Issue No. 203 I July 2018

EDITORIAL 

The dry barren months are over and we are in the midst of the monsoon season. There is less dust and greenery is everywhere. Please do not allow water to collect anywhere to prevent mosquitos from breeding. To take advantage of the conducive conditions of the monsoon, new areas are being taken up for beautifying. The mound opposite the entrance to the lawn had become a dumping area for fallen leaves, twigs, branches etc, thereby spoiling the vista. It has now been redone with Frangipani and Canna plants. In a couple of months the plants will be in full vigour and start flowering. Likewise, the mound adjoining the gym area to the right of the entrance to the lawn was planted with hedge plants. These have been removed to the hedge area and it has been re-done with Pixie Frangipani, red Dracaena Marginata, Crape Jasmine and Dracaena Fragrens. Please wait for a few months for them to get dense and start flowering. Draecena’s are non flowering plants but their colour lends itself to creating a beautiful contrast. Next will be lawn behind C Block.

Revamped gym and play area has become weather proof. Earlier stagnation of water was a perennial problem through the summer when the lawn needed to be watered on a daily basis and during the monsoon season. After receiving complaints from several residents about the inability of the children to play there because of the slush, this work was undertaken. After compacting the soil with broken bricks and malba, a layer of grit was added. In order to do this several tempos of top soil had to be removed. The landing area of the jungle gym and the slide was lowered by two feet and sand was filled so that children do not get hurt if they fall. The area has become a big hit with the children for all the wrong reasons. They play with the grit and run it down the slide and mess around in the sand making castles and tunnels. Some of the mothers told me that so long as they are happy, let them be.

A Thomson Reuters Foundation survey has ranked India the most dangerous country for women in the world. To be ranked worse than Syria, Afghanistan, Pakistan is a travesty of justice. I am incensed with this assertion not because India is safe for women. Far from it, but going by the atrocities that take place elsewhere, more particularly the chauvinistic Islamic nations where laws are enacted that do  not foster women the same rights as men, it is ludicrous to place India in a position worse than them. But if this is the general perception outside our land, we need to look at ourselves and improve our behaviour towards women for which there is ample scope.

With the ending of the summer recess, we see emergence of our cultural events. We have planned a variety of programmes to keep you entertained for the remaining half of the year. It would require the active participation of all concerned to make the programmes a great success. We are very blessed to have extremely talented adults and children. The perseverence and dedication shown by them is noteworthy. A few of them have claimed turf rights for certain events like Radhika Samson for Janmashtami, and Sreeja for Ramlila, Sumathi for Quiz competition, Anu Nair and Seema Chari for Annual Day. They are the real anchors for the aforementioned programmes but there are a whole lot of others who lend their effort in making the programmes a success. Kudos to them.

		CALENDAR OF EVENTS AUGUST-DECEMBER 2018
DATE	TIME	EVENT	VENUE
4.8.18	7.00 PM	SCREENING OF OSCAR NOMINATED FILM ‘BIUTIFUL’	COMMUNITY HALL
15.8.18	9.00 AM	INDEPENDENCE DAY FLAG HOISTING,	BADMINTON COURT
		SINGING OF PATRIOTIC SONGS, DISTRIBUTION OF SWEETS
26.8.18	12.30-2.00	POOKALAM & ONAM FEAST(LUNCH)	COMMUNITY HALL
	PM
2.9.18	6.30 PM	JANMASHTAMI VARIETY ENTERTAINMENT PROGRAMME,	BADMINTON COURT
		BREAKING OF DAHI HANDI AND FOOD STALLS
13.10.18	6.30 PM	DANDIA, MUSIC AND FOOD EVENING	BADMINTON COURT
19.10.18	4.30 PM	RAMLILA AND SLAYING THE EFFIGY OF RAVAN	MAIN LAWN
27.10.18	6.30 PM	QUIZ COMPETITION WITH SUMATHI	BADMINTON COURT
7.11.18	6.30 PM	DIWALI ILLUMINATION COMPETITION	BETWEEN THE BLOCKS
8.11 .18 -15.11.18	6.30 PM	BADMINTON & TT TOURNAMENTS	BADMINTON COURT
17.11.18	9.30 AM	SPORTS DAY	MAIN LAWN
8.12.18	4.30 PM	ANNUAL DAY-REFRESHMENTS, PRIZE DISTRIBUTION,	MAIN LAWN
		VARIETY ENTERTAINMENT AND DINNER
16.12.18	10.30 AM	HERITAGE WALK/NATURE WALK	FROM A BLOCK GATE
24.12.18	6.00 PM	CHRISTMAS CARNIVAL/CAROL SINGING/WINTER RAMP WALK	BADMINTON COURT
		MUSIC/DANCE/FOOD STALLS
31.12.18	MIDNIGHT	CAKE CUTTING AND USHERING IN THE NEW YEAR	COMMUNITY HALL

Diwali Mela has lost its charm. For a start, most of the children in the colony do not want to manage the stalls. Besides, with competing alternatives gaining ground over the years, Diwali Mela has become passe. At its zenith, the mela had a lot of footfalls as there were no malls, no social media not much of television and people had a lot of time and were eager to go to a place which could offer them an entertainment option. However, now most youngsters have various other pursuits for them to get excited at the thought of Diwali Mela. Besides, of late the crazy traffic snarls and lack of parking space is enough to put off visitors other than the ones within walking distance. Hence, the Mela has been dropped from this year’s calendar.

You know it is election time when you start seeing sops for farmers. The minimum support price for most crops have been increased substantially and for bajra by a whopping 98%. Besides, the states are vying with each other for waiving of farm loans. While the lot of farmers will improve, the consumers will bear the brunt of the inefficiencies of the Indian farmers. India’s farm GDP is only 17% of the total country’s GDP but it employs between 60-70% of the population. Compare this with the US where only 3% of the population is engaged in farming and their agricultural output is much higher than India’s. Yet the political parties feel the need to appease the farmer because the population that delivers 83% of the country’s GDP is in the minority!

When elections in Karnataka were taking place, the newspapers published some data which pointed out that roughly one third of the politicians in all the political parties had criminal cases against them. There could be another sizable percentage who are also criminals but do not have any cases against them because people are too scared to lodge cases against them. It leads me to the conclusion that politicians and high profile criminals (it's difficult to tell the difference) are the totems of India's power centre. We are unfortunately complicit in the moral destitution that infests our politicians. It is high time we cauterise the cancer in our midst.

The winged, whiny insect which makes its presence felt during the monsoon is notable by its absence this year. Not that I am complaining. In fact many will agree that it is a big relief because, aside from the blood sucking sting which leaves a painful tumescence, It brings with it a host of diseases like malaria, chikengunia, and dengue, to name a few. I hope it doesn’t herald a writer’s curse and the recalcitrant mosquito makes its presence in August.

Sadhana Music and Dance Academy had planned a percussion instruments concert in the badminton court on 21^st July, 2018 but due to incessant rain it had to be hastily shifted to the annexe. The opening piece featured, amongst others,Yamuna singers namely Elizabeth Verghese, Pritti Umamahesvaran,Shyamala Sarathy and Madhavi Samson accompanied by the supremely talented Shubham Modi on harmonium and Pranav Ramji on the tabla. The singing was outstanding and the accompanists were men with pedigree. This was followed up with a galaxy of percussionists who showcased their repertoire spanning several genres of music including Carnatic, Hindustani, Western etc. Ramanan was the lone person on strings and he played the lead guitar.The percussion quartet included a person on mridangam, another on the tabla, a third on drums and the fourth on a cajon saddle. It was a bit stuffy inside but the music was so enthralling that the audience took the discomfort in their stride. It was a very enjoyable evening. Comely Dakshina was the compere.

When you begin to lose faith in humanity because of internecine wars, jingoism, religious and caste politics, jealousy, hatred and corruption, something happens to restore your belief in humanity. It was a relief to see the best of human nature in evidence this month in the rescue of the Thai boys trapped in a serpentine cave filled with water. The whole world waited with bated breath when some brave men from Navy Seals and divers from the UK and Thailand risked their lives to put on a herculean effort to bring them out safely. In the whole process, one Thai diver lost his life. Elon Musk, the maverick inventor and industrialist and the man behind the Tesla car and Space X built a special submarine to rescue the boys and himself flew with his crew to Thailand. The sub did not come to use as the boys were rescued by then, but the intent was admirable. Doing good unto others always elevates the endorphine levels and improves the health and longevity of the person. I was reading a report on Sardinia which has the highest life expectancy in the world. The reason for this is attrbuted to their life style and co-operative attributes.

Sardinia is an island in the Mediterranean whose people eat fresh fruits and vegetables. They pluck the vegetables and cook them when they are fresh. They have community meals and mingle with each other. They have a strong sense of belonging and help each other through thick and thin. This is the reason for their longevity. Unlike their mainland Italian brethren, they are very law abiding.

The no confidence motion brought against the Modi Government came a cropper. It is baffling why the numerically deficient opposition took on the BJP. To add to the charade, the hug and wink theatrics displayed by the Congress President made a mockery of Parliamentary decorum.

In a hastily arranged programme, a Thiruppugazh recital by Shri. Mani A-001 was held on 28th July, 2018 between 6 and 8 pm in Sadhana Music, Dance and Arts Performance Hall. He was accompanied in backup vocals by his son Raghav, Shri Vignesh Jayaraman on Mridangam and Raghavendra Prasad on violin. He is so well known in Delhi and Chennai in reciting Thiruppugazh that he is known by the moniker Thiruppugazh Mani. Despite the inclement weather there was a fair audience and they enjoyed the performance.

OBITUARY

Mr. A.S.Krishnan, ex-resident of E-006 passed away in Bangalore on 16^th July, 2018. Yamuna residents convey their heartfelt condolence to his wife Gomathi and daughters Lakshmi and Rohini.

SNIPPETS

Shruthi Srinivas of A-108 has earned her spurs by qualifying as a Chartered Accountant and thus joining the tribe of CA’s in the colony. It opens the doors for a high paying job and marriage perhaps, Congratulations to Shruthi from all in Yamuna.

**********************

Vedika Arora of A-206 has re-written the record books by being the first person from Yamuna to get the highest marks in Engineering Graphics in Class XII. She was awarded a prize by the Honourable Deputy Chief Minister of Delhi, Mr. Manish Sisodia. We are so proud of her. We hope she continues in this vein and reaches greater heights.

**********************

Septuagenarian couple Mr.Gopal Guglani and Mrs.Reeta Guglani have moved into G-004 from their own home in Noida to be close to their daughter who lives in Mandakini. Mr. Guglani retired from ICRISAT in Hyderabad while Mrs. Guglani retired as a primary school teacher from Montfort School, Ashok Vihar. While Mr. Guglani has no particular hobby other than going for walks, Mrs. Guglani loves reading and listening to music. We welcome this couple to Yamuna. They can be reached on 9818276764 and 9910919060 respectively.

***********************

Dr. Giridhar Gopal of G-302 has moved out with his wife and child after a short sojourn in Yamuna.

***********************

Suresh, Supriya and Siddhant have moved to their own home, E-304 from A-301.

*************************

Aditya and Vineeta  G -205  have been blessed with a baby boy on July  6th 2018. Congratulations to Aditya, Vineeta and grandparents Meena and Vasudevan.