Talking of schools and colleges let us see what our XIIth Class pass outs want to do. After the XII th Class results, perspectives of children undergo a change. They now enter a new phase of their lives, which spells more independence, and for some, life away from their parents’ watchful eyes. We hope the children make their choice aligned to their abilities. Quite often creative souls languish in prosaic professions because parental or peer pressure has forced them into a field that they were not cut out for. They should be charting their careers hereon and will solely be the masters of their destiny. While college is a lot less stressful in academic intensity than the XIIth class, it is not a walk in the park either. It throws up a lot of new challenges, which are more social than academic. It is important to be in the right peer group. Drugs, cigarettes, alcohol and other pervasive ills continually assault the timid and the gullible. You have to be resolute and very clear about your priorities. College is the place where you develop your personality, away from the cocooned existence under your parents or teachers gaze. Make the most of it and come out strong and confident. Here is a sample of where our children are headed in search of the Holy Grail!
Sudha (H-104)
Communication Design -Srishti Inst. Of Art Design & Technology, Bengaluru
Ananya (H-105)
BA History(Hons) – Delhi University
Pratap (F-103)
Engineering , Bengaluru
Vinitra (B-307)
Mass Communication – IP University,Delhi
Prasad(B-201)
Electronics & Communication Engg. , Venkateswara College, Chennai
Rathnanjali (G-303)
Engineering in Hyderabad or BA Economics (Hons) in Delhi University
Balaji (E-101)
BE(Metallurgy) PSG College of Technology, Coimbatore
Ishaan (C-004)
Engineering - BITS Pilani , Dubai
While the ones who stay back in Delhi can continue to enrich the colony with their sports and cultural activities, we are a trifle sad to see the others moving away from home to seek their fortunes.
The Government was almost brought to its knees by the Left front. The anti-American pathology that is infecting the discourse between the Left parties and the Congress is contrary to the level of engagement and commerce between the two countries. In fact Prakash Karat is rumoured to have travelled to USA this summer, on a private visit. The neurotic, ideologically driven comrades are scuttling progress in the country with their trite slogans which do not have sanctuary in any of the countries marching confidently into the future. Their comrades in Russia and China are thinking more progressively and have ushered in reforms more aggressively than even the Congress or BJP is intending to. The Left philosophy should be confined to the dustbins of history. Communism in the traditional form, which the Left front espouses, has led to failed economies the world over and no country that is practicing this philosophy is remotely prosperous. Thankfully the trust vote silenced them for the time being. But nothing we could imagine had prepared us for what we got to witness on the fateful day- a wanton display of money with which MP’s were bought and sold! We all along knew that there was moral and ethical bankruptcy in our political class, but to stoop so low in full view of a world audience was a new nadir.
Krishna Kumar or KK as he is popularly known to the world at large and to Yamunaites in particular, is as enigmatic as a ‘star recluse’ can be. There cannot be a more appropriate oxymoron than this to describe him. Son of Mr. C. S. Menon of H-302, KK left Yamuna to seek his fortunes in Mumbai and the rest is history. While KK has performed as an amateur on the Yamuna stage on the occasion of the Annual Day, singing the Lionel Ritchie number ‘Hello’, it was much before he hit the big times. Legions of his fans are hoping he would grace the Yamuna stage again. This prodigy, who turns out one hit after the other, owes at least this much to the colony he grew up in. Yamuna residents would like to hear his hits, Tu hi meri shab hai from Gangster, Tadap tadap ke from Hum Dil De Chuke Sanam, Tu aashiqui hai from Jhankaar Beats, Dus bahaane from Dus, Ajab si from OSO, It’s the time to disco from Kal Ho Na Ho, among others and his own compositions from Pal and Humsafar.
Rising prices are beginning to bite. Relief is only a stone’s throw from Yamuna to the cacophonous bylanes of Govindpuri. There is a significant difference in the price of groceries, if you have no qualms about trudging the extra mile through cattle manure and other filth of indescribable origin. Alternatively, if you do not mind the cramped and crowded outlet of 6-10 in the market or the Big Bazaar outlets that dot the NCR, you could get your vegetables and fruits at less than half the price of your roadside vendor. Take your pick and you might remark - what inflation?
The monsoon season is the ‘high season’ for pests. This is when pest control notwithstanding, one gets to be a minority in the household. One is swamped with cockroaches and other pests of unnamed variety. The Americans, unlike the English, do not restrict their ire towards only cockroaches; hence they refer to them as roaches. Why we blame only the male of the species belies logic. Roaches, whether hen or cock, can be fairly defined to fall in the category of pests. They do not bring any good to anybody and therefore are not a part of the food chain. We must therefore categorise both hen roaches and cockroaches as pests, whereas the moniker of villain is unfairly placed at the feet of the humble cockroach only, leaving the hen roaches to make merry. I shall not be biased and shall henceforth address them as roaches. Over the years, we have been going through the ritual to get the pest control company to routinely do their exterminating act. Apart from the inconvenience of emptying the kitchen and sundry other places, one had to put up with the foul smell of the chemicals for several days after the spraying. At best, the effect of this exercise was temporary and usually within a week you would find the roaches doing a tango in the kitchen or having a high-powered conference in the bathroom. This was until Radha Mani of B-201 made us wise about a herbal pesticide that effectively sends the roaches into extinction. We tried this magic killer about a year ago and haven’t seen a roach since. The other advantage of this pesticide is that you do not need to empty your kitchen or cover the foodstuffs. Also, it has no offensive odour. If, however, everybody were to start using this pesticide the Government may clamp down and declare the roach as an endangered species! Just kidding. What are you waiting for? Shoot from the hip and go for the herbal roach killer or in common Indian parlance ‘cockroach killer’. You may have to reckon a consultancy charge for Radha though, as valuable suggestions such as these relieve everybody of at least one chore - removing pests, other than the human variety, for good.
White ants are playing havoc with our trees. Four parijat trees in between A&B blocks were so badly infested with them that their trunks had been hollowed out. Seems like they have an affinity for this species. We need to guard against this scourge and spray some insecticide on the other trees which show signs of affliction.
Snippets
The traffic of movers seems unabated.
Mr. B. S. Rao of B-303 has moved to Gayatri Apartments in Rohini, after a short sojourn in Yamuna.
*********
Mr. Sriram Chakravarthy of H-206 has moved to Chennai.
**********
One thought moving down from A-301 to A-001 would be as simple as following the forces of gravity. Not so, said Srinivas and Roopa who moved down with their son Ram and daughter Risha. They were weary and tired by the end of the effort in spite of hired help. The one good thing that happens to everyone, in this exercise of moving home, however, is that you realise that the accumulated junk that comes tumbling out of the closets, should rightly have belonged to the destitutes of this world.
**********
Commuting long distance to work like Delhi –Gurgaon or Delhi-Noida may not be commonplace but not out of the realms of possibility. But Suresh Kumar who has moved into E-302 has set a new definition to long distance commutes. His office is in Mumbai, but his wife hates Mumbai with a passion, inspite of it being the home of Bollywood! When it came to making a choice between Mumbai and wife, the wife won hands down. So Delhi it is for Suresh and Supriya (who likes to be addressed by her nickname Hema). Suresh is a Country Manager with Soyuz Translink Freight Forwarding Company He was based in Almatty, Kazakhstan before packing his bags for the sylvan surroundings of Yamuna. While not working, he likes to read and travel. Hema is a housewife but looking for a job as an English teacher. She is also an accomplished interior decorator and has interests in painting and reading. For amusement, it is Kishore Kumar songs. Their only son, Sidhanth (Kannan) is in Class VI Ryan International School. They can be reached on 26001925 or 9971706444.
************
Mr. V. N. K. Menon and his wife Padmaja have moved into B-303 from within Alaknanda. Mr. Menon is the Chairman of Lotus Schankgar Education Society Trust and his wife Padmaja is the founder Principal of the school they run in Badarpur. Padmaja is amongst the movers and shakers, as she is the Thana Committee member of Badarpur Police Station and District Secretary of Congress (Mehrauli District). They have two sons and a daughter. Their first son is Bhanushankar who is VP with a private company in Noida. The second son is Binushankar and is the Administrator of the school. Their daughter, Seethalakshmi, is a student of Engineering in Gurgaon. Their pet dog has a bark that could keep strangers away. They can be reached on 65262200.
We welcome both these families into Yamuna.
*************
July 18th was a red-letter day for Mohan and Girija of D-001 when they attended the graduation ceremony of their lovely daughter, Nitya, who received her Ph.D (Developmental Economics) from Cambridge University (UK). Son-in-law Uday received his Masters degree in History, which he had completed a few years earlier. Girija is still overwhelmed with beautiful memories of the august grandeur of the function in this Mecca of academe.
10.8. 08
8.30 a.m.
Eco-drive. Please assemble at the Badminton Court.
15.8.08
8.30 a.m.
Independence Day Flag-hoisting and singing of patriotic songs. Distribution of sweets.
Venue: Fountain Park
23 .8
Janmashtami celebrations.
All blocks to be represented at the Badminton Court.
No comments:
Post a Comment