Issue No.84 August 2008

Editorial
Good news comes in small doses these days, what with crime, terrorist strikes, bandhs etc. hogging the headlines in the national dailies. After a wait of nearly thirty years, the Registrar of Co-operative Societies has sent us a missive that the process of allotment of Flats conducted by the Society which contravened with Section 77(1) of DCS Act, 2003, has been condoned by the LG under the powers vested with him, under Section 127(1) of DCS Act, 2003. In effect, it means that the Members of the Society who were hitherto de facto owners of their flats have now made the big step towards becoming de jure owners. We are still awaiting a letter from DDA validating the list of Members. With that, the curtain falls on the most nerve-shattering saga of the Society relating to the regularisation of the flats, on which successive Managing Committee members spent countless hours. We would like to profoundly thank all those who worked relentlessly on this issue.

What would warm the cockles of everybody’s heart is the possibility of KK performing at the Annual Day function, in response to our plea. This will sound like music to the ears of all his ardent admirers. It will mark the long and eagerly awaited return of the talented son of Mr. C.S.Menon to the Yamuna stage.

The mega wealthy ambassadors of cricketing fame have taken the Indian public for granted with their insipid display in the emerald isle. Our Test batsmen with more runs and years behind them than any other contemporary test team in the world were found woefully wanting, to counter the guile of Mendis and Muralitharan. Its time they hung up their boots and gave the youngsters a chance. I am sure they will be no worse.

While we were busy devising ways to throw in the towel against the Lankans, our neighbours up north did their country proud by hosting what could easily pass off as the most talked about Olympics. China pulled out all the stops to make the Olympics a grand success. The opening ceremony was awe inspiring and original. However, much after the euphoria dies down and the dust settles a few years from now, archival footage of Tibetan protests, on the denial of civil liberties and human rights in Tibet will flash in your thoughts more than the Games.

What an aggregate poverty of ability, commitment and drive our Olympic contingent and the country as a whole displayed, could not have been more amplified when our lone gold medal winner ever in an individual sport, got the whole country lapping up the achievement. What Abhinav Bindra did was no doubt commendable; he achieved the feat inspite of the system and not because of it. The press, politicians and sundry sports federations went ballistic with celebrations and offered vast sums of money when Abhinav Bindra, Vijender Singh and Sushil Kumar notched up medals. If only the sport federations had spent money on facilities, equipment coaching and sports medicine, we would have had many more winners. I do not blame the athletes who in spite of so many constraints did India proud. Imagine having 15 boxers to a room in unhygienic environment with rats for company! That’s what we had provided to our potential medal winners at the training camp. China, on the other hand, had no medal winners when India became an independent nation, but in Beijing they topped the medals tally with 51 golds and 100 medals overall. Barely 20 years ago, at the Seoul Olympics, they had only 5 golds to show for their efforts. What stupendous progress. Alas! We spend more on our officials than on the sportsmen. Most of our Olympians looked more like Hector waiting for the ultimate battle with Achilles, with the knowledge that victory will never be theirs. Let’s hope Abhinav’s, Vijender and Sushil Kumar’s feats act as a tonic for the future and we are able to proudly count ourselves among the medal winners.

It is not often that children in school offer lessons to elders on environmental conservation. In a welcome departure from the norm, Vinayak of C-007, implored me to make it mandatory for all residents to segregate their garbage between biodegradable and non biodegradable enabling thereby, proper recycling and disposal.

The cleanliness and eco drive conducted on the 10th was fairly well represented by kids but not the adults. Apart from the objective of cleaning the parts of the colony not normally attended to by the sweepers, this drive is supposed to highlight the ill effects to the environment caused by the excessive use of plastic and their wanton disposal.

The Independence Day flag hoisting had to be moved to the badminton court opposite the office owing to soggy soil in the fountain park caused by incessant rain for several days leading to the 15th. The flag was hoisted by Mr. C.V.Narayanan after a minor glitch. The children present sang the National Anthem and other patriotic songs. The motley crowd dispersed after the distribution of sweets. It is rather unfortunate that most residents chose to stay indoors when such an important function was being conducted.

The Janmashtami celebration was low-key. The children had put up a good show under the Club House and between A&B blocks. In fact the one under the Club House was very creatively done with the jhoola of Lord Krishna being particularly well crafted. It is a pity that not many people showed up to appreciate the effort of our children. Anyway, I would like to convey the appreciation of those who witnessed it, to the children who were behind the show.

While Raja of C-007 has done a magnificent job by creating a beautiful garden above the music academy behind C-Block, the frequent watering has caused massive seepage in the shops, toilet, the academy and Sanatan’s residence below. Unless an alternative method is found to arrest this leakage, the Managing Committee felt that the grass and soil may have to be removed. Not a pleasant thought, but inevitable under the circumstances.
It has been brought to the notice of the Office by several residents that commercial activity is being conducted from residences, which are causing a great deal of inconvenience to the neighbours in the form of smoke and other fumes. While the concerned resident has been cautioned, however, if the practice continues the Society will be constrained to notify MCD who may seal the flat, as such activities are polluting, hazardous and illegal. In the interest of good communal harmony, it is advised that the resident makes alternate arrangements to ply his trade.


OBITUARY
Fate dealt a cruel blow to the daughter-in-law of Mr & Mrs Seshadri of D-104, when a crippling attack of asthma snatched the life of Vidya Ramesh in Bangalore. I had met Vidya with her daughter at Bangalore Airport. She was a comely lass with a fetching smile. She was in her twenties with a full life ahead of her, but God’s ways are mysterious. Everybody in Yamuna commiserates with Ramesh, his children and parents in this hour of distress and wishes them the strength to overcome their grief.

SNIPPETS
The multi-faceted talent of Kirti of E-301 blossomed out once again when she came second in the University of Delhi in BA (Hons) Sociology. She missed the top slot by just a whisker. We are very proud of her achievement and wish her more glory in the future.


Yohaan of A-008 proved that his victory last year was no flash in the pan when he wrested the Delhi State Badminton Championship in the under 10 age category, thus ensuring the top ranking in that category. No marks for guessing who will call the shots at this year’s Yamuna badminton tournament.


Rashi and Amit Soman have moved into A-302. Both have passed out of ISB, Hyderabad, where their romance blossomed and eventually led to their tying the knot. Rashi works with A.T.Kearney and Amit with Reliance. When they are not busy earning their daily bread, they are reading, swimming or watching the telly. Rashi is fond of cooking. I am eagerly waiting for the Yamuna ‘pot luck’ to sample her cooking! Rashi is a Punjabi whereas Amit is a Maharashtrian. Linguistic or cultural differences don’t come in the way, especially if the other is the apple of one’s eye. We welcome them to the melting pot called ‘Yamuna’.


Arun Elassery has moved into H-206 from Thrissur with his wife Kanti and three children. Arun is an educationist and is working with a company to spread e-learning. His wife Kanti, who has done Master’s in Computer Science, is too busy playing the role of a full-time housewife with three children. This may seem like an anomaly, but Arun and Kanti strongly believe in informal learning and have not enrolled their children in any school. They learn at home, where the children and the parents participate in the learning process. This unique and radical method baffled me at first, but on hearing Arun speak so passionately about not putting their children in a controlled environment, as prevalent in schools, to facilitate them to think innovatively, it made sense. Arun is a Malayali and his wife Kanti is from Andhra. The children speak both Malayalam and Telugu. Their daughter Aditi is 13 years old and is interested in Bharatanatyam, crafts and painting. Their son Srikant who is 9 years old is interested in maps, trains and bird watching and Dinkar 6, who brings up the rear is interested in drawing and clay modelling. They can be reached on 9958870821. Let us welcome this maverick family to Yamuna. Don’t count on watching TV in their house, as they do not have one and do not subscribe to its pervasive ills. I do not recall who plays what, but they are all into some Indian instrument like the veena, tabla, etc

Fit and Fine
Exercise fuels Fat-burning Fires
If you indulge in high fat foods occasionally, you may be able to avoid weight gain by staying active. A recent study from the University of Wisconsin, Madison, found that regular exercise helps the body fire up metabolism more quickly to adjust for an increase in fat intake.
A group of 10 sedentary women were made to exercise at two different intensity levels, switching from a low-fat diet (30 percent calories from fat) to a high fat diet (50 percent of calories from fat). The research team then compared the volunteers’ ability to burn calories when the women were sedentary, when they burned up 150 calories during an hour on a stationary bicycle, or when they burned 300 calories on the exercise bike over a two-hour period. The more each woman exercised, the faster she was able to burn fat calories after switching to a four-day high fat diet.
It’s not clear why exercise helped the women burn more fat calories. Dietary fat is often stored in fatty tissue, rather than sent to muscle tissue where it is used for energy. Working out may have helped shift dietary fat toward more metabolically active tissues, like muscle, and could have increased the activity of fat-burning enzymes in muscles, the researchers speculate. Another good reason to get a move on. (Health)

Calendar of Events – September 2008

12 September
Traditional Onam Feast
From 7.30 pm at the Badminton Court

14th September
Pookolam under the Club House