Issue No. 147 I November 2013

EDITORIAL

The Diwali celebrations started in earnest on Saturday, 2^nd November and stretched on to 3rd November as a consequence of the seers not settling on a uniform lunar calendar. The South Indian Diwali was celebrated on the morning of 2^nd November and the universal one on 3^rd November. As usual the upholder of tradition, Mr. Mani, announced the arrival of the mother of all Hindu festivals with a burst of crackers at 3.30 in the morning. This dual day Diwali came as a breather to the folks toiling on the ground making rangoli.

This year's illumination competition lacked some of the passion and rivalry of previous years as a consequence of a more benign awards system. With no outright winner to be proclaimed, most people retreated to their homes after doing the rounds of the blocks. There was no anticipation and whoops of delight at the announcement of the winners for the various categories. However, this did not deter the creative abilities of the residents. The blocks vied with each other for a lion's share of the eyeballs. C&D was outstanding and G&H not far behind with great creations. E&F Blocks made Capital of their limited space and came up with few but notable rangolis. While A&B also put in a lot of effort, the end result was a little lacklustre with uninspiring sketches and insipid colours and it showed as they came empty handed in the share of the spoils. The Madhubani creation under the Club house was the cynosure of all eyes and was considered the most outstanding piece by the jury. E&F Blocks took the prizes for creativity and neatness. Their Mohini attam creation and the dancing Nataraja were outstanding. Drawing the dancing Nataraja is very challenging as it is very important to get the scale and proportions right. It is very easy to blunder and this iconic image could look like an octopus! The jury felt that although the colour was muted, they nailed the illustration. The other outstanding sketches were the Jamini Roy painting of C&D, the Joker and the monochromatic yet superb Yin and Yang floor mural of G & H. Both C&D and G & H lost out to E & F for creativity by just one mark. G&H took the prize for illumination as both A&B and C&D were docked 9 points each by the jury for violating the 'no decorative lights code'.

The Sports Day was held on 10^th November under clear skies. What alarmed me most was the depleting rate of both participants and audience over the years. For example, at one time, the under 5 age group for picking the toffees used to boast a strength of at least seven or eight children with their parents in attendance adding to the raucous atmosphere, where the parents and residents' favourites, were being egged on to grab the maximum toffees. This year, the number had dwindled to just two girls. Likewise, in former times the number of ladies and gents participating in their respective events had to be split into two or three heats as we could not accommodate all of them in one race. This year we had to cancel items because there were not enough participants. I wonder if it is a case of ennui or shrinking population in the colony or a combination of both that is responsible for the dwindling participation.

Be that as it may, sibling rivalry started in earnest with the picking of the toffees, where the younger sibling bested the older one with the lion's share. There was healthy participation only in the age range of 7 and 12, amongst girls. The field amongst boys, ladies and gents was very limited. The Savarkars turned in a great performance with all the family members notching up victories. I was gobsmacked by the sheer speed and yardage of Kunal's victory in the 100 metres sprint. His feat was truly amazing. Anjali Garg, Shreeya Srikant, Shreeram Prakasan and Vidya Nair showed their athletic prowess by coming first in multiple events. Women's power was in evidence in the "Tug of War". Stung by the pasting they got in the event last year, the eves mustered their forces and mounted a strong challenge and hauled the men to their side in the first try of the best of three. The men marshalled reinforcements and pulled one back in the next try. The women not to be outdone, dug in their heels in the third try and yanked the men off their perch who fell at their feet, hands folded in supplication. In the girls vs. boys "Tug of War", numerical superiority of the girls was too much for the boys and they succumbed in successive tries.

The wanton digging that is going on in all of Alaknanda to make covered drains has left the area as a bombed out war zone with nary any space for pedestrians and shrinking the already limited room for cars. If that was not enough, the process of digging is not monitored by any supervisor. Recently, in the process of digging with a JCB outside Shivalik Apartments, a massive tree got uprooted and as it fell, it narrowly missed the car of Aruna and Raju. Due to Raju;s presence of mind he could ask Aruna to slam the brakes; as a consequence only a few small branches fell on their car and they escaped from what could have been a very tragic incident. The callous ways of the civic authorities are shameful, to say the least.

The Quiz competition with Sumathi got underway on the 23rd of November, 2013. Unfortunately, the date clashed with the Annual Day celebrations in two schools where many of the colony kids are studying. Consequently, the parents of these children could not participate in the Quiz. We could barely muster enough participants to constitute four teams, namely, "Yamuna Ke Sholay", “Filmi Freaks", "Blockbusters" and "5 Idiots". Sumathi decided to pick a very plebeian subject, “100 Years of Indian Cinema”. Bollywood and cricket are considered the two main religions of India and Sumathi fell prey to cinema’s faux charms. Nevertheless, as is her forte, she came up with a very engaging and craftily made quiz format. The lead changed hands several times but eventually "Yamuna ke Sholay" constituting Seema Chari, Kirti, Savita and Vishnu Prasad took the first prize and "Blockbusters" constituting Aseem, Bhavani, Lata and Vidya came second. Seema has been a winner in all editions of the Quiz thus far, thereby establishing her status as 'Diva of Trivia'.

I happened to go to the bijou residence of Vidya and Sreekumar Madhu which has seen a recent makeover. I am amazed at the versatility of present day women. Vidya has skilfully transformed  her old kitchen door into the dining table top and sideboard flank and used the original pelmets as table legs. Her eclectic taste and funky ideas have made the humble Yamuna abode into a charming and esoteric pad. With amateurs turning out to be such hot designers, the tribe of professional interior designers seem endangered.

We have had very generous contributions from Yamuna residents for the scholarship winners. Mr. N. A. Seshadri (D-103), Sudha Sundaram (A-310), Deepa Rastogi (G-003) and P.K.K. Nair have contributed Rs. 1,000 each for the scholarships to be awarded to the Class XII toppers in the colony and to children who have excelled in sports at the national level. The Society also received gifts from Mr. P. H. Narayanan of C-007 and Poornima Narayanan of B-002 for the winners in other fields.

The Annual Day programme on 30^th November, 2013 turned out to be an unqualified success. When the programme started, it seemed we would see a repeat of last year’s relatively low turnout. But the crowd soon swelled up and we had a full house. Mr. Bhotlu, one of the senior most residents, was at hand to give away the prizes to the winners in academics, sports, quiz, painting competition and illumination competition amongst others. The absence of a Chief Guest really helped matters as we could get on with the programme on time. The invocation song choreographed by Subhada and melodiously sung by her and Seema Chari really set the tone for the items that followed. Sreekumar Madhu exercised his corporate heft with CII to enlist an acoustic professional to set up the sound system. Consequently, the sound quality was outstanding.

The variety entertainment programme started with Guru Vandana, a Bharatanatyam recital by Sahana Savarkar and Saisha. Unfortunately, the music tripped twice thus derailing the girls and driving Netra who had worked so hard training the children, to tears. The item that followed was a solo Odissi performance by Dakshina. Her graceful dance was an eye opener.  "Kolattam" by the ladies was the item that followed. Looking resplendent in their Kanjeevarams and set to a catchy Tamil ditty, the ladies who were trained by the very able Sukanya Sundaresan, were very graceful and executed the steps to perfection. It was refreshing to see the ladies do the dance after several years. The Odissi dance that followed was choreographed by Radhika Samson and performed by the quartet of Sahana Iyer, Aaria, V.Radhika and Bhavna who had delighted us at the Janmashtami festival. This item was however, a departure from the conventional Odissi dance as Radhika brought a contemporary jazz twist to it. It was well appreciated by the audience. It was time to up the tempo and in came the children with the song medley of southern pot pourri. The group of children led by the irrepressible Sahana Savarkar sang with gusto and did not get a note wrong in a language alien to most, if not all. Credit for this exemplary performance goes to Subhada who has trained most of the children in Yamuna in the subtle art of singing both classical and folk.  Poorvaja came on next with a popular film number. The audience joined in. While Poorvaja sang very well her body language displayed a kind of diffidence. Her mother told me that she is a lot more exuberant when she sings at home. Stage fright could throw off a lot of people made of sterner stuff. It was time for some dance and in stepped Aditi Ganapathy and Vedika Arora who changed the tone from the preceding classical and folk song and dance sequences. They did a self choreographed free style dance number which showed their creative skill.

The business end of the evening started with the Tamil play, "Pativrata". The story was conceived, written and directed by Mrs. Pattammal Murthy, popularly known as Pattumami. Even the jewellery and accessories were designed and handmade by Pattumami. Talent seems to oozing out of every pore of her body. The play was about examples of devoted wives from Indian mythology. A woman was supposed to be loyal to her husband physically, mentally and spiritually, traits unfortunately not in evidence in today's world. Competent performances by the entire cast kept the audience amused throughout the duration of the play. Kudos to Pattumami for such a fabulous job.

The Bollywood hit "Lungi Dance" was replicated on the Yamuna stage by the young brigade under Radhika Samson’s guidance. A tribute to Rajnikanth, the kids showed all the famous mannerisms of the demi-god! The scene then changed to the accomplished professional duo of Rangu and Ramanan playing the bass and lead guitars respectively; to make it a trio they gave a moniker to their laptop which was playing the percussion background by calling it McMohan Venkataraman. They played three of their own compositions, a blend of classic rock with influence of Carnatic music. One of the numbers featured Radhika Samson dancing to the tune like a ballerina. There was pedigree in evidence here. We were well past 8 pm by then. In the normal course, half the crowd would have drifted to the food stalls and the rest would have melted into the night. It was not to be on this night. Everyone was waiting with bated breath for the grand finale featuring the Indian take on spaghetti westerns – "Sholay". But they had to wait for a peppy dance number by another group of kids tutored by Netra and Anu.

I might seem the odd man out who hasn't seen “Sholay”. After I witnessed the Seema Chari written and directed version of the iconic film, I cannot imagine that the original could have been any better. The play was engrossing, engaging, entertaining, enthralling and downright witty. Nothing could have bested this effort. All members of the cast got into the skin of their characters. Nanu as the bumbling cop, Abhilash in a triple role as Surma Bhopali, Daku and Bhanjara, Deepak as Viru, Raghav as Gabbar, Rekha as talkative Basanti and Subhada as the mausi were particularly outstanding. While they were flubbing their lines in the rehearsals, when put under the arc lights, they were the consummate professionals, reeling off their dialogues as though they were born mouthing them. The taut script and awesome acting kept the audience glued to their seats. The seductive quintet in the dance number were also raising the temperature among other things. I have reasonable cause to believe that an alternate career awaits Seema and the entire cast at Bollywood.

SNIPPETS

Radhika Samson lit up the stage in IIC on 2nd November, 2013 with a scintillating Odissi performance. Her unhurried and graceful movements and tremendous balance spoke volumes of the dedication and rigour put in her practice sessions. A smiling countenance greeted the audience throughout the dance recital. She is training under Smt. Sujata Mohapatra, a leading soloist and disciple of late Padma Vibhushan Guru Kelucharan Mohapatra. A Nritya Bhushan from Pracheen Kala Kendra, Radhika is also an artiste of the Indian Council of Cultural Relations. She is also proficient at sitar. Her students are lucky to be taught by such an accomplished artiste.

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A-309 has a new tenant in Meshach Arun. He is the Operations Director for India with an NGO called Hope Education. His wife Usha works along with him. He has a son who is in Class XI and a daughter who is in Class VIII. Both the children are studying in Mumbai. Mr. Arun shuttles between Mumbai and Delhi spending equal time in both places. He can be reached on 09004469199.

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Three flats in Yamuna have got sold in this month. The flats that have changed hands are B-006, H-002 and F-003. As a consequence,  Amitava Sanyal and Katherine Rose of B-006 have moved to Chittaranjan Park. Amitava and Katherine's presence will be missed.

CALENDAR OF EVENTS - DECEMBER 2013

DATE	EVENT	TIME	VENUE
24.12.2013	CHRISTMAS CARNIVAL	6.30 PM	BADMINTON COURT
31.12.2013	MID-NIGHT CAKE CUTTING TO USHER IN 2014	MIDNIGHT	COMMUNITY HALL

Issue No. 146 I October 2013

 Editorial

For the first time in living memory monsoon extended well into October. While monsoon is always welcome in Delhi as it settles the dust blanket and makes the leaves and the air fresh, lack of adequate drainage leaves the city crippled. Flooded streets, overflowing drains, traffic snarls throw normal life into disarray. On top of this, the humungous increase in traffic as a consequence of Durga Puja in neighbouring CR Park makes travelling even a kilometre on the road seem like an expedition to the moon. Missed flights and appointments are the norm. A would be out-of-town visitor to our house after being stuck in traffic between Savithri and Alaknanda for more than an hour, thought prudence is better part of sanity, turned around and headed back to the Hotel. In former times Durga Puja was a purely Bengali affair, however now everybody in town wishes to soak in the Puja atmosphere. CR Park being the hub of Bengali diaspora, everybody gravitates to the pandals in this mini Bengal, thus adding to our woes. To be witness to such chaos in the National Capital among other things makes us rue living in this country. It is a well known fact that Delhi's infrastructure is much better than in other Indian cities. Woe betide the fate of those living in Bangalore, Mumbai and Calcutta.

I always look forward to Navaratri with great anticipation. The sight of women and girls going from house to house wearing the finest threads and accoutrements that money could buy, is like poetry in motion. The Kancheevaram sari has a sensual appeal that no other garment in the world can match and the wearer just enhances it.

As is customary, the dandia dance has become a staple of the Yamuna cultural scene during the Navaratri period. This time it was on 12th October,13. Heavy rains the previous day had made the atmosphere very sultry. However, this didn't prevent the girls and the women from displaying their nifty dance moves. Having been brought up on a diet of Bollywood, they have internalised the dance moves. In order to get more people to dance Dr. Abhilash Pillai, the inveterate sponsor, offered to give prizes to the best adult male/ female and girl dancer. Boys were not in contention as they believe dancing is not their calling. It was so difficult to pick a winner from the women and girl dancers as Meera Varma, Anu Nair, Sudha Eswaran, Rekha Raghav, Seema, Sujata, Aditi Rastogi, Medha, Nandita Netra, Manisha, Aparna, Kiana, Vedika, Shreeja, Sahana amongst others were just outstanding. The mantle of best dancer was claimed by Netra as her energy and the multiple dance styles she displayed were simply superb. Manisha of A-001 claimed the girls title. The tiny tot Aadhya of B-104 who is barely two years old danced with such natural rhythm that she could not be ignored and a special prize was awarded to her. The best dancer amongst men was undoubtedly Abhilash, however since he himself was the sponsor a tie was called between the other two strong contenders, namely Deepak Varma and Sreekumar Madhu, thus the prize will be shared by the duo.

There was plenty on offer from the food stalls and surely enough they did brisk business as whatever was on offer whetted one's appetite. Puri masala, masala dosa, egg rolls, vegetable rolls, pav bhaji, bhel puri and cup cakes and sundry cold drinks meant that it catered to everybody's taste buds. A strange brew was doing the rounds that skirted the bounds of legality and kept the partakers in high spirits.

Rain in the evening on Dussera threatened to derail Ram Lila proceedings. At one time it seemed like the tail end of the cyclonic storm Phailin, was making its way here. Fortunately for us there was a timely let up in the rain and Ram Lila got underway about forty-five minutes behind schedule. The wait was well worth it as Riya's parody on Ram Lila had an amusing twist to it. The war of attrition being fought not on the battlefield but on the cricket pitch. Purists may find the idea blasphemous but anybody with a sense of humour would marvel at Riya's creative genius to blend ancient with the modern. Riya continues to amaze us with her multifaceted talent.  The musical interludes were so imaginatively selected that it fitted the scenes perfectly. The cast consisting of Shreeya, Aryan, Shreeja, Aparna Varma, Samarth, Tanvi, Sahana Savarkar, Samiksha, Aditi, Mani, Vedika, Radhika, Shashvath, Anushka and Dhanya   acquitted themselves well. The grand finale which called for the consigning of the demon King Ravana's effigy to flames was eagerly anticipated.  Since, last year the giant effigy of Ravana had singed some of the trees, it was decided to truncate the size and compensate the size of Ravana by giving him company of his brothers Kumbakaran and Meghnath. The effigies were packed with explosives and when Ram's shot was fired they went down like cannon fodder. The spectacle was exhilarating. Mr. Ramabadhran has once again shown largesse by donating the effigies.

"Where is the gas in the IGL pipeline? A shattered dream for Mandakini residents", screamed the  headlines in the October 13 issue of community newsletter, "Samvada". The article goes on to say that mounds of earth and rubble, shoddy and incomplete work marks the status of work despite repeated reminders to IGL. The chimera of piped gas has been shown to us for several years at first by GAIL and now IGL. Work in Yamuna was to start last year and after several deferments we got a written communication from the councillor that work would start in October, 13. This deadline has also passed. Just as well. Knowing the dilemma faced by colonies in Alaknanda where digging work had commenced and left in a state resembling a war zone, we are fortunate that work has not commenced. We need to debate whether we should at all go for piped gas considering that we may have to spend several lacs to create the infrastructure to route the piped gas and end up doing the road which would set us back with another humungous cost. Four feet deep trenches all over the colony would mean we may have to repave the other areas as well. It is a cause for concern, not to mention the trauma of parking our cars outside while the work is going on. With IGL's commitment to time being as fickle as the weather, dealing with an unliveable habitat for over a year is a scary prospect. As on date IGL has not got permission from the authorities to lay the trunk pipeline across the road from Tughlakabad to Alaknanda and from Nilgiri to Yamuna to feed the gas. Besides, linkage of gas prices to the Japan index would mean that we would be dealing with international volatility on currencies and prices for our gas. Is piped gas going to be the blessing we are led to believe? Lot of doubts persist.

Onion prices have reached stratospheric heights. I recall my father saying that when he started his career, his monthly salary was a princely Rs. 100, an amount that would barely get you a kilo of onions today. The irony is onion brings tears to those who can afford it as well as those who cannot. Pun intended.

The Diwali illumination competition rules had to be tweaked to allow for a more accommodating system where no Block seems short changed. Since the blocks work so hard in putting up a great show and sincerely believe that they have done enough to bag the price, they feel let down when the winning block turns out to be another. With grief writ large on their faces some blocks were talking of boycotting the competition this year. Since the primary objective of the illumination competition is to foster greater community interaction, it was essential to keep this fine tradition alive. As a consequence of the same, block representatives met to chalk out a more benign reward system whereby there could be separate winners for each of the four criteria shortlisted. Unless by a strange and improbable quirk of fate, a set of blocks bags all the four criteria prizes, we should see a more equitable sharing of laurels.

The revised criteria is being put up on the notice board, based on which the judges would be evaluating the blocks. May the best blocks win. Should your block not win any prize, be magnanimous and congratulate the winners, after all the fun is in the participation and making new friends and acquaintances.

Since Diwali mela was not planned this year, disappointment was palpable amongst the children in particular. I was collared on a regular basis by children when I used to go for walks, pleading for holding the mela. Moved by their plight a compromise was arrived at for holding a food mela combined with tambola and jam session. Mrs. Abraham and Sudha Sundaram helped out with the tambola. Attendance was thin, although those present made the most of it by participating in tambola, dance and partaking in the eats. However, it turned out to be a poor substitute for Diwali Mela. Deepak  got his mojo going and was seen flexing his muscles and showed real machismo in his dance. The women were not to be outdone. Meera Varma, Anu, Sudha Eswaran, Sujata, Rekha amongst others were at their seductive best and showed a lot of oomph as they suggestively swayed their hips. A throwback of Bollywood kitsch. Deepak and Meera then invited everyone to their newly done abode for a night cap. As you entered the cavernous precincts, one realised that the humble Yamuna home had been transformed into a luxury penthouse with cove lights and trellis work in the drawing room, mood lights in the bedroom, library and lounge, a modular kitchen that would make a Master chef proud. Bathrooms with Spanish tiles and high-end chrome faucets. Deepak and Meera have set the yardstick against which other flats will now get bench marked.

The Meter rooms left open have become a refuge for cats. Recently, a cat was seen nursing a brood of six kittens in one of the meter rooms. Residents are advised to keep the meter rooms shut at all times to ward off a feline invasion.

Diwali is round the corner. Already one is witnessing high levels of pollution caused by increased traffic and bursting of crackers. Cooler weather tends to keep the pollutants at lower levels leading to increased smog. Let us not compound the problem by bursting crackers. Health risks of asthma, lung disease and cancer are principally caused by high levels of pollution.

November is going to be a busy month for Sports and Cultural activity with Diwali illumination competition, badminton & TT tournaments, Quiz competition and the marquee event, Annual Day dotting the calendar. Participents are requested to give their names for all the listed activities to  Raju Krishnan for the tournaments, Sumathi Chandrashekaran for quiz and Gita Rastogi or me for Annual Day variety entertainment programme.

SNIPPETS

Tanvi Savarkar is a chess prodigy in the making. She recently clinched the first prize in the North Zone under 14 Chess Championship, to add to her considerable trove of trophies. A chess prodigy has to be master of spatial and numerical acuity. A person who reaches the pinnacle is considered a genius. Tanvi. you have the colony's blessings and wishes to conquer the world. Go for it.

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Kashish Nathani has sworn her allegiance to the ancient sport of archery. She and her teammates lifted the under 14 National crown in Archery. Don't mess with this girl-it won't be a Cupid's arrow, it could be something more sinister! Great show-Kashish.

JOKE OF THE MONTH

An old purohit in small-town India had a teenage son. It was getting high time the boy gave some thought to choosing a profession. Like many young men his age, the boy didn't really know what he wanted to do, and he didn't seem too concerned about it.

One day, while the boy was away at school, the purohit decided to try an experiment. He went into the boy's room and placed on his study table four objects: 

1. A copy of the Ramayana,
2. A silver coin,
3. A bottle of whisky,
4. A copy of Playboy magazine .

"I will hide behind the door," the old purohit said to himself, "And when he comes home from school, I will see which object he picks up. If it's the Ramayana, he's going to be a purohit like me, and what a blessing that would be. If he picks up the coin, he's going to be a businessman, and that would be okay too. But if he picks up the bottle, he's going to be a no-good drunken bum, and Lord Shiva, what a shame that would be. And worst of all, if he picks up that magazine, he's going to be a skirt-chasing womanizer."

The old man waited anxiously and soon heard his son's footsteps as he entered the house whistling and headed for his room. The boy tossed his books on the bed, and as he turned to leave the room, he spotted the objects on the table. He walked over to inspect them, looking at each for several minutes. Finally, he picked up the Ramayana and placed it under his arm. He picked up the silver coin and dropped it into his pocket. He uncorked the bottle and took a big drink while admiring the month's centrefold.

"Lord Shiva, have mercy!" the old purohit cried out. "He's going to be Asaram Bapu!"  

CALENDAR OF EVENTS FOR NOVEMBER  2013

DATE	EVENT	TIME	VENUE
3.11.2013	DIWALI ILLUMINATION COMPETITION	6.30 PM	BETWEEN THE BLOCKS
10.11.2013	SPORTS DAY	9.30 AM	MAIN LAWN
23.11.2013	QUIZ COMPETITION WITH SUMATHI	6.30 PM	BADMINTON COURT
30.11.2013	ANNUAL DAY PROGRAMME	4.30 PM	MAIN LAWN

Issue No. 145 I September 2013

EDITORIAL

It was a sweltering evening, quite unusual for the middle of September when the Onam sadya preparations got underway on 14th September. To embellish the entrance to the Community Hall, Seema Chari, Meera Varma, Vidya Nair, Anuradha Nair, Tanvi, Sahana Savarkar, Anoushka, Anirudh Suresan, Samiksha, Adwita, Kiana and Aaria made a very eye catching traditional pookolam flanked by two urlis with floating candles.

The residents and their guests turned up in traditional attire to partake in the feast from 7.30 pm. The bevy of Yamuna beauties in off-white traditional Onam saris comprising Seema Chari, Vidya Nair, Meera Varma, Anuradha Nair, Meghna, Asha, Sudha Easwaran, Sujata, Jayashree, Deepa Nair, Rekha, Dakshina, Manisha, Dhvani, Dr. Shwethaa, Shyni Prakasan, Abhirami, Poornima amongst others upped the heat quotient, making an already sweltering evening blistering hot.

The men not be overshadowed, cranked up their mundu to half mast to bare their legs. However, Kunal, Madhu, Srikumar and Deepak came up short in the battle of the sexes. The shutterbugs led by Sudha had a field day snapping up pictures of the vain men, to boost their dented ego. Now the stage will shift to the Sports Day "tug of war", when the men will hope to overturn the gender advantage of women with their pretty looks.

The Onam sadya was finger licking good even though it may have veered a tad from authentic Onam fare. Be that as it may, it made for a very enjoyable evening with residents congregating outside the Community Hall and indulging in idle chatter.

The candidate representing Aam Aadmi Party for the Delhi assembly elections visited the Society on 14thSeptember,2013 to talk about the Aam Aadmi Party manifesto. The nominee, Mr. Bhardwaj, is a young man and is professionally qualified. He came across as a refreshing change from the dyed in the wool traditional politicians.  There was a certain earnestness in what he said which was in stark contrast to the loud proclamations of the veteran politicians of the mainstream political parties. It would be a travesty of justice if the new brand of politicians are not given a chance to prove their worth. Since the party is coming on a platform of clean governance, it would be suicidal for their own future to veer away from their professed path. If they were to really de-corrupt the system as per their proclamations, it would genuinely make a big and positive impact on the Indian polity.

The decision to do away with the Diwali Mela this year has not gone down well with the residents. I get beseeched by children and some adults when I go on walks, to conduct the Mela. The irony is that when the Mela is planned, there is a lukewarm response from the residents to participate and make the Mela a success. Most of the residents are of the belief that Mela preparation is only a one day activity and show up in the evening decked up to enjoy themselves. Little do they know that it requires nearly a month's preparation for the show to be a success. Income from stalls, after considering the input costs and sharing of income with the stall holders, leaves barely enough to pay the tentwalla. In order to make a surplus, a lot of effort has to go into arranging sponsors. If residents can put their might in this exercise instead of depending on only one person to do it, holding of the Mela becomes feasible. Then again, we need residents to agree to man the stalls. In recent years children have expressed their wish to enjoy themselves and not stand in stalls. If that is the attitude, who will man the stalls and how could we hold a mela?

Junk food rules our heart. Have we not savoured the home grown veggie burger, the delicious  patty dripping in reused oil nestling inside a bun of indeterminate origin? It brought back  memories of my college canteen days as I snacked at my daughter's college, when I went for her admission. The Mc.Donalds of the day with their meaty avatar, sundry pizza joints and Haldirams and Bikanerwalas are all working overtime to pander to our taste buds and make us fat, unhealthy and ugly. Even our humble dosa is not above reproach. What might appear as a simple pancake made out of rice and lentil batter fried in a skillet with masala laden mashed potatoes as a filling, is packed with carbohydrate with high glycemic index and triglycerides. A walk along the perimeter of the colony, which I do religiously, throws up a treasure trove of discarded chips, chocolates and sundry savoury packets, the contents of which are guaranteed to give our youth all the lifestyle ailments during their advancing years. Gluttonously distended bellies of many Indians are the cumulative consequence of dietary wantonness. We need to balance our life style, whereby the craving for junk food does not jeopardise our long term well being.

Yamuna has its share of wild life with exotic birds like the great hornbill, blue jays, parakeets rubbing shoulders with common crows, mynahs, pigeons, feral cats, monkeys and mangy curs who occasionally stray into the colony (tell tale evidence is unfortunately left on the road). We also have some equally wild specimens of the human kind. Our teenagers also show their wild streak until they sober down in their post teen years. Yamuna has the ambience of a countryside retreat in the midst of a chaotic metropolis. This is one of the facets that make it  a joy to call Yamuna one's home.

Mr. Thangathurai of B-302 has pledged to donate Rs. 20,000 towards development of the tiny tot park adjoining the Society office into a garden for medicinal and ornamental plants. The calm and salubrious environment of a verdant and therapeutic garden could serve as a retreat for residents wishing to have a quiet area to meditate. As a consequence, the facilities for swings, slides, see-saws, jungle gym and sundry other play equipment for tiny tots would be moved to the main lawn to the right of the entrance. They will be dovetailed to the proposed machaan designed by Meghana Dubashi and Kumar Chiplunkar. Thomas Abraham has been assigned the task of coming up with a plan. Mr. Thangathurai's philanthropic acts do not seem to end. We wish to thank him for this largesse.

The AGM conducted on 22nd September, which started on a stormy note, soon settled down and all the resolutions were passed unanimously. I would like to thank the Managing Committee members, particularly the office bearers for the excellent work done during the year. Many seemingly insurmountable issues got sorted out. Outside the committee, Mr. P. Krishnamurthy, Mr. A. E. P. Suresan, Mr. Umapathi and Mr. Thomas Abraham amongst others gave their valuable time and support for the affairs of the Society. Any efforts of the Managing Committee will not give the desired results without the co-operation of the residents. When one looks at the problems confronted by the neighbouring societies, I must confess that our residents have been magnificent. This is what makes Yamuna a special place to live in.

We are approaching the active part of our festival season. A plethora of activities have been planned over the next three months. The Janmashtami programme was a resounding success. Residents have gotten used to a high standard of performance from our residents. Practice for the Ramlila and Annual Day would start earnestly in a few days. Residents who are new to the colony and have interest in dance, music, theatre or any other art form should participate and bring in their own brand of entertainment to enrich the cultural milieu of the colony.

SNIPPETS

When it comes to comes to mind games Mr. K. Krishnamoorthy of C-103 has no peers in India. At 60 years, he became the oldest player in India to win a FIDE rated Chess tournament beating the previous record by 13 years. He secured an incredible 8.5 points out of a possible 10 in the First All India FIDE rated tournament held in Wayanad, Kerala.

Kudos to Mr. Krishnamoorthy for this awesome achievement. I hope he imparts his knowledge of chess moves to the children in Yamuna.

HEALTH CAPSULE

THE TRUTH ABOUT WHITE BREAD, MAY APPLY TO WHITE RICE AS WELL

Many people around the world enjoy eating white bread. Here are some facts that may shock and surprise you. It's not only that white bread isn't good for your health, it can actually be a real danger ! The Swiss government has been aware of the dangers of eating white bread for decades and in order to get its populace to stop eating it, Switzerland has placed a tax on the purchase of white bread.

Why is the color of white bread so white when the flour taken from wheat is not? 

It’s because the flour used to make white bread is chemically bleached, just like you bleach your clothes. When you are eating white bread, you are also eating residual chemical bleach . Flour mills use different chemical bleaches, all of which are pretty bad.

Here are a few of them: Oxide of nitrogen, chlorine, chloride, nitrosyl and benzoyl peroxide mixed with various chemical salts. One bleaching agent, combines with whatever proteins that are still left in the flour and produces alloxan. Alloxon is a poison and has been used to induce diabetes in laboratory animals. This bleaching agent destroys the vital wheat germ leaving only poor quality proteins and fattening starch. But that is not the whole story as to the loss of nutrients.

Here are some statistics about the huge loss of nutrients when white bread is made:

·     About 50% of all calcium is lost

·     70% of phosphorus

·     80% of iron

·     98% of magnesium

·     75% of manganese

·     50% of potassium and

·     65% of of copper.

·     80% of thiamin, 60% of riboflavin, 75% of niacin, 50% of pantothenic acid.

·     About 50% of Pyridoxine

Whole wheat, rye and grain breads made with whole wheat flour are a better way.

-Contributed by Mahesh Eswaran A-304

MIRTH CORNER

Santa and Banta were playing chess...
 (joke doesn't end here).
 
 Santa: Chal yaar bas karte hain, sir pak raha hai.
 
 Banta: Haan yaar, waise bhi tera sirf haathi bacha hai aur mera sirf ghoda.
 
 The joke doesn't end here either...
 
 Phir wahan Viswanathan Anand aata hai.
 
 Vishy: Chalo Santa-Banta, chess khelte hain.
 
 Santa-Banta: Nahi, aap to hume aasani se hara doge.
 
 Vishy: Chalo yaar. Tum dono aur me akela.
 
 Santa-Banta: Phir bhi hum haar jayenge.
 
 Vishy: Okay, mai left hand se khelunga.
 
 Santa-Banta: Haan. Phir thik hai.
 
 The joke still doesn't end...
 
 Dono obviously haar jate hai aur Vishy chala jata hai.
 
 Santa: Badi sharmanaak baat hai, yaar. Left hand se bhi hara diya usne.
 
 Banta: Abe bewkoof bana gaya woh hume.
 
 Santa: Kaise?
 
 Banta: Saala lefty hi hoga!!!!!!!!!!! 

__._,_.___

CALENDAR OF EVENTS FOR OCTOBER 2013

DATE	EVENT	TIME	VENUE
12.10.2013	DANDIA, MUSIC AND FOOD STALLS	7.00 PM	BADMINTON COURT
	PLEASE COME IN TRADITIONAL ATTIRE & BRING
	DANDIA STICKS
13.10.2013	RAMLILA AND BURNING THE EFFIGY OF RAVANA	5.00 PM	MAIN LAWN
19.10.2013	SCREENING OF MOVIE & POT LUCK DINNER	6.30 PM	BADMINTON COURT