Pride Month may have ended, but for Bengaluru’s queer community, the conversations, challenges and fight for visibility continue every day. Bengaluru-based drag performer Alex Mathew, popularly known as Maya the Drag Queen, reflects on why the momentum often fades after June, how the city’s queer culture has evolved beyond Pride marches, and why drag performers…

Kannada singer-rapper All Ok believes the way people consume music has changed dramatically — and not necessarily for the better. “Social media and short-video formats have shortened attention spans to an alarming level. Audiences no longer have the patience to sit through complete albums,” says the artiste, who recently released the single Ninna Bitre featuring…

Bhoopendra V with his wife Sujatha Bengaluru: When Bhoopendran V walks into a blood bank on Wednesday, it will not be just another donation. The 59-year-old Bengalurean is set to donate blood for the 300th time, a rare milestone achieved after nearly four decades of quietly responding to the needs of strangers.The journey began in…

The state of footpaths in Dinnur Main Road Bengaluru: Imagine a footpath so unusable that almost everyone chooses to walk beside speeding buses instead.Welcome to Dinnur Main Road, one of RT Nagar’s busiest neighbourhood connectors. TOI found nearly 90% of pedestrians walking on the busy carriageway despite the presence of footpaths. Encroachments, garbage, parked vehicles,…