The Tribune, Chandigarh, India - Chandigarh Stories

EDUCATION

VC catches late-comers off guard
Tribune News Service

Chandigarh, October 3
The Panjab University Vice-Chancellor has undertaken a tough task for himself, making the administrative employees of the university come to office on time and attend to their work.

Following a spree of ‘‘friendly’’ visits to the Administrative Block immediately after taking over as Vice-Chancellor Prof R.C Sobti today decided to do a review check.

To his utter dismay, but not surprising for most, at 9.10 am this morning there were only a handful of employees in their seats in the Administrative Block. Most chairs were empty and the Vice-Chancellor decided to wait and watch. With the clock hands moving to 10 am, employees started trickling in, a bit embarrassed to find the Vice-Chancellor waiting at the door.

Some employees pointed out that most of them were outside attending a rally. But this did not seem to satisfy the VC who decided to cross check only to find that there were not many persons at the rally either.

When asked if any action would be initiated against the employees who came to the office late, the Vice-Chancellor said, ‘‘I am giving them a chance to improve the working environment in the university.”

Give peace a chance, say students from Pak
Tribune News Service

Chandigarh, October 3
“An eye for eye will make the whole world blind”. “Peace is life and war is death”.

As students from Pakistan and India held animated discussions and workshops through the day at the Dev Samaj College of Education, the atmosphere remained charged with rhetoric.

But by the evening, interactions had turned into friendships and for every participant peace between the two nations was an achievable end.

“The key word is people-to-people contact,” pointed out Pramod Kumar, coordinator, Yuvsatta, the local Ngo which had in collaboration with the Youth Pakistan, an NGO there,organised the IndoPak peace camp that began yesterday.

Irum Naz from Toba Tek Singh, Islamabad, is a graduate in political science with journalism.

“The youth of both nations can play a very positive role in improving relationships between the two nations,” she said. Fourteen-old Karishma from Pakistan is a student of class 8 and wants to become doctor.

“I am living with an Indian family.

I like the way girls are treated here. Girls here have much liberty than girls there.

We are not allowed to ride bicycles or Western clothes,” she said.

Twenty-year-old Tariq Ismail, doing B.Sc in biotechnology in Quetta, said, “I am thrilled to be here.

I am living with an Indian family and enjoying every minute of my visit.”

In the session on “Education for Peace” Mr. Hushang Garmroud, Education Consultant gave a speech on peace.

According to him, peace should begin from homes. “First we have to change ourselves, only then can we expect a change from others. Correct guidance and teaching is also a must. We need co- operation, not competition, he said.

Earlier in the day a session on ‘Universal Peace’ was conducted by Prof. Anil Sarwal, head, Department of English, DAV College. The entire group went to watch Dasehra celebrations yesterday and enjoyed the festive spirit.

A memorable treat for Savera students
Our Correspondent

Chandigarh, October 3
As many as 65 students of Savera, a school for the physically challenged, danced and dined in ecstatic jubilation at Memorable Moments revolving restaurant here today.

The special guests enjoyed the festivity of Dasehra and celebrated Gandhi Jayanti on the invitation of their host Rashtriya Rattan award winner city-based philanthropist Alamjit Singh.

Deeply engaged in catching the right move for the swaying song being played by the DJ, all students, be it the youngest Rinkle (6) or the oldest Akanksha (16), let their hair down on the dance floor.

Ms Neha Singh, Principal of Savera, disclosed that besides being taught by specially trained staff students of the school were also given tips on yoga and music.

Alamjit Singh, who is a regular host for such excursions for these students, explained the significance of Gandhi Jayanti to the students. Following the advice of former Governor of Punjab Lt. Gen J.F.R Jacob (retd), Alamjit Singh has been arranging over 30 such parties for the children every year.

CULTURE

“Melody of spring” is theme of Centurion’s art show
Tribune News Service

Chandigarh, October 3
It is time for artists to sit up and think of new ways to represent spring -- the best of all seasons.

After inspiring artworks on a variety of subjects, from the countryside and weddings to rituals and ceremonies, the Centurion Bank of Punjab theme for its 10th annual art exhibition this year is "Melody of Spring."

The theme throws up a challenge to artists from across the region to paint the queen of seasons and its manifestations in enterprising, new ways.

Announcing the schedule for the yearly art show, Country Head, Retail Bank, Mr Vivek Wig said today: "We have long been organising annual art exhibitions with the objective of fulfilling our non-commercial obligations. In previous years too, these exhibitions have aided in promoting upcoming and talented artists from the region. These artists represent the myriad forms of a rich and diverse Indian cultural and artistic heritage."

This year's exhibition will be open to artists from the states of Punjab, Haryana, Delhi, Rajasthan, Uttar Pradesh and Jammu and Kashmir. Expansion of the exhibition's reach has taken place gradually over the years. In its fledgling state, the show attracted more of local talent. Now artists from far and wide send in their entries to compete for coveted awards at the national level.

For this year, the entries will be accepted at the bank's corporate offices at Chandigarh and Delhi circles between November 6 and 12. The exhibition will run from December 12 to 19. Every participant can submit two works each. Also, there is no bar on genres - any form of visual art, from painting and relief panels to drawings and graphics, is admissible.

Organisers of the exhibition are hoping to attract finer talent this year. Last year's show had seen some classic pieces of art which were awarded and later included as principal motifs in the bank's annual calendar, which looks more like a catalogue of a visual art show than an annual listing of dates and events.

“Idea is my hero, not the character”
Gayatri Rajewade
Tribune News Service

Probir Guha

Chandigarh, October 3
Guha's highly acclaimed 'Third War' staged by his 'Alternative Living Theatre' is indeed a “living” testimony of socio-political theatre determined to make spectators ponder and reflect on issues greater than their own problems.

The Sada-e-Aman Adakar International Theatre Festival, organised by the Adakar Manch, Mohali, opens with'Third War' - a thought-provoking work on the invasive effect of globalisation.

"Our own indigenous culture is beautiful and if we have to fight globalisation it has to be with the power of our own tradition," explains this maverick director.

A non-conformist, Guha is definitely not in this medium for fame or money."it is a social duty for me and I have seen the changes that have come through it," he insists. "We are searching for a way to inspire spectators to get up and react and act," he explains and for that reason alone the subject or the theme of his plays becomes important. "I do not go for a storyline because that has its own pressures. The idea is my hero, not the character playing the part."

In fact this is precisely what makes 'Third War' stand out. Emanating from a street-play culture, where the plot drives the story instead of props, Guha goes a step further and brings in his own language into the play- of gibberish.

"Theatrics is enough. It is not necessary to use words then which have enormous power, like an atom bomb, and so should be used sparingly," he avers.

The play originally designed for a festival in Tokyo had to be evolved using a universal language since Bengali (Guha's mothertongue) and English (he professes he is not fluent enough) would have worked for a foreign audience. The play is still growing with each performance, insists Guha, because the language is universal and the issue remains relevant.

But theatre happened quite by chance to Guha who remains "untrained" in the art despite the accolades that he now collects. "I was a political activist but got disillusioned with political parties and thought theatre might be another medium to make a difference with."

However, it did not quite turn out right and Guha was all set to abandon this route too when he chanced to read 'Towards a Poor Theatre' by Polish theatre veteran Jerzy Grotowsky.

The book continues to be an inspiration for movement and change for him and which is why Guha also named his group the 'Alternative Living Theatre' because he believes they are 'alternative in every way' along with being part of a medium that is "so alive and vibrant" .

His form of theatre, therefore, is political, taking up issues that plague the common man and affect marginalised people within society.

"Yes, it may have evolved from the streets but I prefer my theatre to be more intimate because theatre may not be a revolution itself but it certainly is a rehearsal for revolution."

Today, Guha is experimenting with what he refers to as 'journey theatre' exploring space with the audience too along with blindfolding them in a performance, prompting them to use their ears to hear and think instead of seeing." He demands the same non-conformity from his actors, wanting them to express not act. For Guha is determined to create a thinking world out there.