EDITORIAL
After a bellicose and no holds barred campaign where the main protagonists, AAP and BJP, vied for eyeballs and earflaps, the Delhi election result threw no surprises. AAP’s narrative of development and what they had done in the last five years, although much of it was hyperbole, held more credence than the nationalist agenda on which BJP relied. Their campaign was characterized by a shambolic string of blunders, with one minister making an inflammatory statement, saying “shoot the traitors” and another saying something equally preposterous. I thought, at that point, they had lost the plot. Congress, of course, was a mere spectator. Now, AAP will have to deliver on all the promises they made. Winning twice in succession is a commendable feat but for winning a third time, they have to do a lot more and deliver on unfulfilled promises.
The day the results were announced, AAP supporters poured into the street. While victory marches are quite common everywhere, the need to indulge in pyrotechnics is abhorrent. For about half an hour there was non-stop bursting of crackers across the SDMC park adjoining our lawn. Subjecting people to noise and air pollution of this magnitude against the Supreme Court directive does not bode well. There is no dearth of unemployable layabouts who act as cheerleaders of politicians. Their sycophancy is what keeps their home and hearth running. There is no point venting your spleen at them. Anyway, my river of bile has run dry.
You know that you are living on a different planet when you talk about the merits of thrift to your family as you go about switching off sundry gadgets left on like the lights, heaters, geysers, etc. when nobody is using them, but they just ignore you. You get edgy and lose a bit of your cool and you raise your voice and say, “Does anyone know how to spell 'thrift'?” Another stony silence greets you and you realize that you are as redundant as yesterday’s curd rice gone sour. In the family world, the order of importance these days starts with the children and ends with the wife. You are just a piece of furniture whose presence they acquiesce to unless they need your service to do their bidding. You then realize that your swash has buckled and your get up and go has kind of gone. If you ever let your hair down (whatever remains of it) and jive to the music, they stay, “Stop it, Appa, you are embarrassing us.” As Lord Tennyson said, “ The old order changeth, yielding place to new”.
The on-the-spot painting competition held in the park on Sunday, 9th February 2020 drew a reasonably good response, considering that some students did not show up as they were preparing for their exams and some others had their tuitions. I cannot quite fathom why children in primary classes should feel the need for tuitions. Cannot the parents help them when needed? I have reasonable cause to believe that burdening the children with onerous workload at such a young age is not ideal for their all-round development.
Be that as it may, the painting competition started in brilliant sunshine and the gentle warmth of the sun was so soothing that it could have put you to sleep. The children and adults alike were not in favour of the topic chosen for them and they came up with their own suggestion. There was a lot of light banter that put everybody in great spirits Their spirits further brightened when Mr. Kohli brought a packet of jelly beans and Karun Prabhakar came laden with bagfuls of soft drinks and assorted chips packets for the participants. Everybody had a jolly good time. Sumathi Chandrasekharan helped out and Kavya Narayanan judged the paintings. The number of prizes in each category was based on the number of participants in that category. Prabhu’s and Namagiri’s family perhaps has it in their genes as three members of their family won prizes. For the first time in years, Vanshika Arora missed bagging a prize.
PAINTING COMPETITION RESULTS-2020
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PRIZE
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AGE CATEGORY
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NAME
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ADDRESS
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1
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UNDER 5 YEARS
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VIHAAN SINHA
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A-007
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2
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IRA KARTHIK JAYARAMAN
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G-105
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1
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7-10 YEARS
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KRISHNA KARTHIK JAYARAMAN
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G-105
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2
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ADHYA RAM
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H-002
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AKSHARA RAM
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H-002
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1
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ANOUSHKA NAIR
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A-203
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2
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11-13 YEARS
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SAHANA IYER
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E-101
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3
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NIVETA REDDY
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A-308
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1
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ADULTS
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PRABHU RAM
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H-002
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2
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PUSHKAR MANI
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A-007
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Thanks to the influence and popularity of MasterChef Australia, the people in this country are increasingly exploring world cuisines. A number of restaurants have cropped up in Delhi offering a variety of cuisines. Our neighbourhood GK-2 M-Block Market is crawling with them. Many of these restaurants have all the superficial nous of high-end establishments with boys in chef’s toques who unfortunately don’t have relevant gustatory experience and don’t know the difference between basil pesto and pudina chutney or for that matter, that the avocado in guacamole should be soft and buttery and not raw and crispy. One such restaurant I went to in GK 2 M-Block Market, which is packed on weekends, is guilty of culinary bloopers. Obviously, there must be other things that are drawing people to this restaurant; or, their palate is so desensitised by spicy Indian cuisine that they cannot differentiate the subtle flavours. For the record, many of these restaurants fold up in quick time, for some other sucker to start a new one. I wonder where people get the money to invest in these high-end restaurants, in interiors and equipment. In case of failure, they lose it all.
This Committee and the previous one have cleaned up the Augean stables of all the detritus by shoring up the balance sheet, sorting out ground rent arrears, monetizing rentable spaces, regularisation of flats, and bringing in the cooking gas pipeline to name a few things. Now, we are heading into some serious headwinds. Three or four members are failing to meet their maintenance obligations. MTNL’s exchange in our premises, which avails of power from the Society for their AC’s which run round the clock, has not reimbursed us for electricity supplied to them. We have run into four months arrears with them, amounting to over Rs. 2 lakhs. A legal notice has been sent to them. The cable operator, who is also operating his transmission from our premises, is also defaulting. At least the cable operator has paid heed to our warnings and made a partial payment, with an assurance to clear the balance dues with interest in the next three months. It is not fair to subject the members to additional maintenance because of these defaults. The members have to take a call on discontinuing the power supply to MTNL. In such an event, all those who have MTNL telephones would have to choose another service provider asap. Additionally, the use of the badminton court on certain days for badminton coaching is also going to cease from 1st April 2020. Thus, this revenue stream will also dry up, These issues, which could have an impact on our maintenance charges, will be put up for vote in the SGM scheduled on 22nd March 2020.
The coronavirus epidemic is going to have far-reaching consequences. Apart from the danger to health brought about by the highly contagious pathogen, continued shutdown in China, which is virtually a factory to the world, is going to cripple several industries and thus dent the GDP of many countries, including India. Drug companies, which depend for 60-70% of their raw material needs from China, will be severely impaired. Likewise, the electronics industry’s dependence is also of this magnitude. The automobile industry’s dependence, although not more than 10-15%, means that with the non-availability of critical parts, vehicles cannot be produced. If production in China does not return to normal soon, there will be a tsunami in the stock market and the world economy at large. We should collectively reduce our dependence on Chinese products both as a contingent alternative as well as a strategic intent. This will serve the country well in the long run. The spread of the virus far afield in South Korea, Japan, Iran etc. is also reaching pandemic proportions. God forbid that it does not hit our shores. We are ill-equipped to handle such a crisis, especially in the hinterland. India, on paper, has a serendipitous bulwark against the coronavirus that is ravaging China and many other Asian economies, as India has steadfastly refused to join the Chinese Belt and Road Initiative, which has other Asian economies in a vice-like grip. Thus, the economic fallout of this scourge will be drastically limited for our country.
The pursuit of a flawless complexion is a costly enterprise. Most people do not realize that the quality of your complexion comes from a nutritious, balanced diet, enough water intake, exercise, good sleep, and a friendly disposition. No amount of cosmetics and facials can do the harm caused by the lack of the foregoing. Yet, fairness creams and such like are money spinners for cosmetic firms. People willingly fall for this fey narrative in a desperate bid to acquire the fairness that has eluded them. This comes from a deeprooted inferiority complex, given credence to by our prejudices concerning skin colour.
President Trump’s whirlwind visit to India was good for the optics with little else to show for the effort. A visit to Sabarmati Ashram and Mahatma Gandhi’s samadhi in Delhi, according to one reporter, was totally incongruous, since President Trump is an antithesis to Gandhian principles. Nevertheless, a visit to the Taj and these sights was a blessing to the locals because the roads, pavements, drains all got cleaned and repaired as a consequence. Trump’s trip, however, was marred by riots in parts of Delhi, ostensibly sparked by inflammatory statements from motormouths, causing needless loss of lives and property. As former US President Lyndon B Johnson once said, “the poor suffer twice at the rioter’s hands. First, his destructive fury scars their neighbourhood; second, the atmosphere of accommodation is changed to one of resentment.” Wise words from the former US President, whose tenure was dodgy at best.
There are many popular heritage walks in this city during the winter months. Chandni Chowk is one of the most sought after. Much, of course, depends on the raconteur. Walking through Chandni Chowk, one is confronted with a cacophony of tongues, chaotic streets, odoriferous alleys, pungent food, unruly people, and jostling carts vying for space with stray animals. Yet, what fascinates foreigners and Indians alike to foray into the narrow alleys boggles the mind. Things are, however, on the mend. The central median, leading from Red Fort to Chandni Chowk, is getting a makeover with pedestrianized walkways, landscaping, sandstone benches to rest your derriere and pollution-free public transport.
On a recent holiday break with a few friends from Yamuna, I happened to go to a farm stay near Ropar. Ropar and nearby areas have many attractions. The farm itself was a 45-acre property through undulating terrain in the Shivaliks. It is good for trekking with plenty of flora and fauna to feast your eyes on. On the banks of the Sutlej river stands a non-descript post where Maharaja Ranjit Singh signed a treaty with Lord William Bentinck of Britain on 26th October 1831 whereby, in exchange for ceding some territory, he could reign beyond the Shivaliks up to Lahore.
The Ropar wetlands, fed by the river Sutlej, is home to 154 migratory and local bird species and is quite bountiful in fish. It is also home to the endangered turtle (Chitra Indica) and snake species (Python molurus). Cormorants, pochards, hornbills, parrots, and cranes were some of the birds we spotted. There are woods nearby where one could walk and soak in some fresh air. An archaeological museum displays antiquities unearthed during the excavations of a mound in the area, along with photographs displaying excavation material. The museum depicts a sequence of six cultural periods or phases, with some breaks, from Harappan times to the present day, found in the 21-metre-high ancient mound known as Nalagarh Tibbi. The excavations have revealed an advanced civilization similar to Harappa and Mohenjo-Daro that thrived in that region. Unfortunately, time constraints prevented us from visiting the museum. However, we did go to another museum, the Virasat-e- Khalsa, adjoining Anandpur Sahib gurudwara. It is an outstanding piece of architecture and has installations narrating the life history of Guru Nanak and the succeeding gurus up to Independence. There are paintings, fabrics, photographs, and accounts of the valour and supreme sacrifice of the Sikhs. It is one of the finest interactive museums I have visited anywhere in the world. Whenever you get an opportunity, you must visit this museum.
SNIPPETS
Chandrakanta Rajpurohit’s (H-206) relentless pursuit to excel in her chosen profession is paying dividends. She is the recipient of the “International Award for Women for Contribution of India (Sports Category) instituted by Research Foundation of India on 16th February 2020. May more accolades follow for this talented resident of Yamuna. You make us proud, Chandrakanta.
CALENDAR OF EVENTS FOR FEBRUARY 2020
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DATE
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TIME
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VENUE
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10.3.2020
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10.00 AM
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HOLI MILAN
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MAIN LAWN
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16.3.20 17.3.20
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RADHA KALYANAM
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MAIN LAWN
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22.3.2020
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10.00 AM
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SPECIAL GENERAL BODY MEETING
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COMMUNITY HALL
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28.3.2020
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7.00 PM
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COOKING COMPETITION FOR ALL AGE GROUPS
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BADMINTON COURT
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