One prominent face missing at the Annual General Meeting of the YMCA last week was that of Elvin Nathaniel, who passed away some time ago. The octogenarian Nathaniel had held most high-profile posts in YMCA, including those of president, vice-president and member of the Board of Directors (of which he continued to be a part right to the end).

Nathaniel had married Cynthia Frank, who used to be quite an attraction during her days in St John’s College, Agra. Her father, A H Frank kept a stern eye on Cynthia (later principal of Ramjas school) and younger sister, once complaining that some advertisers had started putting indecent ads on match boxes in a mischievous bid to pollute the minds of even women working on “Sanjha Chulha” in the kitchen.

He later went away to Shimla to manage a school. It was there that Frank started writing poetry on meeting the Gaddis, said to be the descendants of the lost remnants of Alexander’s army in the Kangra Valley.

One of his poems also appeared in this column, written after the death of his wife. (“When evening queen untwists her bun/ To rest till dawn/ Then flies my soul to thee)”. Nathaniel, while talking of Frank Sahib, used to point out that he was a proud protagonist of Mainpuri long before Mulayam Singh Yadav made it his domain.

While working in the Central Provident Fund Commissioner’s office, Nathaniel was once transferred to Agra, where he found accommodation in the deserted bungalow of a long dead lady doctor. To make things really scary it was situated just outside a cemetery, opposite the Civil Courts (Dewani Kutcheri), behind which prisoners were sometimes hanged in the District Jail.

It did not take long for Nathaniel to seek a transfer back to Delhi on compassionate grounds. One no doubt misses the soft-spoken, well-dressed man, whose son Aman was also associated with the YMCA.

Singer of the song

The controversy over K J Yesudas’s request to worship at a Kerala temple has now died down and the veteran singer has been permitted to do so because though born a Roman Catholic he has faith in Hinduism too. One remembers Yesudas singing in his mellifluous voice at the Qutub Minar years ago. The song he sang was “Jab deep jale aana/ Jab shaam dhale aana…”. It was a lover’s plea to his beloved to come when the lamps were lit after the evening had faded away. The scenario was just apt for the song and the small crowd that heard Yesudas was so enthused that it went on clapping even when the singer had left. However, it’s not known whether some love-lorn youth lit diyas soon after in anticipation of his heart-throb’s arrival when the Qutub’s silhouette was no longer visible as in those days the Minar was illuminated.

Smart parenting

Adolescence is the age when kids start acquiring a rebellious nature. At this time, kids hardly listen to their parents or go by their choice. For parents, this is the most difficult phase of their life as they have to deal with their growing kids. Therefore, experts suggest that parents have to deal with the situation very smartly, otherwise it can spoil their relationships. However, a colleague’s friend seemed to have mastered this art of parenting. During a recent trip to Gujarat, when she was buying some clothes for her twin daughters, a co-participant asked her whether her daughters would like them. The lady quickly answered, “Have you ever seen kids like their parents’ choice in adolescent age? Similarly, my daughters never like whatever I buy for them.” Then? The lady smartly responded, “When I buy clothes for my daughters, I always ensure it also looks good on me. In case they reject it I will wear it.”

Smart kid

Little children are wiser than men, goes the adage. This was more than amply proved to a colleague recently. About to pull open the glass door to a general store in her neighbourhood, she spotted a little boy on the other side. As she waited, the child pushed the door and quickly threw out a chocolate wrapper. Our colleague held on to the door and, as the boy looked up, gently asked whether there was no dustbin in the shop. The innocent mite vigorously nodded his head and pointed to the bin in the corner. Our friend couldn’t resist smiling and cheerfully asked why the wrapper shouldn’t be thrown in the bin. To her surprise, the boy promptly picked up the wrapper and threw it in the dustbin. She could only wish litter-bug adults could learn a lesson or two from the kid.

Tailpiece

Overheard a shopkeeper: GST is indeed a great leveller ~ if it has increased paperwork for us, it has made the customers’ pockets lighter!

(Contributed by: Nivedita R, R V Smith, Rakesh Kumar and Asha Ramachandran)