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Teaching law in
Hindi not easy Chandigarh, December 6 While introduction of classes in the Hindi medium is an uphill task, one can imagine the expectations one can have of the university conducting the classes in Punjabi medium as well. A decision with regard to conducting the classes in Hindi medium and Punjabi medium has been taken by the university Syndicate. The decision was taken by the Syndicate following a letter from the University Grants Commission. The decision reads that “recommendations of the Parliamentary Committee on Official Languages conveyed by the University Grants Commission regarding teaching of law be accepted in principle with the observation that steps be taken to explore the possibility of meeting the requirements for teaching the law courses in Hindi and Punjabi”. A senior professor of the department said the decision of the university Syndicate was not practical in the exiting circumstances because the department did not have the required staff for taking the classes in any medium except English. The staff of the Law Department, in a communication to the Vice-Chancellor, has pointed out that “existing faculty members have no proficiency in Hindi and Punjabi; standard books and journals are not available in Hindi and Punjabi; language of courts is English, specially in the Supreme Court; students who go abroad with Ll.B degree have to give proof that they have graduated in English medium; and the regulation of the university calendar provides that the medium of examination will be only English.” Another professor said the department was not against implementation of the recommendations of the Parliamentary Committee. “We have suggested that new recruits for the five-year degree course in law (it commences from the next session) should also have proficiency in teaching in Hindi and Punjabi mediums. There was a long-term solution to the problem. The existing faculty members should also be prepared for instruction in Hindi and Punjabi”, he said. It has also been suggested that the department should make arrangements for the required pamphlets, books and journals at the department. A Fellow of the university Senate said, “The department need not panic about the decision. In case required arrangements are made, it will not take very long to implement the decision. Not every one practises in the high courts or the Supreme Court. It is a well-known fact that in the district courts, the regional languages are widely used. Nobody can deny the place that Hindi has in the nation. We should be ready for the change.” |
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College fee hike draws flak Chandigarh, December 6 The President of the Panjab University Teachers Association (PUTA), Mr Harjinder Singh Laltoo, criticised the UT Administration for hiking the fee and the central government for not allocating enough funds for education. “Even countries poorer to India have a better literacy rate,” he added, while hailing the role of girl students in the recent agitation against the fee hike. The President of the All-India Save Education Committee and office-bearer of the Punjab and Chandigarh College Teachers’ Union, Mr Aminderpal
Singh, demanded education should be free of interference of politicians, bureaucrats and industrialists. A Senator of Panjab University, Mr Ravinder Sharma, stressed the need for a strong students’ movement and promised support in this regard. “Fee hike would gradually make education out of reach of students who are financially weak,” he said. Student leaders from local colleges also spoke on the fee hike. Annpurna Singh from Government College for Girls, Sector 11, Harpreet Kaur from Dev Samaj College for Women, Sector 45, Sandeep Verma and Dilip Singh Virk from SGGS College and DAV College, and Gayatri Bawa from GCG-42 pledged to fight the fee hike and stress on a roll back. The seminar was organised by the All-India Democratic Students Organisation. They presented mementoes to students who sat on an indefinite fast to press for a roll back of fee hiked by the Administration. |
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Fine arts workshop concludes Panchkula, December 6 During the workshop, competitions were held in six categories - rangoli, painting, collage-making, poster making, cartooning and clay modelling. Students from different colleges of Haryana had participated in the workshop. Mrs Navraj Sandhu, Director, Haryana Tourism, was the chief guest at the concluding function. The results of various competitions are as follows :- Rangoli- Varinder (Government College, Panchkula) and Meenakshi (ID College, Panipat.); Painting:- Parsun Yadav (University College, Kurukshetra) and Barkha (ID College, Panipat); Clay modelling:- Vandana ( Arya Girls College, Shahabad) and Preeti Batra (MDSD Ambala); Collage-making:- Manoj Kumar Grover (University College, Kurukshetra), and Puneet Kumar ( MLN College, Yamunanagar). Poster making:_ Dharmender Sharma (University College, Kurukshetra) and Deepak (Department of Fine Arts, Kurukshetra); cartoon making :- Sunil Kaushik ( University College, Kurukshetra), and Monika ( Department of Fine Arts, Kurukshetra). |
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Essay-writing contest
on copying Panchkula, December 6 He said the other category of participants would include the general public, but the entrants of the first category and officials of the board would not take part in this category. The theme of the essay for this category would be “Nakal bachche mein vikas kee nahin, kunthao kee janani hai”. Three cash prizes would be awarded in each category. These prizes would be of Rs 10,000, Rs 7,500 and Rs 5,000 each, besides two consolation prizes of Rs 1,000 each in both categories. Each entrant would have to certify that he or she had written the essay, he added. He said the neatly written essays should reach the office of the board at Bhiwani by December 22.
Rally on conservation On the eve of World Conservation Day, a rally was organised by the Deputy Education Officer, Panchkula, and scientists of the Haryana State Pollution Control Board under the supervision of Mr R.K.Sharma, Regional Officer, Panchkula. At least 50 students from different schools of the town participated in the rally. The rally started from D.E.O. Office, passed through Sector 12-A, Mahesh Nagar, Azad Colony, Ramgarh, Nada Sahib and Majri Chowk and ended at Government Senior Secondary School, Sector 7. The children were carrying banners and raising slogans like ‘Save environment’ and ‘Save water’. |
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8 schools participate in carol competition Chandigarh, December 6 The theme for the music competition was ‘’Peace on earth and goodwill towards God’s creation’’. The Rt.Rev.Bishop Gerald Mathias, Bishop of Chandigarh-Simla diocese of the Roman Catholic Church inaugurated the function. The prizes were given away by Rt. Rev. Bishop Anand Chandu Lal. The results in order of merit of Indian music section are: St Stephens School in Sector 45, St Mary’s School in Sector 46 and Herderson Jubilee School in Kharar. The results in order of merit of Western Music Section are: Sacred Heart School in Sector 26, St Xaviers School in Sector 44 and St Stephens School in Sector 45. All participants were given certificates. |
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Kala Sangam holds singing competition Panchkula, December 6 Mr Anudeep was the chief guest on the occasion and lighted the traditional lamp, before the programme finally began. The President of the Saraswati Kala Sangam, Col IJ Ahluwalia, said the competition was being organised each year, for the three years, in memory of Mr Rajdeep Pundir. The students sang patriotic songs and the team of Bhawan Vidyalaya won the first prize, while Satluj Public School bagged the second , and Army School, Chandimandir won the third prize. |
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273 cases settled at Lok Adalat Mohali, December 6 Eight Benches were constituted for the Lok Adalat, which were presided over by Additional District and Sessions Judge S.K. Goel, Additional District and Sessions Judge Karamjit Singh Kang, Additional District and Sessions Judge J.S. Khushdil, Civil Judge Senior Division A.S. Grewal, Chief Judicial Magistrate J.S. Bhinder, Civil Judge Junior Division, Kharar, R.K. Khullar and Civil Judge Junior Division, Ananadpur Sahib, Hareet Kaur. Mr Justice K.S. Garewal of the Punjab and Haryana High Court supervised the working of the Lok Adalat, stating that the system was gaining popularity with each passing day as it provided easy, economical and speedy justice to the litigants. He urged the lawyers to come forward and provide their services to help the needy persons to solve the cases through lok adalats. District and Sessions Judge Inderjit Singh said in today’s Lok Adalat, an amount of Rs 2,34,35,828 was awarded as decrees in the cases. Member Secretary of Punjab State Legal Services Authority H.P.S. Mahal also accompanied Mr Justice K.S. Garewal. |
Experimenting with Hindi rock Chandigarh, December 6 The members, along with the Ahemdabad-based band Big Ban Theory, had the crowd swinging to the thumping beats of reverberating music at Rock Garden here this evening. “Fashion is not everything, passion is” — they reveal in unison just before the concert. “We also had long hair once upon a time, but got tired of it and got those trimmed,” says guitarist Ish. There is another reason for it. They six-member all-boys band is shedding its image of western group’s phototype and adopting a traditional Indian look, in line of their kind of music. Actually the group, instead of just crooning hit numbers by Metallica and other rock bands, are experimenting with a new kind of music — Hindi rock. “You have Hindi pop, even Indipop, but not Hindi rock in the country,” guitarist Arvind asserts. “Now we have come out with this new genre of music — Hindi rock, something the masses appreciate”. Giving details, he asserts, “We are simply blending rock with Hindi for the masses comprehending just the mother tongue. Now instead of swaying to the thumping beats of pulsating music, even the illiterate masses will be able to understand meaningful lyrics”. But does it sell? “Yes, people do appreciate this kind of music. One or two Hindi rock songs were included in a Bollywood blockbuster. Believe us, the stuff was appreciated”, he says. Does this mean that English music will suffer some kind of a setback in the country with the increasing popularity of Hindi pop and rock music? “No, there is a segment of people which will always listen to English music, like there are some who appreciate classical music. But at the same time, Hindi rock will click with the masses”, he says. He adds, “However, the only problem with Indian buyers is that they are still slaves as far as English music is concerned. They simply do not buy the cassette the moment they realise that the album has been complied by a non-White, no matter how fine the music is”. Explaining their definition of rock music, they say, “It is aggressive and true to life, just the right stuff for headbanging. The music makes you jump out of your seat and shake rattle and roll throughout the night”. The group, with drummer Nikhil, vocalist Puneet and bass guitarist Jimmy as other members, was formed about 10 years back because all the members, like Vikram claims, were born insane. They have come out with four single videos and are now planning their own album. In their free time, the six go to office for music, which once was a hobby, and is now a profession”. Job, on the other hand, has become a hobby. Music should be taught in schools, just like cricket, so that the youngsters can take to music at an early stage — this is what members of Big Ban Theory group have to say. The five-member band asserts that more and more students should be taught all they want to learn about music, including classical and rock. |
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Film Review Chandigarh, December 6 An acclaimed ghazal singer, Rukhsana (Shabana Azmi), comes to live with her daughter, Tehzeeb (Urmila Matondkar), who has married a writer, Salim (Arjun Rampal), against her wishes. Tehzeeb resend her mother’s flam boyant lifestyle and holds her responsible for family problems. Like an ignored kid, she is bursting with anger every now and then. However, when Rukhsana persists in her efforts to bury the differences, simmering emotions bubble up. The script is strong and director Khalid Mohammed has raised the issue of career women who are more successful than their husbands and are treated with scorn by conditioned mindset. Shabana expectedly takes the centrestage and delivers well. Javed Akhtar’s lyrics are soft and A.P. Rahman has provided good musical score with ‘Mehezbaan’ standing out. The song and dance spectacle has some good visual effects. Diana Hayden as a publisher flirting with Salim adds spice. Diya Mirza, who plays the mentally challenged sister of Tehzeeb, leaves an impact. The movies is a good and clean entertainer through the dialogues and scenes are not so touching. It is true that each of us lives in his or her own world yet “Tehzeeb” can make us reconsider our perceptions and see how self-formed judgements can poison our lives. |
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Western film review CHANDIGARH: Exhaustion shows on Keanu Reeves’ face. He looks tired. Who won’t while enduring a trilogy of action, “The Matrix”? Appearing sullen, he is now trapped in a train station in the last of the franchise, “The Matrix Revolutions” (Kiran), where a machine couple of Indian origin, Ramchandra and Kamala, and their daughter, Sati (Tanveer Aitwal), are giving him sermons on the philosophy of life and karma. The brief interaction with the family over, Reeves, playing Neo, the radical, is rescued by fellow rebels, Trinity (Carrie Anne Moss) and Morpheus (Lawrence Fishburne). After listening to the Oracle’s words of guidance, Neo disappears from the scene. But where his troubles end, our ordeal begins. We watch in bewilderment outrageous battle sequences between the machines’ metallic armies and human battalions in the fortified human city of Zion which is under siege. We scurry to safety as Agent Smith (Hugo Weaving) lets out a Ravana-like guffaw after a victory and replicates himself now and then. Unable to decide whether it is religious parable or kung fu stuff, we find our senses also under siege. Fearing we might lapse into a state of cerebral-palsy, Neo comes out of his self-imposed exile with blindfolds somewhere near the interval. But there is a rider to our rescue. Instead of covering our eyes like him, we should go on psychedelics to redeem ourselves. Recovering temporarily from our trauma, we ignore his advice and persist with our new found confidence in the filmmakers’ capacity to deliver the goods. Turns out we were terribly wrong. The punishment given to us is swift. Mouthing religious mumbo-jumbo of Yankee variety, Neo and Agent Smith fight it out in a prolonged rain-drenched sequence. As the Wachowski Brothers splurge close to $ 40 million on a sequence which suspiciously looks like an ad campaign for the promotion of black leather trenchcoats, boots and rimless dark glasses, we see no salvation in sight. Realising that our sufferings are getting compounded with every passing moment, we do the next best thing. We rush to the exit but not before regretting not to have heeded Neo’s counsel. |
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Qawwals pay tribute to
Jesus Christ Chandigarh, December 6 Qawwals and singers from different parts of the region participated in the event to mark the
commencement of the Christmas season. The programme was organised by the Christian Festival Celebration Committee. Participants included Roshan Bhatti from Gurdaspur, Dildar Masihi from Chandigarh, David Masihi from Kharar, Mukesh Sahay from Mohali and the ‘Salvation Army’. Mr Emmanuel Nahar, convener, delivered the introductory address. Mrs Mohini Dass, chairperson of the committee, presided over the function. Mr Gopal Krishan Chatrath, former Advocate-General of Punjab, was the chief guest. Among those who were honoured on the occasion included Mr B.J. Randhawa, Dr Saroj Parvez, Chief Nursing Superintendent, Sardar Anjum, noted poet, Mr Naresh Donald, a Principal, Mrs S. Pal and Mr A.G. Masih. Mr Nahar said the programme had been organised to remind fellow beings about the message of brotherhood spread by Jesus Christ and also to promote unity among different communities. The evening started with the rendering of a self-composed ghazal by Samuel Philip ‘ Is doobti kashti ka jasu hi sahara hai’. This was followed by a qawwali ‘aana tera mubarak’. |
Colourful chrysanthemums to vie for attention IT is show time once again at the Terraced Garden in Sector 33 here as “contenders” clad in vibrant yellows, whites, pinks , maroons, oranges, ambers and purples will be vying with one an other to catch the attention of the visitors during the three-day annual chrysanthemum show beginning from December 12. Before the grand show, over 200 colourful varieties of potted chrysanthemum flowers are being pruned and watered at a nursery adjoining the Terraced Garden. Says the Executive Engineer (Horticulture), Municipal Corporation, Mr Raghbir Singh, the flower pots will be shifted to the venue of the festival on Saturday. To attract the visitors, the pots will be arranged in different patterns, on the ground and on the circular multi-stepped stands. When the Chandigarh Tribune visited the nursery , Mr Kirpal Singh, a supervisor, said pots were being given a fresh layer of red colour. It would be a treat to see over 200 varieties grown from 10 basic varieties. It took about four to five months to grow these plants, said Mr Kirpal Singh, adding that the saplings were planted and left to grow roots. The Executive Engineer said the flowers were only for display. Adding to the attraction would be seasonal flowers like salvia, merry gold, verbina and phlox planted in around 40 flower beds in the Terraced Garden, spread over eight acres. A water body with a fountain was being cleaned for the three-day event to be inaugurated by the UT Administrator, Justice O.P. Verma ( retd). Officers of the horticulture wing say that preparations are in full swing to spruce up the garden. To add fun to the festivity, a hasya kavi sammelan was being organised by the corporation on December 13 at Tagore Theatre, said the Mayor, Mr Subhash Chawla. The festivity would be clubbed with the city celebrating its 50 years of existence, he added.
— TNS |
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Things looking up for hotel industry
City hoteliers shy away from giving figures but industry sources say close to 70 per cent of the 1,500 rooms in the city hotels are booked nowadays. New eateries are being added. Food malls, which offer a varied cuisine and combination meals for children under one roof, are being slowly accepted by residents. The reasons for increased room occupancy are several. One of the biggest changes is the arrival of the people who are part of the corporate investment. The corporate clientele is going up. Even though companies may be investing in nearby Mohali or Baddi, their employees and staff come and stay in hotels in Chandigarh. Since the city is also a regional hub for trading in consumer goods, executives of such companies also form a part of the clientele. A hotelier said even if a dam was coming up in Himachal Pradesh, its financiers and their executives prefer red staying in Chandigarh due to good transport connectivity and a healthy nightlife. The general secretary of the Hotel Association of Chandigarh, Mr Ashok Bansal, says one big reason is that Chandigarh is located at the junction of Punjab, Haryana and Himachal Pradesh. We have no tourists as such; the rush is just of people who are stopping over for the night en route to famous destinations or for some work. Another key factor is the annual homecoming of Non-Resident Indians (NRIs). Most of the second-generation NRIs want to stay in the city and drive off to their villages which are a few hours away. They prefer the comforts of the city and do want to spend their entire time in their native villages, points out Mr Manmohan Kohli, another city-based hotelier. The arrival of NRIs from Europe, the USA or Australia is directly linked to the prevailing security environment in the country. The increase in activity is not like any other winter when room occupancy normally goes up, says Mr Kohli. Each winter, the number of conventions, trade fairs and weddings increase the demand for rooms. This year corporate visitors have added to the numbers. Then the marriage season is on which in itself is a major industry and entails arrivals of several guests and hosting of parties. In this era of small flats and homes, people prefer to hold the ‘sangeet’ ceremony in hotels. During the past few months the restaurants have also been full. People in the city and the nearby townships of Mohali and Panchkula love eating out. It has become a new culture. And competing eateries seem to take the arrival of multinational eateries like Pizza Hut or McDonalds in their stride. Mr Bansal says, “It is a good sign and bodes well for the city.” Besides the specialised eateries, it is the food malls which are doing well as small meals suited for children and varied tastes are a big hit, he adds. — TNS |
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Craze for diamond jewellery catching up in city THE demand for diamond jewellery has picked up fast in the city and surrounding towns. It seems that a segment of people has had its fill of gold and is now turning towards diamonds. A number of jewellery showrooms in Sectors 22 and 17 are selling this costly jewellery. To cash in on the growing demand for this jewellery, InterGold, a wholly owned company of RosyBlue, world’s largest diamond manufacturing company today opened its exclusive outlet of diamond jewellery in Sector 17 Plaza. Perizaad Zorabian of Mumbai Matinee and Jogger’s Park fame inaugurated the showroom. Mr Vijay Jain, CEO InterGold, said,” Chandigarh has emerged as a new hub of selling diamond jewellery in North India. People here seek value for their money and are ready to pay for it. The demand is growing at much higher rate in comparison to gold and silver jewellery. At present, the annual market of diamond jewellery in India is of about Rs 7,500 crore and is growing at an average rate of over 25 per cent. A significant part of it is coming from Punjab and Chandigarh.” The experts in the industry claimed that priced from Rs 3,000 to Rs 3 lakh, the diamond jewellery had a wide range of variety for the customers. It included diamond-studded sets for special occasions like marriages and parties, besides bangles, bracelets and necklaces for day-to-day wear. Priced at Rs 15,000 and above, one could buy lightweight solitaire pendants and earrings sets. Exclusive wedding sets were also available at Rs 50,000 or more. Parul, sales executive at a leading jewellery store here, said: “Gold jewellery is now out of fashion. People want to buy diamond jewellery to impress people in their circle besides for its lifelong appeal. The most popular are rings with a single diamond between 0.5 carats to 0.10 carats. The price range is as low as Rs 6,000 for a wedding band and goes up to Rs 25,000.” She added that there was a special valentine collection to express love through diamond and colour-studded heart pendants. Another path-breaking collection for woman of substance was “Career Carats.” This range showed of light weight jewellery concept once again in the form of diamond studded pendants, earrings and rings in 18 carats gold and white gold. InterGold has also come up with a ‘Spiritual Collection’ of diamond jewellery in 22 carat gold called ‘ Svayambhu,’ depicting Lord Ganesh, Krishna, Om, Shakti and Shri Yantra. The solitaire collection encompasses solitaires in seven shapes. TNS |
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Roping in Mandira Bedi made impact, says Jain of MAX In a brief interaction with this
correspondent at St Stephen’s school, Sector 45, here this morning, Mr Jain said, the North and West India had the highest number of Hindi
viewers. They wanted to grab a greater share of this belt and were already getting a lot of response. His job was mainly to identify and implement business development plans, taking media initiatives for Sony. Mr Jain said the creative experiment of the ICC World Cup at South Africa, which was telecast exclusively by Sony MAX, had made a sea change in viewer interest, which had grown manifold. He said, the target audience during this mega event were women since almost 50 per cent of the viewers in India were women alone. But when it came to cricket, usually the notion was that they did not watch cricket.
During the ICC World Cup, the kind of entertainment provided by their channel, like roping in Mandira Bedi, made a lot of impact on women. Mr Jain said, in India, cricket was a passion. So the philosophy behind their marketing strategy was to fuel this passion. They had chosen cricket as it had a large number of viewers in India and going by the current trend, they would make it more entertaining. The current 11 city schools campaign was also a step in that direction. He said, in every city, thousands of children would watch Kapil Dev in action and it would certainly promote the game as well as their channel. Kapil Dev, in his address to children, had combined health, education and sport as the motto to educate children. On the future plans, Mr Jain said, MAX would telecast the annual Filmfare Awards. “Then in February, we have the ICC under-19 World Cup plus a host of other variety entertainment programmes.” He said the popularity of MAX was growing. During this year, they telecast Hero Honda Indian Television Awards-2003 and PROMAX BDA Asia-2003 awards. On the DTH viability, he said, it would further increase the viewership and improve quality, as it would give rise to healthy competition. |
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It’s my life I was born in Karnal. I belong to an agricultural family. My dad is an agriculturalist. We have a joint family. I was a brat in childhood. My parents pampered me because I was the youngest in my family. I did my schooling from Karnal. I was an average student but I was more inclined towards athletics. I am a born artist as my mom is also a good artist. So, I think it’s hereditary. I was a science student but I think that was not my cup of tea as it really bored me. I was interested in fashion industry and was always inspired by Versace — how he struggled so much in his life but finally became what he wanted to be, a renowned designer. I always wanted to be like him. Finally, I saw an advertisement in a newspaper that the NIFD was giving students a chance to enter in this field by offering a degree course. I was really excited and went for my interview to the NIFD. I passed my interview and became a fashion design student here. The NIFD gave me a chance to show my inborn creativity in my own way. This really helped me to hone my talent and bring it up to the mark. This gave me an opportunity to meet different celebrities which inspired me more to develop my talent. Now, after completing my course, I want to work in a good organisation as a designer in visual and design concept. (As told to A.S. Prashar) |
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A booming economy, increasing corporate investment, annual homecoming of NRIs, the marriage season or the love of city residents to dine out — the reasons may be many but city-based hoteliers are grinning from ear to ear. Undoubtedly, the hotel industry that has not been looking in the best of health during the past two years is on an upswing. The rooms are full, restaurants are adding menus and all this has fuelled new investments.
‘Deewana Bana De’ is the theme on which Sony MAX, one of the fastest growing entertainment channels is working on, remarked Mr Rajat Jain, Executive Vice-President and Business Head, MAX. Mr Jain, who looks after the movies and the cricket channels at the Sony Entertainment Television Network was here in the city, as part of the ICC under-19 World Cup campaign.