Issue No100 December 2009

Editorial

With the 100th issue of the Chronicle, we usher in the New Year and hope 2010 has glad tidings for all of us. We have left a year of trials and tribulations in the aftermath of the global financial meltdown. This year should see exciting times for Delhi residents because of the hosting of the Commonwealth Games. A new airport, many new flyovers, new Metro routes, better streetscaping etc. that are in the pipeline, should be commissioned. We hope the area we live in also gets some attention. As far as providing toilets is concerned, the city has been niggardly. Therefore, boundary walls and public buildings become the repository of the bedevilled bladder. We Delhiites are sitting in the cradle of an ancient civilisation, yet I cannot think of a less civilised city than our metropolis. I hope the city fathers, besides sprucing up the city also carry out a public relations campaign to inculcate civic consciousness amongst the populace.

Sanidhya apparently stands for ‘closer to God’. The band which calls itself by this name regaled the audience on 6^th December at the Badminton Court to some fusion music encompassing Hindustani classical, folk, Sufi and Qawwali influences. This genre of music has been seldom attempted and rarely mastered, as there are no yardsticks with which to measure them. Purists of classical music may scoff at such controversial interlopers, but there are an increasing number of adherents to fusion music as evidenced by its following. The use of guitars, keyboards and drums may seem anathema to folk, Hindustani classical and Qawwali music, but it certainly makes the music more eclectic. What was inspiring was that all the band members are highly qualified musicians and most of their compositions were written and composed by them. They brought freshness to the interpretation of songs like Vande Mataram, which conventional musicians would seldom attempt. All credit goes to Vatsala Zutshi for bringing this band to Yamuna.

A function to thank the participants in the variety entertainment programme of the Annual Day was held in the Community Hall on 13^thDecember. Refreshments were served. We are indeed thankful to Nestle for having provided Munch bars to be distributed free of cost, courtesy Mr. Jamba of C-008. Avantika Shankar was given the award for the Best Child Artiste. The presence of these participants acted as a tonic to Ms. Chandrika Narayan, daughter of Mrs. Saroja of A-010, who regaled the audience with her repertoire of old and new Hindi film songs set to karaoke beats. Sore throat notwithstanding – which may have hampered her singing – she held forth to a rapt audience for over an hour.

The Yuletide spirit was alive and well on Christmas Eve at Yamuna. Prema, Seema and Purnima were very enthusiastic in decking up the stage and the end result was very pleasing. A tastefully made paper panel decorated with holly, angels and bells, made by Kavya and Poornima was used to cover the toilet entrance on the stage. As usual, Gita Rastogi had her hands full rounding up the kids to practice the Christmas carols. The kids did not disappoint her as they performed superbly to the strains of piano music played by Aditi Rastogi. The shepherds who were very authentically attired lined up the stage for the perfect backdrop. Story telling is an art and no one does it better than Vatsala Zutshi. She walked into the midst of a melee, with kids running around and others busy partaking of the eats and playing games. However, as she began, a hush descended on the audience and they listened in rapt attention. Kavya played Jingle Bells as background music on the keyboard while Vatsala was telling the tale of Rudolf the Red-Nosed Reindeer. St. Nicholas would have been aghast knowing that a girl impersonated him as Santa Claus. Nandita was all bells and whistles as she waddled in with her entourage distributing sweets to children. A more charming Santa I have not seen. You are sure to see more of her in the future.

When there is an SOS, I turn to the ever-resourceful Sujata Sundaresan to bail me out. In order to bring something different to the X’mas Carnival, she arranged for a ‘sand art’ stall, which became an instant hit. I also had no clue that we had a tattoo artist in our midst. Through Sujata again, I came to know that Nitya Venkataraman of G-004, has what it takes to be one. She very enthusiastically obliged and went about decorating the limbs of the children who lined up before her. The DJ’s, Prashant Gopal and Balaji Srinivasan did a splendid job. They ensured that the music was apt for the Yamuna crowd to get on their feet and show their moves. All the women and girls were in the thick of it, dancing in gay abandon. It was difficult to pick out the outstanding dancers. I could not help noticing Anu Nair. Shorn of the agonising pain of spurs on the foot with a heavy dose of sedatives, she lit up the floor with some electric dance moves which I did not think she was capable of. She got my vote as the best dancer of the evening. Manoj did give us a brief glimpse of what he is capable of on the dance floor. I couldn’t place its genre. It seemed a cross between bhangra, African shuffle and jive. Let’s call it the Manoj special! One of course had to watch out for his flailing arms and legs, because if you were to stray into his orbit you could have been knocked to the ground.

The food was priced very reasonably and flew off the counters in a jiffy, especially the carrot cakes, plum cakes, banana bread, stuffed paranthas and pizzas. Contribution of Rs. 750 from the food stalls, donation of Rs.1,100 from Mrs. Abraham and Rs. 300 from the games stall helped to partially defray the expenses.

The onset of winter sees many drivers rev up the engines of cars and leave them idling for up to 20 minutes. Modern cars are all equipped with glow plugs which upon the starting of the car, glow to 2000°C within a few seconds, enabling the car to start instantly. By revving up and leaving the engines to idle, these drivers are not only polluting the environment but also burning expensive fuel. They are obviously used to an era when cars needed to be revved up in winter to prevent stalling. Residents are advised to inform their drivers to start their cars only when they need to drive away.

It is a pity that despite installing several waste bins in the colony, sundry packets of fast foods and sachets of pan masala etc are littered all over the colony. Ironically, some of them can be found very near the waste bins. Where has our civic consciousness gone? Residents are requested to advise their children and enlighten the domestic staff about the need to throw litter only in the waste bins.

Come winter, you are no more hot under the collar. People go about greeting each other and for a change, begin enjoying the sun. This sunny disposition doesn’t escape the foul-mouthed lout in Delhi. The string of abuses suddenly acquires the genial cadence of a benediction. Picnics, high street shopping, visits to the park in the sun and a cosy afternoon snooze under the quilt are luxuries unthinkable of in the Delhi summers. However, winters are not welcomed by everyone. Some feel it in their bones and in spite of covering themselves from head to toe with layers of clothing and resembling a ghost, they are still acutely uncomfortable. Many take a vacation to warmer climes. For those who are staying back, we will have a big bonfire for Lohri on 13^th January. I hope it warms the cockles of your heart in more ways than one.

The year-ending chocolate cake was snapped up by all those who braved the cold winter night and fought off their sleep. Aditi Rastogi burst two cannons of confetti on the assembled throng. There were a lot of bear-hugs and greetings wishing each other for the morrow.

With these words let me wish you all an excellent and rewarding 2010 and may your health be as hearty as hale can be!

OBITUARY Mr. L.V. Chalam, ex-resident of C-007 couldn’t handle the rigours of the polluted environment that envelops us and decided to depart from this world on 13 th December. His end came in Hyderabad where his wife and son live. Yamuna residents convey their heartfelt condolences to the family.

SNIPPETS

Many of you would remember Priya of C-104, in pigtails playing badminton. That is history. Now, she is the mother of a bonny boy named Kunal. Priya, who is now based in Boston and Srinivas, the father, were pleased as punch, as their bundle of joy made his arrival into this world on 15^th December. As expected Priya’s parents, Venkatesh and Saroja have winged their way to the US to do some baby sitting.

It was the day of reckoning for Bhanu Shanker of B-303 on 26^th December. He bid goodbye to bachelorhood by getting hitched to Neha in a ceremony held at Karthiyayini Basement Hall in Mayur Vihar. He had to bide his time for a honeymoon till after the reception on the following day at The Country Club Eros Regency. We wish this good-looking couple a great time ahead.

Letter to the Editor

Through the columns of the Yamuna Chronicle, Krishnans express their deep gratitude to Yamuna-ites for their presence and valuable gifts on the occasion of their Sadhabhishekam on 29^th November, 2009.

CALENDAR OF EVENTS

January 2010

13.1.10 Lohri Celebrations with bonfire at the Badminton Court at 9 pm.

17.1.10 Heritage walk to Purana Quila with Dr. Ramji Narayanan. Please assemble with your cars at H-Block Gate at 10 am.

WORLD'S EASIEST QUIZ!

(Passing requires only 3 correct answers out of 10 - only total thicko's will fail !! Answers are below, but try not to cheat! )

1) How long did the Hundred Years' War last ?

2) Which country makes Panama hats ?

3) From which animal do we get cat gut ?

4) In which month do Russians celebrate the October Revolution ?

5) What is a camel's hair brush made of ?

6) The Canary Islands in the Pacific are named after what animal ?

7) What was King George VI's first name ?

8) What color is a purple finch ?

9) Where are Chinese gooseberries from ?

10) What is the color of the black box in a commercial airplane ?

Answers: (1)116 years (2) Ecuador (3) Sheep and Horses (4) November (5) Squirrel fur (6) Dogs (7) Albert (8) Crimson (9) New Zealand (10) Orange (of course!)

YAMUNA’S TREES

Tree of the Month – Kachnar

Botanical name: Bauhinia variegata (Hindi:Kachnar, Sanskrit : Kovidar Tamil: Nilattiruvatti • Bengali: Koiral • Marathi: Rakta chandan • Kannada: Devakanchan ).Popularly known as Orchid tree Mountain-ebony, Butterfly tree, Pink butterfly tree, etc.

Have you noticed a small tree which stands in slender, magenta glory at the corner of C Block, near the wicket gate? I urge you to look up a bit as you walk down that path and pause to enjoy the delicate, orchid like flowers of the Kachnar. (Remember the old Hindi film song which goes … Kacchi kali kachnar ki……)

Did you know…?

• Bauhinia variegata belongs to the Gulmohar family and is native to southeastern Asia.
• The flowers are conspicuous, bright pink or white with five petals. They appear in various shades of pink.
• There are several white flowered bauhinias on the Outer Ring Road along Soami Nagar, on the stretch between Chirag Dilli flyover and the Siri Fort flyover.
• The fruit is a flat pod, containing several seeds.
• The bark is astringent and a tonic useful in scrofula and skin diseases. It is also used for ulcers and leprosy.
• A decoction of the bark is taken for dysentery. The dried buds are used for diarrhea, dysentery and hemorrhoids.

(Shanthi Chandrashekaran H-107)

Christmas Eve at Yamuna !

You’d better watch out…Santa Claus is comin’ to town !

Yamuna’s Holy Family and little shepherds

All lit up !

Story-telling time with Vatsala

Sand Art !!

Santa hands out goodies !

Tanvi & Aradhya shake a leg

Christmas revellers at Yamuna!

Issue No 99 November 2009

Editorial

There is nothing as edifying or as cathartic as public outrage. The continuous flow of sewage originating opposite St. George School and flowing through the gutter and the road outside our gates was so offending that residents felt it was their right to vent anger at the office bearers and me in particular. There are many things the office bearers can do which are within their control, but if you have to depend on the civic authorities or the elected beacons of our democracy to get the job done, it’s better to raise the white flag. Umpteen letters to the top leaders, meetings and phone calls only evoked assurances. The ground reality is indifference. Bharti Ramakrishnan gave an earful to the concerned person in MCD in order to get him to start the work. Many other residents also pitched in. Amongst them, Anand Sundaresan used a contact to petition the CM and Purnima Satish called the CM’s helpline on a daily basis. Eventually, the work did get started albeit with much fanfare. The local MLA, MLC and sundry other functionaries inaugurated the work amid breaking of a coconut and distribution of sweets. It seems ironic that political mileage was sought to be derived from such an incident. Here are some pictures taken on the occasion !

The movie, Dil Bole Hadippa, screened on 7^th November was another treacly song and dance travesty with cricket matches thrown in for popular appeal. Not a great movie to liven up the evening, but what followed made up for the ennui. The pot luck dinner evokes enduring images of community, camaraderie and conviviality – so essential and intrinsic to a meal shared together.

The Sports Day which started on time on a bright and sunny morning saw the children, ladies and gents in great spirits. Tanvi of G-204 who excelled in the sprints, the long distance race and the three-legged race with Aradhya, was easily the best athlete of the Sports Day. Tejas of G-106 with two first place finishes and one second place finish was the best amongst the boys. Meera of H-208 with two first place finishes was the best amongst the ladies. In the road race for boys, Anirudh of H-308 scorched the asphalt with such a turn of speed that all that the trailing mob could do was vie for second place. Padma of A-110 ran the road race with such élan that that the rest of the field was left to admire her derriere. Kavya pipped elder sister Divya to the post to take the second place, in the process tallying three medals for the day.

I threw a challenge at the women that 10 men would compete against 20 women in tug of war. I was banking on Hari Shankar, Deepak and Manoj among others who are over 6 ft tall with an equally impressionable horizontal canvas, to haul the dainty women onto their side. Little did I know that they were full of beer gut and hot air. It was comical to see them brought to their knees in a jiffy. A rematch citing unreadiness only ended in ridicule as this time the supposedly weaker sex gave such a tug to the rope that our gallant men were left prostrating in front of them. It was a repeat performance when the girls challenged the boys. Ladies can no more be labelled the weaker sex.

The Quiz competition held on 21st November at the Badminton Court presented a logistical nightmare. There was a stall of Barclays Bank with blaring music and tambola vying for attention. However, when that got sorted out, it was a challenge to form the teams with last minute drop-outs and several new entrants. The hastily assembled teams may not have had the ideal mix. In fact one of the teams ended with two adults and one didn’t have any. The quiz with complete audio-visual rounds was painstakingly put together by the Quiz Master, Sumathi. That it was a novelty both in terms of the theme and the presentation is an understatement. Those who would have pored over GK books in preparation for the quiz may have been a tad disappointed. However, the competition itself was , with two teams namely, “The Champs” and “The Hornets” fighting neck and neck till the end with the Hornets eventually pipping the Champs 75 marks to 70. The ladies representing the the two teams, Ms. Anita Suresan and Ms. Latha Narayanan were outstanding. The Hornets who had the benefit of another adult in Manoj made the difference. The third placed team were the Hogwarts, followed by Nitro and Hot Spot. My sympathies were with Nitro who did reasonably well without any adult in their midst. Sumathi had brought two boxes of Munch for the right answer from the audience. The audience were very active and Gita Rastogi walked away with quite a few Munch’s. Everybody seemed to have a jolly good time. Kudos to Sumathi and her assistant Shalini. Kavya kept everybody abreast with the scores. The prizes for the quiz which were distributed on the Annual Day were donated by Mr. Manoj of H-206 and Mr. Narayanan of C-007 and Poornima Narayanan. Many thanks to them.

The 29^th Annual Day on 28th November started on a good note. The refreshments served in the evening were very tasty. The Chief Guest Mr. Ajay Maken had last minute orders from Mrs. Sonia Gandhi to fly with her to Jharkhand for election campaigning. This meant that we could start the programme on time. Dr. P. N. V. Kurup very kindly agreed to officiate as the Chief Guest. Half way through the Prize distribution ceremony the former Municipal Councillor, Mr. Virender Kasana arrived to give away the remaining prizes. In his speech which may sound like music to the ears of Yamuna residents (who have for years tolerated the filthy park on the way to the temple), he mentioned that orders have been issued to make the MCD park into an ornamental one. Work on the same has commenced.

My debut speech as President was a non-starter. A bout of laryngitis smote me down and I was rendered speechless. Just as well, as it helped speed things up. All the programmes from the Invocation song to the renderings of the Yamuna Rock Band showed the immense talent that exists in the colony. Radhika’s Odissi dance and Netra’s Bharatanatyam made a pretty picture. Avantika’s felicity with the higher octaves, in the Hindustani composition Raag Des was well appreciated. The fancy dress by the kids was both a pleasing sight and also brought about a lot of laughs with their cute and bumbling ways. Bam Bam Bole by the kids, Just a Prayer by Prakriti and Sri Lakshmi and the solo song by Sandhya Srishankar had the crowd engrossed. The tabla recital by Anirudh and Tejaswin showed how Anirudh has matured over the years. The timbre from his tabla resonated like Ustad Allarakha of the Punjab Gharana. Wake up Sid, was very well enacted by the kids and drew encomiums. Des rangila, a folk dance had all the elements of what we call folk. To the shore’a dance ballet with flowing robes was very artistic and colourful. The show stopper of the day was the Marathi Koli dance by the ladies. It had a lot of verve, vitality and energy. The ladies put their best foot forward and pirouetted on the stage to wolf whistles from the audience. Meera, as the lead dancer, was exceptional with her expressions and deservedly pocketed the Best Performer award instituted by our ex-member, Mr. Lele. The Arabian Belly Dance by Shahin was very enthralling. The anecdotal evidence of the next two items which I unfortunately missed, was that they were well received by the audience. They were the Medley Dance and ‘Heal the World’-a tribute to Michael Jackson. I returned in time for the ‘grand finale’ which threw up the pyrotechnics by the Yamuna Rock Band. They essayed a classical number and followed it up with two other conventional rock numbers. They have brought to their repertoire a refreshing variety that evidenced the honing of their skills. They paid tributes to their ex-band mates Vinayak and Rahul who are now residing in the US. The curtains finally came down on another successful and enjoyable Annual Day. While all the items had class, the judge picked Meera Verma, the cast of Wake Up Sid and Avantika as the stand out performers.

It would be remiss on my part if I do not acknowledge the contributions of the people who worked behind the stage. The choreographers for the various items were Bhavani, Lalitha, Charu, Anuradha Nair, Prema, Prakriti, Gita Rastogi, Meera Venkat, Radha Mani, Meera Verma, Netra and Soumya. The whole ‘programme’ was shepherded well by Gita Rastogi who worked long hours with all the choreographers to select the cast and do the rehearsals. S. Srikanth as the sound engineer made everybody’s task easier by doing the sound mixing and splicing to fit the part for each item. Mrs. Gauri Raghunathan worked with Gita to plan out the whole programme of events, to make sure everything worked to perfection. Aparajita Kumar (Kirti to most of us) did the job of the compere with aplomb. Lastly, thanks are in order to our ex-resident, Mr. Venkat who came from Vaishali to help with the stage setting etc.

Enjoy the vast array of Annual Day photographs taken by Ramabhadran here.

OBITUARY

Mr. Ramu Raghavachari an ex-member who used to reside at H-102 passed away at the ripe old age of 95 on 23^rd November. Yamuna residents convey their heartfelt condolence to the bereaved family.

SNIPPETS

Mr. Ganesh Ponnuswamy, Brand Manager for Hamilton, (part of the Swatch Group )has moved into E-205 from Saket along with his wife Shahin and son Shourya, who is ten months old. Ganesh plays badminton and jogs in his spare time. He also loves watching movies and listening to music. Shahin quit her job with ad agency JWT to deliver their baby. She loves reading, dancing, writing poems and skits. This couple needed no time to integrate as within 20 days of their moving in, Shahin performed a scintillating belly dance at the Annual Day. We welcome them to the Yamuna family.

In a move that didn’t cause too much of a bother, Mr. Ganapathy and family of F-003 have moved to C-207. This transition should see them enjoying their winter more and dreading their summer.

Fortunate are a few blessed souls who are able to celebrate their Sathabishekam. Smt. T. S. Meena Krishnan and Shri. N. Krishnan are the kindred souls who did so on 29^th November at their home in E-004. Lunch was served at the Community Hall. The signs of their popularity could be seen by the milling crowd at their home. We wish this couple many many more years of happy wedded life together.

CALENDAR OF EVENTS FOR DECEMBER 2009

24.12.09 X’mas Eve Carnival 6.30 pm at Badminton Court

An evening of music and dance with plenty to eat and drink. Sigris to keep you warm will be placed!

31.12.09 Cake cutting at Community Hall to usher in the New Year.

Time: Midnight

Yamuna Quiz Competition

Full house at the Yamuna Quiz

Quiz master Sumathi gets going !