Issue No 90 February 2009

Editorial

The winter was a pale shadow of the season we have come to welcome or dread, depending on which side of the climate preference you may belong to. Like the summer we left behind last year, which was the mildest on record, the winter this year did not make us scurry for our furrys.. The problem with short and mild winters is the fear as to what’s in store for us in April or May. Already the sparse winter rains have depleted the water table. If it is followed up by a hot and dry summer, our cup of woes will run full. Please, therefore, conserve water to see us through another summer.

The staff in Yamuna has been functioning pretty much in their own lackadaisical style with their tasks well over before noon, leaving the afternoon for snoozing or other personal pursuits. The man at the helm of the staff pile, who is supposed to monitor their working, is like a loose cannon himself, assuming authority of unmitigated proportion without any corresponding responsibility. All this is going to be put to an end soon with Mahesh Eswaran preparing a detailed duty roster for each individual, to be monitored by Block representatives. With this, the hitherto neglected areas like the terraces, basements, meter rooms, the tiny tots park, and others will sport a spruced look. We must congratulate Mahesh for taking on this task in right earnestness.

The Society is seriously contemplating installing CCTV cameras in multiple locations, to bolster our security. Hopefully with this addition, the petty thefts and unsolicited callers at our doorstep, trying to sell sundry products or services will come to an end. Srinivas (A-108) is working on a plan to get uniform and attractive number plates to be affixed on the doors of every Flat. This should prevent visitors ringing the bell at the wrong doors, which has become quite a nuisance of late.

The basement has become a vast treasure trove of the unwelcome kind. Abandoned motorcycles, scooters and bicycles that probably have not seen the outdoors in years are gathering dust and making the place dirty. In an effort to set this right and make this area useful for other activities, residents are requested to approach the office and give details of the vehicles belonging to them which are parked in the basement. It is proposed to levy a parking charge for these vehicles. The custody of any vehicle that remains unclaimed will be given to the Police who will remove the same from the premises.

The Yamuna Co-operative Stores is in dire straits. A steep fall in revenue coupled with dwindling stocks led to the fortunes of the stores taking a dive, so much so the creditors began assaulting the staff with weapons, for their dues. Witness to this tyranny, Ramabadhran (E-201), thought he could not let the store go to seed and decided to revamp the store. He, along with Harishankar (G 106), Srikanth (C-003), K.K. Mani (B- 201) and Deepak Verma (H-208), amongst others also decided to chip in financially to restructure the store. The matter of keeping in abeyance the payment of rental for one year or until the Stores starts generating surplus, whichever comes earlier, came up for discussions in the Managing Committee. The Committee after due deliberations unanimously OK’d the same, subject to the ratification by the General Body. The revamped store will bring in all the attributes of a modern retail outlet with state-of-the-art bar coding, billing and inventory management system. The store will be equipped with CCTV’s to prevent pilferage, which was quite rampant before. With adequate stocks, increased variety of items and good ambience, YCS will make shopping a pleasure. The store will also have a photocopier machine to meet the increased requirements of photocopying within the Apartments. It is hoped the glory days will be back soon. The residents need not go to the Alaknanda market, dodging traffic and inhaling pollutants to do their grocery purchases. The store will gradually add more product categories and coffee and tea vending machines to make it a pleasant hangout. We are all very grateful to Mr. Venkatachalam , Mr. Srinivasan and Mr. Seshan who put their heart and soul to run the stores against all odds. We will continue to count on their experience and advice in running the store in the future. Services of all residents will be called upon to support the store, in either manning or monetarily so that we can make it a fine example of cooperative endeavour. Cheenu is spending a good deal of time in the store, in this effort.

It’s going to be “lights out” between 8.30 pm and 9.30pm on the 28th of March. It is ‘Earth Day’ for the uninitiated. Not to be outrun of resources by the pace of development and metaphorically speaking, bite the hand that feeds, environmentalists around the world have got together to give this clarion call to save the Earth by this gesture. In order that residents are not unduly inconvenienced, we have decided to screen a movie on the lawns followed by pot luck dinner.

It was India’s day at the Oscars. Very few movies in the history of the Academy awards have won 8 Oscars. Slumdog Millionaire, takes its pride of place amongst the greatest of movies ever made. Of course, there will be many who will argue that better movies have been made in India which have not got a sniff at the Oscars. I could not agree with them more. But is this the time to quibble over such matters? I think not. Let us take pride of being on the global stage where a story on India starring Indian actors, Indian music director, Indian sound mixer and Indian story writer, have teamed together with a British producer and director, to produce a movie which has made the world sit up and take notice. The only previous time an Indian story made it big at the Oscars was when Gandhi directed by Richard Attenborough, another British producer and director, won an award. Slumdog was not the only Indian story that got the honours. A documentary film Smile Pinki, about an Indian girl with a cleft lip, also by a British film-maker, got the Oscar in that category. It must have been an extremely awe inspiring day for all the child artistes from both the movies who come from extremely poor backgrounds to be in LA as part of this extravaganza.

I have been asked to write about an issue that is causing a great deal of anguish to residents. The dalliance of teenagers in shady corners of the colony “koochie kooing,” is getting a little out of hand. From infrequent incidents, to bolder and frequent encounters, is upsetting the residents and can leave an indelible imprint on impressionable minds. This brazen display of affection is not what the residents can acquiesce to. These hormonal, angst-ridden teenage hearts need counselling, so that things don’t go out of hand.

C&D Block residents woke up one morning to find tea and coffee coming out of their taps. Realising they hadn’t done any particularly good deed to deserve this largesse; they put this burgundy and brown liquid to a flavour test. Lo behold, it was unadulterated sewage! Realising they hadn’t done anything particularly offensive to deserve this curse, they promptly reported the matter to the Society Office. Last heard, Managing Committee members visiting these Apartments were treated to what seemed to be noxious emissions emanating from the wrong end of the alimentary canal. It was a message loud and clear to get their act on the road and rectify the problem. Work is at hand, even though it is an onerous task, accessing the shaft and other nether regions, to plug the elusive leak.

For all those who are going through the wringer, parents and children alike, to get through the Board exams – good luck. Don’t chew off all your nails. Keep some for the results!

OBITUARY

Mrs. Lakshmi Ramamurthy, owner of A-010, left for her heavenly abode on Sunday the 1st of February in Coonoor, Tamil Nadu.

The last days of the month also did not augur well for Mrs. Shoba Zutshi (mother of Jai Zutshi from C-006), who breathed her last after a prolonged illness on 26th February.

The residents of Yamuna convey their condolence to the bereaved families.

SNIPPETS

Under the benign influence of the stars, romance blossomed between the debonair Raj Nathan of A- 107 and Priyanka, which culminated in their wedding on 6th February at the Guruvayurappan Temple in Mayur Vihar. I was privileged to be present at the reception of the groom at the NDMC Barat Ghar at Kaka Nagar on 5th February. Normally NDMC Barat Ghars give an impression of unimaginative planning, shoddy workmanship and neglect, but the Kaka Nagar Barat Ghar, where the reception was held had the ambience of a 5- star hotel. The bride and the groom were at their radiant best. Priyanka, a Sindhi, will add to the cultural diversity of Yamuna. We wish Raj and Priyanka the same intensity of affection that brought them together, for the rest of their lives.

Seema Chari and Kunal Savarkar with their two lovely daughters – Tanvi (aged 7) and Sahana (aged 4) have moved into G-204. The kids attend DPS, East of Kailash (Classes I and Nursery respectively). Seema is a polyglot who speaks Italian, French, and Marathi apart from her mother tongue, Tamil. She runs Eloquenza (www.eloquenza.in) , a company that specializes in providing European language skills to organizations in India and abroad. Kunal straddles an unlikely combination of careers – one of an architect, Director in Archohm Consults (www.archohm.com , based in Kalkaji Extn), and two, of quizzing – he runs Quizcraft (www.quizcraft.in) – a company that conducts quizzes for schools, colleges and corporate clients across India. They can be reached at seema@eloquenza.in and kunal@archohm.com or 40523817. I am sure Yamuna will find enough occasions to use the skills of Seema and Kunal.

In a lateral move, which would not have troubled them a lot, Arjun Rao and his family made A-205 their new home. They were earlier residing in A-203. So, don’t go knocking on the wrong door!

CALENDAR OF EVENTS - MARCH 2009

10.3.09/11.3.09

Holi Hai! Step out to get plastered, splashed or generally rangolied. No holds barred ! Organic, non-toxic colours will be sold at the Yamuna Stores from 2nd March onwards.

28.3.09

Screening of a movie on the lawn followed by potluck dinner. Title of movie to
be announced later.

YAMUNA'S TREES

'Neighbour's envy, owner's pride' is a saying one can rightfully apply to Yamuna's greenery. The profusion of trees, many of them belonging to the flowering variety provide shade and cool us during the long, hot summer, besides softening the all-pervasive concrete landscape.

But how many of us even know the names of our trees? Shanthi Chandrashekaran (H-107) certainly does. Starting this month, she will enrich our knowledge about a particular tree species that grows in our colony.

CALLIANDRA HAEMATOCEPHALA - PINK POWDER PUFF

(Photo courtesy: Sumathi Chandrashekaran)

We have 3 of these shrubs/ trees in Yamuna Apartments which are in bloom this month. Try spotting them.These are hospitable evergreens and are good for accent planting . They have bright pink flowers shaped like huge powder puffs. This is in contrast with rich green, graceful, compound leaves. The bright pink is actually the colour of their stamens . The shrub originated in South America. The shrub requires ample water and drainage.

STORE RESTORED !

Makeovers are not only for celebrities, our very own Yamuna Stores has benefited from one, too ! Walk into its shiny, new interior and you'll be hard put to recall its earlier, musty avatar. Some large doses of Vitamin-M, a lick of paint, trendy display racks and plenty of hard work have resulted in what you see below. The new store was inaugurated with due fanfare on 22nd February, 2009. (For a closer look, click on the pix.)

With many ambitious plans ahead, help of all sorts is required from residents, both monetary and otherwise. If you are at home during the day, for instance, can you spare a few hours every week to man the billing counter? The tech-challenged will be given adequate training to operate the computerised billing system (believe us, it's child's play!)

Information and updates on what's happening at the store will be posted on this website:

http://www.yamunastores.org/

You are also welcome to e-mail your ideas and suggestions to the store management at:

contributors@yamunastores.org