Issue No. 171 I November 2015

EDITORIAL

Yamuna Apartments is an architectural marvel. It was described by BBC as one of the ten most iconic modern structures of Delhi, when it was built. Even today we get visit requests every year from architecture colleges to enable their students to study the layout and design of the buildings. At the time it was built, it was way ahead of its peers. Let us not mar it by indiscriminate exterior alterations at the time you renovate your flats. What you do inside your flats is your business–– except for tampering with load bearing walls––but what you do to the exterior walls, flooring outside the front door, fancy name plates and number plates on the serrated walls, is not desired. The exterior AC wall units in many flats have been so badly installed that the thick cables run for a great distance on the exterior walls, which makes it an eyesore. These cables can easily be channelled inside the house and POP applied and nobody will know that there is cable running inside. Many residents have  adopted this method. We would urge those residents whose cables are running outside the flat to redo the same as suggested above. Please also do not run the cable TV and telephone wires externally. You can easily channel them through the shaft. Rectification of these irregularities would help us restore the old glory of the Apartments. Once the Apartments completes fifty years we can apply for a heritage building tag and we could well become the only heritage apartment complex in the whole country to sport such a tag. Please co-operate to achieve this singular milestone of which we can all be proud. We are indeed very grateful to the founding fathers of our Society who chose this design.

I had written the aforementioned piece when news came through from Kunal Savarkar that Yamuna Apartments has been shortlisted for a heritage tag. It seemed like a prophecy. What an honour it would be if we get it!

The staircases of our apartments are cantilevered structures. They cannot bear the load, on a sustained basis, of potted plants. This was highlighted by Mr. T.S. Narayanaswamy, the structural engineer of our complex, and on subsequent occasions, by Kunal Savarkar's father who is also a well known structural engineer. After an advisory was sent out some years ago, residents removed their potted plants from the staircases, but now the pots have reappeared in many staircases. The other big enemy to any building structure is water. It seeps through the cracks and crevices and corrodes the steel structure that is holding the staircase. Many staircases which are washed on a regular basis are exhibiting dangerous cracks on the underside. Once the steel structure completely corrodes, the staircase can collapse without warning, thereby causing collateral damage. Watering of the plants also allows the excess water to seep through the cracks and damage the structure. In the interest of preserving the building and for your own personal safety, please remove the pots from the staircases immediately. If you must, you may retain a tulsi plant in a small pot and that too with a tray underneath which will trap the excess water.

The Diwali Mela this time was grander on variety of stalls, decent on footfalls, but poor on sales conversion. Barring food stalls which did reasonably well, both the games stalls and sales stalls had more gawkers than takers. Alas, the viability of holding a Mela in the lawn is in serious jeopardy. With limited sponsors and costs of tents, generators and sound systems rising and revenues not matching cost increases, it spells the death knell of the Diwali Mela in the lawn. Besides  the dwindling population of the colony and lack of volunteers to take on various tasks, it is well nigh impossible to take on this activity on a sustained basis. Unlike in the past, due to increased traffic and parking problems, we have to depend on Yamuna residents and immediate neighbours for footfalls.

It is a practical problem. If you leave out senior citizens and very small children, there is virtually nobody in the colony who is not gainfully employed or otherwise engaged in various household chores and managing children. It is high time somebody volunteers and takes on the baton in order to continue this tradition if you don't want to see its demise . Prashant senior and junior, Aishwarya, Nandita, Anirudh and Netra did a great job with the theme and execution of the Music on Request stall. Sumathi and Poornima were very committed and helped in organising the Lucky Dip stall. Sumathi was also very meticulous in managing the finances. Amongst the children Kiana deserves praise for organising the children to manage the stalls. She shows the potential to be a very good organiser when she grows up. Mr. S. Krishnaswamy was very generous in providing several items for the lucky dip and Hoopla stalls. We are indeed grateful to Meera and Venkat who gave several prizes for the Raffle stall. Satish Padmanabhan arranged the sponsorship for the Sony stall. Anand Mahadevan reimbursed the cost of generators. Unlike the previous year all the raffle prizes were claimed this time.

It was a cracker of a relatively cracker-less Diwali, which ensured that the following morning was less choking. The Diwali illumination was less grand than yester years. A&B took top honours in all four categories with C&D and G&H garnering second place in two categories each. Kudos should however go to C&D and E&F who were woefully short of hands and resources. They still kept their chin up and competed on equal terms thus keeping the spirit of this tradition alive. It is these moments that make the event more fulfilling than the prizes themselves. The sheer fact that so many residents come down to participate in a mass event speaks of a culture that is both endearing and enduring. The bond that this stimulates, breaks filial barriers and unites the whole of Yamuna into one large family, irrespective of a few disgruntled voices. With time passing by, the population of physically fit residents in every block is diminishing rapidly and their children and new comers do not view these activities with the same passion and treasured heritage. We must however, try our best to keep it alive and hope this rubs off positively on others. The women in their finery looked ravishingly beautiful and many a shutterbug was trigger happy taking a multitude of snaps.

It was a classic Quiz conundrum posed by Sumathi to the participants with her esoteric brand of questions on 20th November, 2015. Five teams participated in all. Audience was prominent by its absence. We have 195 flats in the colony which would conservatively house about 500 residents and we could not muster a handful of people. It is indeed a sad commentary on a colony which at one time prided itself for its participative and co-operative spirit. What a downer it is for the Quiz Master who must have spent days culling out and putting together this unique, very interesting and informative Quiz. It is equally disappointing to the teams to see no support in the form of encouragement and acknowledgement of their answering prowess. At least the students and teachers of whom we have a quite a sizeable number in the colony could have come for the show. They would have gained immensely from these interactions.

Most of the teams were pretty evenly matched. However, a spate of bonus points ensured that team 'Ice Cream' consisting of Antariksh Das, Anita Suresan, Anirudh Suresan and Poornima Narayanan were runaway winners. An unusual name for a quiz team, though. Team 'Mahaghatbandhan' consisting of Kunal Savarkar, Seema Chari, Anirudh Sundaresan and Dakshina Raghavendra took the second prize and team 'Underdogs' consisting of Rajarshi Das, Rajdeep Das, Aditi Rastogi and M. Vignesh came a close third. They proved they were no underdogs. Curtains came down on an enlightening and enjoyable evening.

Underlining the lack of participation and audience support was the Annual Sports Day, held in the main lawn on 21st November, 2015. The start was delayed as we could not gather enough under five-year-old kids to set the ball rolling. Eventually, Saiansh (popularly known as Lakshay) and Kian took part in the Picking the Toffees and Sprint event, to raucous support from the gaggle of children and adults. With a number of events like sprints, sack race, three-legged race, skipping, slow cycling, marathon and tug-of-war lined up for the children, they had enough opportunity to win prizes even if they missed out on one or two races. Saiansh, Shreeram, Kiana, Tanvi and Seema Chari headed the medals tally in their respective age categories. I was impressed with Mala Sundaresan, who, despite the odds stacked against her, competed with younger and fitter rivals, notched up a medal in one event and narrowly missed out in another. The surprise of the day was Anirudh Suresan who steamrolled the opposition in the men's sprint with his dash to the finish. Tejaswin Shankar, our 'Junior Olympics'  hero, although not competing in the event, show cased his talent by ambling in the race while others put all their muscle and sinew to full use to overhaul him.

The marquee event of the day, the tug-of-war was a tame affair. Hopelessly outnumbered, the men were hauled in like a sack of coals by the women. Deepak who was leading the men had to feast on grass as he was mercilessly dragged along the turf by the women. The girls did the same to the boys. The weary lot then went home to some much needed repast and rest.

The most awaited and continuously held event in Yamuna's history, the Society Annual day will be upon us on 12th December, 2015. Owing to the delayed holding of the event the start time will be advanced by 30 minutes so that residents are not burdened by the frigid weather.

I have been informed that the Yamuna Co-operative Store is making losses and is in imminent danger of shutting down. I believe that many residents are taking goods on credit and not paying for them despite several reminders. It is a matter of great concern that we are letting an institution that we all have a stake in, to be bled by our own callous attitude. On an earlier occasion when this happened, the store was revived by infusion of funds by some residents. Much of that money borrowed by them has since been returned. The store managed to survive the onslaught of e-retailers and predatory pricing by neighbourhood kirana stores. We all need to put in our might and support the store by patronising them. I would also urge our esteemed fellow residents who buy groceries on credit to clear their dues at the earliest.

A concerted effort is being made to get the allotment of flats regularised. Finally, after much follow-up the Registrar's office has sent a written communication to the Society to provide a set of documents for each of the members for verification. Seetha Venkataraman and Poornima Narayanan are steering the preparation of 195 files for each of the members with generous help at different times from C.V. Balakrishnan, Geetha Santanam, Sudha Umapathy, Jayashree Mohan, Mohan Krishnaswamy, P. D. Gopalakrishnan, and K.V. Shantha. This task has become very onerous as many of the original files are incomplete. Nevertheless, supplementary documents are being collected to support the anomalies. Carrying of the files, liaisoning and the verification process at the ROCS end is being spearheaded by M/s. Ramabadhran, P.K.K. Nair, P. Krishnamurthy, N. L. Ganapathy and Madhu Nair. This is a very weary process as on any given day not more than 5-10 files are getting verified. The endless wait at the Registrar's office and constant shuttling makes it a very vexing task. Kudos, to all those who have undertaken this work on behalf of the rest of us. We sincerely hope that their efforts will bear fruit.

Owing to some generous funding by well wishers in the colony, the Annual Day boasts of a generous kitty for the distribution of scholarships and prizes. We are indeed very grateful to the following sponsors for this largesse:-

S.NO	SPONSOR	ADDRESS	AMOUNT	IN MEMORY OF
1	K. SRIDEVI	G-303	RS. 10000
2	S.S.EASWAR	D-201	RS. 10000
3	RAJALAKSHMI KALYAN	G-306	RS. 5000	HER SON HARISHANKAR
4	PRASHANT PRABHAKAR	H-201	RS. 5000	HIS MOTHER SRILATHA PRABHAKAR
5	N. GEETHA SANTANAM	C-101	RS.5000
6	RAJALAKSHMI SESHAN	G-103	RS.5000	HER HUSBAND SHRI. N. V. SESHAN
7	N.A.SESHADRI	D-103	RS.1000	HIS MOTHER K.G.LAKSHMI AMMAL
8	K.V.SHANTHA	A-105	RS,1000

Sprucing of various areas have begun with the washing of the Flat numbers on the external grit wall, cleaning and polishing of the meter room doors and fresh coat of paint on the stage wall.   

 

SNIPPETS

Shekhar Nair, Anu, Samiksha and Adwita who had moved to A 004 from B-107 about a year ago have retraced their steps and are now well ensconced in their own abode in B-107.

CALENDAR OF EVENTS FOR DECEMBER, 2015

DATE	EVENT	TIME	VENUE
12.12.15	ANNUAL DAY - REFRESHMENTS, PRIZE DISTRIBUTION,	4.00 PM	MAIN LAWN
	VARIETY ENTERTAINMENT AND DINNER
20.12.15	HERITAGE WALK & PICNIC - QUTAB ARCHAEOLOGICAL PARK	10:00 AM	FROM A BLOCK GATE
25.12.15	CHRISTMAS CARNIVAL/CAROL SINGING/WINTER RAMP WALK	6.30 PM	BADMINTON COURT
	MUSIC/DANCE/FOOD STALLS/BONFIRE
31.12.15	CAKE CUTTING AND USHERING IN THE NEW YEAR	MIDNIGHT	COMMUNITY HALL

Issue No. 170 I October 2015

EDITORIAL

It was a disappointing turnout for Swachh Bharat initiative in the colony on Gandhi Jayanthi day. Barring Mr. Vinod Asthana and the children consisting of Radhika Venkataraman, Manishankar T, Adwita Nair, Dhanya Prakash, Anjali Garg, Shashvat Arun  and Aryan Ramabhadran, nobody showed up. The vast majority preferred to stay at home. The task was however made simple because there was not much rubbish in the nooks, crannies and bushes. I remember, the first time we embarked on the cleanliness drive about ten years ago, we hauled out half a truck load of rubbish like broken bulbs, bottles, sachets and even some unmentionables. The Managing Committee is grateful to the residents who have done their bit to keep the environment clean.

Residents may have been put under a great deal of inconvenience concerning water availability over the last one month due to the failure of either the pump or the electrical control panel. Please do not think that the Managing Committee is not cognizant of the trouble that the non-availability of water causes to the residents. The fact is the main submersible turbine pump after thirty-five years of flawless service finally packed up due to wear and tear. There are very few people who have the skill sets to repair such pumps. Even taking the pump out from the underground tank was a humongous exercise, then finding the right agency to conduct the repair took a while. Finally, it has been set right. In the meanwhile, we were running the terrestrial pump and one day the electrical panel developed a glitch. Ram has identified an agency to undertake the job of changing the complete panel. We will also set right another pump, so that, in the future, we have at least three options to pump up the water, should anything ago amiss with any of the pumps or panel. Through all this gruelling exercise over several nights and days there was one man who was steadfastly and diligently monitoring the exercise come rain or sun. This was Mr. P. K. K. Nair, who, despite his age did the physically challenging work. Kudos to Mr. Nair for this selfless service. We are all indebted to you.

The corporate world is a brutal eco-system. Most lifestyle diseases like high blood pressure, diabetes and other stress related ailments have originated or can be directly linked to working in a highly competitive corporate private sector. The demands are totally driven by profits and more profits, gaining market share and beating the hell out of the competition. The competitors are not exactly sucking their thumb while this strategy is being worked out. They have their own machinations to get the better of you. It is a dog-eat-dog world. The financial rewards are immense and so are the casualties. You can rise dizzyingly high in the corporate world that it could give you vertigo, but one blunder and you could be holding the pink slip. You could be driving a Mercedes Benz one day and washing dishes at home the next day. Nothing is certain. Retrenched, downsized, redundant are the new buzzwords, These are just fluffy euphemisms to denote that you are sacked. Burnouts are common and soon you could see people who have made enough money wishing to retire at 40 years as they cannot take it anymore. Separations and divorces are becoming fairly common as a surly husband or wife is not what you want to encounter at the end of a hard and trying day. In cases where both husband and wife are both enmeshed in the corporate rut, it plays on children's lives and they tend to go astray, that is if they have children in the first place. Why I mention this is because more and more men leading stressful lives are diagnosed as impotent and consequently their wives cannot conceive.

The way out is not to come home and mope and sulk. It will play on your health. Take a walk in the park, smell the roses, interact, socialise, and mingle with friends. Have a party and let your hair down, if you have any left, that is!!! This is the only way to get over the blues. I am trying in a small way to facilitate the social and cultural activities in Yamuna with the help of like minded friends.

Dengue has reappeared this year in a virulent form. It is rampant and some in Yamuna were affected by this dreaded disease. However, it is not as potent as the casualties would suggest. It is like any other viral disease and lasts between four to five days, if you detect early and manage your dropping platelet count and increasing haemoglobin levels. Papaya leaf extract is a sure and effective way to combat the dropping platelet count and defang the virus. It is only those people who do not go for early detection, that need to be hospitalised. Then it becomes a long haul to recovery, if you are lucky. I was pestered by Thomas Abraham to get the fumigation done when his daughter contracted the disease. Fumigation is a double edged sword. WHO has declared fumigation as dangerous to human health and recommended banning of the same. The poison which kills the mosquito also does harm to humans. After persuading Mr. Kasana, MCD Councillor, the fumigation was done in the colony on 4th October, 2015. Fumigation, I believe is not the panacea we all perceive it to be. Mosquitoes are insects which fly and do not see any boundaries. They can easily migrate to Yamuna from neighbouring areas. Planting mosquito repellents like lemon grass or citronella is the answer.

Community viewing of movies seems passé. With a plethora of options available to residents like multiple channels on TV, DVD's and even smart phones, sitting down in public with friends, watching a movie and sharing a meal seems anathema. There was barely a soul when the system was set up on 10th October evening to screen a movie. By the time the first frame crackled on the screen there was a trickling of a motley bunch largely consisting of children. A section of them could not agree on the choice of film and went into a chorus vociferously chanting the name of an alternate film, thus drowning out the dialogues. Eventually, when the switch was made, the other lot voiced their protest and then we settled on a third choice. Part of the thin crowd melted out, disappointed with the movie being screened. It was Dirty Rotten Scoundrels, a delightfully wicked movie, set in a beautiful area of France along the Cote d'Azur. It was about two conmen trying to outwit each other who eventually get upstaged by a conwoman. There were only a handful of people to take part in the pot-luck dinner. The weather was awesome and I have reasonable cause to believe that those who missed out have a lot to rue about. I can understand that some of them could have been having other important commitments but the indifference of the vast majority baffles me. It took me a good part of my Sunday to set up everything. I am not a movie buff myself but the reason I screen movies is to have greater engagement in the community. If this going to be the response, I am afraid we are headed the way of other colonies. I am grateful to the six new residents of the colony who participated.

Navaratri and all the festivities that follow have a bewitching charm of their own. The  women in beautiful Kanjeevaram saris and pricey adornments  looked very fetching. I wish this season would never end.

Intolerance has erupted across the country like acne on an adolescent's brow. Suddenly the cow has become holier and beef eating a crime. Fringe elements on the right, bolstered by the audacious statements of Shiv Sena and Bajrang Dal leaders have queered the pitch for the existence of a pluralistic thought process. But is returning the Sahitya Academi Awards the answer? Not by a long shot. They should instead use the power of their pens to foster a climate of shared ethos and acceptance of divergent views. We cannot let lumpen elements dictate the course of our lives. The pusillanimity of political and administrative machinery to deal with this dangerous trend is condemnable. I hope Mr. Modi starts wielding the stick against his party hotheads.

Dandia was a hit in terms of the present demographics of Yamuna. With many of the children studying or working in outstation locations there was a thinner participation than in the past, but most of the regulars were present. They danced and ate and generally had a jolly good time. It was also a very pleasant outing for the onlookers who could watch the skilled dancers in beautiful coloured costumes. With the dwindling population of Yamuna, the lack of participants will become the new normal.

For the Diwali illumination competition on 11th November, 2015, we will follow the same pattern of awarding prizes as last year. There will be four categories of prizes. There will be 1st and 2nd prizes for Best theme, Best rangoli, Best illumination and Best overall impact. In the interest of conservation and environment, please avoid using the powdery glitter. In case you wish to embellish the rangolis, use the coin sized glitter which can be retrieved the following morning and reused. You may leave the staircase lights on, to minimise the use of candles. May the best blocks win. Wish you all a happy Diwali.

The TT and badminton tournaments for all age groups will commence on 14th November, 2015. Participants should give their names to Raju Krishnan, F-103. He can also be reached on 9911401699. The Quiz competition has been deferred to 21st November, 2015. Participants should give their names to Sumathi Chandrashekaran, H-107. She can also be reached on 9873503219.

OBITUARY

Mr. R. Vaidyanathan passed away on 6th October, 2015. He was President of the Society between 1987-88. He used to live in B-201. He was an erudite person and well liked by all. We wish to convey our heartfelt condolence to the family.

SNIPPETS

Sukanya and B.M. Sundareshan's daughter Dr. Vidya Sundareshan is earning accolades by the heaps. The latest in the long list of accomplishments is being amongst the 118 elite doctors from around the world to be named as "Fellows" by a leading medical association in the US for their outstanding accomplishments in the field of infectious diseases. Vidya is an Associate Professor in Southern Illinois University. Besides that she is the President of the Indian Association in Springfield, Illinois and does a lot of community service which has earned a lot of goodwill with the Senator. Vidya, you make us proud.

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Savitha and Aseem's son Abhinav has emerged as a talented writer. He has penned a short story called "Razor Sharp" which has made it to the  Sahitya Akademi's bi-monthly journal called Indian Literature. To share space with Gulzar, Keki Daruwalla and other eminent writers is no mean feat. The story is absorbing and although it may not be a page turner, Abhinav shows a lot of promise. He could mature into a very good story teller and may well one day get the Sahitya  Akademi award. There is no point though, people are returning the Sahitya Akademi awards by the droves. Maybe the Booker is the real deal.

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The much anticipated Odissi Rangmanch Pravesh of Dakshina Raghav held at India International Centre on 24th October, 2015 went off like a dream. Everything was picture perfect except for the traffic which was diverted at several places because of Muharram procession. The start was a tad delayed as a consequence. The auditorium was filled to the rafters, with many occupying the aisle. Dakshina looked very fetching in an aquamarine blue/sea green costume and as Raghav put it, looked celestial, particularly with the halo type head gear. A smile never left her face even through the complicated manoeuvres except when the dance demanded her to display anger, remorse, pathos etc. She was outstanding at the Abhinaya and Shiva Stuti, a testimony to the hard hours put in with her talented and dedicated Guru, Radhika Samson. I would be failing in my duty if I did not write about the nuanced and classy compering of Janaki.

If viewers thought they had come to watch one performance, they were in for a pleasant surprise. The dance performance followed two splendid speeches, one a tribute from the Chief Guest, Bombay Jayashree  to Dakshina and her guru Radhika. She proceeded to heap encomiums to the entire pantheon of artists in the family that Dakshina has descended from, in such lucid and endearing terms that it moved one to tears. Then came a master performance from Raghav, who spoke in glowing terms about Dakshina, Radhika, other artists, backroom assistants, his family, friends, Yamuna Apartments, about values, relationships and the entire gamut of philosophical mumbo-jumbo that kept the audience in a spell. How can I not talk about Rekha? She did the hard yards, distributing invitations and personally inviting everybody in her inimitable manner. Thank you, Rekha, Raghav, Dakshina and Manisha for making the evening truly enjoyable. In the history of the Chronicle I have not written such a long snippet, but I must confess that it was an evening that deserved the bytes.

CALENDAR OF EVENTS FOR NOVEMBER, 2015

DATE	EVENT	TIME	VENUE
7.11.15	DIWALI MELA WITH FOOD, GAMES, RIDES, MUSIC, DANCE ETC	6.30 PM	MAIN LAWN
11.11.15	INTER-BLOCK ILLUMINATION COMPETITION	6.30 PM	BETWEEN THE BLOCKS
14-20.11.15	BADMINTON/TT TOURNAMENTS	6.30 PM	BADMINTON COURT/TT TABLE
15.11.15	SPORTS DAY FOR ALL AGE GROUPS	9.30 AM	MAIN LAWN
21.11.15	QUIZ COMPETITION WITH SUMATHI	6.30 PM	BADMINTON COURT