EDITORIAL
Through the good offices of the very
efficient and committed local MLA, Mr. Saurabh Bharadwaj, we have got twenty CCTV wireless cameras, ten
concrete park benches and an electronic boom barrier. In the light of the
recent break-in and theft in two flats, the CCTV cameras have come as a boon and
will bolster the security of the complex. While our request was for more CCTV
cameras, the first consignment that AAP had ordered got deployed at various
places leaving them short of meeting the requirements put forth by us. We have
been promised more CCTV’s within a month. The existing steel park benches had got
corroded and holes had appeared on the surface which could inadvertently rend
our clothes. Now, you can sit on them and not worry about your derriere. Another
improvement activity has been the change of the Yamuna Apartments board outside
the complex designed by Kavya Narayanan.
The median
mess on the Alaknanda main road has been festering for the last five years ever
since National Green Tribunal (NGT) wanted to mindlessly make a median without
any gaps on the entire road. Residents went up in arms and overnight, removed
kerb stones wherever they thought fit and created a mess of their own. The
schools did not want a median at all, which was another foolish and self-serving
objective of theirs to allow the school buses to make U-turns wherever they
felt like. All the Alaknanda colonies felt that the median was helping regulate
traffic and controlled rash driving but they wanted sensible gaps to be provided
so that traffic would not accumulate at Tara Apartments to take U-turns. Thanks
to the intransigence of all the stakeholders, the matter was referred to the
Supreme Court because the highest court is the only court that can accept
petitions against the NGT. The Supreme Court heard the parties concerned and
stayed the matter. It remained that way for four years until all the Alaknanda
colonies and the schools came on a common platform and prepared an acceptable
plan to resolve the issue. The Supreme Court took cognisance of the proposal
and lifted the stay for an out-of-court settlement. By lifting the stay, the
Supreme court abdicated its responsibility by kicking the can down the road.
Rightfully, the Court should have called the warring parties and concluded on a
just settlement to see an end to the imbroglio. Instead, all the Alaknanda
colonies and schools have to battle it out with a stubborn NGT with whom they
had a strong disagreement in the first place. By its own spotty standards of
dealing with such matters, the NGT could still queer the pitch. I do not see a
logical end to this soon.
The reduction
of repo rates by the RBI is just a short term palliative. It is not going to
solve the slowdown problem until liquidity is made available and the structural
issues plaguing banking NPAs addressed. The RBI has reduced the repo rates four
times in the last six months to no avail. The industry is reeling and almost on
life support. The automobile industry is the worst hit with truck and car sales
plummeting a massive 45% compared to a year before. While various theories have
been put forward for this demand collapse, there is no one right reason. There
are myriad issues not least of which is structural and the most difficult to
fix. Ride-hailing, shared mobility, increased public transport urban networks—both
rail and road—and change in emission standards from April 2020 to Euro VI from
Euro IV etc. have brought in a great deal of uncertainty and dampened
sentiments.
Reduction in
the corporate income tax and MAT announced by the Finance Minister pushed the
bourses to stratospheric heights and uplifted sentiments. However, the
increased cash flow availability at the hands of the corporates as a
consequence did little to push demand. There is still a glimmer of hope that
the festive season will usher in good times.
It’s been
over a month since the abrogation of Section 370 and things have not returned
to normal yet, although, nothing untoward is happening. It is going to be a
test of the country’s mettle, an Odyssean quest, a battle against entrenched
powers in the Valley, their sympathisers in Lutyens Delhi and the Communists. In that respect, the Congress and the
supposedly ideologically different Communists make strange bedfellows. This
heroic battle had to be fought against separatists’ overreach, federalism and stagnation
in the Kashmir saga. The “Khan Market coterie”, as PM Modi mentioned in one of
his talks, who cornered all prized posts
and became power kegs in the Congress regime is going ballistic in the media
criticising the Government’s actions. It is this dastardly embodiment of the
post-imperialist nostalgia and chauvinism and their contrasting left-liberal
views that are stymieing any progress in the valley, not to mention Pakistan’s
shenanigans. Modi’s no-nonsense approach is not going down well with this gang
and they use every opportune media interaction to castigate him. You need a
tough person to withstand this onslaught. In Modi and his able deputy Amit
Shah, they have found an adversary made of steel. We hope, for the well being
of Kashmiris, that things return to normal soon.
The Onam
lunch held on 8th September 2019 saw more than the usual takers. The
irony, however, is that on the so-called last day for the purchase of coupons, only
27 coupons had been sold, forcing us to contemplate cancelling the lunch
altogether. The circular mentioning the possible cancellation made many people
rush to buy the coupons in enough numbers to keep cancellation at bay. The
caterer was told to make arrangements for 80 people. Suddenly, on the last day
and on the day of the lunch, another 45 coupons were sold. The caterer was put
to a great deal of inconvenience to make last-minute arrangements. I earnestly
request residents who wish to partake in the lunch, in future, not to sit on
the fence. They should understand other people’s pain.
A fairly
large and very attractive pookalam made by Sudha Easwaran, Anu Nair, Poornima
Satish and Elina adorned the entrance to the Community Hall. The sun played
hide and seek with the clouds, yet it was quite sultry outside while you waited
for your turn to be seated inside. The beautiful Yamuna ladies in their pretty
saris made one forget the heat and pose for selfies with them. The meal was
great and everybody had a jolly good time.
Earlier this
month, I had gone for a SIAM conference in Taj Palace Hotel and was pleasantly
surprised to note that they had become very environment-conscious. To start
with, the delegate badges were not encased in plastic. At the tea break,
instead of plastic water bottles where people take a sip and leave the bottle
to be consigned to a landfill, they had glass flasks from which you poured
into a glass only that much water that you needed to drink. Tea was served in
clay kulhads, stirrers for mixing sugar in coffee/tea were not made of plastic
but wood, the magazines being distributed were not sheathed in plastic and many
such initiatives, down to the last detail. I was very impressed with the
initiative taken by the hotel. However, the very next day, at the same venue,
was the ACMA conference and I was aghast to see that things were back to the
old, dissipated ways—the same plastic badges, plastic water bottles, etc. Then
I realised that SIAM, which as a body sits over the workings of one of the
largest carbon emitters, is trying to do the small things whereby they can atone
for the sins of the automobile industry. With the advent of electric mobility,
they will take a big leap of faith and hopefully, bring down carbon emissions
substantially.
Yamuna’ites
were shaken from their reverie by the thefts that took place in two apartments on
18th September 2019. We are in the process of commissioning several
new CCTV cameras. CCTV cameras can at best, serve the purpose of solving crime rather than preventing crime. Taking cognisance of this limitation, we
invited an electronic surveillance agency which works in the area of preventing
crime. The agency, Securico, made a presentation in the Community Hall on 22nd
September 2019 listing several crime prevention and safety options. While the
Society is limited by resources and management bandwidth to handle multiple
security arrangements, residents who feel the need for additional security
could avail of such personal security options. This agency and the police with
whom we had interactions in the aftermath of the theft opined that in most
cases, thefts are inside jobs. Hence, it is imperative that domestics are hired
after due police verification and reference checks. We should also not keep
cash and valuables in our homes as far as possible, lest it acts as a temptation.
There are a few apartments that are a trifle more vulnerable than others because
of the design. The apartments in these blocks need to take extra care. Also, a
padlock is a dead giveaway to the thief of there being nobody inside. It is
better to have an integrated lock in the front door.
Mr. Kohli and
S. Srikanth spent several hours scanning through footage of a host of cameras
to try and fit together the jigsaw puzzle. While there seem to be what appear
to be leads, there is no conclusive evidence. The police have been handed over
the tapes for their investigation. We hope, for the sake of those who lost
their possessions, that they are able to nail the culprits soon.
We are
entering the festive month of October, the most exciting month of the calendar.
The weather too turns salubrious, to bring in the cheer. The sight of pretty
girls and bejewelled ladies in their finest silks during Navratri is very
pleasing. The Diwali rangoli competition
between the blocks on 27th October is a feast for the eyes. A bit
of playful jousting and ribbing just adds to the thrill.
SNIPPETS
Ishaan
Rastogi, scion of the Rastogi clan has made a continental shift. He has left
for the UK to pursue an MBA programme at Oxford University. That makes him the
fourth person from the colony to go for an overseas education this year and
three of them have gone to the land of our erstwhile colonisers. We are making
an emphatic statement here, that you colonised us for over 200 years and now it
is our turn to colonise you. Ishaan does not wish to get into a corporate job
after he completes his MBA. His desire is to work for social causes and he may
join a UN organisation or an NGO, to give back something to society. We wish him
the very best.
*****************************
Mr. Dhiraj
Gulati has moved into C-203 from Kalkaji, along with his wife Gunjan and
daughter, Aaratrika. Dhiraj works with Nokia as a Solutions Manager. His
interests lie in travelling and reading. Gunjan works with Fab India and is
in-charge of merchandising. Gunjan loves to listen to music and like all ladies
I know, shopping! Aaratrika, who is five years old, goes to Tagore
International School and learns Kathak from the reputed Kathak dance exponent,
Uma Sharma, of the Jaipur gharana. I am sure Aaratrika will regale us
with her dances at Yamuna cultural events. They can be reached on 9643109045
and 9654989538.
***************************
Deepak
Bhargav has moved into G-001 from GK-2 along with his wife, Upasana, and their
twin children, Satakshi and Saksham. Their elder son, Utkarsh, lives in
Gurgaon. Deepak is a Project Consultant for buildings and interiors. His
interests include playing badminton and TT. He will find enough partners here
to pursue his interests. Upasana is a career counsellor and life-skills trainer.
Apart from that, she conducts hand-writing improvement and calligraphy classes
during the holidays. She loves listening to music and cooking. Utkarsh is an
Associate with the corporate law firm, Trilegal. He plays the guitar. Shatakshi has
done M.A. in French and does translation work. She loves to dance. We will rope
her in for Dandia. Her twin brother, Saksham, is a Data Analyst with Bain &
Co. He is an accomplished Hindustani vocal singer. A musically talented family
indeed. Deepak and Upasana can be reached on 6393448523 and 9354115794
respectively.
***************************
V. Sundaram
and Bhanu of A-007 have moved for good to Coimbatore. It might be the beginning
of a jewellery start-up that Sundaram is contemplating. That makes another of
the badminton regulars to bid goodbye. They will be missed.
****************************
Mr. S. K. Topno and family, who moved from
G Block to E-204 after Mr. Topno’s retirement a few months ago have now
decided to settle down in Ranchi for good. They left this month.
***************************
Kiana Abraham
of A-008 has attained a status in her
Odissi dance that is reserved for the very talented. Her Rangmanch Pravesh was
held at India International Centre on 29.9.19. I still remember seeing this
bundle of joy on the day she was brought home after her delivery in Meerut all
wrapped up with only her face visible. Its been a long road to glory as she
strutted on stage with consummate ease to display her full range of Abinaya and
Nritta. Under the tutelage of her very accomplished Guru, Radhika Samson who
has moulded and honed her to perfection, Kiana displayed such artistic nuance
that even a casual observer would have gone into a trance. The grace and
fluidity of movement is the hallmark of all the dancers who have come off the
stables of Sadhana. We have seen Kiana dance on the Yamuna stage so often, but
she was at the pinnacle of her art on this Sunday evening. The subtle colours
of her attire blended very well with the background and were very pleasing to
the eye. God bless her and her family who stood steadfast through all the years
of trials and tribulations. She deservedly earned all the accolades that came
her way. Thomas got so overwhelmed that tears welled up in his eyes while
giving his thank you speech.
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CALENDAR
OF EVENTS FOR OCTOBER 2019
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DATE
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TIME
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VENUE
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8.10.19
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5.30 PM
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RAMLILA, DANDIA, VARIETY ENTERTAINMENT PROGRAMME
AND
FOOD STALLS
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BADMINTON COURT
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19.10.19
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6.30 PM
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QUIZ COMPETITION WITH SUMATHI
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BADMINTON COURT
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20.10.19
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10.00
AM
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ANNUAL GENERAL BODY MEETING
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COMMUNITY HALL
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27.10.19
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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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