SRISHTI Newsletter
Starting from October 2007, our Srishti Association will attempt a monthly (or quarterly) newsletter. Broadly, it will cover activities of the Association; the social, cultural, and religious events that keep Srishti residents bubble with enthusiasm; and the achievements, if any, of the Srishti children that make their parents proud of them primarily, and the other residents in addition. The purpose is thus to share information on the goings-on, in an effort to foster the already present feeling of oneness or, a composite Srishti family – Vasudeva Kutumbakam.
The inagural month, October, fortunately is replete with activities. We saw three of Srishti-ites bagging 10, 5 or 2 gms of gold coins from Shriram Properties in a competition that SPL had organized. I thought that Jayanthi Bhashyam’s affable disposition was a prerogative that I enjoyed exclusively, and had listed myself as one of the possible recipients of the yellow metal. No, that was not to be. The winners were Dr Smita of A-401 (10 gms), Mrs Priti Kankani of A-608 (5 gms) and Mrs Vijaya Srinivasan of A-305 (2 gms). So, it was a clean sweep by the A Wing. Congrats. As a gesture of Srishti’s active participation, SPL gave a token sponsorship amount of Rs 2000/- to the Association. Well appreciated.
It would appear that the Srishti ladies are better organized than their menfolk. Under the auspices of Asha-ji, there is a yoga class that is going on perhaps for more than a year, and is getting popular day by day. There is then the Sahasranama Mandali that is firmly rooted in the building. Every Friday the ladies chant Vishnu Sahasrnamam (in someone’s house by rotation) followed by bhajans and songs. Every Pournami they gather similarly and recite Lalitha Sahasranamam. As though to fine-tune their vocal chords in preparation for these events, they jointly attend a music class in Srishti. And on all the days of Navaratri, they busied themselves reciting Lalitha Sahasranamam in different apartments. Their popularity chart registered an all-time high when the Srishti group was invited to give a performance in Devanahalli. The hostess had sent a 22-seater to Srishti to pick and drop them back. I understand the credit for arranging this goes to Jayashree, of B-204. Good job, and keep it up.
These said, it is not a cakewalk for ladies. Men too have been contributing their mite - amidst their multiplicity of engagements, that is. Mr Kuruvilla (Kuru to his friends) of A Block had arranged screening of a documentary on global warming. It was timed so well that the very next day we heard of Al Gore and Dr Kachuria, the brain behind the movement, being awarded jointly the Nobel Prize. Normally, such a preview is reserved for the President of India in the private auditorium of Rashtrapati Bhavan. So, what a privilege it was for us all to have had such a preview before the Nobel Prize committee’s formal announcement. Could we have asked for more? Thanks Mr Kuruvilla. By the way, we are mobilizing ‘public’ opinion to request you to arrange for a repeat screening.
In another instance, Mr Govindarajan (B–502) served us an apt eye-opener and entertaining monkey-story in the wake of Sensex touching 20K and the haste of many to make the most of it. The host of Warren Buffets in the making in Srishti however defended their action that they did it just for the heck of it. That is perhaps what one says when the going is good, isn’t it?
Now, a bit of business. The Association held its bi-annual general body meeting on Sunday, 28 October. Coinciding with that it had tied up with Columbia Asia Hospital to do a heath check up for the interested residents. It was a daylong activity, with Columbia promising to take up the first 75 persons who would care to register. Many had predicted that hardly 15 would turn up. But, alas, there was a long queue, similar to what one sees in a municipal dispensary. Dr Selvi, the attending physician did a commendable job without showing signs of exhaustion.
Later, in the evening, Dr Meena, Consultant Psychiatrist at Columbia, gave a pep talk on lifestyle and stress management. This was followed by meaningful an interactive question-answer session. Dr Meena fielded the queries with felicity. But it was our Dr Sunder who stole the show. Examples of his son being bullied by seniors in school, the fact that any medicine having effect is bound to have a side effect as well, and any system of medicine that proclaims that their medicine does not produce side-effects is sure not to have any effect either, were all well received. (A latecomer whispered into my ears, “Who is the psychiatrist, Dr Sunder or Dr Meena?” “I first thought it was the lady, but now I am not sure,” I confessed.).
Our special thanks to Dr Sunder for initiating this. Not only that, he had organized with Columbia Asia to pay the Association a token sponsorship contribution of Rs 15000/-. Also, for subsequent consultations with any specialist, Columbia has offered 50% discount, and 30% discount for laboratory services, till the end of November 2007. I think, short of getting them to bequeath Columbia Asia in favour of Srishti we got everything, isn’t it? Good job, Janaki Ram Babu & Co.
Let’s revisit the deliberations of the bi-annual general body meeting and see what the office bearers have to say:
For the first half of the year, the expenses incurred by the Association under the various budget lines more or less tallied with their budgeted estimates under each head.
Thanks to increased sponsorship, levy of parking fees and a host of other measures, the Association generated more income which in turn rendered more Srishti get-togethers possible in the first half the year.
The Association achieved a break-through in its collection drive. Except for one resident (whose apartment is vacant and the Association has no clue to his whereabouts), it has collected the maintenance charges from all the others – or, to put it more appropriately from the occupants’ perspective, all residents have paid their dues.
If the Srishti premises in general, and the floor areas in particular look cleaner these days, it is because the Association has changed the agency. And, as one member pointed out, if the ‘skirtings’ on the floors are still far from clean, it is because that the old agency had not done its job well, and precisely why they were shown the door.
The fire safety measures are in full swing and should be in place by mid November. (So postpone any hazardous attempts for a later date)
The maintenance of our lifts is being taken up on a warfooting and sooner than later the lifts should be turning user-friendly. A gentle pat, punch, kick or a final stare at it in anguish, may no longer be necessary.
All maids, drivers and other regular workforce entering our premises have been provided with ID cards. (That is for the security staff. But you will have to devise your own ingenious methods to distinguish a resident-community from the other as the number game is getting neck to neck.)
Car-owning residents have been successfully persuaded to affix Car Parking stickers in their cars.
The cables of the BESCOM transformer have been changed. They were found wanting.
The Axis Bank sponsored distribution of token gifts to children in recognition of their contribution to the recent awareness campaign on Water Conservation.
The meeting ended with snacks, chow chow bath and badam milk. Many strongly supported continuing with this caterer. Earlier the meeting could not start on time for want of quorum. But judging by the remarkable attendance at the refreshments session, one member quipped, “Maybe hereafter we should shift Refreshments to the top of the agenda and solve the quorum problem once and for all.”
They say ‘Life is beautiful’, but we modify that: “Life in Srishti is beautiful”.
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