Issue No. 184 I December 2016

EDITORIAL

The Annual Day, although held on a bitterly cold winter’s day, on 10th December, 2016, did not deter the audience from staying till the very last item. Such was the quality of the programme that each of the performers and the choreographers' hard work and diligent practice was very lustily cheered and applauded.

The programme commenced, albeit a trifle late, with the invocation sung by Subadha and Seema Chari. Our senior citizen Mrs. Radha Warrier of H-203 draped the shawl around the three venerable residents who became octogenarians this year. Mrs. Saroj Arora, Mr. B.M.S. Murthy and Mr. P. Karunakaran  are quietly doing a great service to the colony with their sage advice. The prize distribution ceremony went off like a breeze because Seetha and Poornima collated the list of multiple prize winners so that they did not have to be called repeatedly.

After 'Vote of Thanks' by the Secretary, Mr. Madhu Nair, the much awaited variety entertainment programme started with an invocation dance, “Pushpanjali”, choreographed by Netra Sundaresan. It was a visual treat. This was followed by a self choreographed classical fusion dance, Thillana by V. Radhika and Bhuvana. The tiny tots who were waiting patiently in the wings made their stage presence on cue in Fancy Dress arranged by Anu Shekhar. Tejaswani looked cute in her dance, Kian as the joker played the role of Raj Kapoor in Mera Naam Joker with aplomb. Lakshay as Robin Hood came straight from Sherwood Forest, in all the gear and stamped his authority by shooting an arrow at the audience, Akshara and Adhya as ballerinas danced beautifully to a French ditty, and finally there was Varun. They made way for Sivasree who danced to a racy Rajasthani folk number. She glided on the stage effortlessly showing a flexibility in hip and neck movements that one thought defied the laws of physics. This was the opportunity for the Yamuna regular Subadha to display the talent of her students in a choir where all students sang several songs in unison without missing a beat. Then we had a dance number “Malhari” from the movie Bajirao Mastani. This was one of the few items which featured boys. Shashvath, Sai and Megh danced energetically, twirled their non-existing moustaches and slapped their thighs in a show of bravado.

One of the much awaited items was the Tollywood-Bollywood medley by the ladies where they seamlessly switched between songs and languages. Their dulcet voices and lilting inflections could give a run for the money to the likes of Lata Mangeshkar, Asha Bhonsle and Vani Jayaram. Bhavani and Sumathi arranged this medley which also included several other ladies. It was such a delight to listen to them. One cannot keep the incredibly talented girls of Yamuna off the limelight for too long. They came on next for a self-choreographed Bollywood number. They were absolutely brilliant. That made way for the play which generally is the Grand Finale but owing to the time required by the children in the previous item to change into classical dance attire, the play had to be advanced. In view of limited time available to Seema it was not prudent to work on an entirely new play. She did the next best thing by rehashing all previous Yamuna Natak Sabha plays, namely, the adaptions of Angoor, Sholay, Jane Bhi Do Yaaron and Amar, Akbar Anthony into a retrospective. Most of her cast being busy professionals, Seema had to rely on hurried practice sessions till well past midnight to get them ready to hit the stage. They did a splendid job. For some of them like Abhilash, Raghav, Antariksh and Subadha it could be a second career option; while Nanu and others do a remarkable job with their sheer diligence. Over time this play troupe has acquired the gravitas through talent, hard work, diligence and direction, that they can be reckoned to deliver hits regularly.

The only downside was that the Sadhana classical dance ensemble consisting of small children was unduly delayed. Yet, not a soul left their seats. Their three acts of Bharatanatyam, Kathak and Odissi were very well received. Since Odissi is taught by Radhika Samson herself, the performance featuring Yamuna girls stood out. The sound and lighting throughout was outstanding.

We need to extend our gratitude to the following persons for supporting the social and cultural activities of Yamuna with their generous contributions to the Society. This has greatly helped us in boosting our coffers and offering greater opportunities for our residents to engage in such community activities and thus bring people together.

	SPONSORS FOR ANNUAL DAY 2016
S.NO	NAME	FLAT NO.	AMOUNT
1	MR. M. ANAND	H 101	10000
2	MRS.K. SRIDEVI	G 303	10000
3	MRS. K.V. SHANTHA	A 105	10000
4	NAME NOT DISCLOSED	-	10000
5	MRS. GIRIJA MOHAN	D 001	5000
6	MRS. RAJALAKSHMI KALYAN	G 106	5000
7	MR. N.A. SESHADRI	D 103	1000
8	MRS. GITA RASTOGI	C 004	LADIES SHAWL
9	MR. P.H.NARAYANAN	C-007	MISCELLANEOUS GIFTS

Delhiites proved to the world that one does not need oxygen to survive. We have been breathing a cocktail of toxic gases and going by traffic on the road, surviving! The foul air is throwing up new marketing opportunities for companies selling air purifiers and face masks. In fact, face masks have become de-rigueur. I am told they come in a variety of shades and designs. What is essentially a survival aid has entered the realms of haute couture.

The Christmas carnival which was held on the eve, brought forth all of the Yuletide spirit with the stage adorned with the Christmas tree, flutes, pine cones, holly, baubles, bells and the manger with Baby Jesus lying in the hay. The gaggle of children, maybe twenty of them, performed the Nativity skit and sang Christmas carols in several languages to the accompaniment of guitar by Tanvi Savarkar. Seema Chari spent several hours training the unruly kids to come up with this wonderful performance which earned her and her wards a thunderous applause.The portly Sai played the role of Santa Claus to the T.

A respite was given to enable the performers and audience to take a repast. Little did I know that they would settle for a four course meal. Even after a half hour break the audience was crowding all the food stalls! Not wishing to be disturbed in their gluttonous indulgence, the next group featuring Seema, Sumathi, Kavya, Gita, Ramji and yours truly came on the stage and sang some Beatles songs and signed off with the Pink Floyd anthem, " Another Brick In The Wall". The Bollywood/Tollywood ladies ensemble sang an encore of the Annual Day medley on popular demand.

Christmas carnival is never over until the winter ramp walk does not throw up winners of the best dressed with the right moves. The proceeds from the sale of plum cakes given by Mrs. Abraham was used to give away the prizes.

 "Cutting the cake" event in the Community Hall at midnight was a tame affair. Residents were loath to leave their various private parties and watering holes to come to the Community Hall to usher in the New Year. The yummy chocolate cake looked askance at the lack of people. The handful of residents present could not polish off the cake. We wish all the residents, ex-residents and members a very healthy and rewarding New Year.

SNIPPETS

In what could be a reversal to the dwindling population of Yamuna, a joint family has moved into E-302, to boost its numbers. Chandan Sahu, a software consultant with Sapient in Gurgaon has moved in with his brother Mithilesh Kumar, sister-in-law Pooja Kumar, mother Geeta Devi, father Nathani Sahu, nephews 11 year old Shivam studying in JPC School, two and a half year old Vaidik, one and a quarter year old Vanshika. Chandan is an eligible bachelor with a sense of humour. I am waiting for him to get married and have children of his own. There will still be enough standing room for everybody. Chandan can be reached on 7503421193. We welcome them to Yamuna.

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Mr. M. M. Kutty an IAS officer of 1983 batch has become the Chief Secretary of Delhi. It is another feather in the cap for an ex-Yamuna resident who was earlier the Principal Secretary to former Chief Minister, Mrs. Sheila Dikshit. We hope Mr. Kutty and his wife Dr.Sudha will return to their B-203 flat someday.

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Yamuna is getting well connected with people in high places. Mr. Vinod Asthana's brother has become the CBI Director. That does not give us a right to flirt with anything illegal or illegitimate.

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Shwetha (C-104) and Nitin got married in Sankara Vidya Kendra on 4th December, 2016. The couple were battling the smoke from the holy fire while plighting their troth. It is not the kind of romantic setting to get your hormones on overdrive. Far from planting a kiss on the apple of your eye, you are desperately trying to avoid the smoke getting into your eyes. Hindu weddings are the biggest downer to a rocking start to your marriage. By the end of all the ceremonies and functions one is so weary that the wedding night makes for heavy snoring rather than anything remotely romantic. Nevertheless, the "made for each other" couple did not let the weariness show. Yamuna was well represented. Bharti and AG were gracious hosts. The reception at Habitat was very elegant and both Shwetha and Nitin looked very relaxed. Sumptuous meals made for a glutton’s delight. Ladies in beautiful saris and glittering pendants made for great photo-ops.

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Sumathi Chandrasekharan has co-authored a tome on Intellectual Property Rights named Create, Copy, Disrupt. Please acquire a copy and read it. While much of it will go above the heads of us plebeian folk, in the process we may get some legal advice in such matters, pro bono. Hail the author, Sumathi!

CALENDAR OF EVENTS FOR JANUARY 2017

DATE	EVENT	TIME	VENUE
15.1.16	HERITAGE WALK & PICNIC TO LODI GARDENS	10.30 AM	FROM A BLOCK GATE