Event Report of Family Fun Gardening Day @ Puttenahalli Lake, J.P Nagar, on June 3rd 2023

"Bringing the community together" gardening session happened at the lake today (Saturday, June 3rd). It was a great start to a sunny day in a beautiful place. A snakebird (darter), a purple heron, a grey heron and many small and mid cormorants were out and about. Maybe a large school of tiny fish was the reason for these large birds' diving sorties. Privy to all this was a 3.5 yr old, who enjoyed this and more while raking with his tiny hands!

The young child had come with his parents to the gardening session as he loves to de-weed. In his kindergarten he is incharge of de-weeding so here he was! Unfortunately the soil was hard, so we couldn't de-weed much and turned our attention to raking the fallen leaves in the garden and the lake entrance. For an hour he was immersed in raking with his parents and had to be told to take a break.

With kids like him around, it is heartening to think that our natural resources could have a chance of a safe and flourishing future.

We invite you to bring your children next month. Let them have fun and learn to care for nature.

Pic credits : Ramu ( PNLIT gardener) and Meena ( PNLIT volunteer)

Warmly,

-Sapana

PNLIT Event Coordinator

Musical evening organized by PNLIT and Sargam on March 11th at Puttenahalli Lake, JP Nagar - Event Report

A musical afternoon was held yesterday, on 11 March 2023, at the Puttenahalli Lake organized by SARGAM, a group of singing enthusiasts from South City together with the PNLIT. The program held at the Gazebo was a live singing of mostly film songs to Karaoke tracks on the theme of Water bodies and Birds.

With Bala from South City setting the mood and tone with a flute recital, the vocalists followed, enthralling the discerning and appreciative audience which grew bigger as the evening progressed. The 31 singers presented solos and duets in Hindi, Tamil, Kannada, Malayalam and English. Considering that all were amateurs, there were many young people who sang really well but the seniors were not outdone either. 

As much as the singers were good and kept the audience interested, the ambience made it all even more magical. The atmosphere was friendly and informal and with the beautiful Puttenahalli Lake in the background it was a very enjoyable afternoon. There was a gentle cool breeze blowing across from the West to East right across the lake which made for a very comfortable afternoon indeed. Any apprehension one might have had about sitting out in the open - the mercury is definitely climbing in Bangalore as it would in mid March - was quickly dispelled with the zephyr that very kindly decided to grace the event. SARGAM members and the singers from the neighbouring Brigade Millennium, Adarsh Rhythm and Brigade Palm Spring apartments made the most of the occasion. 

Addressing the gathering, PNLIT chairperson Ms. Usha Rajagopalan spoke about how the lake came to be revived and how it had grown with support from the community and assistance from BBMP. In order to hold public events, PNLIT had had the Gazebo modified slightly to open it up as a stage, she said. She  welcomed the idea of using the premises for such community events and urged the gathering to strengthen PNLIT's efforts with nurturing the lake. 

On the whole the event turned out to be a very pleasant and enjoyable afternoon for the audience and participants alike. Thanks to PNLIT the lake is now a community asset that provides a home for a variety of flora and fauna along with being a lovely clean lung space for morning walkers and a great venue for community events.

By
V.Srinivasan
Mr V.Srinivasan is a resident of South City and also a member of SARGAM.

Here are some beautiful moments of the event captured by our lake photographer Mr. SK Srinivas -  https://photos.app.goo.gl/R5wd8fiK1zyn9nis9

Picture credits - Ramu ,our lake gardener

An unexpected visitor to Puttenahalli Lake, welcome praise!

We are delighted to learn that Mr. Ravish Kumar, the renowned journalist and Magsaysay award winner, had visited our Puttenahalli and Sarakki lakes recently for a story on how Bengaluru is taking care of its lakes. The video went live yesterday and within 24 hours has been viewed by over 3.5 lakh viewers! 

His report is on the plight of water bodies not just in our city but in the country as a whole. He talks of citizen activism in Bengaluru and talks at length of the many challenges that one has to confront in order to save a water body. Indeed! Ask us about these challenges and obstacles! 

While he has not mentioned PNLIT by name, he speaks about how 'chintit' residents in the area have adopted Puttenahalli and are working with the municipality to save and take care of it. Walking around the lake and seeing how it is being maintained seems to have  impressed him enough to invite people coming to the city to visit Puttenahalli (at about 9 min 40 sec) and understand how important lakes are. He goes on to say, "Yeh jheel jo hai aapko sheher mein hone ka maksad deti hai." 

Wow! He may not have taken our name but our 'talaab' did the talking with the fountain playing, birds flying all over, ripples in the water and early morning walkers. 

Once again, our deepest gratitude to all our many well-wishers, government departments especially BBMP (Lakes), CSR partners, knowledge experts and above all you, our donors and volunteers. Together let us make the lake thrive and grow from strength to strength. 

In gratitude,

PNLIT team

Report on Bioblitz at Puttenahalli Lake, Feb 19th, 2023

The morning of 19th Feb was as warm as it has been for the past few days. Bangalore is warming up and everywhere trees are shedding their leaves. It was no different at the Puttenahalli lake where I was with some others, for a bioblitz event. The event coordinator, Sapana briefly talked about the journey of the transformation of the lake - from what it was to what it is today.

Naturalist and PNLIT volunteer Kaustubh Rau led the walk and began by asking us to take a close look at anything that seemed interesting. And indeed there were so many little details that caught the attention of each of one of us be it the colour or the variegations of leaves, the shapes of flowers, the busy and fierce weaver ants, spider web with egg and cocooned prey in it, a leaf with some insect eggs on it, the pattern in which the branches of a tree were arranged, the names of the different trees and how or why they were named so or the different water birds with their distinct calls. All these observations led to further questioning and learning not only pertaining to flora & fauna but connected to other areas of history, geography, and economy.

With PNLIT Trustee Nupur joining us, the commitment and sense of ownership were evident when she and Sapana spoke about certain trees. How many of us will have such stories to share? I wondered. We, the participants, were lucky too to get these few hours to stop thinking of our own lives and observe the world and lives of our co habitants at the lake. I hope to come back and see the changes that happen during the different seasons.

Thank you for this experience.

Archna, J.P Nagar

Pic Credits: SK Srinivas and Aishwarya S

Report of Family Fun Gardening Day at Puttenahalli lake, JP Nagar, Feb 4th @ 9:30am

We had 4 young kids and 4 adults taking part in this month's Family Fun Gardening Day at Puttenahalli lake. The youngsters were excited to see different types of leaves and insects around them, while we adults - who raked, trimmed and added manure to the plants - enjoyed their innocence and remembered our own childhood days!

Here is what one of the participants has to say:

The gardening activity along the banks of the Puttenahalli lake this Saturday (4 February 2023) took me back to my roots for a few hours - to our ancestral home in a remote island in the Sundarbans surrounded by lush green and waterbodies. It brought back memories of those wonderful days of innocence, when I was closer to nature and often overwhelmed by its sheer beauty. I felt like one of those little ones who had joined us -- curious and excited about our surroundings. And I felt very happy from within. I am glad that I took part in the activity.

Thank you to the entire team of PNLIT that is driving this initiative. You are doing an incredible job of improving our environment and making our world a better place to live. I look forward to joining you in future activities. Thanks again.

---Supriyo, a resident of South City

Thank you,

Sapana

PNLIT Event Coordinator

(Pic credits - Ramu, PNLIT Gardener)

February Family Fun Gardening Day at Puttenahalli Lake JP Nagar

"Bringing the community together" gardening session at the lake will happen on 4th Feb 2023 (Saturday).

The first Saturday of every month is open to you to exercise your green thumb; to introduce your children to gardening; to work together with your family; to de-stress; to discover the small pleasures of plants; to be one with nature, and more.  

Make the most of your neighbourhood lake. Join us on Saturday, 4th February between 9.30 a.m. and 11 a.m. for the Family Fun Gardening Saturday.

No registration required. Just come and enjoy nature!

PNLIT Newsletter-Jan 2023

Dear friends, 

Let's begin the New Year with some exciting articles and news from our lake in this issue.
Click here to view the newsletter:

We look forward to your comments, and suggestions. We welcome your technical help too!
Do write to the Editor to <ripplespnlit@gmail.com>
Happy reading!

Mrs. Vijayalakshmi Kutty
Editor, Ripples
PNLIT

Report on the first Family Fun Gardening Day of 2023

We are happy to share with you this report on our first Family Fun Gardening Day for 2023. It has been written by Mihika (14 yrs) who lives in the vicinity of Puttenahalli Puttakere. 

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After a gap of 4 years and more, this Saturday on 7th January 2023, we woke up early in the morning, excited to visit Puttenahalli Lake. In spite of the cold weather my sister, mother, five of my friends and I were gung-ho about spending our weekend sweating it out for a cause. We had attended the Family Fun Gardening Day at Puttenahalli Lake a few years back, before Covid, and we were really excited to go again.

At first I was nervous to meet new people and socialise but when we arrived, Sapana, Divya and Rashmi aunty from PNLIT, made us feel at home and the head gardener Ramu uncle guided us on the proper ways to complete the tasks at hand. Though there were not as many people like the earlier times we were eager to get going, so with a jump and skip we started.

The lake has become more beautiful since the last time we visited! It was now filled to the brim due to good rainfall over the past 4-5 months. We saw so many different birds enjoying the sun. I still remember the lake being dry earlier and this was such a happy contrast! I am not a regular visitor to the lake and I was soaking in the atmosphere but there was work to be done!

We started off with raking the dry leaves to clear the garden a bit, then we cut off the excess leaves growing off the hedges, after that we removed the weeds growing in the garden area. Ramu uncle guided us throughout and showed us how to do each of these tasks. It was hard work but we did take the customary selfie breaks and photo sessions.

After finishing all the tasks we were really tired but we truly enjoyed our time here. We had been so engrossed that we hadn’t looked at the clock! Those 2 + hours of work just didn’t feel like 120 minutes of raking, cleaning and deweeding. All of us had so much fun and didn't want to leave. This was the best start to a weekend!

We will surely attend the upcoming gardening events as it is truly great fun. I will also visit the lake on a regular basis. Thanks a ton to PNLIT for a memorable experience.

Mihika

Looking back at 2022 with gratitude

As we step into the new year, we look back gratefully at the moments that gave us not only so much joy but also the strength to face the challenges that are inevitable when nurturing a public space like an urban lake! 

Glimpses of 2022 (Photos by well-wishers; slideshow by Pranshu and Nupur Jain)

March lifted our spirits with the Flame of the Forest flowering for the first time. We had planted this tree in July 2010 and had watched it grow, its trunk twisted and full of big leaves. We wondered if it would flower at all when we spotted a flower petal lying on the walking track and looked up to see one bunch of reddish orange flowers! It bore only a few more bunches but we are excited to see how it will fare this coming summer!

Again in March, a mother duck waddled out of the shrubs and into the water followed by eight fluffy ducklings! 

At the same time, a Brahminy kite chick learned to fly high on the tree on the island. We watched it hop tentatively from branch to branch, fluttering its wings and growing more confident and stronger by the day. 

On 5th June, together with Indian Music Experience and Karnataka State Legal Services Authority, we celebrated World Environment Day and PNLIT’s 12th anniversary. Samuel John's documentary ‘Puttenahalli Lake Alive On Land Under Water’ had everyone spellbound. We had to pinch ourselves to remember that the lake had been reclaimed from sewage influx only a year ago. The musical tribute to nature by national award winning singer and composer, Bindhumalini Narayanaswamy was mesmerising and swept us all away into another realm.

Our biggest challenge remains protecting the lake from encroachment about which we had sent you a detailed email earlier this month. Suffice it to say that the direction of the Hon'ble High Court to remove the encroachment issued on 15th July is yet to be carried out by the authorities. We hope they will do so at least in the coming months. 

As always, we look forward to your continued support. 

We wish you and your loved ones a great new year. May you too draw happiness and strength from the small pleasures of life and nature.

Best wishes

PNLIT team  

Restarting our Family Fun Gardening Day in the new year

After a gap of almost 3 years, Bringing the community together gardening session at Puttenahalli lake, JP Nagar is back from January 2023!

PNLIT has made the first Saturday of every month open to you to exercise your green thumb; to introduce your children to gardening; to work together with your family; to destress; to discover the small pleasures of plants; to be one with nature, and more. So make the most of your neighbourhood lake.

Join us on Saturday, 7th January between 9.30 a.m. and 11 a.m. for the Family Fun Gardening Saturday.

No registration required. Just come with your water bottle, cap and comfortable shoes to enjoy the outdoors!