Workshop to sensitise teachers
Tribune News Service

Mohali, July 14
A workshop for teachers was held at Shemrock Senior Secondary School, Sector 69 here today. The workshop was conducted with a view to sensitising the teachers to the fact that each student had a different mental make-up.

Mr Krishan Kumar, senior counsellor who has been trained in specialist counselling from the NCERT and University of Toronto, conducted the workshop. He said the human brain consisted of two hemispheres — the right and the left. While the right was responsible for command over science, commerce and mathematics, the left hemisphere related to languages, humanities, fine arts, singing, dancing, law and creativity. “The former made us convergent and the latter divergent,” he said. He said teachers should keep this in mind and ensure that they adopted a creative approach and build the self-esteem of a child because whatever the child did or did not do was because of the brain and environment.

COURTS

Kharar shootout: 2 more accused remanded
Tribune News Service

Mohali, July 14
Two more accused persons, wanted in the July 2 shootout case at an Akali rally in Kharar, were today remanded in police custody till July 16 by Subdivisional Judicial Magistrate Poonam Ratti at the Kharar courts.

Tejvir Singh, brother of Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD) state vice-president Rajbir Singh Padiala, and Kulbir Singh, supporter of Youth Akali Dal vice-president Kiranbeer Singh Kang, were arrested last night and a .12-bore double-barrel gun and a sword, allegedly used in the clash, were recovered from them, police said.

Two Akali activists were killed and three, including Kang, were wounded in exchange of fire at the rally shortly before the arrival of SAD president Parkash Singh Badal. Padiala had surrendered on July 6 and is now in judicial custody, while Kang, who had escaped from police custody on July 2, is still at large.

With the arrest of Tejvir and Kulbir, 10 of the 20 accused named in the case have been arrested so far.

Plan to popularise Lok Adalats
Tribune News Service

Chandigarh, July 14
To popularise the concept of the Lok Adalats, the State Legal Services Authority will hold declamation contests in various colleges of the city and Panjab University. A slogan writing competition will be organised and catching slogans on Lok Adalats will be used for educating the public. This was decided at a meeting of the services authority.

It was decided to disseminate information regarding benefits being provided by the authority to the masses through a publicity campaign.

The need for involving NGOs, legal and community leaders for the success of Lok Adalats also stressed upon at the meeting.

It was also decided to prepare slides for showing in cinema halls. Books and pamphlets depicting the aims and objectives of the Lok Adalats and the legal aid provided through them would also be got published and circulated among the public.

LIFESTYLE

Fitness Trail
Day dream your way to success
Renu Manish Sinha

Eight-year-old Karan is gazing into space with a beatific smile on his face. He is not sitting idle but indulging in one of the important yet neglected aspects of human nature, day dreaming. While parents might call it a waste of time, psychologists term it as a pleasurable experience and psychiatrists say it can help you beat stress.

We talked to a few city-based experts to know the realities behind day dreamers and day dreaming. City-based clinical psychologist Monika Singh says day dreaming can stimulate imagination and creativity.

It can provide an emotional outlet and act as a catharsis for negative emotions. On the positive side it can help in imagining or reinforcing positive images, giving a fillip to your confidence.

Dr Harjeet Singh, a consultant psychiatrist with Fortis Heart and Multi-Speciality Hospital, defines day dreaming as spontaneous, imaginary recall or fantasising in a semi-awake state of mind. He says it can be of two types, dreaming about negative or positive images.

While incessant worrying about some future or imaginary happening can raise stress levels, having positive day dreams or fantasising about positive situations can actually help you in realising those dreams. Tiger Woods tried this therapy to improve his game. He would often think about a tournament or how could he play or improvise a certain shot. When the actual thing happened later, he claimed that this therapy helped him better his own technique.

Since day dreaming is actually living a situation which is not happening actively, it can provide solution to a variety of problems, says Dr Harjeet. Day dreams about self glorification can be an important morale booster and provide stimuli to work for the success of those dreams, while dreams about escape or revenge can help you relive a situation and release those negative emotions without actually putting yourself in any dangerous situation, he adds.

Positive images or fantasies can help in gaining self assurance or confidence, says Dr Monika.

Since excess of every thing is bad this applies to day dreaming too. Excessive day dreaming, especially during formative years in poorly-adjusted children, can be damaging. When day dreaming becomes a substitute for playing and the child becomes a loner, it is time to seek medical help, asserts Dr Monika Singh. The symptoms of excessive day dreaming could include change in behaviour and attitude, sitting passive for long periods, preference for just one kind of occupation, no constructive activity, she adds.

So day dreamers, whether kids or grown ups, are not shirkers or escapists but are creative people using this unorthodox method to explore and express their thoughts. And day dreaming is not an escape from reality but can help you in realising pent-up frustrations without actually physically acting them out, says Dr Harjeet Singh. 

Eating Out
South Indian fare for office-goers
Harvinder Khetal

The Sector 35 lane of hotels has another eatery: a branch of the popular South Indian specialty restaurant, Sagar Ratna. There are already other Sagar Ratna outlets in Sector 17, Chandigarh, Fun Republic, Mani Majra, and in Panchkula. On an all-India level, this is their 32nd branch.

The sparkling new joint is a no-frills 52-seat affair with stress on practicality. Come, eat and go. That seems to be the mantra of the place. And this credo holds true specially during the dinner hours, with people waiting in queues for a table. This has been the scene since day one, when the branch was opened about three weeks ago. The reasons are not hard to fathom. One, the craze for the “healthy, non-fattening, vegetarian and tasty” South Indian fare among residents of City Beautiful, cutting across age and race barriers. Two, the presence of a number of offices in its vicinity.

In fact, catering specifically to the needs of office-goers, the Sector 35 Sagar Ratna has made a change in its menu as the far as the North Indian thali goes. The rest of the items are the same as in their other joints, both price-wise and quantity-wise. Here the thali has fewer dishes (2 vegetables, a dal, papad, pickle, rice, 2 rotis, curd, salad) and it costs Rs 65 only as compared to the Sector 17’s bigger thali that makes your lighter by Rs 80. Dosas, uthpams, vadas and idlis accompanied by mouth-watering sambar and chutneys are just as sumptuous as ever.

With the general public literally eating out of their platter, the restaurant is eyeing the industry. They are already providing lunch to 300 employees of Spice daily at subsidised rates. It comprises a panir dish, a dal, some rice, chapatis, salad and raita four days a week. On the remaining two days, the staff get to savour South Indian delectables and Maharashtrian pav bhaji.

Next on their agenda are the industrial units of Baddi.

At Sagar Ratna, you get typically Mangalorean and Bangalorean varieties unlike its rival in the same lane, Sundarams, whose flavour is tilted more towards Chennai. And giving in to the demand of families where some members prefer idli-dosa-sambar and the others have a distinct taste for the eats of the North, the Sagar Ratna kitchen also dishes out rajmah rice, chana bhatura and pav bhaji. However, their slightly sweetened dahi vada with a dash of boondi, ginger, tomato and green chillies remains the common favourite. They also serve an impressive line-up of soft drinks and beverages. Most preferred are fresh lime soda, mango panna, milk shakes, jaljira, lemon tea, lassi, tea and of course, filter coffee.

Besides these goodies, Chandigarh foodies can look forward to another speciality at this chain of restaurants: Amritsari kulcha-chanas. Till then, South Indian zindabad.

Her creations are bold enough for Elvis Presleya
Gitanjali Sharma

“THE young must have the confidence to create their own fashion. They must build on their individuality and wear clothing that brings out their true self. Even those who can’t afford designer wear, can create their own style with the limited resources they have,” says Gunjan Virk, a city-based fashion designer, who launched her own label after completing her masters in fashion from Italy.

Selling her creations from her boutique in Chandigarh, which she set up last year, this alumna of the local Sacred 

Heart School graduated from National Institute of Fashion Technology, Gandhinagar, before she went to pursue her postgraduation in fashion design and management from Domus Academy in Milan. Making a statement with each of her creations has been a passion with this 26-year-old, who bagged the award for the best design collection at NIFT and was declared one of the 12 most talented young designers at Milan.

A specialist in both men’s and women’s pret line and haute couture, Gunjan picked up the delicate nuances of the trade at Milan, where she worked with designers in the field of fashion like Neil Barret, a former design director at Prada and Gucci, and Allesandro Dell Acqua, who decks up a number of Hollwood stars, including Nicole Kidman. “The foreign designers are not only technically more advanced than us but also more professional. They value time, are organised and work 18 months in advance,” says the young designer, who is readying at least 100 pieces to participate in the Bridal Asia in September. She has made innovative use of phulkari in this collection.

But before that, she is holding a three-day exhibition-cum-sale of Indian and western wear, including shirts and kurtas, as well as bridal finery for both men and women from July 17 in Chandigarh. “I use traditional designs in novel ways.

The lehngas designed by me need not be restricted to marriage functions alone. When teemed with a shirt, these can pass off as a skirt. There’s a lot of scope for mix’n’match with my garments. I like using cotton, linen and certain non-crushable fabrics.” Not one to flip through fashion magazines to tap her genius, Gunjan draws inspiration from people on the road. Just anything could give her an idea — it could be people walking on the lakeside, signboards, artefacts or even a labourer wearing an old tattered saree.

The trendy styling, cuts and bold embroidery of her creations, she proudly asserts, are different from the rest of the stuff put up in the market. “A person who believes in himself would be able to carry my clothes. He or she will have to be very strong from inside to wear my designs. Well, somebody like Elvis Presley and Michael Jackson would love to get into them.” This is not to say that she doesn’t offer a sober and simple ready-to-wear line. She likes to cater to all, as long as each of her creation is a statement in itself.

Gunjan personally looks into even the tiniest of demands of her clients and foresees work carried out by her cutters and tailors on state-of-the-art machines. Content with a select clientele, this stylist says she would like her business to grow slowly and steadily. In the days ahead, she would like to open an outlet in Delhi and, perhaps, also in Italy.