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S. Srinivas

02 August, 2014

Issue No. 155 I July 2014

EDITORIAL

There are only three classes of people who are privileged to have summer recess. They are students, teachers and lawyers. The long summer break gets them into such a lethargic mode that when the break gets over it becomes quite an effort to get back into the routine. It's like going from zero to hundred in nanoseconds. Rest of the office going public have to make do with short breaks whenever their bosses are in a good mood and condescend to give them leave. The only people who do not get any vacation at all are housewives. They are on duty 24 x 7. The situation is still worse for ladies who have daytime jobs and return home to attend to household chores. They are the unsung heroines of our times. Most people pay scant respect to the job they do. They are the CEOs of the house and keep everything going like clockwork. Let's say a big hurray to them!

The Union Budget announced by the Finance Minister Arun Jaitley had the stamp of Narendra Modi all over it. This budget will be a game changer. After decades of plodding along making cosmetic changes to the Budget, we have a Prime Minister who is willing to catch the bull by the horns and steer it northwards. Although shorn of the promised big bang reforms, the budget had enough directional policy initiatives that could spur growth to a canter from the slothful crawl during the UPA years. Introduction of GST could overnight increase our GDP by two percent. For GST to be passed anytime soon there will have to be a lot of give and take. Since much power is devolved to the states, the fissiparous nature of its polity means that deals will constantly have to be made with regional and caste based parties. Whether BJP has the stomach to do it, only time will tell.

A sea change is taking place in the sport that children tend to follow these days. Cricket, the long reigning sporting pastime that grabbed eyeballs on prime time TV is fast getting replaced by football in metropolitan cities. You see more children wearing a Messi, Ronaldo or a Rooney T shirt rather than that of any Indian cricketing hero. The popularity of cricket has shifted to moffusil towns and the rural hinterland. While India has not produced any footballer of note who could rub shoulders with the aforementioned greats of the game, the following of football amongst teens could spawn a generation of footballers in the next decade who could be worthy of competing as equals in Asia, if not the world. Brazil, for long considered the favourite to lift the World Cup – which at one time was called the Jules Rimmet trophy – made an ignominious exit after a humiliating defeat at the hands of Germany. Even the most ardent German fan could not have predicted a 7-1 win. They were only a shadow of the great team without the services of star forward, Neymar and their captain Silva.  

In a show of strength on Saturday 12th July, 2014, Kunal Savarkar, Vidya Nair and Anoushka Nair went about earnestly to rid the colony of plastic sachets, broken bottles and other sundry refuse that was littered in flower beds and other nooks and crannies which do not normally fall in the cleaning beat of the Yamuna staff. It is a shame that more residents did not feel compelled to join in this noble effort. Unfortunately, it was a working day for me. Nevertheless, I had this overbearing pang of guilt as I found the three of them toiling in the torrid weather with sweat trickling down their brows, picking up odds and ends and stuffing them into large disposal bags. Kudos to the three of them. They make us proud. I have never seen so few people turn up for an eco and cleanliness drive before. I am reminded of the Bob Dylan song, "The times they are a-changin’", an anthem to less responsible and more wanton times.

The predilection of court hearings getting adjourned ad nauseum is a bane plaguing the country which, unfortunately, we are being forced to endure. The case relating to the regularisation of flats of 26 societies, which was to serve as a benchmark to regularise our flats, has yet again been adjourned to 9th September, 2014.

We are heading to hear another sermon from the ramparts of Red Fort on Independence Day where our Prime Minister is probably going to say why we are not where we should be and what we need to do to establish our rightful place in the community of nations. For much of its existence, India has resembled a prisoner in chains dragging itself on its hands and knees rather than forging ahead with a confident stride. Thus far, the sound bytes coming from  Mr. Narendra Modi have been very motivating and thought provoking. It will take some doing for this message to be commandeered by the masses. We will be hoisting the flag in the Badminton Court to the strains of patriotic songs and hope the tide of things would change for the better. Please assemble in large numbers and raise a toast to a new India.

We are entering that time of the year when the calendar is choc-a-bloc with social and cultural events. We would request all those interested in participating in these events as performers or choreographers to contact me so that I can put you in touch with the right people. Please see the calendar of events appearing at the tail end of this chronicle for guidance.


SNIPPETS

Kumar and Meghana Chiplunkar of E-003 had endeared themselves to Yamuna residents in a way nobody else had done in such a short stay in the colony. Their charming demeanour, their tastefully done abode and their abiding faith in the teachings of the Buddha are all worthy of emulating. They could claim credit for making several residents adherents to the teachings of the Buddha. Many a disturbed soul found peace after being initiated into Buddhist chanting. It was therefore sad to see them leave Yamuna. They moved to Gurgaon on 4th July, 2014 to be close to their place of work and Meghana's parents. We will miss them.

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Mr. Ajoy Chaudhary has moved into his home in E-001. Mr. Chaudhary was the designer of the complex we stay in, which despite being more than thirty five years old has contemporary looks. This iconic structure has got rave reviews even in overseas publications and features amongst the top ten contemporary buildings on the BBC website. We are indeed privileged that Mr. Chaudhary has come to live with us. After moving to Yamuna he has got his staff to work on digitising the drawings of Yamuna so that they don't get dog eared as a consequence of wear and aging. 
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Mr. V. Sureshkumar has moved into A-301 from E-304 with his wife Supriya and son Siddhant. This is his second move within the colony. His continued preference for a third floor flat is a little baffling, though. E block's loss is A Block's gain.

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Mr. K. N. Venkatesh and his wife Rajam of B-204 have moved to Mumbai to live with their son Sridhar Venkatesh, who was working in GlaxoSmithKline Pharmaceuticals Ltd, Singapore and has been transferred to Mumbai as Vice President, Operations.

 In a missive to the Editor they expressed their inability to bid goodbye to everyone and hoped that through the Chronicle their sentiments would be conveyed.  They also expressed their gratitude to all the Committee Members (past and present), office staff and workers who had helped ease their stay in Yamuna. They have plans to visit Yamuna periodically and nurse a desire to catch up with everybody. They convey their best wishes to everyone in Yamuna.

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Girija and R.R. Mohan of D-001 have reasons to be happy. Their son Kaushik is getting married to Sheetal, daughter of Parvathi and Ramdas Iyer on Sunday, 31st August, 2014 in Bangalore. With that, another bachelor's free-wheeling days come to an end. We wish both of them a fulfilling life together.


MIRTH CORNER

A senior citizen was driving his brand new Porsche at 100 kmph, when, looking in his rear view mirror , he saw a police car behind him. He floored it to 140 , then 150 ...then 170 ...
Suddenly, he thought,  “I'm too old for this nonsense ! '' So he pulled over to the side of the road and waited for the police car to catch up with him .
The officer walked up to him , looked at his watch and said , ''Sir , my shift ends in ten minutes , Today is Friday and I'm taking off for the weekend , If you can give me a reason for your speeding that I've never heard before, I'll let you go.''

The man looked very seriously at the police man, and replied ,''Years ago , my wife ran off with a policeman. I thought you were bringing her back.''

The cop left, saying ''Have a good day, sir."



HEALTH PERILS TO PONDER OVER

01 - Cellphones - Our mobile devices can have 10 times more bacteria than toilet seats…and they’re always touching our faces. Would you wipe the inside of your toilet bowl with your cheek? 

02 - TV Remote Control - In many households this is one of the dirtiest items you can handle. 

03 - Reusable Shopping Bags - Your reusable shopping bags have more fecal matter than your underwear, because you at least wash that. 

04 - Ice - A study of fast food restaurants in the US found that 70% of the ice served had more bacteria than the toilet water. 

05 - Restroom floors - No real surprise here. Public restrooms have about 2 million bacteria per square inch. The average toilet seat has only 50 per square inch. 

06 - Keyboards - Keyboards can have up to 200 times more bacteria than a toilet seat. 

07 - Office Desks - The average desk has 400 times more bacteria than a toilet. 

08 - Restaurant Menus - There are on average 100 times more bacteria on restaurant menus than on restroom toilet seats. 

09 - Light switch - These can have up to 217 bacteria per square inch. 

10 - Door knobs - Hands are one of the dirtiest parts of the body, and most people use them to open their doors.






CALENDAR OF EVENTS AUGUST-DECEMBER 2014

DATE
TIME
EVENT
VENUE
15.8.14
9.00 AM
INDEPENDENCE DAY FLAG HOISTING,
BADMINTON COURT


SINGING OF PATRIOTIC SONGS, DISTRIBUTION OF SWEETS




18.8.14
6.30 PM
JANMAShTAMI VARIETY ENTERTAINMENT PROGRAMME
BADMINTON COURT


AND BREAKING OF DAHI HANDI




8.9.14
7.30 PM
POOKOLAM AND ONAM FEAST
COMMUNITY HALL



2.10.14
6.30 PM
DANDIA, MUSIC AND FOOD EVENING
BADMINTON COURT



3.10.14
5.00 PM
RAMLILA AND BURNING OF EFFIGY OF RAVAN
MAIN LAWN



18.10.14
6.00 PM
DIWALI MELA/JUMBLE SALE/JAM SESSION/RIDES/FOOD
BOTH BADMINTON


FORTUNE TELLING/GAMES AND LOTS MORE
COURTS



23.10.14
6.30 PM
DIWALI ILLUMINATION COMPETITION
BETWEEN THE BLOCKS



9.11.14
9.00 AM
SPORTS DAY
MAIN LAWN



15.11.14
6.30 PM
QUIZ COMPETITION WITH SUMATHI
BADMINTON COURT



22.11.14
4.30 PM
ANNUAL DAY-REFRESHMENTS, PRIZE DISTRIBUTION,
MAIN LAWN


VARIETY ENTERTAINMENT AND DINNER




6.12.14
6.30 PM
MOVIE SCREENING AND POT LUCK DINNER
BADMINTON COURT



21.12.14
10.30 AM
HERITAGE WALK
FROM A BLOCK GATE



24.12.14
6.00 PM
CHRISTMAS CARNIVAL/CAROL SINGING/WINTER RAMP WALK
BADMINTON COURT


MUSIC/DANCE/FOOD STALLS




31.12.14
MIDNIGHT
CAKE CUTTING AND USHERING IN THE NEW YEAR
COMMUNITY HALL