Blog pic

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S. Srinivas

05 November, 2013

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.
********************
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

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