J A L A N D H A R

Rally creates traffic chaos on GT Road
Kartarpur (Jalandhar), February 18
Thousands of commuters and vehicle-users on the GT Road had to face severe inconvenience, as they were stranded in a traffic snarl caused by a heavy turnout of people at the “Dalit Chetna” rally organised by the Shiromani Akali Dal-Bhartiya Janata Party here today.

Weaving magic through music 

Jalandhar, February 18 Music, particularly when rendered by experts like Amjad Ali Khan, often touches our heartstrings. For the audience at the Red Cross Bhavan yesterday evening, the concert in which sarod maestro Amjad Ali Khan and his sons Amaan Ali Khan and Ayaan Ali Khan performed was no less than a revelation about the world of swars.

Sarod maestro Amjad Ali Khan performs at the Red Cross Bhavan in Jalandhar on Friday. The Tribune was the media sponsor of the event. Photo by S.S. Chopra

3 booked
Phagwara, February 18
Three travel agents from New Delhi have been booked by the Phagwara police for allegedly duping a local villager of lakhs of rupees on the pretext of sending him abroad.

UK teachers visit local school
Phagwara, February 18
A four-member delegation from Hastingsbury School and Community College in Bedford, England, today concluded its ten-day visit to Community Polytechnic as well as SGH Khalsa Senior Secondary School in Palahi village of the Phagwara Block.

Rally creates traffic chaos on GT Road
Varinder Singh
Tribune News Service

Kartarpur (Jalandhar), February 18
Thousands of commuters and vehicle-users on the GT Road had to face severe inconvenience, as they were stranded in a traffic snarl caused by a heavy turnout of people at the “Dalit Chetna” rally organised by the Shiromani Akali Dal-Bhartiya Janata Party here today.

Long queues of vehicles, belonging to the SAD-BJP leaders, virtually clogged the Jalandhar-Amritsar Highway between 11 a.m. and 4 p.m., which caused discomfort to thousands of vehicle-users and commuters. They were either forced to switch-off the engines of their vehicles intermittently or had to move at snail’s pace, owing to poortraffic arrangements, converging of thousands of people and the parking of hundreds of vehicles on the roadside.

Although traffic policemen were present, the situation seemingly went out of their control due to the unexpected arrival of a large number of people in this township from all parts of the state.

Many of them had parked their vehicles haphazardly along the busy Jalandhar-Kartarpur Road due to the proximity of the Grain Market — the venue of the rally — to the main road.

The situation was so bad that some people were seen manually lifting the vehicles and shifting these to the roadside.

People travelling in buses were the worst affected, as a large number of buses were seen stranded in the traffic mess.

“I want to go to Amritsar for an emergency meeting, but I don’t think that I will be able to make it on time due to this traffic problem,” said Roshan Gupta, a passenger on a Punjab Roadways bus. The children, who were travelling with their parents, were also seen restless.

Besides the common people, many VIPs also had to bear the brunt of the traffic jam.

The cavalcade of the SAD Chief, Mr Parkash Singh Badal, had to go to Jalandhar through an alternative route via Bhogpur, while the SAD leader, Mr Naresh Gujral, also got stuck up in the traffic chaos on his way to Amritsar after attending the rally.

Weaving magic through music 
Minna Zutshi
Tribune News Service

Jalandhar, February 18
Music, particularly when rendered by experts like Amjad Ali Khan, often touches our heartstrings. For the audience at the Red Cross Bhavan yesterday evening, the concert in which sarod maestro Amjad Ali Khan and his sons Amaan Ali Khan and Ayaan Ali Khan performed was no less than a revelation about the world of swars.

If the sarod recital of Amaan and Ayaan was like a fragrance-laden breeze that is at once heady and exhilarating, the sarod vadan of Amjad Ali Khan was like a sweet dream that leaves you suffused with joy.

“Compositions were created to preserve raga. Music binds people. It is uplifting and it creates empathy,” said Amjad Ali Khan, as his sarod mesmerised the audience.

The lilting touch of Assam’s Bihu and Bengal’s folk music gave his sarod recital a hauntingly effervescent quality.

As the audience warmed to the music, the maestro said he desired to keep coming to the city. “At least once a year, we should come here. There should be more concerts of this kind. I have distinctly pleasant memories of the Harballabh Sangeet Sammellan here. I had been part of the sammellan in 1964, when I was more or less the same age as my sons,” he added.

The grand finale of the programme was the strikingly beautiful “musical match” in which Amjad Ali Khan, Amaan, Ayaan and tabla experts Sandeep Das and A. Chatterjee mesmerised the audience with their “musical repartees”.

Interestingly, during the programme, the sarod maestro asked his sons about their on-stage experience in the city. “The smile on my face says it all,” was Amaan’s reply. Ayaan, too, said he was honoured to be here.

The Tribune was the media sponsor of the programme that was organised by the Durga Das Foundation, in association with Spice telecom. 

3 booked

Phagwara, February 18
Three travel agents from New Delhi have been booked by the Phagwara police for allegedly duping a local villager of lakhs of rupees on the pretext of sending him abroad. Kulwinder Singh from Sahni village has lodged a complaint with the Kapurthala SSP against one Maxim Tito and two brothers, Darpan Prashar and Dinesh Prashar, all residents of New Delhi.

Kulwinder Singh has alleged that the travel agents had demanded Rs 6.5 lakh for sending him to Australia. He has also alleged that after paying the amount to the agents, he was not sent abroad. He has claimed that the travel agents returned only Rs 2.3 lakh. However, Rs 4.2 lakh was yet to be paid by the trio, he alleged.— OC

UK teachers visit local school
J. S. Gandam

Phagwara, February 18
A four-member delegation from Hastingsbury School and Community College in Bedford, England, today concluded its ten-day visit to Community Polytechnic as well as SGH Khalsa Senior Secondary School in Palahi village of the Phagwara Block.

Led by Ms Sian Harrison, members of the delegation said they were “overwhelmed” by the “standard and strength” of the Indian education system, especially the “high standard” of mathematics. “Students answered all our questions,” Ms Harrison said. Though, she added, the students were “shy” to speak in English.