Yamuna meets Ganga! Trip to River Wilds (Rishikesh) - February 11-13, 2011

View more of Tarun Balakrishnan's great pictures here!

Issue No. 113 I January 2011

EDITORIAL

Cold, grey and damp days through the first fortnight of 2011 was not the beginning we were looking for at the start of the year. That we broke a forty years record for the coldest day during this period is a mere statistic, but the bone chilling cold did leave us a trifle under the weather. If that wasn’t a dampener, onion and sundry other vegetable prices certainly were. For many it was a dilemma as to what to put on the dining table. I was reminded of a TV serial where the protagonist of the show travels through the most inhospitable terrain on earth eating anything that moves or doesn’t. So crabs, snakes, lizards, spiders are all par for the course. Surely, if a person is adventurous enough, conventional food prices shouldn’t bother and there wouldn’t be famine in the world. Our northerly neighbour is not affected by food inflation as the citizens there have no qualms about eating cats, dogs, snakes and the like.

Lohri on 13^th January is supposed to signal the end of peak winter and so it did. The crowd that gathered were quietly enjoying the soothing warmth of the fire to the sound of crackle and pop of peanuts and popcorn thrown into the flame. Suddenly, as if on cue, the silence was broken by the raucous din of a clutch of women and girls led by Seema, Radhika, Sujata and Lavanya belting out an assortment of Hindi and Punjabi numbers. Individually they are great singers but when they combine with people like me who go off-key they sound like a banshee in distress. Anyway, it makes for great atmosphere with everybody joining in. Those who braved the cold and descended to the badminton court had a jolly good time. It took the last of the dying embers to turn to ash for some of them to finally disperse.

If buying a kilo of onion hasn’t burnt a hole in your pocket, tanking up your car surely would. With prices for essential commodities hitting stratospheric heights, there is more month left at the end of your money. To get over this dilemma, changing your buying source may be an option. It is widely believed that between the wholesale and retail prices of veggies,there is often a mark-up of between 100-1000 %. If anyone with time on their hands could source in bulk and bridge this price arbitrage and supply to Yamuna residents, it could make good economic sense for everybody. Any takers? So, don’t wait until you are onioned or gassed to look for cheaper.

The Heritage Walk on 23^rd January to the 14^th century Tughlak era structures of Bijai Mandal and Begumpuri Masjid was very enlightening. The erudite Dr. Ramji Narayanan was as usual sharing his vast repository of knowledge about Muslim architecture and culture with the assembled lot as we snaked our way past the unkempt and refuse laden precincts of these magnificent structures. ASI need to get their act together and spruce up the place, lest we lose for posterity, these gems of our great heritage. Sumathi has done a piece on the Heritage Walk with photos uploaded on the blog, so that those who were not privileged enough to be part of the experience, know what they missed out on.

The presentation on the 30^th by Bharat Petroleum on piped LPG drew a very sparse crowd-not justifying the clamour for piped gas one hears from residents. Unless, residents attend these fora in large numbers it would be well nigh impossible to answer everyone’s queries on price, safety, benefits etc. By a separate circular I will try to highlight the pros and cons of piped natural gas and piped LPG so that residents may take a view.

SNIPPETS

Mr. Sameer Juneja and his family have moved to Gangotri Apartments from A-004.

Mrs. Seetha Prabhu has moved into B-104 from Mumbai. She works for UNDP. She can be reached on 9810079572.

HERITAGE WALK – BIJAI MANDAL & BEGUMPURI MOSQUE

A hungry cow and two sleeping dogs greeted us heritage walkers as we entered Bijai Mandal, believed to have been once the palace of the late lamented Muhammed Bin Tughlaq. A bright red and shiny Archaeological Survey of India (ASI) board proudly reminded us that Delhi was a City of Cities, but the monument itself lay clothed in garbage, testimony to the modern-day Delhi-ite’s woeful civic sense. We bounded up the first set of steps to reach a platform, when suddenly Prof. Ramji, after his introductory remarks, dashed off towards the edge of the platform, exclaiming, “Sssh, look!” – and there they were – a pair of mongooses, excitedly chasing lunch (snakes? rats?).

I spent some time admiring the squat silhouette of the tomb in the palace complex shining dramatically against the sky, before walking towards the Prof’s next demo stop – he used his flexible fingers to show the engineering functions of an arch and a keystone, and explained how the structural elements came into Indian architecture.

Trooping down to the thousand-columned hall (hazaar suton hall) was a smelly affair (and a reminder of the lack of toilet facilities in New Delhi), but it proved to be an interesting lesson in the politics of architecture. Rising above the perfectly parallel-pillared hall (now in ruins) was the seat of the monarch. Here, we were told, the Tughlaq king would have sat in the vajrasana, crowned by the sunrays behind him, master of all he surveyed, while his vassals always looked up, ever in obeisance, squinting into the sun.

In the distance lay a portal, probably where the court’s clerks marked the attendance of all who worked within. These days, it is home to the dargah of a lesser-known saint. In its foreground, we saw stunted trees – misshapen, Prof. Ramji assured us, due to structures below the surface that prevented the trees’ roots from spreading. That is useful information for the next time you spot a stunted tree on an excursion. Who knows what treasures you might find underneath!

The mandatory walk to the monument’s rooftop was next, through narrow dark winding staircases, lit occasionally by a roshan-daan (a window that gives light). It would have been a nice view of the city, but for the smog that day.
So we proceeded to our next destination, the Begumpuri Masjid, nestled in the middle of the urban village called Begumpur, a 5-minute walk away. The stairs were steep, but intelligently designed – the breadth of every fifth step was wider than of the others, where a tired worshipper could rest before climbing ahead.

Equally neglected as Bijai Mandal, the once all-in-one masjid-madrassa-zenana was once a leading school of learning in the Islamic world, inside which today, several games of cricket were on. Dodging between the fielders, we arrived at the Mecca-facing mihraab, beside which the remnants of a pulpit could be discerned. It didn’t take too long to get transported to the world of a praying congregation, some 650 years ago… But time was brief, and we moved on towards the tricky entrance to the zenana, through which only the hardy and flexible ventured. Secret passages lay within, but cobwebs and other distractions brought us back outside quickly enough.


We soon bade goodbye to the cricketers, card sharpers and the chickens in various corners of the masjid. With immense gratitude to Prof. Ramji, who had, despite his bad back and busy schedule, once again entertained the sparse but enthusiastic crowd from YA. Let’s hope the next time there’s a larger crowd to enjoy his fascinating and learned walk through our history and architecture.

(Sumathi Chandrashekaran H-107)

(View Sumathi's photo essay on the Heritage Walk here.)

The Alphabet of Age

A is for Apple, and B is for boat, 

That used to be right, but now it won't float 

Age before beauty is what we once said, 

but let's be a bit more realistic instead.

Now A's for arthritis; 

B's the bad back, 

C is the chest pains, perhaps car-d-iac? 

D is for dental decay and decline, 

E is for eyesight, can't read that top line! 

F is for fissures, and fluid retention, 

G is for gas which I'd rather not mention. 

H is high blood pressure-I'd rather it low; 

I for incisions with scars you can show. 

J is for joints, out of socket, won't mend, 

K is for knees that crack when they bend. 

L for libido, what happened to sex? 

M is for memory, I forget what comes next 

N is neuralgia, in nerves way down low; 

O is for osteo, the bones that don't grow! 

P for prescription's I have quite a few, just 

give me a pill and I'll be good as new! 

Q is for queasy, is it fatal or flu? 

R for reflux, one meal turns to two. 

S for sleepless nights, counting my fears, 

T for Tinnitus; there's bells in my ears! 

U is for urinary; big troubles with flow; 

V is for vertigo, that's dizzy, you know. 

W is for worry, NOW what's going 'round? 

X is for x-ray, and what might be found, 

Y is another year I'm left here behind, 

Z is for zest that I still have -- in my mind.

I've survived all the symptoms, 

my body's deployed, 

And I've kept twenty-six doctors 

fully employed !!!!!!

Recipe of the Month

Eggless Victorian Pound Cake with Sweet Icing

Ingredients: Flour - 100gms Condensed milk - 150 gms Cashew powder/ Milk powder - 2 tbsp Margarine - 60gms Baking powder - 1 heaped tsp Baking soda - 1/4 tsp Milk - 100 ml Vanilla essence - 1 tsp Walnut flakes for garnishing (optional)

Icing: Butter - 10gms Icing Sugar - 150gms Hot water to mix While the cake is in the oven, mix all the above ingredients for the icing with the hot water, and bring together with a balloon whisk till they form a sludgy consistency.

Method:
1. Beat margarine and condensed milk well with an electric beater.
2. Add flour, baking powder and soda and beat again.
3. Add essence and milk and beat till all incorporated.
4. With a spatula mix the cashew/milk powder in the batter.
5. Grease a 7-inch baking tin with cooking oil/margarine and dust with maida.
6. Pour the batter in the tin, and garnish with walnut flakes.
7. Bake in a pre-heated oven for 25 minutes at 180 deg. C.
8. Once the cake has cooled completely, remove and place on a serving dish or cake stand.
9. Pour icing over the cake, and smooth with a palette knife. 
10. Let cool slightly before serving.

Bon appetit!

(Aarti Aney – A-005)

CALENDAR OF EVENTS – FEBRUARY 2011

DATE	TIME	EVENT	VENUE
6.2.11	4 PM	PAINTING COMPETITION FOR ALL AGE GROUPS	ASSEMBLE IN THE BADMINTON COURT
11.2.11-13.2.11	FROM 10 PM	CAMPING TRIP TO RIVERWILDS, RISHIKESH-INTERESTED PARTIES TO GET IN TOUCH WITH MR. RAMABHADRAN OF E-201 FOR BOOKING AGAINST PAYMENT