Editorial
The salubrious weather of March should normally be an occasion to use the outdoors, smell the spring flowers (albeit a very short spring )and generally mingle around in an atmosphere of bonhomie. Instead, for much of the month, the Yamuna thoroughfares were deserted and once in a while a lone pedestrian could be seen hanging his head morosely, as though the burden of carrying the world on his shoulder was weighing him down. The reason is not far off. It is the omnipotent examination fever. The annual ritual of preparing and appearing for the exams is an all encompassing activity, making men and women built of sterner stuff collapse under the strain. The children appearing in the exams have not only to cope with the lessons, but also the combined expectations of family and friends. It’s a tall order for such young minds and therefore, they are a little callous. This makes the parents all the more stressed out! Therein lies the problem. The results of the examinations play such a crucial role in the destiny of the children that one cannot be faulted for such unsocial behaviour. The unfinished work of the basketball court, which will also double up as cricket pitch or soccer, is now complete. The children who use this area are quite satisfied with the results. The court markings may leave you a little aghast, though. This is one place they can play in with gay abandon, without getting castigated for breach of peace. One hopes they will be less inclined to play soccer and cricket between the blocks or in the badminton court. The TT table has been repaired and placed under the Club House. Because of easy accessibility, a number of people, both young and not so young have taken a fancy to the game. Looking at the number of people waiting in the wings to get a game, we may have to buy another table to relieve the tedium. There was a nip in the air on the 11th morning, which prompted me to think that people would step out a tad late to let in the Holi spirit. How wrong was I ? No sooner had dawn arrived and the sun made its sneak peek from behind the Ashoka trees, than one could see small kids armed with what looked like bazookas and Kalashnikovs, training their water filled weapons at unsuspecting victims. That was the trigger for the older kids and adults to step out. Soon, the badminton court was awash in myriad colours. Some girls were seen in the terrace sending water balloons as missiles at the boys assembled in the badminton court. I could only identify them as the guy with the yellow ears or the girl with the blue nose, from the cosy confines of my home. After a while of revelry, the kids made their exit. I thought that the very interesting one day cricket match on TV between India and New Zealand was proving to be too much of a temptation and everybody had retired home to watch Sehwag display his pyrotechnics. I was again caught on the wrong foot as I got summons relayed to me by my wife, that I was required in the lawn. I tore myself reluctantly away from the TV screen and made my way to the lawn. Lo and behold, the whole colony seemed to be assembled there, ready to pounce on anybody who remotely did not look like the apparition of the devil. I saw Harishankar training the garden hose at all the people who were looking dry as cinder. After giving him a deft dodge I went in, only to be doused by a pail of water thrown at me by Prema and Janani. Radha, Meera, Bhavani, Poornima, Sudha, Sujata, Netra, Murali and Vinod, amongst others, took turns in messing me up. My carefully combed hair, meant to hide the bald patches, turned out to be an exercise in futility. Thankfully, due to the action taken by the Yamuna Stores, many were using non-toxic, organic colours. Sujata treated people to some gujia suspected to be laced with bhang. It turned out to be a cruel joke. After running out of fresh victims, everybody settled down for a round of Antakshari. Srikant captured all the action on camera and it has been posted in the Yamuna blog. The Lok Sabha elections are due next month. This time, by virtue of several million young, first time voters deciding the fate of the politicians, we may see a new breed of politicians as many parties are fielding younger and better qualified candidates. Our political class has hitherto been insufferably arrogant, flagrantly self serving and utterly derelict in fulfilling its most basic duties and responsibilities to those who have voted it into existence. As politicians are expected to come calling to Yamuna near the time of the elections, please keep your list of demands ready. Let’s see if the new political class give us a semblance of governance, instead of always dipping their hand in the till. It had been lacklustre campaigning until Varun Gandhi ignited the debate with his vitriolic outburst against a minority community. A court censure and possible ban from contesting elections cannot be ruled out. That these words should come out of the mild mannered Gandhi has surprised many. The fact is, prejudicial quicksand lurks in every prided gene pool and Nehru’s great grandson is no exception. He has just stuffed both his feet in the mouth. Children feel older not when they have their birthday, but when they move to the next class after the examinations. Nursery children go to primary school, which most often requires a change of school. Primary children move to middle school and so on. Children who undergo these transitions really feel grown up and acquire new tastes and habits, in terms of the food they eat, the clothes they wear, the games they play etc. Call it peer pressure or by any other name but it is all too evident. April will be the month when this happens and will prove expensive for parents. They will have to pay for books for the new class, new uniforms and fees for the new session et al. The movie, Luck by Chance, which was being screened in the badminton court on the 28th, had to be moved under the club house when it started drizzling. However, it soon turned out to be a downpour along with what appeared to be gale force winds. When it became apparent that we could not continue any more even in the partial shelter under the Club house the screening was stopped. The movie will now be screened in the badminton court on the first Saturday of April. The pot luck dinner also turned out to be damp squib on account of the downpour. The “Earth Day”, lights out advisory was only partially implemented by residents. Several homes did not seem too cognisant of the need to turn of the lights between 8.30p.m. and 9.30 p.m.. I have reasonable cause to believe that it was more successful in other parts of the city. SNIPPETS Anjali, daughter of Renu Garg of H-305 could not have asked for a better birthday. On the 15th, the lawn was bedecked with balloons of all hues. Anybody who could qualify as a kid, was invited. If you could extend that definition, it included some adults too. There was the latest and more elaborate version of the Jumping Jenny installed, which seemed to be very popular with the children. Much of the same happened for Ananya Verma’s(C-106) birthday. Ananya’s mother, Lavanya had arranged a fancy dress party on the 22nd in the rear lawn of C block. Masks and other accoutrements, role play etc, marked the high point of the birthday. Studying to be a doctor is perhaps the most onerous task. So, when you are being conferred the degree, it is a relief from the tedium of studies and also a sense of achievement. Aditi of C-004 did not want this to go unsung. She implored mom Gita to buy new saris for the Convocation and head to Bangalore for the D- day. The proud and dutiful mother did just that. Now Aditi has the licence to pull the plug or not depending on which side of the euthanasia debate she is on. Fit and Fine What is Superbrain Yoga? Significance of the ear: Dr Paul Nogier, a neurologist, rediscovered that the ear corresponds to an inverted foetus curled in the womb. The earlobe corresponds to the head. Acupressure energy points for the brain, eyes, forehead, mouth, ovary, parotid, temple, and testes congregate around the ear area affected by pressure from the exercise. In addition, the finger tips used in the exercise have energy points for the brain as well as pineal and pituitary glands. Superbrain Yoga partially cleans and energizes the energy centres needed for the brain to function efficiently. It allows the body’s energy centres to absorb, digest and distribute prana to different parts. The right ear lobe corresponds to the left brain and vice-versa. When the right ear lobe is gently squeezed with the left thumb and left index finger, with the thumb outside, it produces energy connection which causes the left brain and pituitary gland to become activated. The same result occurs for the right brain and pineal gland when the left ear lobe is gently squeezed the same way. Correct Finger Position: The correct finger position must be used for a higher pranic energy level in the brain and more powerful effects, generally. Correct Arm Position: The right arm must be outside, and the left arm inside for the brain to be energized and activated. Facing The Correct Direction: For children, teens and adults, it is advisable to face east for better results. It activates the upper energy centres and facilitates the moving up of energies from lower to higher energy centres. Older people may face north as it energises their energy centres, especially the lower ones. Practice under the guidance of a certified Superbrain Yoga practitioner for better results. (Times of India) http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KSwhpF9iJSs Quiz Time! This is a quiz for people who know everything! These are not trick questions. They are straight questions with straight answers. (Answers in the next issue of the Chronicle) 1. Name the one sport in which neither the spectators nor the participants know the score or the leader until the contest ends. 2. What famous North American landmark is constantly moving backward? 3. Of all vegetables, only two can live to produce on their own for several growing seasons. All other vegetables must be replanted every year. What are the only two perennial vegetables? 4. What fruit has its seeds on the outside? 5. In many liquor stores, you can buy pear brandy, with a real pear inside the bottle. The pear is whole and ripe, and the bottle is genuine; it hasn't been cut in any way. How did the pear get inside the bottle? 6. Only three words in standard English begin with the letters " dw" and they are all common words. Name two of them. 7. There are 14 punctuation marks in English grammar. Can you name at least half of them? 8. Name the only vegetable or fruit that is never sold frozen, canned, processed, cooked, or in any other form except fresh. 9. Name 6 or more things that you can wear on your feet beginning with the letter "S." CALENDAR OF EVENTS - APRIL 2009 4.4.09 7.00 pm onwards Movie show in the Badminton 12.4.09 10.00 am onwards General Body Meeting in the To enjoy more of Srikanth's pictures, click on: YAMUNA'S TREES Cape Honeysuckle Scientific Name: Bignonia capensis, Family: Bignoniaceae Bignonia capensis or Cape honeysuckle is an ornamental garden plant commonly used for screening and decorative purposes. It can also be trimmed to form a hedge. It is often planted specifically to attract birds and butterflies.. It s a loose rambling, tropical, evergreen shrub with mild climbing tendencies. It has compound leaves up to 6 inches long , 2 inches wide, with 7 or 9 shiny leaflets, up to 1 inch long . It is ideal for sandy, stony soils where little else grows. It is close to carefree as far as maintenance is concerned. The Cape Honeysuckle has spectacular bright orange flowers. It blooms all year, however the flowers are more abundant in autumn or spring. It is not a native of India and originated in South Africa, Mozambique. It has high heat tolerance and needs full sun to light shade. Its watering needs are low and once established needs a good soaking every month in summer. It can be propagated by seeds cuttings any time. The powdered bark of this attractive garden plant is used as a traditional medicine to relieve pain and sleeplessness. (Shanthi Chandrashekaran)
It’s hard to imagine that a girl who until not too long ago was seen in pigtails and school uniform, could be the mother of a baby girl. Pallavi of B 306, who over the passage of time has become a comely young woman, delivered a bonny girl on the 1st of March. Both mother and child are fine. She is fortunate to have her mother and father two floors below to do some baby sitting.
This technique partially cleans the energy centres needed for the brain to function efficiently, allowing the energy centres to absorb, digest & distribute prana to different parts of the body .
Want a demo? Watch this video on your p.c., sent to us by Mahesh (A-303), appropriately titled ‘Thopukaranam Rediscovered’!
Court followed by Potluck Dinner
Community Hall
http://picasaweb.google.co.in/yamunahappenings/HoliPhotos?feat=directlink 
They attract sunbirds and hummingbirds.I actually caught a couple of sunbirds (with great difficulty) on camera and have included a picture of the bird on the plant. .jpg)
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