Issue No. 138 I February 2013

Editorial

February is a month when marriages are aplenty. You need not even be the groom or bride’s second cousin’s nephew twice removed, to get invited. It has become fashionable to show off the number of guests at the weddings. Hence, people whom you have a faint recollection of, show up at your door with the wedding card and sundry gifts. It is this compulsion that makes it kind of obligatory to turn up at the wedding, although it may be your fond desire to make a quick exit. Eating at the wedding is an option best avoided. The tentwallah wedding food is predisposed to peptic ulcers and pace makers. The greasy fare has an unmistakeable artery-clogging capability. It is tailor made for cardiovascular disease.

What is depressing about winter is that residents shut their doors and windows and stay entombed in the confines of their homes and there is nary a soul on the road or in the park. However, as the weather warms up you get to see walkers doing their rounds and signs of life in the park as well . The spring weather is short lived and ere long we will find the outdoors as daunting with the sun beating down with a vengeance.

Art shows, particularly the India Art Exhibition held annually, draws a fair sprinkling of Indian and foreign artists displaying their creations. It is a very well organised, informative fair held in the spacious grounds of the NSIC at Okhla. There is also repast available from several kiosks. For those who wish to embellish their flats, artworks are also available on sale. There was no response from our residents for going to the show. In an age notorious for its shallowness, there should be enough people who should be vexed about deeper issues like how to make their lives more meaningful and appreciate things more ethereal. For them it was an opportune time off from the mundane and superficial to appreciate the creativity of the artists.

A trip to the Alaknanda market makes us nimble and agile. Our reflexes are tested the moment we step out, dodging pot holes, traffic, inelegantly placed signboards, hawkers, parked cars, itinerant bovines and uncovered drains amongst others. Our leg muscles are honed to execute leaps, swerves and keep balancing on teetering surfaces. Our municipal authorities seem to be saying, if you are not up to it, don’t venture out.

This is that dreaded time of the year when Board exams send spine chilling fear in the households affected by it. In a do or die situation, a bad day can ruin your dreams. That one Board exam determines your entire future can play havoc with your self confidence. Even children made of sterner stuff can crumble under the pressure. I have seen household members where children are appearing in the Board exams go about their tasks like zombies till the exams get over. I wish to pass good wishes to all those in this predicament. May all of them come out with flying colours.

The painting competition started on 10^th February under a benign sun in the badminton court. There was a reasonably large participation from children and adults. The theme for the children was “Butterfly Park”. The result was a riot of colours, but it was a monochromatic rendition by Shreeya Srikant that turned out to be the piece de resistance. The theme for the adults was “Abstract” and Aishwarya Nair got top billing. Although, Kumar Chiplunkar features in the list of prize winners, I thought his effort was better than the position he secured. The competition stretched on beyond noon as many chose to join in hours after the starting time. By then the sun was blazing. It’s a pity that my Daliesque creation got little appreciation from the judge.

The list of winners has the who’s who of Yamuna’s creative czars:

Name	Address	Name	Address	Name	Address
First  Prize		Second prize		Third Prize
5-6 years
ANJALI GARG	G-106	SAMARTH VARMA	H-208	ANOUSHKA NAIR	A-203
7-8 years
SAHANA SAVARKAR	C-208	V. RADHIKA	C-005	SHASHVAT ARUN	C-306
9-10 years
SAMIKSHA NAIR	B-107	APARNA VARMA	H-208	AVANTIKA SHANKAR	G-306
11-13 years
SHREEYA SRIKANT	C-003	VEDIKA ARORA	A-106	TANVI SAVARKAR	C-208
ADULTS
AISHWARYA NAIR	H-001	KUNAL SAVARKAR	C-208	KUMAR CHIPLUNKAR	E-003

The picnic planned this month had to be canned as the weather gods played truant. Giving credence to the accurate weather forecast for the first Sunday when the picnic was planned, the picnic was cancelled for the following Sunday to which it was deferred because the meteorological department predicted rain. However, we woke up to brilliant sunshine on the morning of 24^th February. We felt cheated by the forecasters as the day turned out to be gorgeous. Anyway, there may have been a very thin participation as Tendulkar was on the threshold of his 52^nd Test hundred. However, fate decided otherwise but we were served up a treat by Dhoni.

Yamuna residents either have a very healthy lifestyle or have unshakable loyalty to their personal physicians. Dr. Sanjay Sharma, our resident physician who runs a clinic at C Block annexe learnt it the hard way. After swatting flies for eleven months he decided that while killing flies may be fun, neither does it bring in any money nor is it his chosen profession. He therefore decided to call it quits and will be vacating the premises on 18^th March, 2013. The Managing Committee has decided to let it out to the highest bidder amongst the residents who use it for purposes acceptable to the Society.

There is a very active movement inspired by the residents of Alaknanda to stall the construction of a massive mall opposite NRI colony. Residents believe that with only three access roads to Alaknanda already choked during peak hours, allowing a mall to open its doors will throw the traffic into total disarray and the mall itself could become a hub for nocturnal activities of the unpleasant kind. However, we may be on weak legal ground as the plot was auctioned by DDA through a public notice and nobody deemed it necessary to protest at that stage. Besides, the successful bidder is Reliance whose pockets are deep and may be willing to use means fair or foul to get the desired verdict. But fight we must even if it only leads to delay in opening of the Mall. The activists have opened a Facebook page by the name Save Alaknanda Andolan where you can get the latest updates and those who wish to give any inputs could get in touch with laveesh@gmail.com or ad@ashutoshdikshit.com Kunal Savarkar is the pointsman from Yamuna.

The voice of the residents’ welfare association of Alaknanda is being heard through the columns of the neighbourhood magazine, Samvada. The proactive stance of the association has yielded results on the ground. The market has got spruced up, although unless residents become civic conscious and not throw rubbish wherever they feel like, it will not be long before we are in the same mess again. The Secretary. Joint Secretary and Mr. P. Krishnamurthy visited the office of the Chief Engineer of PWD along with Mr. Kasana to urge them to attend to various issues like covering the drains, making a new drainage channel to Okhla barrage to prevent stagnation of water in the drains etc. The latter is to be undertaken forthwith and is scheduled for completion before the onset of monsoon.

The inaugural version of the Chef’s Competition last year being a resounding success, it is proposed to replicate the event this year as well. I have a lurking feeling that the lucrative cash prizes had attracted many participants to the competition. I urge sponsors to get in touch with me to let me know how much they wish to place on the table to select the Master Chef. There will be four categories of prizes viz. Mocktails, Starters, Entree or Main Course and Dessert. Extra marks will be given for originality and presentation. So, residents, put on your aprons and show us your culinary skills on Saturday, 30^th March, 2013.

A pamphlet has been received by residents from Mr. Ajay Maken. One of the points mentioned in the pamphlet is that schools in the vicinity of residential colonies have been asked to allow the children from surrounding colonies to use their grounds for playing, free of cost. This should be a big boon to children in the colony who are seeking places to play games like soccer and cricket. We hope St. George’s School honours this directive rather than hire their ground for a fee.

SNIPPETS

In a boisterous household, it required a dog to maintain the p’s and q’s. Dhana, the labrador from G-301, took the top honours in a Dog Show for the Most Obedient Dog. Not surprising, as with so many dominant personalities in the house, the poor thing cannot get a bark in edgeways!

HEALTH CAPSULE

How to Get Matching Blood in Emergency

Now it has become easier to get the blood we need.
All you have to do is just type "BLOOD (Group)" and send an SMS to 9600097000 (in India )

e.g.: "BLOOD B+"
A blood donor will call you!!

MIRTH CORNER

A keen immigrant Indian lad applied for a salesman's job at London’s premier downtown department store.
In fact, it was the biggest store in the world - you could get anything there.
The boss asked him, "Have you ever been a salesman before?"
"Yes sir, I was a salesman in India ", replied the lad. The boss liked the cut of him and said, "You can start tomorrow and I'll come and see you.
The day was long and arduous for the young man, but he got through it. And finally 6:00 PM came around.
The boss duly fronted up and asked, "How many sales did you make today?"
"Sir, Just ONE sale." said the young salesman.
"Only one sale?" blurted the boss. "No! No! You see here, most of my staff make 20 or 30 sales a day. If you want to keep this job, you'd better be doing better than just one sale. “
“By the way How much was the sale worth?"
“ 93300534.00 pounds," said the young salesman.
"What! How did you manage that?" asked the flabbergasted boss.
"Well", said the salesman, "This man came in and I sold him a small fish hook, then a medium hook and finally a really large hook. Then I sold him a new fishing rod and some fishing gear. Then I asked him where he was going fishing and he said down the coast. So I told him he'd be needing a boat, so I took him down to the boat department and sold him that twenty-foot schooner with the twin engines. Then he said his Volkswagen probably wouldn't be able to pull it, so I took him to our automotive department and sold him that new Deluxe 4X4 Blazer. I then asked him where he'd be staying, and since he had no accommodation, I took him to the camping department and sold him one of those new igloo 6-sleeper camper tents. Then the guy said, while we're at it, I should throw in about 100 pounds worth of groceries and two cases of beer.
The boss took two steps back and asked in astonishment,
"You sold all that to a guy who came in for a fish hook!!"
"No," answered the salesman, "He came in to buy a gift for his mother-in-law who is visiting for the weekend and I said to him, ‘Sir, your weekend is busted anyway, you might as well go fishing.’
Boss : "You sit in my chair........."

CALENDAR OF EVENTS FOR MARCH 2013

DATE	TIME	EVENT	VENUE
3.3.13	7.00 AM	CLEANLINESS AND ECODRIVE	ASSEMBLE AT THE BADMINTON COURT
27.3.13	10.00 AM	HOLI MILAN	MAIN LAWN
30.3.13	7.00 PM	CHEF’S COMPETITION	BADMINTON COURT