EDITORIAL
The Commonwealth games have thrown everything into a tizzy. To start with, most schools have reopened ten days in advance, to accommodate for the extra holidays during the Commonwealth Games. When it concerns civic agencies, anything to do with Commonwealth Games is given top priority and everything else is thrown on the back burner. Some clever people are managing to get a lot of projects done under the garb of the Commonwealth Games. There is reasonable cause to believe that the much hyped event may not live up to its expectations both from an audience standpoint as well as from expectations of tourist arrivals. As for the former, India is a purely cricket country. The only sporting extravaganza that sells in India is cricket. Most people will not be able to name a single Indian athlete. As far as tourist arrivals go, people are paranoid about security concerns and may think discretion is the better part of valour and stay away. Besides, international stars like the 100 and 200 metres world sprint champion may miss the meet.
Vacation time is over and it is back to the grind. The weather is so enervating that the moment you are out of the shower you want to get under it again. Monsoon arrival has missed the deadline and I wonder if we will be able to make up the deficit in the next two months.
I am back from a trip to the US where I spent the better part of the month. Some observations that I made there are worth emulating to make our surroundings and environment better. People who take their pets for a walk always carry doggy poop bags and promptly scoop the poop for appropriate disposal. Contrast this with Yamuna where taking a walk on the perimeter road is a fraught with danger. If you return to your home with your footwear not squishy or smelling foul, you could consider yourself fortunate. Besides, people do not litter. Refuse is always disposed off in waste bins. Not only that, they have gone a step further by segregating their litter between bio-degradable and recyclable. While, we have placed several waste bins in Yamuna, proper litter disposal is followed more in the breach than in the observance. Shouldn’t we have concern for others, take pride in keeping our surroundings clean and adopt practices that are prevalent elsewhere in the world?
Learning to be non-competitive is hard for some Indians, if not impossible. So the faceless results of the XII th class CBSE are bound to rankle. Merit lists and decimal point rankings, after all mean instant fame for the chosen few and assured coverage by the media of their path to glory. Grade point average and percentiles do not evoke the same shock and awe. After all, a person getting 98% will get the same grade as a person with 91%. It, however, benefits a lot of those who are at the lower end of the grade range and leads to less heart burn, as one is unlikely to be pipped to the post by half a mark.
An Australian scientist has predicted that humans would become extinct in hundred years. One may rubbish this as another doomsday prophecy or a cynic’s apocalyptic vision of contemporary times, but it certainly gives one the creeps, although I will be dead and gone well before then.
OBITUARY
Mr. V. K. Subramanian ex-Member and father of V.S. Hariharan of A-205 passed away on 15th June in Bangalore. He looked youthful until the scourge of cancer got the better of him. Mrs. Meena Krishnan of E-004, wife of Mr. N. Krishnan passed away on 26th June in Holy Family Hospital. Mrs. Krishnan was a very active lady and a regular walker. Only last year she celebrated her 80th birthday. It was hard to imagine that tragedy would overtake such an active individual. She was a very gregarious person and liked by all. S. Srikanth of C-003 was as usual at hand to take her to the hospital and for the last rites. With Srikanth around one can rest assured nobody will leave this world unescorted.
Residents of Yamuna convey their heartfelt condolence to the bereaved in both the families.
SNIPPETS
There has been a sudden exodus of young couples from Yamuna as a consequence of career pursuits taking them elsewhere. The latest to join the bandwagon is V. Anand of H-005 also known as Murali. He has moved to Bangalore to join Target India Ltd. Deepa, who could easily appear in shampoo advertisements as the person with the straightest hair will be sorely missed as a dancer at dandia.
To match the exodus there has been an influx as well.
Mr. Raghavendra Subramanian is no stranger to Yamuna having lived here before. He has moved into G-205 with his wife Rekha (daughter of Mr. Hariganesh) and daughter Dakshina. They have moved from New York where they spent the last 10 years. Raghav works for Zenith Opti Media as Chief Strategy Officer. Rekha works for Step-by- Step as Special Educator(Early Intervention). Their daughter, Dakshina is in the VIIth class in Gyan Bharti School. She loves
Yamuna. She is a keen dancer, writes poems and is fond of dogs..
Mr. Sriram Raju has moved into A-103 from Narmada Apartments. He works as Director Sales with the Canadian firm Bombardier (makers of engines for the Metro). He likes to play cricket, listen to Carnatic music and is a fitness freak. His wife, Dr. Sudha Balakrishnan who has done MD in Public Health, works with UNICEF and is in charge of HIV Aids prevention and control. She loves to play the veena and read books. Their son Tejas who is 12 years old is in the VII th Class in DPS, RK Puram. He is crazy about football and is a keyboard player. They can be reached on 9711261130.
Mr. G. Padmanabhan has moved into C-108 from Geetanjali Enclave. He works for UNDP. He is a dog lover and is fond of reading and travelling. His wife Geeta Menon works in LIC. She loves music and has performed on stage. She may need a bit of coaxing to perform at the Annual Day function. Her other interests include reading and gardening. C Block could tap her for gardening tips. Mr. Padmanabhan’s mother, Seetha G. Pillai also lives with them. Their daughter Anjali Menon studies in Mother’s International School in the IXth Class and loves swimming, drawing and playing badminton. They can be reached on 9810402937.
Mr. Prashant Sharma has moved into G-002 from Mayur Vihar. He works for the Canadian High Commission as Immigration Officer. His wife Rajni is a home maker. They seem to be made for each other as they even share the same birthday on 25th July. They have a toddler son, Arush, who is 11 months old. They can be reached on 9971167307.
We welcome these families to Yamuna and hope they contribute towards enriching the social and cultural life of the colony.
Mind Benders!
2. In a foreign language, “rota mena lapy” means large apple tree, “rota firg” means small apple and “mena mola” means large pineapple. Which word means tree?
3. What is the missing number in this grid?
12 27 111
19 39 ?
4 9 37
4. Find a four letter word that will make new words when added in front of these:
GUARD
LONG
TIME
5. How many four letter words can you find in the word “twinkle”? (Try for at least 15)
(Answers to puzzles in the next issue!)
6. Try your luck at this “trickle-down” puzzle. Starting at the top, change one letter of each succeeding word to arrive at the word at the bottom.
TOOK
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BURN
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