EDITORIAL
The cats in the colony have become a menace. Cats by nature
are predatory creatures and live by hunting small game like rats, bandicoots
and birds. They also have very good toilet manners in nature as they bury their
poop in soil. We have changed the true nature of cats by feeding them. Their
cute looks, specially of the kittens and their pleading eyes makes many amongst
us go weak in the knees. We feed them and let them live amongst us in the
confines of blocks and staircases. When it is time for nature’s call, they defecate
in the staircases. Since there is no soil around, they do not have an
opportunity to bury their poop in soil. Poop laden staircases don’t paint a
pretty picture, leave alone the foul smell and danger of disease spreading. The
Society office has received complaints from several residents who have gone on
to pinpoint the people feeding the cats. We do not wish to name and shame the feline
lovers, but in the interest of community harmony, it is advised that they
desist from feeding the cats. Left to nature, cats will survive by feeding on
small game. Right now, because we provide them easy meals they do not do the
hard work hunting. Rats and bandicoots are cocking a snook at the cats as they
know very well that they won’t come after them. A look at the numerous holes in
the soil shows that there is a thriving colony of rodents in subterranean
labyrinth of tunnels. Once their numbers swell, they will invade our homes. Do
you want this to happen? Certainly not, we presume.
At the moment there are four cats in the colony who have
delivered litters of between three and four kittens. In about a year they will
be ready for breeding. Woe begone, we will be awash with feline litter. The
staircases will become a nasty mess. As per the NGO who has indepth knowledge of
cats, one of the main reasons for cats defecating in staircases is because they
are fed cows or buffalo milk which they are not in a position to digest because
thay are lactose intolerant. The same NGO was contacted by an MC member for
sterilisation of cats. They have agreed to sterilise two of the feamle cats for
free in order to put a momentary arrest to this proliferation. It is an
otherwise paid service. Thereafter, those who feed the cats will have to pick
up the tab.
Ascetic Jaggi Vasudev, commonly known as Sadhguru is gaining
a lot of traction nationally and internationally. These days he comes very
often on talk shows in various channels. He is smart, erudite, very articulate
and makes a lot of sense. He is a mystic and practices Yoga. He is also a New
York Times Best selling author. He is a person who stands for civilised
behaviour and individual rights. Contrast this with low level hagiographists like Asaram Bapu
and Ram Rahim for whom these hardly seem like qualities in demand.
It does not help that our western neighbour is caught up in a
murky world of decadence, terrorism and bravado. Recently, a BSF jawan was shot, tortured and beheaded on the
Indian side of the border with tell tale signs that it was the handiwork of
Pakistani Rangers, What followed in the media was jingoism. We must realise
that any war between the nuclearised neighbours will turn out to be the
Armageddon. Let not some foolish reporters queer the pitch with their
inflammatory statements. While the Pakistani PM Imran Khan is talking of
dialogue, the terrorists and their handlers, the ISI, are fomenting trouble at
the border and in Kashmir. He may be another puppet on a string with the
strings in the hands of General Bajwa. Even so, when there are some conciliatory
statements coming from the other side, we should give peace a try, albeit
cautiously. It’s high time we mended our relationship with our nettlesome
neighbour, otherwise they will keep haemorrhaging our economic resources
through terrorists which keeps our security forces under high stress. What
better way than to use our Bollywood star power, which is fodder for the
average Pakistani.
Navratri, the nine day wonder that evokes poetry in me, is
the period in the calendar that I cherish. I have a weakness for all things
beautiful and there is nothing more beautiful than the female form clad in a
silk sari. This Navratri, somebody posted on WhatsApp a message that went viral
and stated as under :
Below are the Sanskrit names of the Tithi days valid for
2018. For each of these days the Rasa, Mood, Bhav, Emotion, Deity and colour
has been provided. Oct 10 Pratipada YELLOW, Oct 11 Dwitiya GREEN, Oct 12
Tritiya GREY, Oct 13 Chaturthi ORANGE, Oct 14 Panchami WHITE, Oct 15 Shasti
RED, Oct 16 Saptami BLUE, Oct 17 Ashtami PINK and Oct 18 Navami PURPLE. This
message sent all the ladies scurrying to the nearest Nalli and Rasi stores and
lo and behold most of them wore the saris of the colour as prescribed in the Sanskrit
texts. My sympathies are with those who
had to fork out serious money for this wardrobe makeover. I thank God my wife
did not fall prey to these blandishments.
The Annual Day will be on 8th December, 2018. By
the time the Chronicle will be out, there will be barely a month left for the
participants to rehearse their plays, skits, dances, songs and sundry other
items. Please start planning the items that some of you would like to put up
and let me have the names of the items, names of the participants and the
duration of each item to plan out the evening.
The # Me Too movement has sent shivers down many a spine. As
of now people in media and show biz have mainly fallen prey to this, although
this malaise is rampant in all walks of life. Whosoever with shady moral values
and coercive power as a boss or provider and wielded power both physical and
material, looked at women as objects of lust. Until now, women were reluctant
to air their plight for fear of ostracisation by society at large but changing
times, women’s empowerment and media heft have given them the courage to speak
out. It is only the tip of the iceberg and I suspect many big names will get
dragged into the mire. There is reason to believe that there will also be some cases
where accusations will be made to settle personal scores. This is where media
has to exercise restraint and do due diligence before besmirching the
reputation of somebody who is actually not guilty.
Mrs. Seetha Venkataraman has stepped down as President of
Yamuna owing to health concerns. I have reasonable cause to believe that her
condition may have got exacerbated by the recent chain mails. I wish to place
on record the Managing Committee’s gratitude for the tireless work she had been
doing in the committee all these years handling administrative matters amongst
others. The post of a President is a very thankless one. If things run smoothly
no credit is given, but even if one lapse takes place, things are magnified
several times over. At this rate nobody would like to take the onerous
responsibility of a President.
Mohan Krishnaswamy has been elected as the President and Raju
Krishnan, the Vice President. Both these members have demonstrated good commitment
levels to run the affairs of the Society efficiently. All residents are
requested to extend their full co-operation to them so that the Society
activities can run without a hitch. The General Body meeting went off smoothly
and the members present supported the MC by passing all the resolutions
unanimously.
The IPCC report compiled by experts from the University of Washington,
WHO and Climate Tracker has stated that global temperatures could go up by 1.5⁰
C as early as 2030. The worst affected regions are likely to be India and
Pakistan. As it is, even now, the
unbridled attempt to tamper with nature is the cause of cataclysmic events
globally. The unprecedented floods in Kerala, hurricanes in Indonesia, China,
Philipines and the USA underline this concern. The droughts and floods that
will plague us in the years to come could trigger water wars. This elixir of
life could become so scarce that it may lead to mass migration from water
deficit regions to places where it may not yet be a concern This will then cause social and political
unrest. Jokes apart, the only happy person on the planet may be a dead person!
In the light of the aforementioned, the concern raised by Vatsala Zutshi about
water conservation in the discussion forum of Apna Complex gains credence.
Children these days resort to speaking in Hinglish, an
amorphous blend of English and Hindi which has its own saltiness and local
relevance. It's not because most urban Indians consider English foreign. It's
just that Hinglish is a user friendly patois. I do not favour the jettisoning
of Queen's English in favour of the desi hybrid lingo. As Hinglish inexorably
creeps into the lingua franca of Gen Next, their communication skills in Queen's English will suffer. Guard against the wanton use of Hinglish by
the children as it will prevent them from articulating their thoughts lucidly
to an audience not proficient in Hindi.
The Ramlila act in the badminton court drew a full house. If
memory serves me right we have not had such a big audience after the last
Diwali mela. The shadow play choreographed and presented by Shreeja was
outstanding. She got a well deserved standing ovation from the crowd. The
concept, the execution and the commentary were all top class. Shashvath and
Ananya’s commentary was exceptional. Ananya’s diction and dialogue delivery had
a touch of class. I came to know later that she is called to speak at all
school events. Maybe, to be a proffessional compere is her calling. The cast of
the play were Varun, Saiansh, Aditya, Nivetha, Adhya, Aryan, Elina, Arya,
Adwita, Ananya, Sahana Iyer, Shashvath, Akshara, Rehaan, Krishna, Kiaan and
Athira. Before the floor could be thrown open the dandiya , Bhavna Harish,
Vanshika Arora, Anoushka Nair, Sahana V. Iyer, Radhika Venkataraman and Kiana
Abraham, all students of Sadhana, choreographed and arranged a delightful rendering
of the dandia to Ram Bhajan composed by Pandit Ravi Shankar. Then the ladies
and girls in all their festive finery took over the dance floor and showed us
all the moves while the men gaped in the audience. I don’t understand the
reluctance of boys and men to hit the dance floor. Maybe they have a complex
that they would not be able to measure up to the fairer sex. Prominent on the
dance floor were Rekha Raghav, Anu Nair, Seema Chari, Poornima Satish, Sujatha
Sundaresan, Falguni Pathak, Gomathi Iyer, Meera Venkat amongst others. The
girls who let their dancing feet do the talking were Adwita Nair, Anoushka
Nair, Ananya Satish, Vanshika Arora and Elina. Please pardon me if I have inadvertantly missed out any name.
Among the many items in the calendar of events, the Quiz programme
is one of my favourites. The Quiz conducted by Sumathi will be held on
Saturday, 3rd November, 2018. Prizes for the Quiz will be
distributed on the occasion of Annual Day. To ensure a sizable attendance, we
are bundling it with two other events on that day. After the Quiz—which will
start at 6.30 pm — there will be Group Antakshari with attractive hampers as prizes.
The group Antakshari to be conducted by Aseem, Bhavani and Sumathi will pit the
men against the women and children against the adults. This binary of men vs
women brings out all the emotional passion to make it an interesting event. The
opportunity of testosterone bashing, drives women to a frenzy as tug-of-war
does. We will then round it all off with pot luck dinner. Please co-ordinate
with other residents so that we have the right mix of food items. November is also
tournament time. Those who wish to display their badminton and TT prowess should give their names and ages to Prashant
Sr. of H-201 for both singles and doubles. The draw of lots will be done on 8th
November, 2018.
The rangoli and illumination competition on 7th
November, 2018 will be held on the lines of last year. At the behest of the
senior ladies, It was agreed a year ago that due to aching knees and bad backs,
the prize defining rangoli will be restricted to one rangoli per set of blocks.
I now see a lot of young mothers for whom somatic disabilities should be a far
cry and hence bending their backs a trifle more should just be a breeze. I
therefore expect the glory of yore on terra firma. To contain costs we will
limit the candles and diyas and allow decorative and staircase lights to
supplement the illumination. Will any set of blocks have the cojones and skill
to put it past G&H this time?
Wish you all a Happy Diwali.
OBITUARY
It was a very tragic
moment for Yamuna when Mr. K. V. N. Swamy breathed no more. He was one of the
founders of Yamuna. The Society was formed in his house in Karol Bagh in 1956
and he steered the workings of the Society until the complex we live in became
a reality.
He passed away in Batra Hospital
on 4th October, 2018. All Yamuna members immensely value his
contribution to the Society and he leaves us bereft of a great legacy. May his
soul rest in peace. The members of the Society convey their heartfelt
condolence to the bereaved family. A puja and lunch was organised by the family
on to honour the departed soul.
SNIPPETS
Mr. K. Krishnamurthy of
C-103, a FIDE rated chess player lifted the trophy in the Silchar Open
International FIDE rating Chess tournament in the veteran’s category. If
children from Yamuna require coaching in chess they cannot find a better
person. He has won several trophies and is master of the sixty-four squares.
***********************
The three brothers joint family of Sahu’s
vacated Flat No. E-302.
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CALENDAR OF EVENTS IN NOVEMBER 2018
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DATE
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TIME
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EVENT
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VENUE
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3.11.18
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6.30 PM
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TEAM QUIZ WITH SUMATHI CHANDRASHEKARAN, ANTAKSHARI FACILITATED BY ASEEM KUMAR
AND BHAVANI, POT LUCK DINNER
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BADMINTON COURT
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7.11.18
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6.30 PM
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DIWALI ILLUMINATION COMPETITION
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BETWEEN THE BLOCKS
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11-18.11.18
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6.30 PM
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BADMINTON & TT TOURNAMENTS
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BADMINTON COURT
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17.11.18
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9.30 AM
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SPORTS DAY
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MAIN LAWN
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