Issue No. 117 I May 2011

EDITORIAL

The belief that Yamuna is an oasis of peace, calm and tranquillity in an otherwise crime ridden city was shattered on the night of 18^th May when three flats were broken into and burgled. This is the first time in over thirty years of the Society’s existence that such an incident has happened. While we urgently need to change the security set-up (which may call for a higher maintenance charge), part of the blame for such events rests with the residents. About six months ago, the Secretary had sent a circular stating that all those residents who were getting civil, plumbing, electric or sundry jobs done should provide a list of all the workmen to the office. Only such workers were to be given access to the complex. It is also noted that most of the residents do not adhere to the time schedule for entry and exit of such workers, thereby placing the security of all flats under peril. It is an irony that we have to wake up and realise our folly only after the crime is committed. Henceforth, all residents should engage workers only after provision of list to the office. Since the burglars targeted houses that were locked up, the possibility of someone working in the complex acting as an informant cannot be ruled out.


The modus operandi adopted by the felons has been to prise open the front door using a crowbar. Since the lock of the front door is half way from the top and bottom, the centre acts as a pivot and the crowbar can be slipped at the lower half of the door or the top half of the door with some pressure. They have then leveraged the inside wall to exert pressure on the lock and door which breaks under the force. I inspected each of the flats that were broken into. One way out to secure the front door is to install three self-locks at the centre, bottom and lower half of the door and secure it if you are planning to be away overnight or for extended periods of time. While the Society will endeavour to secure the colony’s perimeter walls by installing concertina wires so that scaling the walls as an entry and escape route can be ruled out, we would request residents to be more vigilant and inform the Society Office in case you are planning to be out of town. You should also ideally leave the house and car keys with someone you know and trust and notify the Society Office of the same. As another measure of reducing access points, the C-Block gate has been closed and access will be only from the A&H block gates. This may cause inconvenience to residents, particularly those visiting the temple. However, since security is of paramount importance, one has to put up with the inconvenience. Mr. K K. Mani who happened to view the CCTV footage of the night of the event did not spot any intruders entering or exiting from the three gates. Ostensibly, they have scaled the perimeter wall to make their getaway.


The Board exam results are out. The number of students getting over 90% marks both in Yamuna as well as elsewhere is astounding. Today’s 90’s are 80’s of a decade ago, 70’s of the decade before that, 60’s of the decade before that and so on. During my school days, a student getting over 60% marks in Humanities was rare and would feature in the city’s merit list but now 90’s seem par for the course. What does that mean? Are today’s children brighter than before? The jury is out on that. In my interactions with children of today, I have realised that while they are far more skilled with gadgets like mobile phones, computers and the like and their awareness level is very high in some issues, it is significantly low in others. To be fair to them, they face a lot of new challenges where the body of empiric data cannot throw much light on its effect on the human brain. They seem to be more emotionally challenged and less rounded. There is no IQ test to determine how they would fare against people of a generation ago. However, based on Darwin’s theory of evolution, they must be more intelligent than us of an earlier generation. In any case, to be on top of the heap for the year, they deserve all the accolades that come their way. Results of students who have consented to be featured in the Chronicle are listed below:-

NAME	ADDRESS	PERCENTAGE MARKS	STREAM
ABHINAV KUMAR SHARMA	E-301	93.8	HUMANITIES
AISHWARYA S. IYER	B-301	89	HUMANITIES
MANASA NARAYANAN	C-007	89	HUMANITIES
NETRA SUNDARESAN	G-301	87	HUMANITIES
HARSHITA JHAMBA	C-008	82	COMMERCE
MEDHA NAIR	A-003	94	COMMERCE
NANDITA KRISHNAMURTHY	A-104	91	COMMERCE
SHRUTHI SRINIVAS	A-108	94	COMMERCE
SHASHANK SHARMA	C-201	81	SCIENCE

The recent elections in Tamil Nadu have revealed the extent to which money plays a role in winning votes. A low ranked party employee was found with Rs.54 crores of cash in his house, inelegantly stuffed in cartons. Obviously, the number of zeroes now needed to mobilise the masses and win their allegiance has reached stratospheric heights. With Anna Hazare nipping at the heels of corrupt bureaucrats and politicians, hoarding the loot is going to be a tad difficult. It helps when there are neat numbered accounts in salubrious climes that preclude the need for cumbersome storage facilities. Unless the Government signs a treaty with the Swiss government to reveal the names of people who hold Swiss bank accounts, this malaise is not going to end soon.


The price of gold is shooting up and yet there seems to be no let up in the demand, as was evident at the rush at all the gold showrooms on Akshaya Trithiya. Must be oriental fatalism, as a Hindu believes that when financial Armageddon comes – and come it will – the last man standing will be the one who has stashed away some gold. Compared to most Indians, I am a gold pauper. Just as well, since the recent spate of burglaries in Yamuna don’t make it a safe investment.


This may seem a little jaded to the jet-setting tribe of which I was once a hapless victim in my previous job. I am alluding to the T-3 terminal at the Indira Gandhi International Airport. I happened to take a flight late last month. The airport showcases what India can achieve, provided we yank decision making away from Ministers, their corrupt ways and their inept minions. The swanky airport can be compared to the best in the world with chic stores, landscaped greens bursting with red salvias, pink oleander, sundry palms and lilac bougainvilleas. There is still work in progress. The end result can only be better.


 Last week in one of the flats in Yamuna, the AC installed in the bedroom suddenly went up in flames at night when it was not being operated upon. The fire spread very fast and the whole room was engulfed in flames. The residents did not know the location of the fire extinguishers and when it was eventually found, could not operate it. A few months ago the Society had invited the residents for a demonstration and training in fire fighting. Unfortunately, nobody turned up. It is the general tendency to ignore such circulars, as people tend to believe that they may not ever get affected. We would invite these experts again at the earliest and we hope the attendance will be better this time for your own safety.

OBITUARY

14th May was indeed a sad day for us. We lost one of our original residents and members. Mrs. Sreedevi Nair of A-003, after battling with a life threatening ailment, breathed her last. She was a very kind soul and a distinguished teacher of Kerala School until she retired. As long as she was fit, she would help out in the society Office in her spare time. Yamuna residents convey their heartfelt condolence to the bereaved family. The family, as a mark of respect to the departed soul, organised a sumptuous lunch for the residents in the badminton court on 29th May.

SNIPPETS

Saurabh Saraogi who was temporarily living with Meyappan in C-203 has moved into G-205. Saurabh is a Solicitor with Amarchand & Mangaldas & Co. Saurabh is an accomplished public speaker which should come handy in his profession. He also loves reading and socialising. His sister Swasti is in the final year of B.Com (Hons) at JMC and is concurrently doing her articles with Ernst & Young. She has skills in specialised education having voluntarily taught at the Blind School. She is looking for a similar opportunity during the holidays as charity work. She has a passion for dancing and dramatics. I am sure her talents will be on display at the Annual Day.


Raghavendra, Rekha, Dakshina, dog and baggage have moved into A-001 from G-205. Not the kind of move that would stress you especially if you move from a second floor to a ground floor flat.


Mrs. Rema Devi and Ramesh, who had bought F-202, over a year ago have finally moved into their flat this month.


Ms. Arpita Hegde of G-202 has moved out of Yamuna.


Srinivas and Roopa, who moved out of A-001 last month can now be contacted at:
S-283, Ground Floor, Greater Kailash II, New Delhi 110 048 (Landlines: 011-3255 8863, 4653 5705 Mobile: 98717 90323, 98730 03312)


We hope the flood of to-ings and fro-ings of the season are over. If the rate of people moving out and new people moving in continues at this pace, the demographic mosaic of Yamuna would have a transformational change.

TRIVIA

[1] FORTNIGHT comes from 'Fourteen Nights' (Two Weeks).
[2] POP MUSIC is 'Popular Music' shortened.
[3] MOPED is the short term for 'Motorized Pedaling'.
[4] BUS is the short term for 'Omnibus' that means everybody.
[5] DRAWING ROOM was actually a 'withdrawing room' where people withdrew after Dinner. Later the prefix 'with' was dropped.
[6] NEWS refers to information from four direction N, E, W, and S.
[7] AG-MARK, which some products bear, stems from 'Agricultural Marketing'.
[8] QUEUE comes from 'Queen's Quest'. Long back a long row of people as waiting to see the Queen. Someone made the comment Queen's Quest.
[9] JOURNAL is a diary that tells about 'Journey for a day' during each Day's business.
[10] TIPS come from 'To Insure Prompt Service'. In olden days to get Prompt service from servants in an inn, travellers used to drop coins in a Box on which was written 'To Insure Prompt Service'. This gave rise to the custom of Tips.
[11] JEEP is a vehicle with unique Gear system. It was invented during World War II (1939-1945). It was named 'General Purpose Vehicle (GP)'. GP was changed into JEEP later.
[12] Coca-Cola was originally green.

CALENDAR OF EVENTS – JUNE 2011

DATE	TIME	EVENT	VENUE
25.6.11	7 PM	RAIN DANCE	MAIN LAWN