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NOVEMBER 2015 | 3 ComMittee Members & Portfolios PATRON Lt. General Jagbir Singh SM, VSM, General Officer Commanding, ATNK & K Area PRESIDENT **MR. P.V.S VENCATASUBRAMANIAM [email protected] Golf & Gym Mag VICE PRESIDENT CONTENTS **MR. S.B.P ANAND MOHAN [email protected] Legal & Software from the Secretary’s desk ...... 6 VICE PRESIDENT **##BRIG. K.S SELVAN [email protected] from the Treasurer’s desk ...... 8 HONORARY SECRETARY **MR. A.P SURESH KUMAR [email protected] Staff & Service Places-A soft and pleasant land ...... 10 HONORARY TREASURER **MR. S.M ISPAHANI Happy Married Life ...... 12 [email protected] MR. ARVIND C. MEHTA [email protected] Angels Do Exist ...... 14 Chess, Darts, Badminton & Squash MR. A.R. BALAKRISHNAN Bridge ...... 16 [email protected] Library MR. M. FAZAL MOHAMMED Events ...... 18 [email protected] House & Residential Quarters **DR. T. GUNASAGARAN Personalities ...... 20 [email protected] Swimming, Snooker, Garden & Environment MR. N. KUMAR The Gymkhana Club Yesteryears ...... 22 [email protected] Cricket & Gymnasium MR. K. PARTHASARATHY ...... Food 24 [email protected] Bridge, Tennis & Table Tennis

Rs.999 Question? ...... 26 #Col. RAJESH SINGH, S.C.,S. M., #COL. R. RAVI KUMAR, S.M., [email protected] ...... Emergency Medical Care 27 MR. SEKHAR ALAGAPPAN [email protected] Catering **MR. C. VENUGOPAL [email protected] The Island, , -2. Bar E-Mail : [email protected], [email protected] Website: madrasgymkhanaclub.com Golf Annexe, Phone: 22350319, 22300093 MR VIVEK DHANDA [email protected] Deputy General Manager: Mr. R. Manoharan, Ph: 9962072788 Entertainment & Gym 3S Sr. Manager (P&A): Mr. R. Manikavachakam, Ph: 9176669270 Enquiries: Office, Party Booking & Accommodation: 2536 8169, 2536 4320, 25368160,8,9, Catering: 2536 1089 ** Members of the Executive Committee # Members nominated by GOC Publisher : A. P. Suresh Kumar, Honorary Secretary Managing Editor: P.V.S. Vencatasubramaniam, President

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NOVEMBER 2015 | 5 from the Honorary Secretary's Desk

Dear Members,

It is my pleasure to communicate with you once again.

I thank you for coming together and electing a full committee this year. With new committee members taking over their respective portfolios and new sub- committees in place, you can look forward to an interactive experience at the club. We have a number of good entertainment programmes, bar nights and special food nights planned for the year, with the festive season set to take off soon.

The long overdue software upgradation and implementation is now taking shape and we hope to have it in place at the earliest. CCTV cameras have been installed at all critical areas for safety.

Our MGC swimming team participated in the Masters Event during the third week of October and returned with a rich haul of 21 medals. The committee is planning to expand the range of sporting activities to include shuttle and squash. Plans are ready but the permission from the authorities is awaited and so is the approval and finance from the General Body.

The talks with the labour are an ongoing process and you can be rest assured that your Committee will do its best to maintain a cordial relationship.

Wishing you all the very best and good cheer for the festive season. A.P. Suresh Kumar, HONORARY SECRETARY

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NOVEMBER 2015 | 7 from the Honorary treasurer's Desk

Dear Members,

A lot of water has flowed under the bridge since my last communication to you.

For the past month, we have been going through the process of getting to know the functioning of the various departmentsof the club. This has been a learning process. We have put into place cost-effective measures in important areas of the club, viz in the area of all purchases in general,and printing and stationery in particular. These have been streamlined and brought under one roof. We are now in the process of exploring ways and means of improving the finances of the club. The residential quarters are grossly underutilized. We are discussing the avenues toaugment the usage of the residential quarters and generate additional income.

We are also in the process of preparing for the proposed Extraordinary General Body Meeting of the club which is to be held shortly, where we will place proposals to improve the finances of the club.

A record room is being planned and will be put into place very soon. Plans are also afoot to expand the rangeof sports activities prevalent in the club to provide more facilities to the members and their families to enjoy.

We need your inputs and participation in bringing the club back to its original glory and position. Please help us to do the needful.

With best wishes,

Syed Isphahani Honorary Treasurer

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NOVEMBER 2015 | 9 A SOFT AND

PL A CES PLEASANT LAND Dr Mrs Nithila Masilamani

Do you realize how lucky we are to live in Chennai? The people are gentle and even-tempered and it has, besides the native South Indians, a good seasoning of people from the North, the North- Eastern states and the business communities of the West of . All of them live amicably for the most part and enjoy each other’s diversity and humour.

The festive season begins in September with Vinayaka Chaturthi and after that each day brings the sounds of drums and scenic beauty but there is little become a divider too if you allow pipes mingled with the crackers diversity. it. What happened to “live and that herald Deepavali. Finally, in let live”? It reminds me of a joke. December we have the full-blown As for clothes, salwars and gharanas A harassed mother was trying to glory of the Carnatic Music Festival have invaded the South in a big work when her two small kids kept together with the Carol Concerts way and the young wear leggings bickering. Finally she shut one of in all the churches. It is a great and jeggings and propagate an them up in a room with a book explosion of music of all kinds easy and comfortable style which and tried to get on with her work. from the Thirupavai sung early in is pandemic. Soon the other was crying. The the morning to the sacred music mother said, “What is the matter in the evenings – there is much to To a foodie like me, food plays an now?” The child replied, “He is enjoy. integral part of our experience. A making faces at me!” “But how friend of mine has actually written could he when he is in a closed It is a city where temples lie a book called “Festival Recipes”. room?” The child said “I can see cheek by jowl with mosques and Each festival has a plethora him through the key-hole!” If we churches. I truly appreciate the of them, all culturally diverse. are going to peep at one another’s sight of the Islamic minarets side From the delicious Mughlai food activities, we are definitely going to by side with the beautifully carved of Delhi and Hyderabad to all be unhappy. Why don’t we confine Gopurams of the temples and the the home-made delicacies my ourselves to our own affairs, enjoy tall spires of the churches. Where neighbours send me at Deepavali, the atmosphere of a mixed group else do you see such variety of to the Christmas goodies which like you find at the Gymkhana architecture and such beauty! It I send them, it is a holistic Club – where bonhomie prevails is a privilege given to few, and experience which is difficult to and our “culture” is to live in we much cherish it. Compared beat. harmony. to this, the more homogenous cultures of the West have natural Food is a great unifier but it can After all, variety is the spice of life!

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NOVEMBER 2015 | 11 HAPPY MARRIED

T h is & hat LIFE V.C.PAUL BAHL

I have not greyed as yet and I look quite fit. Whenever I am asked about my age, particularly by girls, I reply mentally 18, physically they should guess.

My circle of friends and other people who are in contact with me think I am very happily married man. They find me always cracking jokes with them and laughing. They often ask me the secret of my happy married life. My standard reply is –‘ I get a beating at home’ and laugh.

Somehow, they are not convinced by my reply. A gang of them cornered me one day and insisted on me telling the truth. “The matter is very simple,” I said. “ When both of us are in the house, either she is sleeping or I am or either she is in the house or I.” They all responded, “How can this be? Don’t you ever go to the movies etc together?” Certainly, we do. She goes on Monday and I on Tuesday. If it is the same day, she goes for the matinee show and I go for an evening or night show.

Jokes apart, my wife has an excellent sense of humour and quick wit. Once she was in a very foul mood. Before she could start displaying her unhappiness, she warned me, “It is her time to talk and I should find my slot later.” So, there is no question but to listen.

Living in Chennai, I often complain about how the birthday. I told her that I will take her for dinner to city moves at such a slow speed. Our children live in a place where she has been before and took her to the U.S.A. where things move fast. In certain states, the kitchen! there is no speed limit, while most of their highways are designed for traffic to move 70 miles an hour, When I first met my in-laws, I had invited them to while traffic in the towns moves at 40 miles per hour. my club in Delhi for a meeting. When we entered They do not measure distance by miles but always the club, the Durwan at the gate accorded me a big the distances are mentioned as per the time taken welcome, special greetings and a very smart salute. to reach from one place to another. On my birthday, That is because I am very cordial and kind with my wife gave me a “present” saying this will satisfy me staffers. But, my wife always teases me that I had as my present will move from 0 to 200 in seconds. planned the salute to impress them. I always agree I was puzzled. On opening the present, I found it to whatever she says, that is the secret of a happily was a weighing scale! I had my revenge on her next married man.

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NOVEMBER 2015 | 13 C AU SES ANGELS DO EXIST Radhika Madhavan

Every day at about dusk, if you hear yowls emanating from Harrington Road, you can be sure Chennai’s Florence Nightingale – Anjali Sharma – is on her rounds. Rain or shine, she will be there with her daily feed for man’s best friends – the dogs who live in that neighbourhood.

An attractive lady, dressed in tee shirt and capris, Anjali has turned her back on the world of luxury and comfort and has bravely chosen to tread a road less taken – that of feeding stray dogs in the city and housing the weak, feeble and abandoned members of this canine kind in her property in Red Hills. Her work-worn hands are testimony that her day, night and entire life are committed entirely to this noble mission.

At an early age, Anjali imbibed from her grandmother, an Anjali also sterilizes the dogs she comes across on her rounds, whenever awareness to be kind to animals. she has the funds. Daughter of an Air Force officer, she was moved by the sorry plight But help is scarce and Anjali urgently needs to construct rooms in her of stray dogs when she visited house as she needs space to shelter the weak and old dogs in the rainy Chennai on work. She began season. Besides, keeping dogs crammed in small spaces causes tick feeding a few and found her infestations and she has to chemically disinfect the room regularly, so calling – which is to look after and that epidemics do not strike these creatures. feed as many dogs as she could. She made Chennai her home. Anjali travels miles every day offering succor in her old van that becomes Help has been coming from unbearably hot in the Chennai summer. But nothing daunts the spirit sources like the Park Group of of this singularly minded activist who quietly goes about her unsung Hotels, French Loaf and Barbecue task, demanding nothing. Nation who ensure that she is given leftovers every day to feel There is no assembly line for angels. People like Anjali Sharma are the starving four-legged creatures one of a kind. As she flits around creating a better world for these whom she encounters as she helpless souls, the world no longer seems a dark and desolate place. goes on her rounds of the city Anjali brings hope and light. in a battered Maruti Van. Some kind-hearted people chip in by Anjali Sharma can be contacted at providing rice for the almost 80 [email protected] odd dogs she shelters in Red Hills.

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NOVEMBER 2015 | 15 Thinking from b r idge first principles S.Sundarram

Those who have played the game for a long time We do not know about the trump queen yet. What tend to fall into a groove. This is not only natural, if the trump queen is missing along with a key card? but required. The thought process cannot be trying Even small slam may be ruled out !! But if we think to find it’s way through the wilderness all the time. deeper, and the king and queen of clubs(or an ace There must be some well used paths which the mind and the club queen) are missing, what is partner’s can take without fear of missing the destination. For hand? instance you open 1spade with S: KJXXX ; H:QJX ; D:KX ; C:QXX. Partner raises you to 3 spades inviting 1. S:X ; H: AKQX; D: KQJ; C: JXXXX? Although 16 game. You have a 12 count with no singleton , you say points, I would not consider this a reversing hand to yourself and pass. You would be right. Opposite with such a bad suit. With this we would need a even a perfectly meshing hand like- S: AXXX ; H:KXX black suit squeeze (same hand having 3 card club : XXXX ; KX, you would need to find the diamond and 4 card spade) to make 6nt. Or a club honor ace onside and catch the spade queen in addition. singleton or KQ doubleton under the ace or spade Opposite a worse hand like- S :AQXX ; H: KXX ; D: J10X. Not good odds, but not terrible. Note if JXXX ; XX, you need to find the diamond ace onside partner has the 10 of spades 6NT is very good, and to make 3 spades. On a different day you pick up: with the jack of spades, 6NT is cold. And 6 clubs is S:AK109X ; H:XX ; D:XX ; C: A109X. You open 1 spade down unless the KQ is doubleton. and partner again gives you 3 spades. If you were to 2. S: J ; H:KQXX; D: KQJ; C : KJXXX? Again a poor reason- “I have a 11 count and no singleton, so I pass”, hand, but 6NT is easy. If opener is missing the club you would be wrong. Opposite S:XXXX ; H:AKX : queen, we must have every other picture card. D:XXXX C: KX, you are cold for 10 tricks and need What if partner has both club king and queen? By only 2-2 spades for 11. Opposite a terrible hand such as bidding 6NT would we be jeopardizing a suit slam? : S: XXXX; H: QXX ; D: AKX ; C:JXX , you need only 3. S: J; H:KQXX; D: KQX C:KQXXX? If clubs 2-2 spades and the club double finesse. Again if your are coming in 6NT is cold anyway. But if clubs take away from this is-“Oh I should bid game whenever break 4-1 then 6NT makes, but 6 clubs is down. I have such good controls”, then a few days later you What if partner has heart AKXX and needs to ruff may pick up- S: AKXXX ; AX ; XXX ; XXX. Again you in dummy? open 1 spade and hear 3 spades. You would be quite 4. S: J; H:AKXX; D: KQX C:QJXXX? 6 clubs needs a wrong to bid 4. The key is to know when to take the favorable club break, but 6NT is cold. well worn path and when to think from first principles. At this point I was coming to the conclusion that there Take this hand that came up in the recent transnationals is no possible hand where 6 clubs makes, while 6NT in Chennai.: AKQ98 ; H:J7 D: A102 C: A32. Partner goes down, whereas there were several hands where deals and opens 1 club. You respond 1 spade(you 6NT makes, while 6 clubs goes down. However I had do not play strong jump shifts) and partner rebids 2 taken nearly 10 minutes to make this one bid and my hearts. This is in principle a reverse promising at least opponent was fidgeting and looking at his watch, so 16 points. S You bid 3 clubs, forcing. Partner bids 3nt I had to call. I bid 6NT. At first glance, it appeared suggesting that he has a minimum and diamonds that I had wasted my time, as partner’s hand was- S: J; stopped. You bid 4nt key card blackwood and partner H:KQXX; D: KQX C:KQJXX. And that both 6 clubs bids 5 diamonds showing 1 key card. We are missing a and 6nt were making. However, justice was served as key card !! What now? The bidding has been: clubs were 5-0 with 10987X in one hand. 6NT was cold and could survive not only a 5-0 break in clubs, PARTNER YOU but a 5-2 break in spades as well with 10XXXX in one 1C 1S hand. There were 12 top tricks after conceding a trick 2H 3C to the heart ace. 3NT 4NT 5D When taking a final decision in the auction, it is usually better not to rely on experience.

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NOVEMBER 2015 | 17 Intra-Club Open Doubles Tennis Tournament

EVE NT S ROUND UP OF EVENTS

Sub Secretary welcoming the finalist and other members to the event Members enjoying the game

Vasanth Chari Finalists Getting ready for the match

The Vasanth Chari Doubles Winners 2015 M P Shankar and Murali Padmanabhan Members enjoying post match events held at the Paterson

18 | NOVEMBER 2015 A Watery Win MGC TEAM WINS MEDALS AT STATE AQUATIC MEET

MGC members won medals in each of the events ​​​at the ​ Tamil​ ​Nadu State Aquatic Association Masters Open 2015​.

From L-R: Sandeep, Wg Cdr John, Capt Seshadri, Col Padmanabhan, Gita Mathias ​and ​Vivek Dhanda

NOVEMBER 2015 | 19 ANDAL Sabita Radhakrishna PE R SO NA LI T IES

Andal was a sensuous woman, who to the sarees and gave them a And when cotton sarees were lived 100 years ago. She symbolised becoming sheen. With every wash, washed, they were immersed in the era of the saree, worn very early the saree became soft and clinging rice conjee, diluted and placed in in life, and you learnt to accept it as and felt so good next to the skin. a bucket, and strung singly on the if it was your skin. She wore sarees The saris were dried without too line so that the saree did not stick from the age of 7 and she learnt much of wringing, and hung with to the next layer. The saree had to to do everything in it, including the borders facing downwards, be very lightly starched, if at all. All playing hopscotch, climbing trees, and if there was space, singly in a sarees were dried in the shade, and and skipping. When she reached horizontal manner. Andal would carefully folded and placed under puberty, she looked at the mirror smooth out the wrinkles while the the pillow or under the mattress if more often and liked what she saree was still wet so that when you slept on one. saw. She applied kohl made at you took it out, it looked well home with castor oil and lamp laundered. Andal like all young women liked soot, on those almond shaped to think of herself as progressive. eyes and placed a big pottu on her forehead. She strung the jasmine which grew in her garden and adorned her hair with it. She wore the saree with grace, and since it was woven short she could show off her pretty silver anklets. Her blouse was made from the thin printed calico that was in vogue those days. She matched it with the colours from the saree which had yarn dyed in natural colours when the alchemy of synthetic dyes hadn’t stormed the bastion of dye workshops.

Her mother, aunts and grandmother only wore pattu sarees woven in simple designs, with motifs of hamsas, rudrakshams and vel darri. Often they were korvai sarees with solid contrast borders and pallus. The sarees were washed immediately after they were worn for a full day. They had lines strung in the back yard, and the pattu sarees were washed with punga kottai, which was a kind of soap nut, soaked in water and lather coaxed by hand. The soap nut was kind

Image courtesy Internet 20 | NOVEMBER 2015 She would keep smoothing the crinkles that were the yarn, eventually would eat away the saree. And invariably present. She decided one day to use a that sarees should always be dried in the shade. brass pot with hot water and apply it to the saree and lo and behold it looked so wondrous and perfectly Andal passed on the wisdom of caring for sarees smooth. When she wore sarees people whispered to her children and grandchildren. She told them behind her back that she knew some magic to make that she would sneak some jasmine into the folds of her sarees so exquisitely smooth. No one dared to the saree, so that the smell lingered for months. Of ask Andal, but an urchin who looked through her course you had to make sure that the jasmine did not bedroom window one afternoon, watched her iron let out any liquid and spoil the silk. She taught her her sarees painstakingly, wearing out all the wrinkles grandchildren as they grew up that the saree is the as she pressed. Of course it went round the village, most graceful garment in the world, and no other and most women looked smug as they sported nicely new fangled fashion could ever replace the saree, a ironed sarees. rich gift from the Gods themselves. Those children whose mothers and grandmothers told them these The grand sarees worn for weddings were preserved stories are all saree wearers and wear them often differently. Sarees bought for weddings and for enough to love them for their design, colour and Deepavalli. The weavers only used the best of gold tradition. zari. Andal’s mother used to wrap each saree in a soft mulmul vaishti. She placed dried neem leaves Andal is a fictitious character, but everything written in the folds of the vaishti to ward off insects. Andal’s about her is true and taken from life. Sarees should Ammamma a wise old lady told her never to keep be stacked and not hung, though we are all guilty of a silk saree unwashed however expensive. She doing that. Sarees not worn for sometime should be explained to Andal that the perspiration ruined a taken out and aired otherwise they split at the folds. saree, and the starch which the weavers spread on

A Word A MONTH with Anu Garg

majestious

Pronunciation: (muh-JUHS-shus)

Meaning: adjective: Impressive in a dignified or inspiring manner; stately; grand.

Etymology: From Latin major (greater), comparative of magnus (large). Ultimately from the Indo-European root meg- (great), which also gave us magnificent, maharajah, mahatma, master, mayor, maestro, magnate, magistrate, maximum, magnify, hermetic, magisterial, magnanimous, magnifico, mahatma, megalopolis, and mickle. Earliest documented use: 1685.

Usage: “His majestious sepulcher can be visited in the garden of his villa, where, also, are displayed his battle trophies.” Anita Daniel; I Am Going to Italy; Coward-McCann; 1955.

A thought for month: To the artist there is never anything ugly in nature. -Auguste Rodin, sculptor (12 Nov 1840-1917)

NOVEMBER 2015 | 21 GYM 3S – Down memory Lane The Gymkhana Club Yesteryears V. Sriram in conversation with K.R. N. Menon – A Review

Javanthi Singaram

In keeping with the just-concluded Madras week, an attempt was made to retrace the history and past traditions of the Club. In the absence of photographs or documentation that could give us a glimpse into the past, we depend almost entirely on oral accounts by long-time members such as K.R. N. Menon (Ravi Menon to most Ms Javanthi Singaram thanking Mr K R N Menon Mr. Vivek Dhanda, MIC-Gum 3S welcoming the gatherin people) and a historian like Mr. V. Sriram to delve into the fascinating K. R. N. Menon who is a of the Company had to sign the times gone by. Distinguished Grandmaster of the Application for Membership. Freemasons, and has also written a As soon as he became a Manager in Sriram gave us a brief introduction book on the Freemasons, has been Best & Crompton, Ravi Menon was on the early days of the Madras coming to the Club since 1953, summoned by his senior to file his Gymkhana Club. The Club even though he became a Member application for Membership in the came into existence in 1884 and only in 1963. When he first visited Gymkhana Club. The introduction the first Secretary of the Club the Club, 95% of the membership of a new Member to the Committee was Mr. Barrister. The Club was comprised foreigners. In those Members was a solemn ritual held built on land given by the Raja days, Company Executives were in the Ballroom. As everyone of Venkatagiri and admitted expected to be Club Members, present was in a suit, the only way to both ladies and gentlemen. In and the choice of Club depended distinguish Committee Members the pre-Independence era, four on their rank in the Company or was by the carnation they wore in High Court judges had been the the Sport they played. Company their buttonhole. On a salary of a President of the Club. J. M. G. Directors only went to the Madras little over a thousand rupees, Ravi Moore, Commissioner of Madras, Club. If one were a cricket Menon was already a Member of after whom Moore Market was enthusiast they joined the Madras several other Clubs: Boat Club, named, was also a President of the Club, and if football was their Madras Cricket Club and two Clubs Club. While some say Arbuthnot passion, the Gymkhana Club it in Bangalore. The entrance fee for founded the Club, it is unlikely as would be. Two Senior Executives Gymkhana Club was Rs. 225, but he died in 1870. Mr. S. Muthiah in his book on the Madras Cricket Club, writes that after the Madras Club was formed, all the other Clubs were founded in its Bar. The Gymkhana Club introduced rugby football to Madras which was played enthusiastically by the Members in the Island Grounds. The first Indian President, Mr. Nanjappa, was elected in 1957. Sriram engaged Ravi Menon in conversation to share his nostalgic memories of the Club. An attentive and appreciative audience Mr K R N Menon & Mr V Sriram recalling the good old days

22 | NOVEMBER 2015 it could be paid in three installments. The monthly the first broadcast. The traditions of the Club were subscription was Rs. 10, and the number of Members a reflection of the lifestyle of the Raj. Mulligatawny was 225! soup, beef steak, mixed grill, spotted dick, bread and butter pudding and even something called Malabar In the 1960s, the current Mixed Bar was an open pudding— a deconstructed sago payasam— are bar. Sportspeople would run up and grab a beer examples of what was on the menu. Once, while eating before they went back to their sport. Much of the oysters, Ravi Menon was convinced that he bit into a present layout was already in existence, excluding the pearl! The lunch buffet cost Rs. 9, which Members felt Buttery Bar and family dining room. Ravi Menon was was too much and should be reduced to Rs. 7. responsible for the name ’Buttery’, after the famous Buttery Hotel in Oxford where he spent years reading. There were many unique practices, some even quirky. The name Rendezvous, meaning 'meeting point', for The jalebia or long skirted uniforms and round the family dining room was also suggested by him. He headdress worn by the bearers were meant to imitate recalled that there were apprehensions that it would and humiliate Tipu Sultan, the ruler who refused be pronounced as 'ren-des-vus' . The one-armed slot to bow down to the British. Until 1967 the Club did machines used to be a source of good fun, but they not shut down at all. Even at the late hour of 1 am, a had to be removed as playing on them came to be Member could be assured of a hot dinner, by paying a considered as gambling. Until billing was computerised late fee of Re 1. The system of Reciprocal Membership in 1971, all chits for the use of the bar, various sports was introduced to accommodate Planters from outside and food ordered had to be signed by Members. In Madras who needed somewhere to go for a meal. every Club there was at least one individual who could Before Independence, Indians seeking membership match several undecipherable scrawls to the name of needed an introduction, unlike foreigners who the Member. These people were so invaluable to the became Members automatically. Club that their retirement was postponed indefinitely. There were about 500 to 600 members then. The Club had a 9-hole golf course on the Island Grounds until 1903 after which it was moved to In the days of Prohibition, one needed a Permit to Guindy. We were the first to get flood-lit tennis courts, order a drink. A Permit entitled Indians to 2 units, where tennis stars such as Ramanathan Krishnan and where 1 unit was equivalent to 12 bottles of beer or one the Amritraj brothers have played and won matches. bottle of spirit or 3 bottles of wine. Foreigners were The Members present were eager to stay longer with entitled to 8 units! Unfinished bottles were often left the memories, and dug deep into their memory to in the safe custody of the barman, who kept unerring recollect more traditions that were once followed. tally of the number of drinks still due to a Member. Some, like the Children's Christmas Party and the To be eligible for a Permit, one had to be pronounced Tin and Bottle tournament have been in practice as an 'addict' by a doctor. Insomnia was often cited as for decades, while the Swimming Gala, lovingly put a cause for addiction. together by the late Balraj Kapoor, has ceased to be. Some Members mentioned that in 1910 there was Saturday dance night was very special. The Club had even a small airstrip beside the Club. its own band, the first of its kind. The band was so well known that when the Radio It was indeed a pleasant walk down Memory Lane, Station was inaugurated, the music played by it was thanks to Mr Menon and Sriram.

Members enjoying the conversation. Mr V Sriram, Mrs Nithila Masilamani, Mr S Muthiah and Mr K R N Menon

NOVEMBER 2015 | 23 ILANEER F OOD PAYASAM MALATHI NarendrAn

A refreshing Payasam that will make your family not only feel satiated but cool and recharged as well. INGREDIENTS • Tender coconut pulp- from 4 coconuts • Tender coconut water- from 1 coconut • Milk- I liter • Sugar- 200 grams • Coconut milk(thick)-200ml

METHOD • Cook the pulp of 3 coconuts in the coconut water with 1 teaspoon of sugar. • Let it reduce to a third of its volume, cool and blend to a paste. • Boil the milk and reduce to half its volume. Add remaining sugar. • Cool and refrigerate. Add coconut pulp paste and coconut milk to the chilled • payasam and refrigerate further. Cut remaining pulp and garnish the payasam to serve.

24 | NOVEMBER 2015 Roast lamb studded with rosemary & garlic Vignesh Bhasker

This has by far been one of my The first job is to stuff the lamb Roast for about 1 hr 45 mins. Turn favorite recipes for the weekend. with garlic and rosemary. Make at the lamb halfway through so by My wife n me wanted to have a nice least 30 small incisions all over the the time it’s cooked, each side has roast this Sunday and we decided meat. Peel 4 garlic cloves, thinly been in the stock. When cooked, to grill a leg of lamb. It’s a pretty slice them and put a slice into each remove the lamb and allow to rest easy recipe and you could enjoy it incision, add some rosemary into in a warm place covered in foil for with your family over a nice bottle the incisions. If you marinate it the about 30 mins. of wine. night before, then remove from the fridge 1 hr before roasting. While the lamb is resting, make Ingredients the gravy. Pour all the stock • leg of lamb weighing Heat oven to 190C/170C. Heat a from the tin through a sieve into 2½ kg/5lb 8oz large frying pan, add a little oil and a saucepan to remove all the • 1 garlic bulb brown the lamb all over. Scatter vegetables and herbs. This stock • 1 bunch rosemary the carrot, onion, remaining garlic should be rich, slightly thick and • 1 tbsp vegetable oil and rosemary in a large roasting have a great lamb flavour. Reduce • 2 carrots, cut into large chunks tin, pour in the wine and stock, it a little on the hob if you feel you • 1 onion, cut into quarters then place the browned lamb in want to concentrate the flavour, • 1 glass red wine (about 150ml) the tin. skimming off any fat that comes • 1.2L lamb stock to the surface. Serve the delicious lamb with potatoes and gravy.

NOVEMBER 2015 | 25 Rs.999

t ec h s a vv y Question? PRIYANKA BOHRA

Wearable tech has been around for quite some time The sensors of the Mi Band are housed in a but it had not managed to catch the attention of the polycarbonate body with an aluminum top. The common man. However, Xiaomi managed to change capsule-shaped Mi Band measures just 14 x 36 x 9mm that with its low-price Mi Band in the country. We and weighs a mere 5 grams. There are two golden all waited for the fitness band that costs Rs 999 and colored charging ports that protrude out from one Xiaomi thereby made sure that (almost) everyone of the ends. On the front face of the Mi Band you now has the means to experience a fitness band. have provision for three LED lights, whose color can Launched alongside the India-flagship Mi 4i, Mi be set as blue, green, orange and red, from the Mi Band fits onto your wrist and pairs with any device Fit app. This Mi Band lodges into a hypoallergenic that runs Android 4.4 and above or iOS 7 or later. silicon band and Xiaomi offers them in multiple This way, Xiaomi almost ridiculed every other brand colors. which has been selling wearable bands over $100 and still terming them a value-for-money and delivered a The silicon band has an average build quality and quality product for not-so-much-change. tends to accumulate dust which can be easily washed off. It is adjustable so as to fit multiple wrist sizes. Once the Mi Band was announced, the next big Thanks to the IP67 certification, you can use the Mi question that everyone was thinking about was, who Band even when it's raining outside, but do not have will be next? And fortunatelyRs.999 Question? we didn't have to wait it on if you are swimming. Apart from the Band, the

longWearable to tech know has been aroundthe foranswer quite some to time that but it had which not managed came to catch in the attentionthe box bundles a charging cable. There are no buttons of the common man. However, Xiaomi managed to change that with its low-price Mi Band in the formcountry. Weof allYu's waited YuFit. for the fitness Also band priced that costs Rs at 999 Rs and 999 Xiaomi YuFit thereby madecan sure be that on the Mi Band, as it is always on and syncs with the seen(almost) aseveryone the now perfect has the means neck-to-neck to experience a fitness product band. Launched to alongsidecompete the India-flagship Mi 4i, Mi Band fits onto your wrist and pairs with any device that runs Android phone via Bluetooth. with4.4 and aboveMi Bandor iOS 7 or in later. the This way,country. Xiaomi almost If theridiculed price every other wasn't brand which the has been selling wearable bands over $100 and still terming them a value-for-money and delivered a onlyquality productthing for that not-so- muchcan-change. help Yu sell YuFit then how about Yufit Band Design and Build: Once the Mi Band was announced, the next big question that everyone was thinking about was, addingwho will be next?on OLEDAnd fortunately display we didn't tohave the to wait device, long to know giving the answer it to more that which Similar to the Mi Band in design impetuscame in the form than of Yu's YuFit.Xiaomi's Also priced band?Mi at Rs 999 YuFit Bandcan be seen Design as the perfect andneck-to - neck product to compete with Mi Band in the country. If the price wasn't the only thing that can and build but has an Build:help Yu sell YuFit then how about adding on OLED display to the device, giving it more additional OLED Display impetus than Xiaomi's band? Detailed Comparison Detailed Comparison The display on the Features YuFit Band Xiaomi Mi Band Price Rs. 999 YuFit takes some time Compatibility Android Android and iOS to get used to. It's not a touch screen, so no amount App Healthify Me Mi Fit App of tapping will do you any good. Instead one end of Display OLED Display No the display has an icon that looks like a bulls eye. Activity Tracking Yes with 20-25% margin for error Tapping this wakes the screen, and if you keep Sleep Tracking Yes (afternoon naps cannot be tracked) tapping it, you'll cycle through various stats such as Calories Burnt Yes time, steps, distance, calories etc. Displays Time Yes No Notifies About Incoming Yes (the Band vibrates for a few seconds based on user Both the devices are decent and it's up to the user to Calls preferences when connected to Bluetooth) weigh its pros and cons before purchase. Notifies About Incoming Yes Yes Messages Find My Phone Yes No Apart from these bands, one can also look up into Charging Rate 2 Hours Approximately the FITBITS(available on AMAZON) which are the Discharge Rate 30 days Approximately more sophisticated, accurate and expensive fitness Availability Amazon Flash Sale (Based on Amazon, Snapdeal bands. Registration) Mi Website

26 | NOVEMBER 2015 Where would you seek emergency medical care when your near and dear suffers one? H E A L TH

???? Imagine a 24year old young male, involved in a road traffic accident with head injury, unconscious, multiple injuries over face, chest, abdomen, crushed leg, struggling to breathe, and fighting for his life.

Imagine a 65 year old gentleman who complains of left sided chest pain after breakfast,catches his chest and starts sweating,then collapses in front of your eyes and does not seem to be breathing.

As a good Samaritan, when you rush them to a hospital, what you would expect?

You would see a young studious duty doctor in the not know how to address each of these conditions casualty ward or a casualty medical officer, who which are potentially life threatening because of lack receives the patient, starting oxygen and Intravenous of specific training. There would be no assurances fluids, then promptly doing his duty by paging given that these specialists would attend to him at multiple specialist to get further treatment orders the given time of arrival due to busy schedules and or requesting them through phone to come-over work in coordination. Each of these conditions and have a look.In the second scenario, promptly would be addressed at a different time which would checking the pupils and a flat line ECG to declare further reduce his chances at survival by a significant him dead and go about writing endless medico legal percentage. papers in both scenario. Imagine if this 24year old boy or the 65 year old With advent of more structured training programs gentleman was some one known to you. Would you in Emergency Medicine, now has come the new have him wait? Think about it? breed of Accident and Emergency Medicine specialist, referred as Emergency Physicians and The change saw Emergency Departments across the receiving rooms in the hospitals stated as “Casualty” country being manned by Emergency Physician’s, has developed into a structured “Emergency formally trained, with all round medical knowledge Departments” in many hospitals, especially private to handle trauma and emergencies of any severity and sector health care providers, that took over as a focal specialty, skilled to save lives at the most critical hour. point for deliverance of acute care for time sensitive It saw triaging (sorting out of patients according to acute medical conditions such as heart attack, the severity of illness) of patients happen in a very trauma, sepsis, stroke, poisoning, drowning, hanging, systematic fashion which otherwise would be the seizure, respiratory or abdominal emergencies and same for a patient with thorn prick or heart attack. many others that needed immediate intervention and diagnosis. In the first scenario, a qualified and trained Emergency Physician in his/her Emergency Before the advent of an emergency physician on Room would have addressed his fractures with the floor, it would take an anesthetist to control splinting, would have initiated resuscitation for breathing, maxillo facial surgeon to address his facial unstable hemodyanamics, would have addressed his bone fractures, a general surgeon to assess his air breathing by securing his airway and placing him on trapping in chest and an orthopedician for his crush a ventilator, would have inserted a tube in his chest injury and a neurosurgeon to assess his coma levels. to release the trapped air, would have controlled his Basic resuscitation may not get initiated for the bleeding, arranging timely blood transfusion and unstable hemodyanamics by a junior doctor who may would have had a scan done to rule out injury to the

NOVEMBER 2015 | 27 brain, averting the imminent death in the golden patients at the right time by a right person would hour and limiting the permanent disability which increase their chance of survival and Emergency could occur due to delay in any of this intervention. Physicians in Emergency Departments do this 24x7x365. Similarly in the second scenario, he/she would have recognized the condition as cardiac arrest and would With this let us leave you readers with a question. have commenced cardio pulmonary resuscitation Where would you seek emergency medical care (CPR). Appropriate treatment options would have when your near and dear suffers one? been contemplated and possibilities discussed with the family. Dr. S. Saravana Kumar, MD Dr. Anindya Dasgupta, MD An Emergency Physician cannot replace an Dr. Syed Ahmed Adil, MD orthopedic surgeon, a neurosurgeon or a cardiologist Consultant emergency physicians, but addressing life threatening emergencies in these Dr Mehta Hospital, chennai

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28 | NOVEMBER 2015