EDITORIAL
Another year has come and gone off in a hurry. We are all one year older but are we any wiser? The question begs an answer. There is turmoil all over the world. While there are economic woes in Europe and much of the Third World, there is civil strife in Syria and Egypt. Pakistan and Afghanistan are battling the Taliban. China is becoming belligerent and flexing its muscles against the littoral states and its southern neighbours. Several innocent children have been shot dead in a school in the US by a gunman. Closer home, the brutal assault on a girl in a Delhi bus shows that we are not a civilised society by a long shot. Although doomsday predictions by the ancient Mayans that the world would come to an end on 21st December, 2012 did not come true, anarchy rules the world. Why can’t we all live in peace and harmony? After all we have only one life to live and before long we will all be dead and gone.
Demographics of Yamuna is changing fast. Change is a constant. Change is most discernible amongst children. Toddlers become tiny tots and enter school; some others become teenagers and face new challenges. We can see the transition to all these stages right here in Yamuna. People are moving out and there is an influx of new tenants. The good news is that the new tenants are integrating well and participating enthusiastically in the social and cultural affairs of the society as is evidenced by the participation in the Annual day.
The month started with a bang with the colony Annual Day on 1st December. Despite the relatively thin attendance, the show was a great success. The children and adults performed brilliantly. Three cheers to the choreographers who crafted such a splendid show by turning untrained people into wizards on the stage. My thanks go out in great measure to Seetha, Bharti and Gita Rastogi , between them, took on the mantle and organised and anchored the show on the day. I owe a lot of gratitude to Mohan Krishnaswamy, Netra, Soumya amongst others for behind-the- scenes organisation. I would not be in a position to delve into the nuances of each performance as I could not attend the event on that day due to a personal tragedy at home. Be that as it may, I would fail in my duty if I did not acknowledge the several man-hours of effort and imagination put in by the following choreographers in making the Annual Day a memorable event. Lalitha Nagarajan who choreographed the invocation song set the tone for the musical, stage and dance extravaganza that featured that night. Radhika Samson trained Radhika of C-005 and Aaria of C-106 for the invocation song and very imaginatively blended Bharatanatyam and Odissi into a fusion form performed by Aparna Krishnan and Dakshina Raghavendra. Renu Garg did a magnificent job coaxing the tiny tots to do a fancy dress item. Classical dance is a challenging art form even for adults. Sahana who is about 5 years old or thereabouts did a Kathak piece even as she was battling a fever. Shruti Nagarajan has obviously got her mother’s genes as she excelled in a Hindustani music recital. Aditi Ganapathi with her Kuchipudi dance and Tejas and Avantika with their classical Hindustani music recital have notched a permanent place for themselves on the Yamuna stage. “All is well”, a Bollywood number choreographed by Alka Arora and Vidya Venkat and performed by the children was well received by the audience. The crowds’ enthusiastic response also mirrored the exuberance and cadence of “Go Go Govinda”, choreographed by Anu Nair and Netra. The performance by the children elicited an encore. The marquee event was the play directed by Seema Chari and performed by the adults in the colony. Seema wrote the script and directed the play. In the rehearsals, she was like a school matron lashing her whip. Her stern demeanour as a director paid off as everybody was raving about the play. Deepak Varma excelled in his role. The crooners, Aditi Rastogi and Seema Chari, who took the top honours sang a medley of songs in seven different languages. Minor glitches apart, the variety programme was a show stopper. Kudos to all the onstage and backstage performers.
Pride of place for giving away the awards and prizes at the Annual Day was given to Mr. K. V. N. Swamy in whose house in Karol Bagh the Society was established. The members at that time proposed to make plotted developments and it was at his insistence that apartments were built. We owe him a great deal. He could not give a speech as he intended to as he was choked with emotion. Two members, Mr. V.V.Bhotlu of F-203 and Mr. Hari Shankar Rastogi, were honoured on becoming octogenarians. Mr. Bhotlu thanked Mr. K. V. N. Swamy for inducting him as a member and spoke in glowing terms about the merits of living in Yamuna.
We had been having a bright and sunny winter until the 23rdDecember, when a visit to Sultanpur Bird Sanctuary was planned. Everybody was ready with their picnic hampers ready to set off to Sultanpur to see some exotic migratory birds, bask in the sunlight and sample the smorgasbord of eats. Unfortunately, it was not to be. We woke up in the morning under a thick blanket of fog which did not lift until noon. We were loath to drive all that way to try and spot birds obscured by fog. The birds had the last laugh as they could savour the peace that reigned without the ogling and excited screaming. Anon, subject to better weather, we can head off to sight birds closer home, maybe to Okhla Jheel, as proposed by Sumathi.
Yuletide spirit was much in evidence at the Christmas Carnival held on 24th December in the badminton court. The bonfire was a big magnet for residents to show up in large numbers to enjoy the evening of carols, nativity scene, music, dance and eats. Owing to 24th December being a working day, many working people were held up in traffic and could not make it home at the scheduled starting time of 6.30 pm. Hence the start was deferred. Sahana Savarkar, the motor mouth, took charge of the mike and kept up the jabbering for nearly an hour interspersed with a particular carol which she and her friends Radhika and Samiksha must have sung at least twenty times until we were ready to go live. I can see the prodigious signs of a future compere in her. Aditi Rastogi’s trained singers, all dressed as fairies, sang the tuneful carols to the strains of the keyboard, masterly handled by Aditi. This was followed by the Nativity scene and Polka Dot dance. Seema Chari recounted the tale behind the Nativity scene for the uninitiated. The stage was decked with the Christmas tree laden with gifts and trinkets among other things. Baby Jesus was lying in the barn. It was a view to behold. Just as the kids were getting restless, in marched Santa showering gifts. The role was perfectly played by Sumyouktha of D-202. I am grateful to Anu Nair and Alka Arora amongst others for making the show a success.
After the variety show, the stage was set for the winter ramp walk. The children and ladies in particular were very well attired in haute couture. I could sense some professional assist in the way some of the small children walked, swayed their hips and sashayed their dresses. It seemed unfair to pick out the winners as they all looked gorgeous. As usual the boys, barring Samarth, stayed away from the contest. Dr. Abhilash Pillai of G-105, who will soon be moving to A-204 sponsored the prizes. The ones who made the cut in the judges’ view are:
| CATEGORY | NAME-FIRST | ADDRESS | NAME-SECOND | ADDRESS |
UNDER 12YEARS | KIANA ABRAHAM | A-008 | ADWITA NAIR | B-107 |
| OVER12 YEARS | PRAKRITI RASTOGI | G-003 | DAKSHINA RAGHAVENDRA | A-001 |
LADIES | SUDHA EASWARAN | H-202 | SEEMA CHARI | C-208 |
GENTLEMEN | DEEPAK VARMA | H-208 | JAI ZUTSHI | C-006 |
Food, which is always the main attraction at such do’s, had enough adherents. I freaked out on the mushroom bruschetta (ambrosia of all foods). I didn’t know until then that Kunal’s considerable skills extended to things culinary, unless he was playing proxy to someone else’s creation. I have one grouse though, the mushrooms were very mingy in their inclusion in the serving that I got. To round off the evening, Madhu Nair provided some liquid nourishment to uplift the flagging spirits caused by the dying embers. As always, Bollywood is so steeped into our culture that no evening is complete without the young and old letting their hair down and jiving to the latest Hindi and Punjabi songs. Prashant’s expert handling of DJ’s corner was missed, as chaos ruled.
People leading a hedonistic life style trooped in from several watering holes they were partying in, to usher in the New Year at the Community Hall. At the stroke of midnight, mass hugs and loud cheers greeted the assembled throng with rings of Happy 2013. After the ceremonial cake cutting ritual, everybody melted into the night to reboot their party.
To all those who were not there on the fateful night and to all those netizens for whom the Chronicle is their only connect to Yamuna, we wish a healthy and rewarding 2013.
SNIPPETS
Rashmi Dutta after a brief sojourn of one year has moved out of G-306. Consequently Arun, Subadha and Sashvath have moved there from G-302. This lateral transfer shouldn’t have needed packing and unpacking.
Ashish Narendra Sutar has moved into H-106 from Mumbai. Ashish is a veterinary doctor and loves animals. He works with World Society for the Protection of Animals. He loves watching cricket and used to play the game in his youth. Not that there is much to cheer for the Indian cricket fans. His wife Deepa, to use a cliché, is a homemaker. It is a full time job if you consider that she has to take care of a 5 year old, adrenaline charged son. Dhruv and Deepa will join Ashish in March 2013. Deepa loves cooking and may compete in the chef’s competition. They can be reached on 9958595345.
Akshay Satya and Aditi Kotwal have moved to A-205 from Hyderabad. Akshay is an Andhraite. Aditi is a Maharashtrian and a close relative of Madhavi Samson. Akshay works for International Finance Corporation. Akshay is fond of reading and likes to swim and play basketball. Aditi is a free lance writer and has written a novel which will be published next year. The novel is a contemporary take on Draupadi. Aditi is fond of reading, writing and travelling. They can be reached on 9711133142.
With the arrival of these two families the strength of Maharashtrians in the colony gets boosted.
MIRTH CORNER
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