Issue No. 177 I May 2016

EDITORIAL

Just as everybody's patience was wearing thin, the IGL civil work got over. After removal of the rubble and cleaning of the road and plant beds, Yamuna is back to its pristine best. Work on the taking the pipes to the terrace has commenced. Hold your horses, we haven't got the gas yet. You may still have to wait a while for that to happen. But, when that happens it will close a long chapter of cylinders being rolled on the hexagon blocks and heaved to the upper floors, quite often damaging the stairs in the process. It may be the opportune time to mend the chipped and broken steps, a cause of much annoyance to people who have to trundle up and down the stairs.

The days of stumbling in the dark has also come to an end. Based on a consultant's advice the lumen levels in the staircase has been increased with the installation of additional LED lights in the landing of each staircase. It would particularly be helpful in the dark winter months.

I hate going to the hills anymore. Several decades ago when I was still in school I went to Simla. I was greeted by gurgling brooks, dew laden leaves, apple and plum orchards, misty mornings and quaint colonial dwellings, churches and shops. Few summers ago, when I visited the hills again, I was horrified to see the hills bare from denudation. a few ghostly conifers stood like spectral sentinels. Stumps of trees felled provided a reminder of a lush and verdant past. Now, the horrific forest fires of Uttaranchal and Himachal covering vast areas would have laid bare what is left. The hills have lost their charm. It is overcrowded with traffic snarls, blaring horns, loud filmi music from shops announcing their domain rights, water shortage and worst of all temperatures in the high thirty's and even forty's. It holds nothing for me, unless, I decide to explore and go to an unknown hamlets far from the madding crowd. We have unfortunately run out of inexpensive holiday destinations free from distractions that one encounters in the city. 

It is quite interesting to read different newspapers. It betrays their affliction for leaning either Left or Right. A balanced view is seldom seen. So too is the predilection in watching the news channels. They follow the same script in either speaking for the establishment or against. While they do invite speakers from opposing camps, the anchors bias is clearly visible when he or she give free reign to one party to air their views without interruption, while when the opposing camp steps up to speak, that person's voice is drowned in rude and uncivilised interruption by the anchor or the opposing camp. Vile charges are often bandied about. When fact and fiction become inextricably intertwined, it becomes impossible to engage with reality rationally. Seldom is an opinion received with cheerful equanimity.  It is important to put on your thinking cap to sift the chaff from the kernel. I like the weekend issue of the Hindu. Its opinion pages are sharp and incisive. You can avoid the news pages which are relatively provincial backwaters.

Voice of Gopal(C-202) asking Kolathu for Bournvita used to ring out from the canteen in MEA School which has since been rechristened DTEA. MEA is my alma mater and Gopal was my contemporary and Kolathu ran the canteen there. Gopal was a torch bearer of sorts as many of his ilk were fond of this milky beverage. How unfortunate that I cannot remember much of the old Gopal except for his fond preference for Bournvita. The choice of beverage had since moved to coffee and tea and in the last two decades to Coke and Pepsi. Many South Indian families swore by the health benefits of this malt and its cousin Horlicks replete with evocations of steaming goodness and rejuvenated brain cells. Britain, homeland of the drink's eponymous inventors may have given up on this frothy beverage but a century since these beverages hit the Indian shores, the demand for it still holds sway. Of course, much to the chagrin of the die-hards, the drink has since been launched in several new flavours which occupy the retail shelves and one has to search high and low to get the original brew. I have since moved my loyalties to Horlicks, a concoction of milled malted barley, mashed wheat flour and milk. As if that was not enough, many a times, as a school going kid I had downed spoon fools of the grainy or malty powder to satisfy my craving for the taste. My mother was in the dark about my larder forays and used to wonder how the jars were getting emptier faster than they should. We all had our dark secrets. I am revealing my guilt at this stage as I know my mother will not spank me now!

Driving in an inebriated state is always fraught with risks. It has been proven through several studies that increased levels of alcohol in the blood leads to cognitive dysfunction and lack of motor controls. Therefore, when one resident who was soaked to the gills rammed into a brand new car of another resident within our colony gates, there was unpleasantness. This matter was however, sorted out amicably. Such an incident, had it happened elsewhere could have turned out to be calamitous had it led to a major injury or fatality. Off late the courts are coming down heavily on drunken driving. One could put one's entire future in jeopardy and end up in the slammer for a number of years. Is it worth the risk? If you wish to party and down a few drinks, you would be well advised to either call your driver or hire an Ola or an Uber.

Children give in limpidly to temptation. The highest selling item in the store is chips. Despite its categorisation as junk food, this potato savoury with its crunchy texture spiked with an assortment of flavours rules the taste buds. Talking about the store, it began to get some traction when they rationalised their prices after benchmarking with the local kirana stores. Unfortunately, the extended repair work on the road acted as a dampener to shoppers from outside who could not bring their cars inside. Now that the work is over, things should pick up.

Yamuna students always end up in the upper quadrant of students who appear in the Board exams. This year too they have done exceedingly well with most of them scoring in the nineties. Kudos, to all of them. Their next hurdle will be to secure a seat in a college or course of their choice. One only hopes they get their chosen option in Delhi itself so that we can see them more often in the colony. Children are the lifeblood of the colony. Their energy, vitality and gregarious nature keeps the social barometer ticking. The details are given below. You may congratulate them if you have not already done so.

S.NO	NAME	ADDRESS	% MARKS	STREAM
1	DAKSHINA RAGHAVENDRA	A-001	95.5	HUMANITIES
2	TEJAS RAJU	A-103	94.4	SCIENCE
3	MANISSHA KIRAN	A-001	78.75	SCIENCE
4	APARNA KRISHNAN	F-103	94	COMMERCE

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Seetha, Poornima and Bala have been for the last three months painstakingly sorting out all the office records, cataloguing, labelling, indexing and placing them in  systematically in the almirahs. The four steel almirahs which were in a poor state have been repaired and painted. Some records which can be discarded in accordance with Schedule 1 (rule 43) of the Delhi Co-operative Societies Rules, 2007 have been discarded. The records that are frequently used for reference have been retained in the office. The remaining records, spares parts and sundry material have been transferred to H Block basement and kept under lock and key. In the process both the basements have also been cleaned thoroughly. The only concern is the abandoned vehicles in the basement for which there are no claimants. The police is being contacted to ascertain the procedure for having them removed.

SNIPPETS

People come and people go but this relocation is going to cause more grief than normal. Deepak Varma of H-208 who had been living off a suitcase ever since he was transferred to his company's headquarters in Mumbai last year, said enough is enough and asked his wife Meera and children Aparna and Samarth to pack their bags and move in with him. With their moving out we will miss a family which has always been in the thick of the cultural potpourri of the colony. Deepak with his fabulous singing, dancing and acting skills, Meera with her repertoire in both classical and modern dancing, Aparna and Samarth in their diverse roles have been the fulcrum of almost all the cultural and sporting do's of the colony. Their popularity amongst children and adults is almost idolatry. Needless to say we will miss them immensely. We do hope that one day they would decide to move back.

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Mr. A. Balasubramanian and his wife Annapoorny of B-202 have moved bag and baggage to Bangalore to be with their son Kumar and his family. With that, another long standing member has bid good-bye to Yamuna. With many of the senior citizens not having the confidence of living alone, we may witness more such relocations in the future. It is our duty to give senior citizens of the colony the comfort and security that they deserve.

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Mr. S. Shankar Narayanan of B-304 has moved with his family to B-202, a move that would not have troubled them too much.

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Vinayak and Rahul, sons of Raja and Jyoti who moved to US from C-007 were in the colony for their summer vacation. Their stint in US has transformed them. They display a great deal of maturity and confidence. Vinayak is studying to be a doctor and Rahul has finished his engineering and will begin working when he returns.

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I wish to announce the birth of a bonny girl to Supriya and Arjun of H-005 on 11th May, 2016. They have to watch against sibling rivalry since all the attention that Kabir was getting will now get shared with Meera. Happy nappy changing, Supriya and Arjun.