EDITORIAL
Mr. Saurabh
Bharadwaj (MLA – AAP) visited the Society on 2nd October, 2019 and
spent quite a bit of time with the residents and listened to their views. He
inaugurated the CCTV cameras and was impressed with the design of the steel
structure made by us for mounting the cameras and took photos for showing to
other colonies. He also inaugurated the concrete benches and electronic boom
barrier with the ceremonial breaking of coconuts. We have given him a list of
jobs that need to be done both in Yamuna as well in our neighbourhood like
pavements, roads etc. He was invited by Mr. Satyanarayana of G Block to attend
the Telangana Day function being celebrated by them in the Community Hall and
spent some time there as well. All in all, it was a good visit and he assured
us that he would attend to most of the jobs for which the list was handed over
to him. It would have been a lot better if more people had come to meet and greet
him in the badminton court. We have observed over time that he is one
politician who delivers on his commitment.
Scams of
unimaginable proportions are getting unearthed every day and laying bare the
deeds of corporate honchos, politicians, bankers and their agents. If we
citizens fawn and gawk at these unconscionable corporate giants and their
political collaborators, we are partly to blame for nudging this country closer
and closer to the brink. Unless we make the stolen wealth – irrespective of how
indirectly the wealth is materialised -- unacceptable and repugnant, and the
person who dipped his hand in the till not entitled to respect, things will not
change. Politicians who are supposed to govern us, unfortunately, have become
their vassals and courtiers. We have to wake up to an enlightened idea of human
richness.
Property
prices in Yamuna have plummeted to about half their price from the levels they
were about four years ago. Whether they have hit a nadir or is there an
unfathomable downside is hard to figure out at this point. Given the ideal
location of our apartment complex, relatively safe and green environment,
excellent quality of construction, round the clock water supply etc. it may be
the best time to buy an apartment.
The Ramlila
and Dandiya cultural evening was conducted on 8th October. Prashant
junior and Prabhu helped in doing up the stage, with Saiansh, the handy boy generally doing the odd jobs. The Ramayan skit that the tiny tots put up drew
lots of laughter. When it comes to tiny tots, their foibles and pulling and
tugging at each other is what makes the skit more amusing than the impeccable
delivery of lines and by doing so they endeared themselves to the audience.
Adwita Nair deserves kudos for having been able to get such small children to perform
so admirably. She was mentored by the veteran Shreeja. It seems odd, alluding
to a 16 or so year old as a veteran but over the years, she has gained such a
reputation that this moniker sits well on her. Not to be left out, it was then
the turn of the mothers of these tiny tots to show their spurs. Aanchal,
Namagiri, Vaishali, Isha and Sonam put up a dance ensemble which had the cads
amongst us whistling from the rear. There was a demand for an encore from the
audience and the ladies obliged after a recess. As is customary, it was the
turn of Sadhana to show us what they are capable of. With hardly a day’s preparation,
Radhika Samson worked feverishly with the girls and they put up an enchanting
repertoire of dances which included a few Odissi recitals and a Ramayan dance
ballet. The floor was then thrown open for the dandiya and garba. Soon enough,
the badminton court was a sea of swirling ghagras of the girls and the ladies
with an odd male ( a.k.a me ) as the interloper. As the night wore on, the
music genre changed to Bollywood mish-mash. Then the newcomers to the colony,
Gunjan Gulati and Pallavi Mangtani, both of C Block, shed their inhibitions and
joined the raucous throng. The way some of the girls and the ladies of the
colony dance could put to shame the astronomically paid Bollywood celebrities.
Our colony is oozing with talent and aren’t we glad that we are part of the
scene. It would be unfair on my part not to mention the names of some of the
good male dancers. Satish Padmanabhan and Pushkar Mani proved that you don’t
have to be a Punjabi to do the bhangra well. There was a large audience to cheer
them on. Food options were plenty and everybody had a jolly good time.
IIT is conducting workshops for school students who are
grappling with subject dynamics, wanting
to conform to the peer group and unable to answer the overarching question of
what they want to do when they grow up. Based on their aptitude, we should let
the children fix their own milestones, to have patterns that they can model and
outcomes that they can tailor. We as parents tend to overprotect and
mollycoddle children to a comfortable life and expect them to take courses and
professions which we think will fit in with our aspirations. Whether the child
has an aptitude for the line you choose does not even enter the penumbra of our
imagination. This is an upbringing in isolation protecting from momentary
discomfort and alienating from learning to cope, grow and to find answers
themselves. A team from IIT- Delhi, Wharton Business School, DU and NIFT are
enrolling children between classes VI and X for an all-round development
curriculum. These skill development workshops will be conducted mainly in IIT -
Delhi during the vacations. Maybe, from the evaluations of attending these
workshops, the child may realise where her or his true potential lies. Those
desirous of sending their children to these workshops should get in touch with
Apurv at 8447009024 or e-mail at contact@alolearning.com.
The final
arguments on the Ramjanmabhoomi have been made in the Supreme Court and the
mediation efforts also seem to have some takers. To understand the deeper
promptings of this enormous exercise, one needs to understand the cultural
fissures that have emerged between Hindu and Muslim leaders (Sunnis mainly).
For the Hindus, it is the retrieval of a hallowed turf where Lord Ram is
supposed to have been born and the belief that therein rested a Ram temple that
was laid to waste by the Mughal emperor Babar, who ended up building the Babri
masjid in its place. For the Muslims, it is ceding ground to Hindu
majoritarianism. For either side to cave in would mean giving up an entrenched
position which both have been guarding zealously for over a hundred years. The compromise
formula holds some promise. Let us hope the matter that has been hanging fire
for centuries comes to a satisfactory settlement for both the parties and
we can all move on and focus on matters of greater import to the country.
Quiz in
Yamuna has always had the mysterious aura, thanks to the off-beat style of
probing your intellect, putting to test your analytical ability and cajoling
your memory cells from the deep-seated caverns of your mind. It is not the
trivial pursuit we have all grown to accept of quiz competitions. Credit for preparing
this esoteric challenge goes to the erudite Sumathi Chandrasekharan. Four
teams, each consisting of five members was formed through a draw of lots. The
teams were named, ‘Spaced out’, ‘Lootere, ‘Sane & Able’ and ‘Lollipop’. ‘Spaced
out’ consisting of Antariksh Das, Poornima Narayanan, Upasana Bhargav and
Madhavi Samson led from the start and finished strongly to stand first. Lootere
consisting of Kunal Savarkar, Venkatesh, Tarun Balakrishnan and Aseem Kumar
mounted a fierce rearguard action to pip Sane & Able to secure the second
spot. Sane & Able who were doing very well in the middle rounds, took their
foot off the pedal and ended up third. Lollipop was also good but in a strong
field, they lacked the X factor and brought up the rear. It was a fairly good
turnout and everybody was really impressed by Sumathi’s depth of scholarship in
conjuring up word and situational associations. I am always flabbergasted by
her ability to astound even the most gifted quizzer. Everybody in unison said
‘no’ when she said that this would be her last Quiz, Sudha Sundaram gave away
chocolates to members of the audience who answered the questions posed to them.
I always come away enlightened after the Quiz. It’s a shame more people from
the colony do not attend this thoroughly entertaining and enlightening event.
On 26th October, 2019 Shri Saurabh Bharadwaj who was the
Chief Guest and Shri Subhash Bhadana, the Guest of Honour inaugurated Heal
Companion’s dedicated ambulance service for Alaknanda. This service is hospital
agnostic as it will take the patient to any hospital of their choice.
Presidents or office bearers of several Alaknanda RWAs were present on this
important occasion. This service has been started by Srikanth Sambamurthy
(C-003). The ambulance will be on standby in front of Yamuna Apartments. There
has been a dire need for such a service in view of traffic snarls. Depending on
the time of the day, it takes anywhere between 45 minutes and 1.5 hours for an
ambulance to reach our colony. We understand the value of the Golden Hour along
with the stress and anxiety of taking care of our loved ones. A life can
be saved if the patient can be taken to the hospital within an hour. This
strategically located ambulance is available 24/7. It comes with attendants who are equipped to assist in the movement of the patient to the
hospital of your choice. Please save the number 41418220 for calling the
ambulance. The service is available at a more economical rate than
hospital ambulances.
The one big
argument in favour of continuing the tradition of rangoli and illumination
competition is the interaction it fosters between neighbours and the general
level of bonhomie that prevails, irrespective of the results. Yes, the results
do not always go in one’s favour. At most times, the difference between the 1st
or the 2nd or the 3rd is just one mark. In fact, one
should not even take cognisance of it. It is just incidental and not the prime
motive to hold the competition.
E&F blocks
came up with a theme that imaginatively combined mythology with a topic of
current social and environmental relevance. It showed Ram shooting an arrow at a
Ravan made of plastic. Deservedly, they got the first prize for the theme.
A&B got the second prize for the theme, “Mughal Art”. The first prize for the best Rangoli was shared between E&F and A&B. While clearly, Lord Ram
made by E&F was done extremely well, it is not clear which Rangoli of
A&B was adjudged the best by the judges because all the Rangoli’s were very
well done. It could have been the portrait of Shahjahan or the reflection of
the Taj on Yamuna on a moonlit night, or it could have been the floral
patterns, all of which had standout qualities. The second prize for best
rangoli went to G&H who did the Dandi march very well. A&B got the
first prize for illumination and G&H got the second prize. This result seemed
rather surprising as the general feeling was that G&H were streets ahead on
the illumination stakes. The best prize for overall impact again went to
E&F with A&B taking the second prize. Even this decision raised
eyebrows. The best effort was put up by C&D who with limited resources and
feet on the ground put up a spirited performance. What makes this Diwali do worthwhile
is the sartorial impact it leaves. Women and girls, as always, looked gorgeous
in saris but on this day, even the men were turned out in attractive traditional
wear. Overall it was a pleasing visual overload that nobody can complain
about. A big relief this year was that nobody burst any crackers in the Yamuna.
The main park
and individual flats have been festooned with decorative lights which give a
very festive look to the colony. It would be great if it is left on for the
remaining dark and gloomy winter months to act as a mood enhancer.
We have only
a month to prepare for the Annual Day. All those desirous of performing for the
annual day should get cracking in order to make an impact. There are several
new residents who have moved in this year. If any of you can sing, dance or
act, please give your names to me or to any member of the cultural
sub-committee. This will be your day in the limelight. It’s showtime, folks!
Ashutosh
Dikshit, Founder President of Citizen’s Alliance, civic activist, author,
orator etc. who championed many causes in Delhi, particularly in Alaknanda
unfortunately passed away on the morning of 30th October, 2019 due
to lung cancer. He was a friend of some in the Yamuna. He will be sorely missed.
Prayer meeting will be held on Sunday, 3rd November 2019 in Chinmaya
Mission, Lodhi Road.at 11am.
SNIPPETS
Two families
thought climbing three floors every day several times was too much of a sweat
and decided to come closer to terra firma.
Anand
Sundaresan, Sujatha and Netra have moved from G-301 to C-007. Apart from the
convenience of being on the ground floor they have a garden in the rear and
lower energy bills to boot.
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Pushkar Mani, Aanchal Sinha and Vihaan
have moved from A-302 to A-007. Same benefits go to them as well.
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Fazal Ahmad
Faruqui has moved into A-205 with his wife Anjum and son Adam. Fazal is Head of
Production-India Art Fair. Earlier he used to work for Messe Dusseldorf. His
interests include travelling and trying different cuisines. Sana has done her MA
in Education and is planning to pursue M.Phil. and PhD in the field of
education. Her interests include reading and cooking. She is also fond of
debating. Their son Adam is two years and eight months old. Fazal can be
reached on 9911961651. We welcome them to Yamuna.
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CALENDAR
OF EVENTS FOR NOVEMBER 2019
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DATE
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TIME
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VENUE
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3.11.19
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10.30 AM - 5:00 PM
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TRINITY DAY CELEBRATIONS (CLASSICAL MUSIC
COMPETITION, CONTRIBUTORY LUNCH & PRIZE DISTRIBUTION)
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COMMUNITY HALL
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3.11.19-9.11.19
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6.30 PM
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BADMINTON & TT TOURNAMENTS
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BADMINTON COURT
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17.11.18
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10.00 AM
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SPORTS DAY
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MAIN LAWN
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