August & on Friday the 23rd @ Sobha Palladian!!

A flimsy piece of paper…

And a bag of 100 plastic coins…

And that is all it takes to drive our Clubhouse packed with Palladinas into a frenzy !!

And I witnessed this wonderful event with fascination..

Every available chair was taken.

And groups of children squatted on the floor.

And many folks lined up along the side walls  

And many more leaned back for support on the back wall !!

All of them clutching dearly to a piece of flimsy paper.

With a 3 by 9 matrix of squares.

With 15  random numbers printed on them.

And that is all they needed to increase their pulse rate, and palpitate their heart !!.

And drive a surge of adrenaline.

Or bring that dizzy feeling of of joy & ecstasy.

Or slip into a sudden chasm of deep disappointment.

And all of them &  within a matter of seconds!  

Animated children squatting on the floor.

Chatting (or Chattering ) continuously.

Boisterous boys, serious and tense looking girls

And tiny tots running all over !!

Gents, ladies and senior citizens

All hooked on to a piece of flimsy paper

A gasp of excitement, a loud WOW, a huge sigh and a clamor of noise

Soon fills the air as each number is read out !!

Fortunately there were no heat attacks or nervous breakdowns

But it would be very prudent to have a qualified (non-playing) doctor on standby.

What were they doing , Folks ?? 

Palladians were  playing Tumbola !!

Kya Bola ??

TUMBOLA !!!

And I have not seen such an enthusiastic participation across all age groups in a long time.

And I  saw that moon faced boy fist pumping in the air as he scored a hit.

The young girl gave a short yelp as she struck off a number on her flimsy paper

The uncle next to me sighed with disappointment as he stared at his still virgin flimsy paper.

The boisterous boys erupted in a loud animated discussion causing the conductor to come heavily on them. And the two ring leaders had to move up and sit right in front of the entire gathering.

And some silence followed as she started pulling out numbers from her magic bag.

Two fat ladies – # 22

Sweet Sixteen - # 16

Beautiful legs / sexy legs – # 11  (did she get that one ??)

Or Kaala Dhan - # 2 ??

And so on…

And slowly and steadily, jaldi five, top, middle and bottom rows get filled.

And the ever-optimistic still looked eagerly to strike the full house.

And the full house gets split between two contestants.

Don’t get dukhi folks, there  will be more  rounds to go.

And there is piping hot dosas and eats right outside at the food truck to pep up your mood!!

Hats off to Mr Pradhan for this wonderful initiative.

And THANKS to Col Jaggi Narula, Jayashree, and Ritu Sethi for conducting this action packed event .

Krish..

Our wonderful neighbors next door

‘Good Morning Uncle’!! a clear vibrant voice interrupts my serious early morning conversation with my succulent cactus family.
And it has that wonderful nasal twang that I instantly recognize.
 I look up and wave to this slender long-legged girl with sharp features and a fully loaded backpack, as she rushes to catch the early morning school bus.
Do not get  mistaken. She is not going to school to study.
No way!
She is going to a very reputed International school to teach English Literature and Shakespeare to the senior students!

Surprised?? 
and what if I told you that her young husband does more than a five mile jog early mornings @ 5.30AM each day.

Life for this young couple  is tough. Wake up at dawn, get ready, pack food and rush to work. Come back dog tired, eat food and crash! And that happens every work day – some days it can get worse too.

What about  Mom and Dad?

One of the coolest folks here in Sobha Palladian. Mom is vivacious, full of pep and vigor, and Dad is rock steady, cool as cucumber as the saying goes. Perfect example of calm, patience and maturity. He walks with a measured pace with headphones on his ears seriously listening to Ghazals and old Rafi songs.

While Dad retired after a hectic career chasing circulation figures and market shares for Deccan Herald and Prajavani, Mom still packs in a full day of action with  badminton, book club, brisk walks -  over and above a packed schedule each day with batches of senior students lined up to take special coaching in Accountancy after school.

And if you are a book lover, and you walk into their house, you have reached a Treasure Trove! A literary heaven!!

Walls lined with stacks of books of all genres – fiction, bio, travel, Tamil classics and many many more. All in mint condition and arranged neatly one on top of the other. Hundreds of them.
Unlike the conventional way of arranging the book standing up on the edge, these are vertically stacked. So, no book gets bent or curved or slides down and you do not need those heavy elephant shaped book retaining ends either.

And as you stand in front of the book shelf, mesmerized by this wonderful collection, a surprise walk in quietly. 
She is a freshly shampooed Persian cat with all her regal looks and that scant disregard for humans.
Surprised again? 
Then wait until you see another freshly shampooed Persian sauntering in. This one has dark grey fluffy hair, soft and silky. And they both occupy the two most comfortable sofa chairs.

And if you can understand their feline language, this is what you will hear them say – ‘Humans, those benches are good enough for you folks’!

Well, you just got introduced to our neighbours @ 2004 – Srini, Gayatri, Archana & Koushick!

And Honey and Dusty !

Krish..

Independence Day @ Sobha Palladian Aug 2019

From Mid July to mid August, 2019.

Everyday.  Sharp at 8.30 AM.

I would hear the the clatter of heavy boots on paved surface as our security staff practiced their march-past for 15 August Independence Day Parade.

A dozen ‘Saav-Dhan’ & Veesh-Ram’ and an equal number of ‘Bayein-Mud’ and ‘Dahiney-se’-TejChal!!’ would ring the air continuously for 30+ minutes before finally culminating in an enthusiastic signing of ‘Jana Gana Mana’ followed by ‘Bharat Maata ki Jai’ slogans. 
And then the  security staff would disperse and go back to their respective positions and their daily routine.

15 August – the D Day:  This day the ‘Squad’ performed smartly in front of all the residents of Sobha Palladian.

 And they put up a very impressive show!

Must appreciate the seriousness of their rehearsals and the efforts of their leader Captain Appa Saheb who turned out smartly  with a chest full of bravery medals.

And the day started with the typical & wonderful Bangalore chilly wind with cloudy skies and stayed that way throughout the I Day event without even a slight drizzle to dampen our mood.

And it was an awesome atmosphere as all the residents converged in front of the Flag pole.

Kids running all over dressed in bright costumes depicting our freedom fighters. 

Tiny tots wearing sizzling saffron, white and green ensemble waving our tricolor enthusiastically.

Ladies dressed in pure whites with tiranga shawls, and gents proudly displaying our national flag on their person.

It was a bright colorful, vibrant and festive atmosphere !!

People talking in animated voices, catching up with each other and braving the strong wind that was waiting to unfurl  our tiranga jhanda !!

And a shrieking noise pierces through the atmosphere as folks tune up the Amp and set up the mike for the real action.

Smartly dressed in a green saree, and with an impressive diction,  our Emcee, Ms Gayatri Srinivasan welcomed all the residents of Sobha Palladian, our Chief Guests  and all the support  staff to the 73rd Independence day celebrations. 'We will pay homage to the generations of men and women who gave up their lives to gives us the lives that we lead today !' - She proclaimed.

 

The band strikes a smart note.

The Squad marches past smartly. The chief guest take the salute.

Emcee invites the chief guest to unfurl the flag.

We all stand in attention and sing our national anthem in chorus and in perfect unison.

Our Guests of Honor

Group Captain S Chennakeshu

Col Jaggi Narula

Group Captain Satish Mehta
Lt Col DP Mathur.

Our Chief Guest  was a sprightly 94 year old Grp Captain Chennakeshu.
Born in 1925 and served in the Indian Air force from 1947 to 1969. From 1969 to 1984 he worked in HAL. He then served as guest faculty in IISc. and IIT and a consultant for DRDO.

And then as requested by the Emcee, KrishnaKumar, (KK) Director Honeywell India. delivered his address. Two key takeaways form his wonderful speech ..  

‘ Patriotism is not standing in front of our national flag twice a year and singing our national anthem’.

‘Patriotism is serving our country to the best of our abilities and helping India become an economic super power and a leader in world politics.’

His message - Lets us not just blindly chase after money & high paying jobs alone, but strive to work in other areas that can help build better societies and make India a better place in this world.

"What is a celebration without song and dance ??"

Suhana & Riya  singing  Ae Watan - a song from film Raazi .




And an energetic number from an unreleased Slaman Khan 'Dus' sung by Rafi and Kishore of Palladian - Srini, Natraj & Sukanya..
Suno Gaur se duniya Walon






Another evergreen patriotic number sung by Mukesh of Palladian - Anand Kulkarni from film Hum Hindusani
Chodo kal ki Batein. Kal ki baat purani...

Vande Maataram by duo Anandita and Ahana on the keyboards

And then our freedom fighters took over the stage with their dance performance!!

The theme of the dance was how we got freedom because of the sacrifices of many of the freedom fighters. We got freedom, we celebrate freedom but we still have issues which only we can fight if we are together.

Tipu Sultan   (1750 - 1799)

To live like a lion for a day is far better than to live for a hundred years like a jackal

Dyuthi as Tipu Sultan performing to the beats of New India !!







 
 Karnataka's Pride - Rani Kittur Chenamma (1778 - 1829)

  Nimageke kodabeku kappa?

Checkout Ahana's wonderful swordplay !!                              
Music -Bharat humko Jaan se pyaara 'Tamizha Tamizha'    

                                                                                     

                                                                           

Mangal  Pandey (1827 - 1657)       

Maro Firangi Ko !!

Gauri defies the British - Chandel Revenge Background

Rani Lakshmibai (1828  - 1858)

 Meri Jhansi Nahin Doongi!!

Ferocious Sword Weilding Ria - Mahamati title Music !!         
                                                                                     

 
Subhash Chandra Bose (1897 - 1945)      

Tum Mujhe Khoon Do, Mai Tumhe Azadi Doonga !!

Vaibhav in Action !! Set to Glory .
      

                                                               



 Chandrasekhar Azad (1906 - 1931)
 Ab bhi jiska khoon nahi khaula khoon nahi vo paani hai, jo desh ke kaam na aaye vo bekaar jawaani hai !!!

 Watch Akaisha weilding her huge hand gun ! - Game Of Throne  Theme                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                 

Bhagat Singh (1907 - 1931)

Inqlaab Zindanbad !!

Ayush as Shaheed Bhagat Singh performing to the beats of Special Forces !




                                                                         
 Mahatma Gandhi (1869) - 1948)

  You must be the change you wish to see in the world.
Adrish as Gandhi - Background Music Homecoming !






                                                                                                         Aarna & Mansi - our own young Bharat Mataas !! Proudly waving our Tricoolor - Vande Maataram.                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                            Celebration of freedom dance:

 (Freeda, Swetha, Ritu, Laxmi, Meghna, Ayantika, Supriya and Niveditha)

Vande Mataram once again ! SP ladies dancing graciously to the wonderful melody of this song !!
      This dance was a semi classical piece having liberation and its happiness as its basis theme. The song was AR Rahman's Revival Vande Mataram.

                                                                                                                                                                       

       
                                                                          And then the commandos arrive.An action packed Thriller - Mein ladu jaana !!                                                                                                      From URI depicting the bravery of our Jawans !!                                                                                                                                                       
The enthusiasm shown by the kids and ladies towards the dance was tremendous. For kids, it was a month and a half of prep work and for adults it was 2 weeks of practice. They used to come for practice without any complaints. And the mothers of the kids helped in all the dress up of the kids.


All the dances were choreographed by Nivedita.

The freedom fighters costume was rented from Fantasy creations, Kundanahalli.

The army costume was procured from Amazon. The guns were procured from Ramdev, Malleshpalaya.

The tricolor costume for Aarna and Mansi (modern day bharat mata) was graciously given by Yojana.

The adults costume was paired with tricolor shawl which was procured from Ramdev, Malleshpalaya.

The placards were made with a lot of enthusiasm and dedication by Mohanavalli , Dyuthi  and Supriya.

Our sincere thanks and appreciation to each and every member of the cultural committee, the young performers, the elder ones too, and to all the volunteers for putting up such memorable event !

And my special appreciation and thanks to Manoj for so professionally capturing these wonderful moments through his lens !!

And the bar has been set higher for all the following events in the future !!!

Krish..

                                                                                                                                                      

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                     

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                   
                                                                                             
                                                       

Dear Mr Mahalingam, RIP

Mr. Mahalingam, Father of Krishna Kumar (Flat 3002)  expired on 30 July around 2.30 PM. He is survived by his wife, his son, daughter, daughter in law and his grandchildren, Vaibhav and Sandhya.

He probably suffered from both dementia and Parkinson’s.

I feel very sad and my heartfelt condolences go to the bereaved family . May his soul rest in peace.

Jayanthi and I have interacted with him and his wife Gomathi on many occasions  from the time both our families moved into SP.

At the time we moved in, around 20 months back, Mr Mahalingam was a  very active person. Early mornings at 6.30 AM  you could see him taking a brisk walk around the SP campus. And he would complete at least 2 laps and more.

A cane in his hand and wearing a a bright striped polo shirt, he would walk in short steps. And his eyes always glittered. Every time I passed by him during my morning walk , I would always raise my hand and utter a loud Good Morning !  And he would look up brightly, his eyes shining in recognition and give me a dazzling smile! 

And in a chill weather he would wear a monkey cap – but he still stuck to his morning schedule.

Slowly  I saw him losing his health. The morning walks became less frequent and his steps began faltering.  And I guess things became progressively difficult for him and he needed a full time help at home and during his short walks outside.

Once he stumbled and fell in front of Block 1.  Fortunately we saw him and rushed with our wheel chair and dropped him at his home.

And my dad (at 90+ years) used to sit with him and strike up a conversation every now and then

. Once my dad offered him a flower which he had picked up  near the children’s park. Mr. Mahalingam would not take it – and he rejected it  with a forceful comment ’Don’t give it to me. Give it to your girl-friend!!’

And another time, Mr. Mahalingam, gave a slip to the guards at the entry gate and walked off   bare footed and with a bunch of coins in his pocket. He said he was going back to Koramangla ! and when we asked him how will he go, he replied ‘ I will catch a bus!’ And it took some  persuasion from Jayanthi to bring him back to his home.

Sadly, over the last few months, his evening walks became fewer and shorter.  However each time I  passed by him and wished him, I was always rewarded with those twinkling eyes and a bright smile !

Sir , I will always remember you & your smile !!

And I am sure you have taken your smile along with you where ever you have gone  and you will be brightening up that place as well!

RiP Dear Mr Mahalingam. We will miss you .

Krish..