Saturday, April 16, 2011

Spotfix 14 - Before & After (Spot Quiz 14)

Location - St.Patrick's Church in Residency Rd

This is the daily scene in front of the historic St Patrick's Church. Built in 1844, it is the spiritual centre for the city's Catholic community. Sadly, there is a civic mess at the main entrance - open dumping, raw meat, overflowing sewage, scavenging animals, an overpowering stench and a total sense of disorder and helplessness. ~ TUI


Now a footpath has been created by TUI, there is a sense of neatness and order, and magically civic behaviour has changed. Garbage is now neatly bagged, the footpath is swept, the plants are watered, people walk safely on the footpath and church-goers were in for a pleasant surprise last Sunday. ~ TUI

THERE IS HOPE! :)
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Saturday, April 9, 2011

Spotfix 12 - Before & After (Spot Quiz 12)

Location - Junction of Brigade Road and Magrath Road.

Thousands of people walk here everyday on the way from Brigade Road to to Garuda Mall. It is a urinal, garbage dump and total eyesore.

The spot was fixed by a few Ugly Indians in December, 2010. A temporary job, but it worked for a month. Then the Namma Metro soil testing team dug up the place for 2 weeks, destroyed the garden, and when they left the Spot lapsed back to its original filthy state.The Ugly Indians were back with a more permanent fix. With new tools, materials, skills and determination. A work still  in progress, but there is a distinct improvement. ~ TUI
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Thursday, April 7, 2011

TUI spots - A Non-Ugly Railway Platform!

Location - Bangalore Railway Station

Click here to see more pictures of the Railway platform in Bangalore

This is Platform 1 of Bangalore City Railway Station and well maintained. These photos were taken by TUI on a regular evening before boarding a train.

"It proves that it IS possible to have a clean public space in India, and that should give us hope.
To paraphrase Gandhiji, we need to first see the change we want to be.
Once we believe it is possible and know what it takes to keep a station platform clean, the model can be scaled.. Cynicism starts when you don't believe change is possible (what is the point etc). But when you see that other Ugly Indians have changed, you see the point in changing your behaviour to be like them." ~ TUI

" You need to SEE the change you want to BE. That is why we do Spotfixes - so people can See and believe, and maybe try to Be. " - The Ugly Indian

Monday, April 4, 2011

Spotfix 11 - Before and After (Spot Quiz 11)

Location - Opposite St Patrick's Complex (near Indiana Fast foods), and opposite the War Memorial Park / BMTC Bus Terminus at the end of Brigade Road.


This majestic rain tree opposite St Patrick's Complex (opposite the War Memorial park at the end of Brigade Road, Bangalore) has borne the brunt of its neighbours' poor civic sense for decades. Resigned to being a garbage dump, and braving the occasional fire & smoke from burning, this tree symbolises how our city has changed over the past 30 years

It needed a few Ugly Indians to restore respect and dignity to the tree. Magically, the garbage has stopped coming (those dumping here everyday took the trouble to dump at the official points), and this tree has been smiling now. And the nearby shopowners too, who tend to the new garden where once there were garbage & rats.


This is the only surviving rain tree from a large avenue of trees that lined the entrance to the 19th century St Patrick's Church and the World War I memorial. Surely, it deserves better. Till last week, it was a daily pick-up point on the route of the BBMP Garbage lorry- thankfully, the lorry doesn't need to stop here anymore. ~ TUI

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Wednesday, March 23, 2011

Spotfix 10 - Before and After (Spot Quiz 10)

Location - Opposite the Times of India and Wipro offices, on the narrow lane joining MG Road and Church Street (the lane is Rest House Rd)

This wall has been lying untouched for years. It serves as a urinal and garbage dump and is also used as a parking space by the Times Now broadcast vans and cars for TOI and Wipro. Their drivers sit around all day in the muck.


The design is simple, yet striking.
 This is a quick way to transform an ugly wall/transformer in a matter of hours.

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Tuesday, March 1, 2011

Spotfix 8 - Before & After (Spot Quiz 8)

Location - Intersection of Church St and Brigade Rd

This is the entrance to Church Street, at the intersection with Brigade Road. Probably the most prime commercial space in Bangalore - yet such an Ugly spot.

Notice the new street sign, and the little garden that has sprung up behind the blue telecom box.
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Saturday, February 12, 2011

Spotfix 7 - Before and After ( Spot Quiz 7)

Location - In front of RR on Church Street, and opposite Nando's and Matteo (earlier NASA).

A typical day on a corner of a very important street in Bangalore. The real estate value here is among the highest in the city. Discarded carpets, tube-lights and a couple of dead rats in the background.
Check out more Before Pictures here and here

This involved painting the electricity box, creating a platform, painting the curb, designing and creating a garden, and involving the neighbors who now maintain it. No garbage is thrown here now, the urination has stopped and it has made the place look quite nice.  
The advertising boards keep the poster stickers away, and somewhat block the visibility of the ugly stuff behind.The live wires at hand height used to 'switch on' the streetlights everyday (by connecting them!) are now safely within a switch ~ TUI

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Spotfix 6 - Before and After ( Spot Quiz 6)

 Location -  The gate opposite Amoeba on Church St

This spot is on Church Street, between Shrungar Shopping Centre & Barton Centre and right opposite Ruby Tuesday, Saigon, Amoeba, Three Quarter Chinese, Indian Coffee House, Queens.

The family of 13 rats has moved elsewhere. :)

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Thursday, January 13, 2011

Spotfix 5 - Before and After (Spot Quiz 5)

Location - The Rear wall of Deccan Herald on Church St.

The paanwala has been here for 27 years. he provides the stuff for the paan spitter, who then takes a leak round the corner near the Electricity box which says "Danger High Voltage". The paanwala cannot recall a day when this wall was clean.

The fresh paan stains (and some old ones several years old) attract other forms of defacement. The sign scrawled in red says "INDIA RECOGNISE TAMIL EELAM - AN HINDU COUNTRY". It is a dated political message and has been on this wall for years...
Click here for more Before Pictures.

People don't feel the need to walk on the road with their noses covered. In fact, the pedestrian traffic on this footpath has increased dramatically. The salesman from the icecream parlour opposite (Kiwikiss) stands here and promotes his business.

And when it becomes fit enough to become a Food street, the transformation is complete.

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