax in India, donations before March 31, 2014 will be eligible for IT exemption u/s 80G (50% exempt) for FY 2013-14. 

How to donate?

Cheques in favour of "PNLIT" or "Puttenahalli Neighbourhood Lake Improvement Trust" may be sent to our registered office along with the corpus declaration form (appended below). 

Postal address: 

PNLIT,
c/o Usha Rajagopalan,

B3, 502, South City,
Arekere Mico Layout,
Off Bannerghatta Road,
Bangalore 560 076 

(Cell no. + 91 72597 22996)

Cash, upto Rs 10,000 can be handed over to one of the PNLIT representatives, along with the corpus declaration form.

You can also do direct remittance, and send us the corpus declaration as an email to <puttenahalli.lake@gmail.com>.
Branch name - State Bank of India, RBI Layout, Bangalore 560078

Savings Account no 31209228099 in the name of "Puttenahalli Neighbourhood Lake Improvement Trust"

MICR Code: 560002090

Transfer within India - IFSC Code: SBIN0004408 

Transfer from abroad - Swift Code: SBININ BB423 (The bank charges Rs 500+other fees for Forex transfer, so this is not a preferred method.) 

As PNLIT does not have FCRA registration, we currently accept donations only from Indian Citizens/ Indian Passport Holders.

We hope you'll be able to visit our lake some time and see for yourself how it is becoming a place of serenity for the community and a secure habitat for birds and other forms of life.

Thank you for your support,

Arathi

for The PNLIT Team 

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Corpus Declaration Form

The amount given by me to the Puttenahalli Neighbourhood Lake Improvement Trust (PNLIT) is to be treated as a donation towards the Corpus and is to be used for the upkeep and maintenance of the Puttenahalli Lake and towards meeting the other objectives of PNLIT. Details of Payment:

Cash/cheque amount: ........................          Bank: .......................................        

Cheque no:  ......................................          Dated: ......................................

Name: ..........................................................................................................

Address: .......................................................................................................
......................................................................................................................

Contact phone no: ........................    Email id: ................................................

Signature:                                             Date:

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A memorable "Doosra"

Those familiar with cricket would know that "doosra" is a cricket term that refers to a type of delivery bowled by off-spin bowlers (just like a "bouncer" is bowled by fast bowlers). Off-spinners generally bowl off-breaks. A doosra is the opposite of an off-break, i.e. it spins in the direction opposite to an off-break, taking the batsmen by surprise because the delivery he receives would not be what he expects. 

"Doosra", an English play written and directed by Anand Raghav and performed by Paradigm Creations seems to have lived up to its name and surprised many who saw it.

Sanjay Mysoremutt, a JP Nagar resident who who attended one of the two charity shows staged at MLR Convention Centre, JP Nagar in aid of PNLIT, said, "The play was brilliant, enjoyed it more than watching a good movie! Excellent use of video and live performance. And I expected it to be a good comedy but it was deeply thought-provoking as well beyond the topic of cricket, especially the parent-child relationship and discussion on values."

The 90 minutes of "Doosra" very vividly depicted the changes in the game of cricket - from 'the' gentlemen's game to a commercial venture. The humour throughout the play had the audience in splits while also touching them in a more serious way. Video projections of cricket match scenes as a backdrop made the play unique in that it felt like watching a real match.   

A scene from Doosra (Pic: Harish Mahendrakar)           

Ganesh, a 20-year old ambitious cricketer finally gets selected to represent India. With this, his life sees significant changes, driven by power, politics, money and pressure. Ganesh's parents try to guide him onto the path that they see as the right path. To know how Ganesh's life progressed after the brushes with fans, teammates, bookies and politicians, wait for the next show of Doosra! 

This was the first time that PNLIT was organising a fund raising event of this magnitude. It would never have been possible without the support of the Paradigm Creations theatre team, the team from Brigade Hospitality's MLRCC and the volunteers from the Puttenahalli Lake area. PNLIT is sincerely thankful to all those who helped in reaching out to people, talking to them about Puttenahalli Lake, PNLIT and the play, getting donations, spreading the word and doing everything else to ensure that the event went off smoothly. A big thank you to all the donors.   

The Doosra team (Pic: Harish Mahendrakar)

Chander, who attended the play wrote, "It was a superb double whammy and has inspired my family to join in your cause for the development of the lake.We are on standby for any help and assistance and would consider it as an honor and privilege to be a part of this great effort that you have initiated with the other trust members." 

PNLIT hopes that many other Bangaloreans have also been touched in the same way as Chander and will help in the rejuvenation efforts at Puttenahalli Lake and other lakes in Bangalore - by supporting, volunteering, donating. 

Photos of the evening, taken by PNLIT Shutterbug Harish Mahendrakar can be found here.

Other photo links 

OP Ramaswamy

Sanjay Mysoremutt

Anush Photography (Facebook link)

Smitha Chandan (Facebook link)

A "Doosra" in aid of PNLIT

"Doosra has a strong script and an unwavering focus on the theme. The subject is new and the dialogue well crafted, scoring sixes quite often with punch lines. Mention must be made of the several humorous moments. The exchange between Ganesh's parents on cricket as a career is particularly endearing." - The Hindu

"The play is worth watching for its appealing cast, humorous and witty dialogues. As the Video footage of Cricket is used in the play, one feels that one is watching cricket live."  - Deccan Herald

Doosra’s protagonist is the Game of Cricket. The changes in the game are depicted through the life of Ganesh, a 20 year old lad who gets selected to represent the country. The young cricketer's metamorphosis is driven by the forces of power, politics, money and pressure and is depicted in the 90 minute play which, through its various characters, illustrates the changing phase of the game which over the years has grown from a sport to a commercial venture.

The play offers the perspectives of - a father who still believes in the values of the game, an obsessed fan with a love and hate attitude, a Captain who is victimized, a Bookie who represents the darker side of the game and a Politician who patronizes the game for money. The highlight of the play is video projections as back drop - a feature that one is unlikely to have experienced in plays in India.

The play will be staged by Paradigm Creation, in aid of PNLIT.

DATE: SUNDAY, 13th JAN 2013                TIME: 3.30 p.m. and 7.00 p.m.

VENUE:  MLR CONVENTION CENTRE, BRIGADE MILLENNIUM,

JP NAGAR 7^th PHASE, BANGALORE 560078

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FOR DONOR PASSES PLEASE CONTACT

Sujata - sujathaleo@yahoo.com, Cell 9880054070
Usha - puttenahalli.lake@gmail.com, Cell 7259722996 
Nupur - nupur21@gmail.com, Cell 9886629769
Ramaswamy - opr.sulo@gmail.com, Cell 9845079076

DONATIONS TO PNLIT ARE EXEMPT u/s 80G OF THE INCOME TAX ACT

Will your donation cheque be valid after 31st Dec 2012?

Till about a week ago, the answer to this would have been, “Only CTS-2010 Standard cheques will be valid after 31^st Dec 2012”. The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) has extended the date for banks and consumers to meet the standard to 31^st March 2013, vide circular dated 14^th Dec 2012.

What does this all mean?

CTS = Cheque Truncation System

The basis of CTS technology lies in the use of images of cheques (instead of the physical cheques) for payment processing. So cheques will not physically travel to the originating bank for clearance, but instead, scanned images will be transmitted. This will also eliminate the concept of ‘outstation cheques’ as all cheques will be multi-city/ payable at par all over India.

The new ‘CTS-2010 Standard’ for cheques by the RBI is now scheduled to come into effect on 1^st April 2013. 

From 1^st April 2013, only CTS-2010 Standard cheque leaves, with certain prescribed features, will be generally accepted by banks. However, residual non-CTS-2010 Standard cheques that get presented beyond this date would continue to be accepted for clearing but they would be cleared at less frequent intervals, and possibly at a fee.

Give your cheques a check

If your cheque book was issued after August 2011 it is likely that your cheques are already compliant. If your cheques do not have the features of either of the cheque leaves below, then you will need to get a new CTS-2010 Standard cheque book before you can issue cheques to others for presentation, 1^st April 2013 onwards. Non-CTS-2010 cheque leaves would still be usable for withdrawals at the home branch.

Features on CTS-2010 Standard cheque leaves