EDITORIAL
New
Year resolutions notwithstanding, it is just another year in this timeless
universe. The same levels of pollution, the same traffic snarls, you still
dread the Monday and look forward eagerly to the Saturday. It is as though time
stood still, but actually time marches on inexorably. Children grow up to be
adults, get married and have kids of their own. We all get older and lose some
near and dear ones along the way. Just to add some novelty to the new year, from
1st January, 2016 you are more likely to be known as odd or even number car
owner. Brace up for the new dispensation. Anyway, wish you all a very happy and
rewarding New Year.
It
is not often that I go to Chandni Chowk, but on a recent visit, I noticed that
the skyline is changing in more ways than I had bargained. In a whopper of a
cultural coup, a Mc Donald's has opened within sniffing distance of the
hallowed precincts of the Red Fort. It could not have been better placed to
assert the continuing permeation of American culture through societies
worldwide. Not that this would be the first Mc Donald in India but it's target
spot at the apogee of Indian history is devilishly sinister. Its adroit
placement near the famed red walls will chip away at the twin edifice of Indian
pride, its cuisine and culture. Will Paranthewali Gali get consigned to
history? India has come a long way from a decade ago when in Karnataka, the
leader of an organisation against the influence of foreign fast foods asked his
followers to tear apart Kentucky Fried Chicken outlets. Since then many burgers
including the vegetarian variety have flown off the griddles of the now
ubiquitous McDonald outlets. As the aroma of French fries wafts through the Red Fort, India,
the home of cheap eats, has been breached by a predatory interloper! Dr. Ramji
may have something to say about this.
The
other day I was amazed to watch on BBC that a bank employee in Hong Kong had
salted away close to a billion dollars by fiddling with LIBOR rates. I am
always in awe of such people who purloin millions of dollars and grab headlines
in the paper. But it puzzles me that no one bothered to investigate when the
first million disappeared. Contrast this with the financier who harasses you
when you want to take a loan of one lac rupees. He makes you fill a form in
triplicate and get a whole bunch of sureties, including one from your
mother-in-law for good measure. If that wasn't enough he would want a mortgage
on your house. Or take, for that matter, the accountant who catches an errant
employee for fudging the TA bill by fifty rupees. Big bucks theft is the
answer. Be suave and clean up the bank of millions and disappear to the Bahamas
with your girlfriend for a life on the beach and walk on the wild side. In my
home, my mother puts out major alerts if a hundred bucks goes missing. "It
was here yesterday in the second drawer in the drawing room shelf", she
will say. Then we go into a major hunt which will make 9/11 look like a romp in
the park. We look in the unlikeliest of places and eventually find it scrunched
up in Divya's jeans in the washing machine. We celebrate our little victories.
Compare the domestic vigilance with the outside world where scamsters walk off
with oodles of lolly in a trice.
The
Annual Day celebrations got under way on a bitterly cold day on 12th December,
2015,. Going by the trend in recent times, a low turnout was expected but we
were delighted to see a full house. A bigger surprise was in store as many of
them stayed till the end. It was testimony to the quality of the performances
put up by the participants. The refreshments turned out be very good. The
Annual Day got underway with the invocation song sung by Subhada tutored trio
of Avantika, Tanvi and Sivashree. Since Mr. Ramabadhran had a prior commitment
elsewhere, the President's speech was read out by Sumathi Chandrashekaran. Mrs. Radha Warrier of H-203 who turned 80, was
asked to be the chief host, to give away the prizes. The prize distribution
ceremony was truncated by clubbing all the prizes to be awarded to an
individual. Tejaswin Shankar who has made both the country and Yamuna proud by
winning the Asian, Commonwealth and Olympic gold medals in the junior category
in High Jump was felicitated with an award.
The
curtain raiser for the variety entertainment items was a beautiful classical
dance recital by students of Sadhana, choreographed by Radhika Samson. This was
followed by Fancy Dress for tiny tots arranged by Renu Garg. Notwithstanding
their shyness and reluctance to do what they were taught, they scored very high
on the cuteness coefficient. Following which a lilting song medley,
choreographed by Subhada kept the momentum going. For the first time ever we
had a stand up comedian in the form of Antariksh Das. In the time I have known
him I have never detected in him the spirit of whimsy. But there he was exhibiting
some wry humour.
Dance
and music cannot be far from Yamunites' repertoire. We have hordes of them who
are accomplished performers. One such performer came up on stage next. It was
Aditi Ganapathi. She did a Kuchipudi number which was a visual treat. The group
that followed next wanted to liven up the atmosphere with a peppy number. They
danced to a song called " Nach Mere Jaan Nach" choreographed by
Ananya Satish. Not to be outdone, Sivashree showcased her precocious talent
with a self choreographed Marathi dance. Can American influence be far behind?
"Girls like to swing" had a mix of vaudeville and West Side story
dance styles, done by the slightly older girls. In a swift transition back to classical
dance form was a Kathak recital by Vedika Arora. Unlike the very fast twirls and
pirouettes that you normally associate with Kathak dances, this one had a
gentle pace and softness about it that it seemed almost ethereal.
Nandita
then directed a play enacted by the children of Yamuna called "Scooby
Doo". It was a bold attempt to do a complicated multiple-acts-in-one play,
which tended to crack at the seams. The children tried their best but not being
used to the collar mikes, their conversations and comments interspersed the
dialogues. Off the stage for many years, Nandita and Aishwariya proved they had
lost none of their verve and vitality with a very saucy dance number. The
plethora of dance numbers did not end there. Sivashree choreographed 'Fusion Dance
– Lean On' had a group of girls dance in a mix of west and east. The ladies who
stayed off the stage last year were back with increased vigour and did a dance
number "Basanti", choreographed by Meera Varma and Aishwarya. They
displayed a lot of oomph factor and jived very well on stage. By then we were
nearly two hours into the show and one would have expected ennui. But it was
not the case. The performers kept us keenly engaged. Poorvaja Ganapathi sang a
couple of tuneful songs which heralded the invitation to the marquee item, the
play, "Amar, Akbar, Anthony", scripted and directed by Seema Chari.
By now we have begun to expect a great deal from the Yamuna play group and they
did not disappoint. This was their best performance to date. Although Kunal
mentioned in the end that almost everybody flubbed their lines, I could not even
detect a smidgen of faux delivery. I
sincerely believe that Seema and many in the cast can have an alternate calling
card.
The
changeovers during the entire evening's show were not dull because Aditi, Mrs.
Tara and Mr. Natarajan's (C-106) daughter, who had flown in from Mumbai regaled
us with two delightful songs and T. S. Ramji who had his witty one-liners going
throughout the evening, had everybody within hearing range in splits.
In
what turned to be another pleasant surprise, a large number of people showed up
for the heritage walk to Mehrauli Archaeological Park on 20th December, 2015.
Mercifully, not many people are aware of this expanse of green littered with
fortifications, monuments and sundry structures of archaeological importance.
Had this become a regular beat, the sheer crowd would have deterred any
interest to explore the mysteries that lie within. It is to unfold the
mysteries that we had roped in Dr. Ramji Narayanan to be the raconteur during
our walk. He has this uncanny knack of unravelling the most obscure spots that
would have escaped most Delhiites notice. His scholarship and sheer breadth of
knowledge relating to Islamic architecture, culture and mores is legendary.
Unfortunately, he sometimes gets carried away by his own exuberance that he
fails to notice the waning interest levels in some children and adults. Maybe
in future we restrict a heritage walk to a maximum of two hours. The area that
was taken up for coverage was so vast that it gets tedious for people whose
interest in anything historical is fleeting at best. Dr. Ramji himself understands
this dichotomy and was self deprecating about it.. Be that as it may, many
returned wiser and happier after the walk learning about squinch arches, oriel
windows, keystones, lintels, capitals, corbels etc. The trudge back to the car
through the Byzantine lanes of Mehrauli, which apart from featuring some stunning
pieces of medieval architecture, was littered with open sewers, dogs, pigs and
cows. The sea of humanity and an assortment of vehicles made it an expedition
in itself. By then we were ravenously hungry. Some of us then headed for lunch
to Lakshman Paranthewala Dhaba which has been talked about a lot. While the leafy
suburbs of Qutab Institutional Area provide
a perfect and peaceful backdrop for a repast, the food was not as great as it
was made out to be.
With
the winter chill having settled in, Yuletide spirit was alive and kicking with
mulled wine, plum cakes, holly, mistletoe, cane candy, Christmas tree, gifts
and trinkets. The Christmas carnival got under way on Christmas Day instead of
Christmas Eve that we usually celebrate owing to December 26th being a
Saturday. A bonfire was lit to keep everybody warm while they savoured the show
on stage and on the ramp walk. The phenomenal performance of the children and
adults on stage is drawing full houses of late. The children coached by Seema
sang in unison to perfect diction and were brilliant on stage. Tanvi, who started
taking guitar lessons only a couple of years ago, accompanied the singers with a
great deal of co-ordination and rhythm. The Baby Jesus looked miserable as the
makeshift roof of the manger collapsed. The 'Nativity Scene' cast recited the
lines perfectly on cue and were full of
confidence. Ashwin, the Santa, appeared on stage and was mobbed by the kids. In
an impromptu decision Radhika Samson and her cousins did a co-ordinated dance
to a very peppy number which had the crowd tapping their feet and wolf
whistling. With the show on stage coming to an end people went back to eating
and chatting. The winter ramp walk has now turned out to be an entertainment
package in itself with the participants doing a jig or pirouette. Deepak's
testosterone fuelled walk, Anu's jive and P.K. K. Nair's detective strut have
become quite a staple but it took everyone by surprise when the usually taciturn
Mr. Arora did some elaborate dance moves which would put many of the
accomplished dancers in Yamuna to shame. Dr. Abhilash Pillai contributed Rs.
2,000 for the prizes. All the participants were so well turned out that it must
have been difficult for the judges to pick the winners. As per the age
categories Ananya, Sahana Iyer, Samiksha, Sahana Savarkar, Nandita
Krishnamurthy, Meera Varma, Anu Nair, Raghavendra Subramanian and P.K. K. Nair
were the winners.
OBITUARY
Mrs. N. S. Jain whose husband N. S. Jain is a
member of G-004 passed away on 24th December, 2015. Some residents went to pay
respects at the crematorium. May her soul rest in peace.
****************
Mr.
S. K. Sundar, resident of H-106 and
father of Shanti Venkataraman passed away on 26.12.15 at the ripe old age of 85.
He had been ailing for a while. He was very spiritually minded. We are sure his
place in heaven must have been reserved.
SNIPPETS
After a brief sojourn in C-205, Nikhil Swamy
and Krutika have moved out. This lawyer couple could seldom be seen in Yamuna,
as they like most lawyers, seem to work on 24/7 schedule.
******************
Mr.
S. S. Jeevan has moved into F-102. He is an Associate Editor of 'Down to
Earth', a Society for Environmental Communications. He is a bachelor who was
living with his parents in Kalkaji Extension before moving to Yamuna. With his
moving in, the single member households in Yamuna is set to increase. We
welcome him to our fold.
******************
E-004
has a new occupant. Mr. Vishal Sharma has moved in from Lajpat Nagar with his
wife Shweta and son Pranjay. Vishal
works for Schneider Electric in projects. He is an accomplished singer and has
interests in all sports, particularly cricket and badminton. Shweta teaches
Accounts in St. George School. She made her singing debut on the Yamuna stage
at the Christmas carnival. They will be a welcome addition to the Yamuna
cultural scene. She too loves to play badminton. Pranjay is only 3 years old
and goes to a play-school. They can be reached on 40563280 and 9833708065.
******************
******************
Another
couple who didn't trouble the movers were Dr. Mukesh Kalita and Dr. Vaishali
Sharma who have moved from G-305 to C-207.
CALENDAR OF
EVENTS FOR JANUARY, 2016
|
DATE
|
EVENT
|
TIME
|
VENUE
|
|
13.1.16
|
LOHRI BONFIRE
|
9 PM
|
BADMINTON COURT
|
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