Issue No. 187 I March 2017

                                                                                             

EDITORIAL

In what has now become a staple in the Yamuna cultural calendar, Radha Kalyana Mahotsavam was held at the main lawn spanning a day each in February and March, 17. It was conducted by the renowned Shri Shri Krishna Premi Anna. This spiritual soiree was a medley of bhajans, sermons and dance culminating in the celestial marriage of Lord Krishna and Radha. Sumptuous meals at regular intervals gave the necessary nourishment to the assembled audience and participants. As usual, Yamuna was well represented, particularly at meal times!

The elections in three states and two Union territories revealed a strong backing for PM Modi and BJP. In UP, Modi's juggernaut rolled on despite a syncretic alliance of SP and Congress. Any alliance brought about with the sole objective of denying the popular vote to the favoured party cannot stand the test of time. While in Goa and Manipur where BJP did not have the numbers despite winning the popular vote, they moved quickly and stitched up a coalition much before Congress could wake up from their slothful slumber. It was a case of "early bird gets the worm". Whether this is a referendum for BJP before the Lok Sabha polls in 2019 time will tell but it certainly pitchforked  Modi to the top of the stakes. If he sticks to his narrative and transforms the polity and the economy of this country, he will be here to stay. The only caveat is, while the party bosses in BJP are a sane lot, there are some crazy motor mouths within the BJP radical fringe, who constantly undercut the achievements of the party leadership through their mindless statements. Will they sew their mouths in contrition?

On the eve of Holi, residents gathered for an evening of Antakshari-a competition that vied four teams for the honours of Hindi music trivia. That I was part of a team is a moot point, definitely not borne out by the requisite skill sets. Therefore, I decided to don the cap of non-playing Captain to cheer the other team members who were decidedly more in the know. An inadvertent faux pas from me benefitted the opposing team who thus ended up consigning us to second place. It was a lesson to me not to meddle in affairs that I am not familiar with. That the Antakshari Quiz conducted by Aseem Kumar, Bhavani and Sumathi tested the most seasoned Hindi movie buff is an understatement. Great food and music made for a great evening.

Holi was celebrated with gay abandon in Yamuna. Mr. Arvind Rajpurohit of F-004 distributed delectable Rajasthani dal pakodas and bread pakodas. He also served a dubious concoction which he claimed was thandai but didn't taste anything like it. I suspect it may have been laced with something. The ritualistic use of bhang and charas in Holi is limited in Yamuna, if not totally absent.  

Basically, Holi is a time to let your hair down and show your wild side, free of any constraints. The sound of tambourines, cymbals, and dholaks was replaced by the ubiquitous bucket where Seema kept up the noise quotient with rhythmic beats to some lusty singing by our incredible band of singers. At times things got out of hand when one person was repeatedly targeted with water balloons and buckets of cold water. it was the coldest Holi in several years and the touch of cold water on the skin sent shivers down the spine. Kunal, Shashwath, Anirudh Suresan, and Aryan went rampant with balloons and buckets of water.

There were also some voyeurs who do not play Holi but gape from across the hedge, for whom the sensuousness of soaked cholis is too irresistible to miss! The Holi sweet, Gujia, is not a confectionary in normal use. It rears its head only on Holi. It is rumoured to have its antecedents in Central Asia where it's doppelganger 'shekerbura' is a close equivalent. The Indian avatar is sprinkled with rose water. This crescent shaped pie with its skin of delicate wheaten pastry is stuffed with almonds, khoya and other sundry ingredients that I am not familiar with, is a very desirable sweet. Why it has not transcended its limited Holi appeal is unfathomable. So for the hungry, there were gujias, pakodas and matti. Holi without liquid intoxicants is unheard of and bottles mysteriously appeared. I cannot vouch for their provenance or the effect it had on the imbibers.

All in all, we had a jolly good time. For those who stayed at home and for whom sanity rules-you missed all the fun. There is always a next year!

The cooking competition scheduled for 18th March, 2017 was cancelled owing to a tepid response. Only two adults and two children expressed their interest to participate and that too in the last hour. This, despite sending out notices to the effect that the names of the participants and the categories they wished to participate in should be sent in two days in advance so that necessary arrangements could be made for gas stoves etc. In view of the poor response, a notice of cancellation was sent out. As soon as that happened outraged residents came calling to say that they were all set to participate and stated that they had not seen the notice requiring names to be given. My question is when these residents are not able to view notices asking for names for participation how is it that they are able to view the notice of cancellation? Be that as it may, the competition was then deferred to the following Sunday.

Barring two cancellations in the last minute the cooking competition brought about the best of culinary art for the benefit of the hungry wolves like me who were salivating while the participants were preparing the dishes. There was tremendous anxiety and excitement. Some delectable dishes were prepared. Children were outstanding in their preparations. They could as well have participated in the adults category and given a run for the money to them. The Khandvi prepared by Falguni was sheer ambrosia. Many dishes were outstanding like the canaloni made by Seema, the egg starter prepared by Anu, Pasta prepared by the girls that had the subtle Italian flavour of herbs and olive oil. Although not as exotic, the puri masala prepared by Shashvath also deserves kudos. Both the desserts and the fruit salad canape could catapult the participants to junior Master Chef status. Dakshina prepared an outstanding quiche but lost out on the prize money as her pie did not bake properly. Mr. Shaju Zacharia who was awarded "Chef of the year in 2006" and who has a long list of credentials supporting his claim to fame, judged the participants. The winners are listed below.

S.No	NAME	CATEGORY	ADDRESS	ITEM
	CHILDREN
1	MEGH BHAT	STARTERS	A-308	FRUIT SALAD CANAPE
1	ANANYA SATISH/ADWITA NAIR/SAMARTH	MAIN COURSE	G-106/B-107/H-208	PASTA
2	SHASHVATH ARUN	MAIN COURSE	G-306	PURI ALOO
1	VANSHIKA ARORA/BHAVNA HARISH	DESSERT	A-106/E-305	TRIFLE PUDDING
2	ANOUSHKA NAIR/SAHANA IYER	DESSERT	A-203/E-101	EGGLESS CHOCOLATE MOUSSE
	ADULTS
1	SEEMA CHARI	STARTERS	C-208	BRUSCHETTA
2	FALGUNI BHAT	STARTERS	A-308	KHANDVI
1	ANU SHEKHAR	MAIN COURSE	B-107	SPAGHETI CHICKEN DRIZZLED WITH WINE
	SEEMA CHARI	MAIN COURSE	C-208	CANALONI

We are very grateful to Sridevi and Satya for giving Rs. 5,000 as prize money. We are also indebted to Dr. Abhilash Pillai who supplemented the prize money with a contribution of Rs. 1,000. All in all, it was a wonderful evening. Yamuna, you rock!

Seepage and structural issues due to natural causes and watering of plants in the staircases have been plaguing the colony off late. In view of the potential of severe stress to the staircase, water tanks, and building this issue had to be addressed in a very scientific manner with people taking ownership of the projects. We are glad to have Kunal Savarkar and Mohan Krishnaswamy in the committee who put their hands up. Kunal did a thorough study of the seepage in the dance academy from several sources and is addressing them. The shaft seepage from C-007 caused by corroded sewage pipes was an odoriferous exercise. It required a lot of will power on the part of Kunal and the plumbing staff Vikram and others to deal with a bolus of fecal gas emanating from the pipes in order to fix the problem. Mohan Krishnaswamy and Kunal are also on top of the staircase and water tanks repair activity. We are indeed very grateful to them for braving the elements to get the job done while we remain ensconced in AC comfort.

OBITUARY

Mr. A. Srinivasan of A-207, father of Mr. Venkatesh Srinivasan passed away at the age of 90 years at 5.30 on 22nd March, 2017. Yamuna residents convey their heartfelt condolence to the bereaved family.

SNIPPETS

Mr. A. K. Warrier of H-203 has penned a tome of poetic composition in Sanskrit with English translation about his spiritual guru, His Holiness Sri. Satya Sai Baba of Puttaparthi. The book traces the life of his guru from a young age and how his teachings, actions, and healing powers converted many non-believers.To write such an exhaustive book at the ripe old age of 90 requires a lot of diligence and scholarly effort. I raise a salute to Mr. Warrier. The book is being retailed for Rs. 400.

*********************

Geethaa of D-002 must be the most travelled person through the wedding ceremonies. Between engagement in Delhi, marriage in Tirupathi, first reception in Chennai, honeymoon in Seychelles, second reception in Delhi, she must have notched a zillion miles. She did not show any signs of travel weariness at the reception on 25th March, 2017 at the Yamuna lawns. In fact , she was glowing, a sign of love blossoming between her and her husband Naren who is engaged in his family business. Receptions in Yamuna always mean a social do of Yamunites and most of them were present resplendent in all the finery. You could be excused if you thought you had strayed into a gold souk! Such was the glitter on display. Mala with a new hairdo looked transformed. It was great fun.

CALENDAR OF EVENTS - APRIL 2017

DATE	EVENT	TIME	VENUE
1.4.17	MOVIE SCREENING AND POT LUCK DINNER	6.30 PM	BADMINTON COURT