EDUCATION

‘Education must benefit society’
Tribune News Service

Chandigarh, March 24
“Students must give something back to society and it is the responsibility of the educational institutions to ensure that the students get education which is relevant to society and country at large.”

This was stated by H.K. Dua, editor-in-chief, Tribune group of Newspapers, who was addressing a gathering of delegates and students at the conclusion of a two-day international conference on research in management and technology organised by the Gyan Jyoti Institute of Management and Technology, here, today.

H.K. Dua said, “the ultimate aim of education is fulfilled only if it benefits society”.

Probing the students, he asked them if they were really equipped to take on the world. Dwelling on the problems of poverty, illiteracy, high mortality rate, lack of proper health care and unemployment, he expressed grief on the sorry state of affairs in the country even after 60 years of independence.

Blaming the caste system for holding back the country from progressing, Dua stressed on the need to build a new India.

The conference concluded with a valedictory address by Arun Kumar Jain from the Indian Institute of Management, Lucknow. Stressing on the need of a self-analysis, he gave the students a four-point reality check. “Students need to question themselves if they have globally employable skills, globally relevant skills, locally employable or non-employable skills’.

J.S. Bedi, chairman of the GJIMT, termed the success of the conference as the first step in institutionalising the immense knowledge wealth and energy of experts and research scholars who are the torch bearers for the future generation of managers.

‘Jammu conflict political rather than religious’
Tribune News Service

Chandigarh, March 24
Prof Rekha Chowdhary, Jammu University, visiting scholar to the department of political science, Panjab University, delivered a lecture on “Religion, Conflict and Peace Building in Jammu and Kashmir” organised by the ICSSR in collaboration with the department of political science, here, yesterday.

She noted that though today Muslim identity in politics forms the core of the conflict in Jammu and Kashmir, the conflict actually arose out of indigenous political reasons rather than religion. The three reasons identified as the causes for frustration and alienation of the Kashmiris included excessive intrusion by the centre, continuous manipulation of the local politics and unrepresentative and non-participatory nature of politics. Militancy, according to her, took religious overtones only when it came to be dominated by religious mercenaries.

The widespread political alienation prevailing in the valley can be attributed to the non-fulfilment of the bases of the negotiated relationship between Kashmir and the Indian state namely the promise of honouring the constitutional autonomy to Kashmir, carrying out radical land reforms, providing democratic space and lastly the sensitivity to be shown towards the unique ethno-religious identity of the Kashmiri people who regard themselves as quam living in their own mulq.

Although separatism has come to be identified with the people of one religion, she argued that the movement was not a fundamentalist one as there were numerous internal divisions.

Faculty seminar at GC-46
Tribune News Service

Chandigarh, March 24
Annual seminar of FCAT - faculty for critical academic thinking, an apolitical interdisciplinary discussion forum of the faculties of Government College, Sector 46, was organised on the college premises today. The theme of the seminar was ‘Locating knowledge in information society’. Principal of the college Usha Jindal welcomed the guests and appreciated the efforts of the forum. Panellists, including Akshaya Kumar, department of English, Panjab University and Pahlad Aggarwal, deputy director (colleges), deliberated upon the crisis and opportunities involved in the current globalised society, characterised by information blitz. Voicing his concern about the commodification of knowledge and its reduction into frames, Akshaya expressed the need to arrive at a reasoned negotiation with the seductive promises of the information age. Aggarwal raised questions about who is locating knowledge and how it being located. He stressed upon the need for awareness in the process of decision-making. The seminar was well-attended by teachers from different colleges of Chandigarh and Mohali.

Little achievers
Tribune News Service

Panchkula, March 24
Students of The Gurukul, Sector 20, were handed over their achievement certificates and progress cards at a function organised to mark Achievement Day today. Home secretary, Chandigarh, Krishan Mohan, was the chief guest.

The students presented a cultural programme to celebrate their success. The chief guest appreciated the little achievers and also expressed his concern over the decreasing boy-girl ratio in schools of the city.

CULTURE

She makes the violin sing
Aditi Tandon
Tribune News Service

Chandigarh, March 24
M. Narmadha’s romance with the violin goes back to many years.Yet, it seems to grow younger with time.

Initiated into music by her grandfather, the illustrious Parur Sundaram Ayyar, the violinist is busy enriching her discipline these days. That she is doing well is evident. About her, it is said: “She makes the violin sing”.

On her part, Narmadha takes the compliments lightly lest they inspire a sense of complacency.“That can be damaging for an artiste, who must never get deflected from the goal.The beauty of musical pursuits lies in the fact that they never end. I started learning the violin as a five-year-old. I am still learning,” says the instrumentalist, whose edge comes from her ability to play the Hindustani (north Indian) and Carnatic (south Indian) styles on the violin without mixing them up.

This technique is typical of the Parur MSG tradition to which Narmadha belongs. The acronym MSG stands for the legendary MS Gopalakrishnan, Narmadha’s father, who changed the way the violin was perceived as a solo instrument. Even the credit of standardising the violin, the manner of its presentation, its interpretations and innovations goes to Narmadha’s grandfather, who spent a lifetime mastering the elements of Hindustani classical music to be able to translate them for the violin.

“My grandfather left Tamil Nadu for Mumbai as early as 1910 and met Vishnu Digamber Palushkar, the great exponent of Hindustani classical music from whom he learnt the essentials of the tradition. Later, he associated with Pt Omkarnath Thakur of Varanasi, the greatest Hindustani classical singer of the century. Having known the best in the tradition, he standardised the violin and gave it a distinct identity,” says Narmadha, who presented a concert at Pracheen Kala Kendra’s Bhaskarrao Sangeet Sammelan in Chandigarh today.

The Parur tradition, as she practises, is famous for its fingering and bowing techniques which offer the violin a typical tonal richness. “The skill lies in doing away with cacophony so that all you hear is the pure golden melody,” says Narmadha.

Conducted under Padma Vibhushan Pt Debu Choudhary of the Delhi University’s music department, the research details the richness of two musical traditions, which starkly differ in their treatment of musical notes.

“A raga’s identity lies in its treatment. The work documents different ragas and the ways in which they are delineated in the north and south Indian traditions,” says the violinist, whose tradition “Parur” is dedicated to the family’s native village in Kerala.

Bhaskar Rao sammelan gets off to a majestic start
Our Correspondent

Chandigarh, March 24
The 37th All-India Bhaskar Rao Nritya and Sangeet Sammelan got off to a majestic start with a mesmerising spell by Padmavibhushan Dr M. Balamurali Krishna, doyen of Carnatic classical music, here today at Government Polytechnic for Women. Be it Navmohana Murari, a Thyagaraja kriti in raga hindol, a Meera bhajan, ashatpadi or a taraana, each of his composition was a marvel of melody, laya and tal.

The acclaimed violin maestro Dr M. Narmadha took the centre stage to bare the melody of raga yaman through soulful strains of her violin. She proved her virtuosity in lighter classical realms of thumri bringing alive the romanticism and a devotional ingredient in a raga durga-based bhajan.

Mohd Rafi remembered

Chandigarh, March 24
The weekend Plaza Carnival proved to be a big draw as acclaimed singers from the region brought alive the magic of melody maker Mohammad Rafi, here today. Titled “Mohd Rafi Nite”, the evening was a tribute to the great maestro of timeless melodies.

The programme was organised by Centre for Carnival Arts, Chandigarh Tourism, BSNL and Coka Cola with The Tribune Group of Newspapers as the media sponsor. A group of tennis players from Pakistan, obviously admirers of Rafi, enjoyed the concert along with their host Vivek Atrey and chief guest mayor Harjinder Kaur.

Under the direction of Rama Kant who designed the programme, Deep Kataria opened up with “Aisa mauka phir” from the film “Evening in Paris.”

The duet “Bekhudi mein sanam” by Ajay Bakshi and Jaspreet Jassal cast a spell. Noted art promoter Bishamber Sharma was at his best as he enraptured the crowd with “Likhe jo kaht tujhe...”

Dr Anil Sharma, Vinil Malik, Rajinder Bajaj, Sanjay Khanna, Ram Niwas, B.D. Sharma, Sunil Kumar Poonam Dogra and others attempted to emulate the magical creations of Rafi Saheb. Earlier, carnival president Manki Deep welcomed the guests and honoured the artists, including music composer brothers Raman Kant and Arun Kant, percussionist Nayak brothers, besides Puneet and Munish. — OC