EDITORIAL
The twenty-six societies
whose regularisation case was held up in Court can now breathe easy. The Court
has struck down the order which challenged the authority of the LG to grant
amnesty against irregularities in the allotment procedure. This certainly makes
our regularisation issue which has been lying in limbo for years, a tad easier
to solve. Mr. Ganapathy, Mr. Krishnamurthy and Mr. P. K. K. Nair are actively
pursuing the matter with the Registrar.
My relentless follow-up with
IGL is driving them up the wall. I have now been assured that the work will
start in two weeks. If it does not start, we should be up in arms against them.
Practically every resident has
had to deal with seepage in his or her apartment in the last few years. Finding
the source of the seepage has been an exercise of guess work and lot of
exploratory breaking of walls. Ram has now found an agency which can pin point
the source of the seepage through
thermal imaging. The equipment actually does a 3 D scanning of the wall and
zeroes in on the source. He has undertaken to personally conduct a survey of
all the flats to set right the problem professionally. Residents are requested
to get in touch directly with the President, Mr. Ramabadhran or upload their
seepage complaints on the Apna Complex portal. Our apartments are more than
thirty-five years old and the life of steel pipes normally does not exceed
twenty years. Fortunately for us the Society's founding members and those
involved in the construction activity wisely chose the best material C Class
pipes to see us through so many years without any major problem.
The cost of fixing the
problem will be borne by the Society if the seepage is emanating from a common
area like the shaft, external wall or terrace. In case the seepage is emanating
from a particular flat, the member of that flat will have to bear the expense
irrespective of the fact that his/ her flat is not affected by the seepage.
Ideally all those who plan to undertake renovation of the kitchen or bathroom
should change the pipelines from MS to CPVC (a plastic material tolerant of
both hot and cold water and impervious to corrosion). Please do not scrimp on
the connectors and grade and make of plastic pipes, if you need trouble free
service and want it to last a life time. It would be advisable to source the
material yourselves from a renowned brand rather than depending on the
contractor. After the pipeline work is done, do a trial run to see if there is
any seepage of water from the joints before plastering and affixing tiles.
Another area from where seepage can occur are the drains. Please ensure that
you water-proof the bathing area and properly caulk the space between the
sewage pipe and the floor both in the kitchen and bathroom, so that water does
not seep through the crevice.
It required an unfortunate
incident with a resident to put a stop to the gambling and drinking problem of
the drivers near the C-Block gate. Madhu Nair gathered photographic evidence to
pull up the drivers and stop this undesirable activity. As per the suggestion
of Sumathi Chandrashekaran, the Managing Committee decided to provide a
sheltered space for the drivers to relax in a portion of the H Block basement while
they wait for their employer's summons. In order that the gambling activity
does not happen in the basement, they will be provided with carrom board, ludo,
chess and snakes and ladders sets, to fight boredom. Residents who can donate
the aforementioned game sets should let it be known to the Society office.
The Yamuna library,
"Reader's Rendezvous" was inaugurated in a portion of the Club-house
by the Secretary, Madhu Nair with the lighting of the lamp on 3rd May, 2015.
The brainchild of Renu Garg, the idea got the active support of Vidya Nair and
Thomas Abraham, who have collaborated to provide a delightfully inviting niche
in the Club-house that can act as a magnet for children and adults alike. As Mark
Twain said, “In a good book room you
feel in some mysterious way that you are absorbing the wisdom contained in all
the books through your skin, without even opening them.” Such is the aura
of this place. We would like to thank all the residents, who, through
contributions of money, books and sundry other items have made this possible. Children
trained by Subadha sang the invocation song. Vatsala Zutshi, recited a Safdar
Hashmi poem, read a book and narrated a story with so much energy, verve and theatrics
that the children got totally involved in the act. Shashvath who got drawn into
the story as a character, got his arm almost yanked off its socket by the
ebullient and unrestrained Vatsala. After partaking in refreshments, residents
reluctantly left the Club house. Going by the large gathering and enthusiasm,
the library may have to be opened more often than the Sunday schedule,
currently planned. The summer heat, though, is a concern. If anybody can donate
a portable room cooler, it would be welcome.
We have reached that point
of the year when the inclement summer heat makes for a barren phase when we
have no cultural events. However, it is time to plan for the summer holidays
for those who are not appearing for entrance examinations and dealing with admission
chores. There are a plethora of choices at various budget levels covering
overseas and domestic destinations. If you have the money, time and inclination
you should take a break to de-stress yourself and restore your tissues.
Residents walking out of the
apartments would be wise to refrain from donning expensive gold jewellery.
After Subhada's gold chain was snatched while crossing the Apartments from
H-Block gate several weeks ago, the petty larcenists were at it again. This
time the victim was Mr. Ramabadhran's mother-in-law, Mrs. Durga Narayanaswamy
of F-003. Her chain was snatched when
she was crossing over to Nilgiri to fetch milk early in the morning. In case
residents wish to adorn their necks, it would be advisable to opt for costume
jewellery.
Despite my repeated
exhortations in the Chronicle, I have to bemoan the increasing lack of
aesthetics in the colony. Wires coming out of holes in the walls, ugly pipes
connecting split AC's, litter of plastic sachets and such like. While I pick up
these packets and deposit them in the dustbins on my walks, I increasingly find
myself fighting a losing battle. I cannot fathom why educated and civilised
people cannot follow the simple dictum of keeping their environs clean. I am
repulsed and my mind desperately seeks aesthetic comfort.
Indians are loquacious by
nature and in an effort to get heard over the din and others speaking at the
same time, we have gotten louder over the centuries. Our vocal chords must be
the strongest on the planet. To add to that we revel in loud music, blaring
horns and general cacophony. This continuous assault on our eardrums has
impaired our hearing and we are getting deafer by the year. This forces us to
talk louder in order to be heard and in
the process we are perpetuating the very ill that we should seek to avoid.
Yamuna staff playing hookey
and not being found in the premises has been a common complaint. A finger print
scanner has now been installed by the side of the door of the Society Office
where the staff have to perforce have their finger scanned when they report for
work, break for lunch, return from lunch and when they leave for the day. This
will enable the Society to strictly monitor their attendance and put a check on
their late coming or early leaving.
Mr. Ramabadhran has donated
his office work stations to spruce up the Society Office. All that the Society
needs now is some interior work including painting to give it a professional
ambience. With the portal finding increasing usage we are probably the most high-tech
office of a residential complex.
The Class 12 CBSE Board exam results are
out and all the children from Yamuna passed with flying colours. The results
are reproduced below in alphabetical order :
|
S.NO
|
NAME
|
ADDRESS
|
% MARKS
|
STREAM
|
|
1
|
ADITYA SRIVASTAVA
|
B-003
|
94.60
|
SCIENCE
|
|
2
|
ANIRUDH SURESAN
|
H-008
|
86
|
SCIENCE
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
3
|
KARTHIK SUBODH
|
B-004
|
92.80
|
SCIENCE
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
4
|
KAVYA NARAYANAN
|
B-002
|
94.25
|
SCIENCE
|
|
|
||||
|
5
|
NACHIKET DRAVID
|
G-001
|
96
|
SCIENCE
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
6
|
SIDHANTH KUMAR
|
A-301
|
82.3
|
SCIENCE
|
It is the first time in my
memory that all the students who appeared for the Board exams were from the
Science stream. Ram Srinivas, who used to live in A-001, Yamuna until a few
years ago, has also done exceedingly well, scoring 96% marks. All these
students have appeared for the Engineering, Medical or Design entrance exams
and are awaiting their results. There is reasonable cause to believe that they
will all end up doing what they wish to do.
In case you are not already
aware, there is a proposal to build a median on the main Alaknanda Road without
a gap in the verge. Hence residents wishing to go in the direction of GK II
will have to go all the way to Tara Apartments and take a U-turn. It will be a
nightmare of gargantuan proportions. This has prompted residents of Nilgiri,
Gangotri, Godavari, Rishi etc to take the matter to court through Citizens
Alliance. On behalf of Yamuna, I have attended some meetings and the traffic
police Commissioner has also been approached. The PWD which has been awarded the contract is
not willing to relent, but the fight is on and we will not rest until gaps on
the verge are provided.
OBITUARY
Mr. Padmanabhan, father of
Satish Padmanabhan of A-202 passed away early morning on 18th May, 2015 in
their flat. He has been battling illness for a while and his last wish was to
see his grandson's Upanayanam. While he could not make it to the mandapam, he
could view the ceremony on Skype installed by his bedside in the hospital.
Yamuna residents convey their heartfelt condolence to the bereaved family.
SNIPPETS
Mr. A.G. Ramakrishnan and
Bharti of A-007 have sold their flat and moved to Hyderabad, where they wish to
settle down. Bharti, who was a hands on Secretary of the Society for two terms
stretching over six years, did a tremendous service to the Society. We would
like to record our appreciation for her work. They are likely to visit Yamuna
regularly as Mr. Ramakrishnan has clients in Delhi and they have another flat
in Yamuna to stay when they are here. We wish them the very best in their new
abode.
*****************
Mr. Behera, Deepa and
Anushka of C-207 are heading back to Ahmedabad where they came from a couple of
years ago. He is going back on a transfer. In the short time they were here
they made quite a few friends. We will miss them.
*****************
Ashwin Satish of A-202 has
come of age. On 8th May, 2015 at Shankara Vidya Kendra, on the occasion of
'Upanayanam', he chanted his vows to become a Brahmin. In a brief ceremony, surrounded by relatives
and friends from Yamuna, the sacred thread was slung between his shoulder and
torso. It's a tall order in this day and age to expect him to recite the
sandhya vandanam religiously twice a day, observe the rituals before meals and abstain
from certain foods and drinks. However, the wishes of his grandparents were met
and all those present had good breakfast, lunch and enjoyed the ceremony.
****************
To represent one's nation in
any sport is a great honour. To return with a medal is awesome. Tejaswin
Shankar of G-306 has done just that. He won the bronze medal for high jump in
the Asian Youth Athletics Championships held in Doha. As a result of this
performance he has been selected to represent India in World School Games in
Wuhan, China and World Youth Championship in Columbia. He could go on to become
the only track and field athlete from India to ever win an Olympic medal.
Tejas, you make us proud.
*****************
Karthik of A-005 is getting
married to the apple of his eye, Smriti on 18th June, 2015 in Palakkad. Their
invitation card is original, romantic, poetic, quirky and witty with a wry
sense of humour. It's a card that may not go down well with the conservatives
but it's surely worth preserving. The card has a sketch showing both Karthik
and Smriti in lawyer's attire, posing in front of the Supreme Court with India
Gate and palm trees in the background. India Gate signifies that Smriti is from
Delhi, albeit a South Indian and the palm trees signify that Karthik is from
Kerala. The text of the card is romantic, yet hilarious and perky. We will be
delighted to have Smriti as a neighbour. We wish them a rollicking married
life.
