EDITORIAL
As India celebrated its 70th year of Independence, one can look back at the evolution of our democracy with both pride and disappointment. The political parties set aside their differences and showed rare unanimity in passing the GST bill and stood shoulder to shoulder on their stand on the Kashmir issue. On the other side, continued atrocities against Dalits and women showed an antediluvian mind set. All the political parties and society at large are to be blamed for this state of affairs.
We started our Independence Day celebrations on a bright note. After a week of overcast skies, the clouds cleared miraculously and the sun shone brightly. The badminton court was decked with tri-colour balloons As Kiaan, Myrah, Mani Mama and Sujata Sundaresan hoisted the national flag, everybody joined Subadha’s students – Shashvath, Sahana, Avantika, Sameeksha, Surya, Radhika, Mani, Tanvi, Adwita, Ananya and Sivasree – to sing the national anthem. Shreeya and Poorvaja, trained by Mrs. Kalyani, sang a couple of songs. The most engaging part of the morning came when TV singing star Karthik (Mr. N. L. Ganapathi's nephew) sang two songs written by freedom fighter Subramaniam Bharati. Shouts of encore rang out and he obliged with another tuneful rendition that ended with a standing ovation from the rapt audience. As a grand finale, our regular crooners, Bhavani, Seema, Sumathi, Sudha Easwaran, Gomathi, Rekha, Sujata, Murli and Vinod Asthana amongst others opened their lungs out till the last person was left standing. Laddus and eclairs were distributed.
You would be justified if you are exasperated by the repeated sinking of the perimeter road at several places, despite the repairs being carried out. The fact is the debris that got removed after the digging of the ditches should have actually gone back into the pit. A lot of the debris however had to be removed because after leaving room for the trench, the piled up debris was hampering the movement of cars and people. We are fortunate that we have had copious rains this monsoon which will help settle the soil. The reason that the road is sinking repeatedly is because the original road surface and the underlay was compacted under high pressure by a road roller. That kind of compaction is not possible under the present circumstances. Therefore, when it rains the soil settles in the voids, causing the sinking. Don't fret, after the monsoon, the uneven areas will be levelled and dressed and the road will be restored to its original state. We factored the sinking of the road in our calculations. Some portion of the paver contractor’s bill was withheld for the post monsoon repair.
When BJP proposed a ban on cow slaughter, they may not have foreseen that it will breed a new class of people who would exploit the sentiment for their personal gain. The fault lines of faith are being routinely put to test by religious bigots on either side of the majority and minority faiths. It is up to us to resist the polarisation potential of the leaders of this religious divide. Don't oblige the bigots by giving grist to their mill. Actually, no other country in the world approaches our capacity for revealing the human race at its most progressive and regressive in the same breath.
The new Metro station across the road from Savitri would make commuting by the Metro a breeze. No more battling your way through traffic to reach Hauz Khas station. The only catch was to cross the main road from Savitri. Through the tireless efforts of Citizens Alliance, a voluntary body of which I happen to be a member, representing all the Alaknanda colonies, Chittaranjan Park and GK, the Union Minister of Transport, Mr. Nitin Gadkari has agreed to convert the one direction flyover adjoining Savitri to a dual direction flyover. This will allow the traffic from Chirag Dilli heading towards Nehru Place to go over the flyover. The Metro station will be operational from December 2016 but it may take a while to have the flyover. Until then commuters from the Savitri side will have to access the station through a narrow subway from Savitri.
CM Kejriwal lavishes crores of rupees on ads proclaiming AAP's achievements not only in the Capital but in all corners of the country. A recent CAG report mentions that 85% of the money spent on ads has been in other states. Does the Delhi taxpayer have to fund AAP's political aspirations in other states? I think not.
Instead, if the money was spent wisely, it could have fixed all the problems that bedevil the city. That is not to be. We still have to deal with potholed roads, broken pavements non-existent street lights, damaged medians. Even his claims that pollution came down during odd-even experiment is a lot of fluff. It is not borne out by data. I am not going to fall for his malarkey. He has presented the public distorted, mendacious and relentlessly hostile accusations about Prime Minister Modi. He is just a pint sized assemblage of shortcomings. Vain and self absorbed. I voted for him not realising what he will turn out to be. Even his capable lieutenants like Mr. Saurabh Bharadwaj, our local MLA, are rendered ineffective because a great deal of the revenue at his disposal is spent on banners and sundry other shows glorifying the achievements of AAP. He probably is just following the instructions from the proverbial high command, akin to the one the Congress has.
Extensive pruning of trees was done in the colony. There are two diametrically opposite views on this. There are a lot of people who complain that they do not get enough natural light, are upset with the proliferation of creepy crawlies, termites and mosquitoes or the damage the tree roots are causing to the buildings and want the trees pruned or even removed! There are others who take delight in the crowning glory of Yamuna with the tall and magnificent trees providing a home to birds and reducing the effects of pollution through the generation of oxygen. Trees also act as a dust and noise barrier. I belong to the latter school of thought and am quite distressed with the way the trees have been pruned. However, I have no right to criticise because if I had wanted a better job to be done I should have volunteered to get it done. Since I did not do that, I reserve any comments. There are several armchair critics who do not take part in the exercise but are quick to pull the trigger and criticise. Seetha, who spent a lot of time tirelessly walking around the colony for three whole days supervising, was at the receiving end of a lot of flak. I think it is grossly unfair. Pruning of trees is such a contentious subject that if you do, you are damned and if you don't, you are still damned. One can never be right. In the light of this Hobson's choice, a person who undertakes the job should not be censured so badly as he/she comes under immense pressure if the residents’ problems are not addressed within reasonable time. There may have been acts of omission in a couple of cases but that still does not call for using intemperate language. What we need is a set of sensible guidelines on planting of trees, pruning of trees or cutting of trees. The Horticulture sub-committee of which I am also a part should not just frame these rules to be approved by the MC; the said sub-committee should also undertake that job and address the concerns of the residents. One cannot brush aside genuine complaints of the residents, otherwise they may take actions on their own which will be regrettable.
The Janmashtami celebrations started on a full house, albeit in muggy weather conditions. Sadhana School of Music & Dance students kicked off the day’s musical performance composed and arranged by Ramanan Venkataraman featuring Radhika Jayaraman, Ramya Vishwanathan and Madhavi Samson on the sitar, Radhika Venkataraman on Hansaveena and Sai Chaitanya on the tabla. This was followed by a Hindustani vocal recital by Madhavi Samson, Rekha Raghavendra, Shyamala Sarathy, Elizabeth Thomas and Deepa Nair. Then came the dancers, with V. Padmavati doing a Bharatanatyam recital and Vedika Arora and Manissha Kiran performing Kathak. Thereafter, Subadha’s singers – Shashvath, Sahana, Avantika, Sameeksha, Surya, Radhika, Mani and Tanvi – sang devotional songs. Poorvaja rendered a bhajan, with Purnima Satish joining her later in another bhajan. The Yamuna kids then displayed their prodigious talent by choreographing a dance number, "Maiya Yashoda" featuring, Anushka, Ananya, Aiden, Vanshika Arora, Vanshika Rajpurohit and Sahana Iyer as gopis and Adwita as Krishna. The grand finale and standout performance of the day was Bhavani and Sumathi’s sublime rendition of Meera Bhajans, ably accompanied by Anirudh Sundaresan on the tabla. This was a tribute to M.S. Subbulakshmi on the legendary singer’s 100th birth anniversary. It was a pity some in the audience left early and thus missed out on this outstanding recital. Talent seems to be oozing in Yamuna which makes for many wonderful evening soirees. Tiny tots Kian and Saiansh cracked open the ‘dahi handi’ – filled with toffees in this case – and there was a mad scramble as the gathered children dived to grab the goodies. There were delectable North Indian, South Indian and Guajarati eats. Mr. Thangadurai, with his customary hospitality, distributed sweets to all those who were present. It made for a splendid evening.
Get ready for pookalam and Onam feast on Saturday, 10th September, 2016. Please buy the coupons at Rs. 250 each latest by 5th September from the office.
SNIPPETS
Girls who until recently were students have moved into professions that put them in the limelight. I spotted Aishwarya Iyer (Soumya) of B-301 covering a story in NDTV in prime time news. She has always been a confident girl.
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Shashvath Arun of G-306 has made Yamuna proud. His photo is featured in the Swachh Bharat banners released by the Government.
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Our poster boy, Abhilash of A-204 has been blessed with a son. Sreelakshmi and junior are doing fine. Abhilash will not anymore be in a position to stay away from home for twenty days in a month. He will have to do his bit of nappy changing. Our winsome Romeo has been tamed.
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Mr. B. M. S. Murthy of C-003 has turned 80. His Sadabishekam celebration was held in the main lawn on 31st August, 2016. While the heavens showered their blessings but the rainfall was heavy and part of the function was moved elsewhere. Mama & mami looked radiant. The lunch was sumptuous. His many admirers, friends and relatives were present to wish him good luck and long life.
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Abhinav Kumar (Charmi) of G-305 who got weary of gravity defying feats on a daily basis climbing three floors, decided to move two floors down to G-105. I thought youngsters like him would like a penthouse in the top floor and welcome the free exercise they get climbing. But Charmi had other ideas. Anyway, each to his own.
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CALENDAR OF EVENTS FOR SEPTEMBER, 2016
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DATE
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TIME
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EVENT
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VENUE
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10.9.16
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7.30 PM
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POOKALAM AND ONAM DINNER
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COMMUNITY HALL
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