Good Boss Vs Bad Boss

A workplace can feel like heaven or a daily survival game depending on who ​your boss is. A good boss makes work enjoyable, while a bad boss can turn even the simplest task into a dramatic adventure

 

It is very important to have good bosses at the start of your professional career. If not, you are in trouble. As it happened to my colleague in Clarion McCann​, where I started my advertising career in 1964. Deepak (name changed) also joined the company as a management trainee three years after I joined the​company. A young man with a brilliant academic record and with bright prospects in advertising,  he was expected to do well in his job and get quick promotions. Unfortunately, the first boss he worked for was a disaster. A middle-aged executive, deeply insecure, indecisive, and arrogant, made the life of the young Deepak miserable. He became a nervous wreck because of the ill treatment he received from his first boss. A change of boss, who was more encouraging, brought out his capabilities and earned him his first promotion, though he had lost two years under a bad boss.

 

I was very lucky that I had a good boss, even before I joined the advertising profession. I can never forget ​M​r M.R.Pai, Secretary of Forum of Free Enterprise, where I worked for one year as a Trainee, while pursuing a  PG Diploma course in Advertising & PR.I learnt a lot about systems & procedures and time management from him. He stressed the importance of preparing detailed job lists, setting priorities when one is faced with multiple tasks and how to delegate jobs and manage subordinates etc. He always said, “Remember, you can delegate a job but not the responsibility”. He was not only a great boss but also a great leader.

 

In  Clarion McCann​, I was fortunate to get good bosses who shaped me into a very fine advertising professional. All of them​ ​r​ealised early that I am a self-starter, who did not wait for instructions but was always proactive and willing to accept any challenges. They trusted me, empowered me and gave me full freedom to do the jobs allotted to me without any interference.

 

One of them, Mr Farouqui,​was also a great leader. He told me one day, “Rajan, I am not your filing clerk. Don’t send me copies of all your letters. I know you do whatever you think is right. If you have a problem with a client or anybody else, come to me. I will solve it for you”. He also added, “It is simple​ - if I allow you to function freely, if you do well and they have to promote you, they have to consider​ promoting me first for being your boss. Don’t forget that credit for all the good work that you are doing on the account also accrues to me!” This piece of advice left a deep impression on me. In the corporate world, where many bosses feel threatened if their juniors are smarter and do everything to scuttle their progress, Farouqui was different.

 

In the end, being a boss is not really about power. It is about leadership. A good boss helps people grow, learn, and feel proud of their work. A bad boss mostly 

teaches employees one valuable skill: updating their résumés to look for a new job.

 

 

AN ACTION-PACKED SECOND YEAR IN COIMBATORE

I completed two years of my stay at Coimbatore on 25th February, 26. Since I have already written about the Pros and Cons of my stay in Nana Nani, Phase 4 (NNP4), I will restrict this article to the activities that kept me busy during the second year in Coimbatore. And there were plenty of them!

In the last 12 months, I attended more than 30 variety entertainment programmes arranged by groups of talented residents in the community at the Meditation Hall in the Club House in NNP4. Besides these, there were Music and Dance Festivals arranged by Hari Om Mama (96 years), featuring talented artists not only from Coimbatore but also from other cities. I also made an appearance as an actor in a short film produced by my good friend Samji, @ Sambadkumar, as a part of the entertainment programmes he organises regularly. I had the opportunity to watch over 35 films ( Tamil, Malayalam or Hindi) shown free to residents in the plush Ananaya`s Cinema in the clubhouse this year. Considering that I used to watch just 2 or 3 films in a theatre in a year in Chennai, this was a record
Apart from continuing to write my reviews of some of these programmes, this year I took on the additional responsibility of writing the `Curtain Raisers` for all the programmes arranged by Hari Om Mama, which appeared a day before each programme. These articles were shared by me only in the WA groups in Phase 4. I also did some interview-based articles about a few talented residents, which have appeared in magazines like Ladies Special and Dignity Dialogue. I continued to write my essays on various topics, which I share on all my social media handles like Blog, Facebook, WhatsApp and email. Some were published in magazines like Dignity Dialogue, Madras Musings, and Mixed Bag, an online magazine edited by K.R.Ramakrishnan.

Another important development on the writing front is my new ability to type my essays and short stories in Tamil. A couple of my stories in Tamil have appeared in Ladies Special, a monthly edited by Girija Raghavan and Malar Vanam, another online magazine in Tamil edited by K.R.Ramakrishnan.Since I am unable to think in Tamil, I write my stories first in English, based on which I write the Tamil versions.

While the year witnessed me becoming more than a prolific writer, sadly, my reading has come down drastically due to eye-related issues. Whereas I used to read two to three books a month, I am sad to say that I have not read a single book in the last 8 months. Though my vision is good and I have not undergone Cataract surgery so far, I had to undergo a short but delicate surgery for my entropion problem in the left eye. These days, I am unable to read more than 10 to 20 pages at a time. I have to be content with reading newspapers and a few magazines. This has also resulted in my keeping on hold the draft of a self-help book, which is ready but requires more editing before it is sent to the printer.

In my first report, I had mentioned the lack of imagination in menu planning by the catering department in Nana Nani, resulting in my taking dining breaks on days when I don't like the menu. Since I enjoy cooking, I manage to cook my own meals, sometimes shared with my friends here. Besides skipping my meals at the dining hall in the evenings for the last 20 months ( though I am paying for it), I also miss my lunch service at the dining hall for 10 to 15 days a month. I am also known in the community for my cooking abilities.

My visits outside Nana Nani are restricted to visiting the Naga Sai temple in Saibaba colony on every Thursday and the Perumal temple on Saturday mornings. I also visit my daughter`s home once a month and have visited specialist doctors outside the campus for my health-related issues. This year, I attended a couple of dinner meetings of the 41 Clubs in Coimbatore and a Rotary Meeting where I was a speaker, giving a talk on my favourite topic, `Biography as History`. I have consciously avoided keeping in touch with all my old friends in Coimbatore, lest I become too active socially and expose myself to the risks of potential accidents. The traumatic experience of being involved in a road accident ( when I was knocked down by a speeding cyclist) during one of my visits to Chennai last year to receive the `Inspiring Senior Citizen Award` from Tag Group & Ramu Endowments, has resulted in my developing an acute anxiety syndrome. The fear of a fall resulting in avoidable fractures has made me content with participating in programmes within the NNP4 campus, which is always buzzing with activities.

I have made lots of friends in Nana Nani who make me feel completely at home here. It is like a big joint family where I feel very secure and happy. Last year was certainly an action-packed year. Praying God to keep me in good health so that I continue to enjoy my life in Coimbatore. I have become 100% a `Coimbatorevasi`.
The good news is that the owner of my apartment has allowed the extension of the lease agreement of the apartment for two more years. Om Sai Ram!
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Only for those who are interested in my daily routine in N & N

I get up at 5.00 am. I start the day doing Chair yoga for 45 minutes, spend a few minutes going through messages on my smartphone and then go for a walk ( 25 minutes). Come back, take a bath & complete the morning puja rituals. Have my breakfast, followed by reading the morning newspapers. I have a pre-lunch siesta for 60 minutes, after which I spend about 90 minutes on my laptop working on the articles or stories that are in progress. Before or after lunch at the dining hall, I spend some time with friends gossiping outside the dining hall; Come back to my room for some more reading, and post lunch siesta for 60 minutes. If I have no programmes to attend in the evenings, I get into the kitchen to experiment with new dishes. I have an early dinner of a simple meal cooked by me or ready-to-cook items, before 7.00 pm, watch the News ( nay Views ) channels on TV for about 90 minutes and go to bed latest by 9.30 pm. Needless to say, like all people, I keep browsing through my smartphone from morning till going to bed. So there is no question of feeling bored or lonely.

Tribute to a loyal soul!

When I got the news of the sudden demise of Srirangam Raja, my mind went back 45 years, when he joined my company as a driver​. He was more than a driver. He was a part of my family. A school dropout, he had ​​realised most of his dreams in life by sheer perseverance and hard work. I thought I would share his inspiring life story as a tribute to the departed soul.

Born in a ​w​ell-to-do family in Rajapalayam, Srirangam was a problem child for his parents.  When he was 12 years old, he decided to run away from home. He landed in Chennai, seeking refuge​from a distant relative, who was running a successful business.  Since Srirangam​ was not interested in studies, the family agreed to keep him as a helping hand​ to​ run around doing errands.

 When he grew up to be a handsome ​youngster of 18,  they decided to teach him ​t​o drive, so that he could pursue a vocation in case he was interested.  Srirangam took to driving like ​a duck to water and became the favourite driver in the family.  They even found a girl from a decent family from their native place and got him married.  He was settled in a small LIG flat, which they bought for him so that he could lead an independent family life. He was blessed with two sons, who grew up  to be as handsome as he was.

 When everything seemed to be ​g​oing well, Srirangam ​​realised that the next generation in his employer’s family was not treating him well.  One morning, he quit his job and decided to try his luck elsewhere. He​ joined my good friend Pandu Chintamani​, who was then the Manager of HTA in Chennai, as a company driver.  Within the next two years, when Pandu got transferred to another city, he recommended Srirangam​ to me, as I was looking for a reliable driver. I readily agreed to take him​, least ​​realising that it was going to be a lifelong tryst with Srirangam and his family.

 It ​ had been almost six years since Sriranagam had been with us. He was not only sincere in his job but was extremely loyal to my​ family. He was the embodiment of what a good driver should be. He would go beyond the call of duty to give a helping hand to any member of the family. A friendly and very loyal soul, he knew all my relatives and would be respectful to anyone who visited us. He was very fond of my aged mother​, whom he adored and respected.​ On his ​​payday, after visiting a temple near our house, he would invariably visit our home​ seeking blessings from her​ before taking his​ pay packet home. Obviously, my mother’s blessings worked. He got a job with a Sheik`s family in Saudi Arabia, with a fancy salary which I could never match. He left for Saudi ​Arabia at the age of 32, leaving behind his family, with dreams of earning big money to give ​a good education to his two sons and raise the standard of living of his family.

 Srirangam​ continued to be in touch with me.  Every new year, he would send a greeting card to my family, with a special message for my mother.  His​ love and loyalty to our family ​​were unbelievable!

 During the fourteen years he was in Saudi​ Arabia, he not only managed to send his two sons to a good school, but also saved sufficient money which he wisely invested in real estate both in his native place and in Chennai. He owned more properties than ​​ I.

 Every two years​, when he visited us on his holiday, we could see his growing prosperity reflected in his growing tummy. He​ was putting on weight and was having a blood pressure problem.  He was acquiring health problems associated with wealth.​ During his seventh trip to India, after 14 years in Saudi Arabia, he had a massive heart attack. He had to undergo a ​​bypass surgery to get rid of the four blocks in his heart.  He was only 46.  Under pressure from his family, he decided to quit his job in Saudi Arabia and​ stay back in Chennai.  

 * * * * *

 Six months after his return to India and after fully recovering from his health problem, Srirangam​ visited me. He said that he had​ decided to work again as a driver. He would​ look for a job elsewhere, only if I did not​ want him. When I told him that I​ ​could not afford the kind of salary he was used to, he said he ​​would accept whatever salary I offered him, ​He was talking based on the strength of the​ adequate savings he had in his bank account.​ I promptly hired him back​, and the whole family was delighted.  Soon I ​​realised that I was not only his employer but also a consultant in sorting out his family issues, which he encountered frequently. 

 Years rolled on.  Both his sons became graduates and found decent jobs. A dream come true for Srirangam, who had studied only upto 4^th standard. Both sons were married off to girls from good families. His elder son​ married a girl from Rajapalayam, while his second son got married to a girl from Salem. Srirangam was delighted when his first son presented him with two ​​grandchildren - a ​​granddaughter and a grandson. The second son also caught up and presented his parents with a grandson. Srirangam was street smart with a lot of common sense. He had already built separate houses for each of his ​​sons in the land he had invested in to avoid problems faced by joint families. He lived in his own house with his wife close to his children`s homes.

 Within a couple of years​, tragedy struck the family. His second son​, who was doing very well in a ​​nationalised​ bank and had risen to become a manager of a branch, died of cancer when he was in his early thirties​, leaving behind a young wife and a son. Srirangam was devastated. Soon​,​ he recovered from the tragedy and made arrangements to ensure that his second son`s family was well looked after,

In the ​​meantime, when I retired from my job, he also retired. Having fulfilled all his responsibilities in life, he became busy travelling across the country, going on pilgrimages​ and visiting foreign countries with his family groups and generally having a good time. During his sojourns, he would not forget to call me and enquire about my health. When in Chennai, he would visit my home often with his wife to pay his respects. He lived a full life​, always valuing relationships. I began to treat him like a younger brother, a part of my family.

 Just a few weeks ago​, he had called​ and promised to visit me in my new home at Nana Nani. But it was not to be.​ He passed away suddenly ​​from cardiac arrest while recovering from a surgery for Hernia. He was 74.  I will miss him, because it is very difficult to get such fiercely loyal souls these days. I pray god that his soul attains Satgati and gives strength to his family for bearing this irreparable loss!

Sugandhi Dandapani - A visual artist by instinct

 The Senior citizen home where I am staying has many talented residents who excel in their favourite hobbies. Among them Suganthy Dandapani (64) stands out . She specialises in making handicrafts to suit special occasions and miniature replicas of popular temples.

Suganthi was born  in Tirukoilur in Tamil Nadu, but was brought up in Chennai, where her father Pandurangan , was working as an officer in the Railway Mail Service. She is the third among four sisters.  She did her schooling in Singaram Pillai Girls Secondary High School at Villivakkam.  Though she was a bright student, and received appreciation for many of her essays on various topics from her teachers, she did not continue her education beyond 11^th standard.  Her conservative parents did not allow her to study further citing the family tradition. When she was 26, she was married to Dandapani whose family was running a jewellery shop in Nagapattinam. Until her marriage, she utilised her time giving free tuitions to poor children in her neighbourhood and also learning tailoring, besides making wire baskets.

Suganthy says,” Most of the ladies in our  Vysya community, to which I  belong, learn to make wire baskets using the cross stitch method from a young age.  These baskets are used extensively in marriages”.

Suganthi`s creative mind made her think beyond wire baskets. For her elder sister`s son`s fourth birthday, she dressed him like a priest and fabricated a Sivalingam using cardboard and other materials. A special photo of the boy worshipping the Sivalaingam was taken, which was very much appreciated by everyone in the family. That was the beginning of Suganthy`s tryst with custom-made handicrafts and miniatures.

After marriage, she moved to Nagapattinam, where her husband`s family was settled. It was a joint family where again she had to live with a lot of restrictions.  However, she was allowed to display her talents at the nearby Kanniga Parameshwari temple. On special occasions she would fabricate different types of braids (Jadais). She  also used her imagination to try to adorn the deity with other types of make ups (Alanagaram) using different materials. It was around this time that she learnt to make ICE lingams. She and her husband have performed `Panchlinga Puja` using five Ice lingams she had made and Jothirlinga Puja using twelve Ice Lingams. At the Senior Citizen Home, she continues with this practice.

After  they celebrated their  30^th wedding anniversary, they moved to  Nana Nani, Phase 4 in Coimbatore, in 2017 to lead an independent life  without any responsibilities. Since they did not have any children they felt a well run senior citizen home would offer them better security and all the other facilities required by them at their age. Sugandhi could also  actively involve herself in her favorite hobby without any restrictions. It was a turning point  in their lives.

Phase 4 has a big Mahalaxmi Temple. In their very  first year, Suganthy fabricated several Jadais  (braids), which were used in adorning the head of the Processional deity ( Amman) in the temple. The Jadai , using several layers fabricated as a crown, adorns the deity even today. Any festival celebrated in the temple  witnesses some contribution from Suganthy in the form of a special decoration of the deity. Similarly, any programmes based on religious festivals will have on display an item specially fabricated by her. The Ramanavami festival last year had a miniature of the new Ayodhya temple, like the ones that architects make, made by her, displayed in a corner of the stage. Similarly, she had made a miniature of the Ayyappa temple featuring the hill, complete with the eighteen steps in the meditation hall of the community where a mega Puja for lord Ayyppa was performed,

Suganthy also celebrates every festival at home with appropriate decorations in the puja room to suit the festival. She had an exhibition depicting the story of Krishna Jayanthi at home .  She was thrilled when a popular singer visited her home on the occasion and sang a few songs on Krishna.

Suganthy recalls two memorable events  in her life. She says,” At the Neelayadakshi temple in Nagapattinam, during  Shivaratri  our  family contribution was the special Ice Lingam, which I would make and place it in an identified location in the temple. After puja in the main temple when our family returned to the area, we would be thrilled to find the Lingam surrounded by hundreds of lamps lit by devotees. 

 A couple of years ago, when a handicrafts exhibition was organized in the Meditation  Hall of the Senior Citizen Home,  my stall was highly appreciated by Mrs Uma Maheshwari, the JMD of the Ananya Homes, who was the chief guest on the occasion".

For all her talent, Suganthy had no formal training in the art. She is  a visual artist by instinct who is primarily guided by an innate, intuitive ability and gut feeling in making artistic decisions

She uses her imagination and some reference photos to fabricate items with cardboard, thermocole, fevicol and other relevant materials. Her husband Dandapani is of great help these days. He not only gives ideas, procures materials, but also actively helps in the fabrication of items. The couple is popular in the community for their active role in all the religious festivals held in the community.

Though her formal education had ended with the school, that did not stop her from learning Sanskrit and the Vedas after moving into the  Home. She studied Sanskrit at the Samskruthaa Bharathi in  Bharatiya Vidya Bhavan. After passing the Kovidha exams, she started teaching Sanskrit online to interested residents in the community. She has also learnt the Vedas from the experts in the community and is now part of all Veda chanting groups active in the community.

Suganthi`s life is one more  example to prove that age is no barrier to pursue one`s passion for anything. And that well-run Senior Citizen Homes with a vibrant community offer plenty of opportunities for any creative pursuits.

 

 

A place to relax and chill

 It was a short trip with a twin purpose- to attend the wedding of my cousin`s son in Bangalore, followed by an eagerly awaited visit to my younger daughter Sowmya`s farmhouse in Thally. While at the wedding, I caught up with a lot of relatives, I did not venture to meet any other friends in Bangalore because of the fear of getting caught in the suffocating traffic in Bangalore. I left for Thalli by a taxi accompanied by my elder daughter, Kavitha, who had also come to attend the wedding. The farmhouse is located in a village called Thogarai Agraharam, which is equidistant from both Thally and Denkanikottai towns, both part of Hosur District, 1000ft above the sea level. The area has a cool, salubrious weather with hill-surrounded landscape which reminded the British of England, and hence it is called `Little England. It has been a major supplier of a variety of flowers and fruits to markets all over the country.

My daughter's farmhouse is located on a property developed by Heritage Group of Bangalore, which sells quarter-acre plots to those interested in buying a plot. Aptly named `Sukh Nivas`, the house is built on a quarter-acre plot. What is special about the house? It is built using mud bricks for the entire masonry work, with only 5% of cement used in the construction. The bricks are made using the soil in the plot and dried for 20 days under the Sun, before use. It was a dream project of my son-in-law, Sathya ( @ D.Srinivasan – Group Captain, IAF (retd.), who is an avid bird watcher and a nature lover. The choice of the place was also influenced by the fact that his eldest sister and her two daughters have their farmhouses in the same property.

This architect-designed house is built in the centre of the plot with provisions for growing trees/plants or lawns in the front as well as the backyard. You get into the house from an entrance located on the side, into a hall which accommodates a beautifully designed open kitchen with the dining area and a drawing room opening to a large backyard through a French door. The adjoining `Thinnai`- a raised sit out has two Swings to chill out. The other end of the hall has two bedrooms built on either side of the hall. With an arch shaped separation wall and a sloping roof with transparent glass panels to percolate light, the house looks beautiful. It is also tastefully furnished. While the front area also houses an open garage, the utility room is located on the first floor. Though the process of construction witnessed a lot of ups & downs, including cost escalations, the final outcome can be termed as a dream project come true. As they say, all's well that ends well,

The weather, the rustic feeling, and the overall ambience lend themselves to lead a calm and peaceful life. However, as the property is still under development, and there are many empty plots where the owners have yet to build their homes, it is sparsely populated. It lacks cemented roads and street lights. Besides, the place is located a few miles away from a nearby town where you have to go for all your shopping and medical facilities. While it is a great place to live after you have fulfilled all your commitments and you have a passion for nature, it can be used only for short duration stays, like what Sowmya and Sathya are doing now, since they still have professional commitments.. Congratulations, Sowmya and Sathya for realising one of your dreams.

While I tried to `chill` during my brief stay at Sukh Nivas, I seemed to have got the `Chill` of the place resulting in my suffering from Cold and Cough after my return to Coimbatore. That does not prevent me from visiting Thally once again to spend a more relaxed time.

 

STRESS - POSITIVE & NEGATIVE

 One of the reasons why I decided to move to Coimbatore and stay in Nana Nani was because of the stress, both physical and mental stress, I was going through maintaining the independent home I was sharing with my son`s family in Chennai. Every other day, I had to sort out some problem or the other - chasing the elusive electrician, plumber, carpenter, mason and other service providers to attend to specific problems. It was frustrating. In my old age, I was looking forward to a stress-free life without any responsibilities. Today, I am leading a life without any family responsibilities and the only stress I have is health-related. And I have learnt to live with age-related health issues. Besides, I find my writing and cooking act as effective stress busters.

Google knowledge says that `Stress is the body's physical, mental, or emotional reaction to any demand, challenge, or pressure from a "stressor". There are both positive and negative stressors or painful or pleasurable stressors, as I call them.

 

Positive stress is what you experience when you are bringing up children, or preparing for an important event like a wedding in the family, or anything that eventually brings joy.

 

The kind of stress I experienced when I was building an independent home for my family- buying a plot, finding the money for building the house, getting the plans cleared by the authorities, chasing the contractor for speeding up the work and many other issues that kept me stressed through that journey. At the end of the day, when the house was ready, and we moved in, the joy and happiness I felt made all the stress worth going through. Living in a 250 sq. ft. tenement in a chawl in Mumbai, sharing two toilets with 56 others in the portion where my family lived, to owning my own independent home with two bedrooms with attached toilets in Chennai, was indeed a pleasurable experience, in spite of all the stress it involved.

 

The negative form of stress causes discomfort and can lead to feeling overwhelmed, unable to cope, and eventually burnout. When you have major differences with some near and dear ones, leading to misunderstanding, it can cause painful stress or when your life partner is suffering from a terminal disease, or someone close to you has had an accident and is on life support, what you feel a painful stress. Caregivers of family members suffering from chronic diseases suffer from such painful stress, which sometimes contributes to their own health issues getting aggravated.

 

Periodic stresses are part of everyone`s life. I have gone through many such painful stresses in my life and each time came out of it because of my positive attitude and my belief that `everything happens for the good`. Having learnt a lesson or two from such experiences, I move on with my life, ready to face the next challenge.

PONGAL FESTIVAL IN A GAUSHALA

 It was my first exposure to the Pongal Festival organised by Nana Nani management at Ananya`s Gaushala. What an experience it was! I was overwhelmed by the mega event to which the residents of all six Phases of Nana Nani Homes were invited.

The huge property where the Gaushala is located was transformed into a Mega Rural Fair, complete with food courts where visitors were served a choice of fruits, snacks, and beverages. They could also witness the typical games that are played in rural areas. As a rural marketing specialist, I have participated in hundreds of Mega Melas in Rural India promoting my clients` products. This Mela was different. It was like a happy family get-together of the Appas and Ammas of Nana Nani. It was meticulously planned and executed by the dynamic team of Ananya group under the inspiring leadership of Dr Uma Maheshwari. The location of the Mela in the well-run Gaushala lent authenticity to the celebrations coinciding with the Mattu Pongal theme. There was the traditional display of pots with overflowing milk to the chanting of `Pongalo Pongal` by the visitors, complete with the `Patti Pongal `featuring a favourite cow decked up for the occasion being worshipped.

The way the Cows, numbering 450 with their identification numbers, were roaming around within their enclosures was a sight to behold. I understand that this scientifically run Gaushala, looked after by the committed staff and qualified veterinarians, yields on average 1200 litres of milk, which is used in all milk and milk-based products supplied to the residents in Nana Nani.

My sister, a resident of Asiana Subham, a senior citizen Home in Chennai, during her recent visit to Phase 4, commended the high quality of milk and curds supplied at Nana Nani as compared to what she gets in her Home in Asiana.

No Mela is complete without the mandatory entertainment programme. I was proud to witness the very first item by members of Phase 4. A prayer song on the theme specially written for the occasion by the multi-talented Shylaja. It was composed by the MSV of Phase 4 Padmanabhan, and sung by the Nightingales of Phase 4 – Bhanu, Usha Padmanabhan and Radha Shanakarraman. They were accompanied by the talented dancing trio of Meera, Meena and Bhooma. While all other Phases were given only one slot to display their talents, Phase 4 had the privilege of having a second dance number led by Vidya Venkatachlam, the `mover & shaker` of Phase 4, supported by her team. Kudos to both teams for keeping the flag of Phase 4 flying high.

Although the uneven flooring surface, despite the beautiful carpets covering it, and the high toilets were a cause for anxiety for many elders like me, I was happy to hear that the event, with thousands of residents attending, passed off without any hitch or untoward incidents. It was indeed a memorable event.

Hearty congratulations to the management of the Ananya group for organising such a get-together of Nana Nanians year after year. God Bless them.