World Water Day - Let's clean our lake!

With our trees sprouting new leaves or bursting into flower, each day is a celebration of our lake. The World Water Day (March 22nd) is but an excuse for us to get together and do our bit for Water. Post Ugadi, please join us on Sat. 28th March to clean the dry parts of the lake bed. Help us remove the plastic, pull out weeds and plant bamboo perches for the birds. For just a couple of hours of work on one day in a year, get the satisfaction of preparing your lake for the monsoon. 

We are delighted to have the Karnataka State Pollution Control Board as our partner in this lake clearing drive.

Time: 7 a.m. to 9 a.m.

Venue: Puttenahalli Lake, near MLR Convention Hall

Tender new leaves

Pink Cassia flower bud sprays

Good site for planting bird perch

To ensure that we have enough garden equipment for all volunteers, please confirm your participation with a reply to this mail.  Children below 15 years can work with you on the bund, de-weeding, mulching, etc. There will be plenty of work for all!   

With Ugadi greetings.

Usha

Bird watch update - Storks and Herons

We are delighted to see avian visitors returning to the lake after a year! Yesterday, heedless of the hot afternoon sun, we spotted a Painted Stork, Asian Openbill Stork and a Grey Heron together with a resident Egret, foraging for food. They were so close to each other that all four can be seen in one frame. 

Grey Heron, Asian Openbill, Egret, Painted Stork

Asian Openbill

Asian Openbill and Grey Heron

Painted Stork

Our other resident heron, the Purple Heron, kept close to the bulrushes near the wetland. We realized later that it was keeping an eye on its young one lurking in the bulrushes. We will photograph the juvenile when it decides that the outside world is not such a bad place!

Usha

Cycling enthusiasts - 1st March is your day!

Our PNLIT is registered as an NGO beneficiary at the Vodafone Cycling Marathon. Our page can be seen here.

Calling all you cycling enthusiasts to register for the marathon and support our cause. The marathon is on 1st March. Registrations will close soon. Please register today! Pick the ride that suits you - from 60 kms for professionals to fashion ride of 5 kms. There's even a kids' ride of 2 kms!! More rides and registration details on the website here.

Godspeed to your cycling legs!!  

Best regards

Usha

Highlights of Lake Alive: the Puttenahalli Kere Habba

Report by Usha Rajagopalan

The morning of the Kere Habba on 21st Feb. saw over 30 volunteers coming as early as 7 a.m. and setting to work stringing festoons between trees, paper lanterns, sticking event posters, and more. Almost ALL the decorative items were "home made" by children and adults. Snehadhara Foundation did likewise with sketches and artefacts painstakingly done by their children. Many hands made for quick work and it was all done in a couple of hours. It was time for a sumptuous breakfast made and served fondly by Krishna, South City and Pavithra from Brigade Millennium. 

Volunteers at work

Children too!

Decorations

By the time the first of the visitors arrived, the shamiana was up adding to the festive atmosphere. "Lake Alive" being an event of, for and by the people we didn't have to wait for a VIP Chief Guest. Mrs. Leela Nagarajan, the craft guru of the day, lit a lamp and the sessions began, not just in the Gazebo but also at the Viewing Deck and along the coconut grove.

The birds in the lake were not in the least fazed by the drumming, the children running or shouting. They continued to fly and fish, to the delight of the bird watchers and photographers. The stars of them all were a pair of Pied Kingfishers which hovered in the air and dived and fought with each other for the catch! Equally oblivious of everything was another star, cartoonist Ananth Shankar who sketched, sketched and sketched even as dusk fell!

 Drumming with Djembe

Pied Kingfishers

 Children with potted plants that were given away free

Cartoonist Ananth Shankar at work

Photos above, courtesy Snehadhara Foundation, Deepa Mohan, Ajay Madan.

For more photos, please see these links

SK Srinivas's pics

Deepa Mohan's pics

OP Swaminathan's pics.

For media coverage of the Puttenahalli Kere Habba  

The New Indian Express

Deccan Herald 

TV9

Our guesstimate of the number of people who visited the Habba is about 700. The best laid plans often go awry in its execution but thanks to our volunteers, we had an event that went off smoothly. They were more than 60 and it would make a very long list indeed but our heartfelt thanks to each of them. Sincere thanks also to India Water Portal for partnering Lake Alive with PNLIT. The Kere Habba is an initiative of the Namma Bengaluru Foundation. 

A sneak peek before tomorrow's Puttenahalli Kere Habba

Sincere thanks to our neighbourhood clean-up crew at Puttenahalli Lake, 15th Feb 2015 (Pic: Vishnupriya) 

A glimpse of Snehadhara Foundation's work in progress - getting ready for its role at Puttenahalli Kere Habba.

A few enthusiasts did the bird count at our lake during the Bangalore Bird Count last weekend. Despite the several constraints, natural and man made, we are happy to report that as many as 28 species were spotted at our lake. If you would like to spot these birds and/learn basics of photography, please join the exclusive session for beginners at the Puttenahalli Kere Habba 3:30 to 4:00 p.m. Nature walks also scheduled. No charge. (Red-wattled Lapwing, Pic: Sowmya Basker) 

Children, if allowed, would love to squish in soil! Let them do just this at the Puttenahalli Kere Habba. They will learn the basics of gardening in "Pot a Plant." The seedling they plant will be theirs to keep. To nurture, water and see it grow. No charge. (Pic: taken on 17th July 2010 at the first tree planting day at Puttenahalli Lake). 

Other no-charge events at the Habba include Free Wheel, Fly a Kite, Sail a Boat, Craft Making, Drip Drop - help install an irrigation system, Film Show, Live Music. Some events may be more appropriate for certain age groups. Food will be on sale - yummy varieties of chat, gulab jamuns, kulfis, juice, peanuts and more!   

See cartoonist Ananth Shankar in action, and get a chance to buy a personalised illustration at a special rate.

Make your child a Lake Rakshak. Charge inclusive of photo in an exquisite limited edition "Lake Alive" photo frame specially created for Puttenahalli Lake by cartoonist Ananth Shankar.

Brighten up your home or office with a painting for a cause! AUCTION AT KERE HABBA. Two talented amateur artists from our locality, Shrishti and Shana, have donated a few of their pieces to be auctioned at the Puttenahalli Kere Habba 2015. The amount raised will go towards PNLIT's efforts at maintaining the lake, and other neighbourhood activities. The money will be most welcome since PNLIT is dependent on donations from individual well wishers. NINE art pieces can be yours to keep. Make your best offer on the spot and help the lake.

Puttenahalli Lake map and schedule for the Kere Habba 

Now that you know what you're going to miss, be there! 3 p.m. onwards. More details here.

Lake Alive: Puttenahalli Kere Habba 2015

Please join us at Lake Alive: Puttenahalli Kere Habba 2015 on Saturday 21st February. 

The festivities will start from 3 p.m. and go on till 7 p.m. See the schedule below for the exciting sessions. Entry is free and open to all.  

Kere Habba is an initiative of the Namma Bengaluru Foundation to promote conservation of lakes. Partnering PNLIT in this event is Arghyam's India Water Portal. 

Do share this announcement in your community forums, with family and friends. 

We look forward to sharing the enjoyment of the kere and the habba with you on 21st February. 

Best regards,

Usha

Chairperson, PNLIT

The Planned Schedule

At "The Anchor"

3:00 p.m. to 3:30 p.m.  Craft Making

3:30 p.m. to 4:00 p.m.  Live Music

4:00 p.m. to 4:30 p.m.  Djembe Djembe

4:30 p.m. to 5:00 p.m.  Craft Making

5:00 p.m. to 5:30 p.m.  Djembe Djembe

5:30 p.m. to 6:00 p.m.  Auction of art pieces 

6:00 p.m. to 6:30 p.m.  Craft Making

6:30 p.m. to 7:00 p.m.  Film show

Faunatoon Corner

3:30 p.m. to 6:30 p.m.  Cartoonist Ananth at Work

Foto Fun

3:30 p.m. to 5:30 p.m  

Photos to be collected at 4:30 p.m and 6:30 p.m.

At "Green Thumb"        

3:30 p.m. to 6:00 p.m.  "Pot a Plant" 

Drip Drop

4:00 p.m. to 6:00 p.m.  

Rippling Activities

3:30 p.m. to 4:00 p.m.  Bird watching/ Photography. For earnest amateurs

4:00 p.m. to 4:30 p.m.  Nature Walk

5:00 p.m. to 5:30 p.m.  Nature Walk

6:00 p.m. to 6:30 p.m.  Nature Walk

Run Kid Run 

3:30 p.m. to 6:30 p.m.  Fly a Kite  

3:30 p.m. to 6:30 p.m.  Free Wheel

Toddler Tub     

4:00 p.m. to 6:00 p.m.  Sail a boat    

Calling volunteers for Puttenahalli Kere Habba on Saturday 21st Feb 2015

PNLIT is pleased to announce that we are hosting the Puttenahalli Kere Habba on 21st February 2015. This will be the second such event in the celebrating lakes festival initiative of the One Bengaluru for Lakes and Namma Bengaluru Foundation. The first event held at Kaikondrahalli Lake was an outstanding success. PNLIT is a very small team and our lake is not more than a pond, which, being rain fed, has only a little water. However, it is very much alive and bustling!! 

We are not sure how many visitors will turn up but need to be prepared to educate and entertain them. We have lined up an exciting array of activities for children and adults and need at least 50 volunteers to help us. 

Since several of you volunteers have done such wonderful work at the lake in the past, this message is to invite you to help us make the Puttenahalli Kere Habba 2015 an occasion to remember. The event will be from 2 p.m. to 7 p.m. on Saturday 21st February. 

Along with conducting the specific activity which will be allocated to you according to your interest, you may have to be our spokesmen as well in talking to the visitors about lake restoration. We will hold briefing sessions for all volunteers. 

Looking forward to hearing from you. Please mail puttenahalli.lake@gmail.com.  

Usha

Bird(s) watch update

Visiting the lake today afternoon was delightful with the recent shower cleaning the dust off the leaves and making the trees look so lush. More number and species of birds were seen including the migratory Garganey ducks. A birder had seen some 15 of them in the morning but we saw only nine ... not that we are complaining. :-)

Garganey Ducks, 2nd Jan 2015

The Pied Kingfisher, a recent but regular visitor is almost always seen hovering above the water, diving or perched too far to be photographed. But not today. So obligingly it drove away a couple of white breasted kingfishers and sat on a dead tree we'd planted in the lake bed. 

Pied Kingfisher, 2nd Jan 2015

Several green bee eaters flitted too fast for the camera. Likewise a Grey Heron and a Purple Heron were too far away. All in all, a lovely time indeed! 

Here's wishing that we get to see more and more birds!

Usha

New Year Greetings!

Walkers at Puttenahalli Lake, Dec 2014 (Pic: Arathi Manay)

Wishing everyone a great 2015! Stay active and fit in the new year by joining our regular walkers and runners at Puttenahalli Lake. 

Season's Greetings from PNLIT

As we come to the end of another eventful year, PNLIT wishes you and yours, a very merry Christmas and a fulfilling new year ahead. 

This Christmas, may your "Christmas Tree" bring you gifts of joy, love and hope that will carry you through 2015, just as our date palm does, year after year. 

(Pic: Shubho Banerjee)

To help you organise your year, PNLIT brings to you a compact year planner that can be downloaded here and printed in A4/A3 size.​

Thank you to all our donors, volunteers, staff and supporters. PNLIT looks forward to your continued support in the year ahead.

Take care and happy holidays!​

The PNLIT Team

www.puttenahallilake.in