by Charu Jain
There is no doubt that 2020 and 2021 were tough years. As 2022 draws to a close, we all are caught up with the fairs, weddings, get-togethers, schools and offices. Life in general is back
as usual. It takes a jog of memory to look back that we started this year with masks covering our faces and social distancing still being in some sort of form. Life moves so fast that everyone has forgotten the pain that the previous two years inflicted upon us. For each of us who lost a loved one to this virus that truly scorched the earth, the pain may have dimmed but has not diminished. So take stock of the situation today and be thankful for what we have and what a greater tragedy it could have been.
We are all today in a state of bliss. The human mind is such that when good times happen we tend to forget the pain incurred in the past. As a society, we may have changed thanks to covid and at the same time, we may not have changed given that distances between hearts & minds still exist.
Sit back and recall these past years and you will find that 2022 is a year where things went so wrong for some; it has truly been generous and kind for others.
At Samvada, we tried summing up the year through some stories.
2021 ended on a sad note as a wall of an under-construction house collapsed, killing two workers. It led to a huge uproar with the news being covered in leading newspapers too.
The New Year 2022 too began with a lady being viciously bitten by a street dog. This led to a major uproar with Noida Authority officials holding an open meeting with residents and RWCS. However many residents continued to report incessant barking by street dogs and later in the year another resident was badly bitten by a street dog. While Noida Authority had launched a pet registration policy in 2020 (that got pushed back thanks to covid), they re-launched it and are actively promoting it. Pet owners have till 1st Feb 2023 to register their pets on the NPRA app.
Vaccination camps continued to be held at both the hospitals, RWCS and Club. Both RWCS and Club organised health check-up camps for residents.
Social functions began with Republic Day celebrations in the sector. The Har Ghar Tirangaa campaign was taken forward by RWCS with a tricolour being distributed to members. The club offered to give tricolours free of cost and RWCS had to step up its game by offering the flag to all residents.
The Club organised a month-long sports carnival in February with active participation in cricket, lawn tennis, table tennis, badminton, carrom, pool (snooker) and chess.
April 2022 saw the schools reopen for full-fledged classes. Apprehensions gave way to hope and life seemed to be getting normal again. Both parents and teachers feel that the past 2 years have hampered learning and that kids have become addicted to tech.
The much-loved kitty parties started for ladies and were welcomed wholeheartedly by all.
Religious fervour ruled the sector with RWCS, Kalibari Mandir and Club organising many functions. Kalibari Mandir gave the Poush Mela a miss but organised pujas on Basant Panchami, Chaitra Navratras (Annapurna Puja), Poila Boishakh, Shardiya Navratras (Durga Puja), Kali Puja on Diwali, and Jagatdhatri Puja. RWCS organised amazing programs on Nav Samvat, Teej, Janmasthami, Diwali and Gopashtami. Club too organised many functions for Navratras, Teej, Dusshera and Diwali. The real winners in this game of one-upmanship are the residents and the dance troupes.
The RWCS also launched a Gau Gras Sewa where a cycle rickshaw goes around the sector collecting rotis and green vegetable waste which are taken to the Guashala at Sector 94. Not only our social interactions and daily transactions but criminal activities have also shifted online as a result of greater internet penetration. Almost every month a resident fell victim to cyber crimes and many residents reported attempts to defraud them. RWCS organised an awareness meet on cyber crime with experts from Noida Police’s cyber cell but unfortunately, it saw poor attendance.
The year has been pretty eventful for the Club as it revamped its entrance gate and gym in April. The coffee shop was reopened as a tea shop and a Children’s Centre was inaugurated in May. July 2022 saw a close shave with death with an almost-drowning incident in the Club’s swimming pool. It led to a firing of staff, revamping of SOPs and a CPR workshop for all at Apollo Hospital. In Nov, the new-look restaurant was launched in a glittering ceremony along with a medical centre in association with Apollo Hospital.
Winning many hearts, both the RWCS and Club honoured students for their Board results with the Club felicitating teachers on Independence Day.
The sector saw incidents of fire due to short circuits, snatchings and even break-ins.
The RWCS stepped up in a major way with some RWCS members answering queries on whatsapp groups and rushing to handle situations as and when needed. President Govind Sharma held multiple meetings with Noida Authority to address issues of parks, trees pruning, transformers, roads paving, and parks.
Club President Khosla had announced that it would ask resident club sector members to be RWCS members but this has yet to be implemented. While RWCS raised its membership charges, it also went on an awareness campaign and sign-up drive which has seen an epic increase in its membership.
The parking issues and unruly behaviour at Jaipuria Plaza continue as ever and there seems to be no solution in sight.
With children returning to play in parks, the pre-covid issue of ‘where do the kids play if not in parks’ has come up again. Apparently Noida Authority had asked sector RWAs to suggest a park to be developed as Children’s Park. One hopes that this will happen in 2023.
Meanwhile some enterprising parents of C Block got together to start physical activity classes with a football coach . This is an amazing initiative worth emulating.
Every year brings with itself 365 new opportunities for us to try, fail and bounce back. It brings to us countless opportunities to experiment with. The entire journey is a bittersweet experience and it makes us grow stronger and wiser.
