EDUCATION

Workshop on creative writing
Our Correspondent

Chandigarh, May 13
The Chandigarh Sahitya Akademy organised a one-day workshop on creative writing for school students here yesterday.

It was imperative to 'catch them young' to instill the flare for creative writing among them and improve their aesthetic potential, maintained the akademi chairperson Dr Naresh. The overwhelming response was a positive trend showing cultural awakening but we had to refuse over 100 students from participating in view of our constraints, he added.

Acclaimed thespian playwright Dr Atamjit, based on his experience, opined that it was indeed the most appropriate age for them to be groomed for their chosen area of art like drama, poetry, short story or article writing. Besides Dr Atamjit, Dr Roop Devgan, Dr Lakhwinder Johal and Sarabjit Kangniwal were the course leaders.

Chandigarh, May 13
The Bharat Vikas Parishad distributed school bags and stationery items to needy and deserving students as a part of its Project Sahyog here today. The programme, held at MCM DAV College for Women, Sector 36, was presided over by DPI (S) S.K. Setia.

According to Ashok Goyal, director and district president of Project Sahyog, the parishad had selected 400 students from 54 schools studying in Classes VII to X. Books and uniforms were distributed among them under the first level of the project and now stationery and school bags have also been distributed. While selecting these students, the passing criteria was 50 per cent marks and parental income not exceeding Rs 48,000 per annum.

The Bharat Vikas Parishad is a non-political and social volunteer organisation consisting of 1200 branches all over the country. Various welfare schemes are undertaken by the organisation. The parishad spends around Rs 4-5 lakh on Project Sahyog every year which is funded by membership fees and contributions received from general public.

Once chosen by the parishad, the children continue receiving financial support until the completion of their high school studies. Students of Classes XI and XII are also provided support for higher studies.

The programme was attended by Project Sahyog office-bearers I.S. Bansal, R.K. Vinayak, Mahesh Gupta, A.P. Goyal and J.K. Khanna besides others.

New Delhi, May 13
A group of artists from Chandigarh have gathered in the capital in a unique attempt to explore the relationship between man and nature through a painting exhibition “Nature and Insani Rishta,” a title that has drawn varied emotions and sentiments from each one of them.

The exhibition is the first of its kind in the capital that has been designed specifically for artists from Chandigarh, says India Tourism Development Corporation (ITDC) senior vice-president Chandni Luthra. It has been organised by the ITDC for the Chandigarh Industrial and Tourism Development Corporation Ltd (CITCO) in the lobby area of the Ashok, here, and can be viewed from 11 am to 8 pm till May 14.

The artists have found different ways of complementing man and nature; the two integral parts of any city. While some have indulged in the serene beauty of the nature of Chandigarh, others have tried to penetrate into its mysteries.

According to secretary Punjab Lalit Kala Academy Seema Bhalla, the exhibition is a collection of works of artists who have seen nature at very close quarters; surrounded by lush greenery and with the Shivalik range of mountains in the backdrop.

In all, there are 23 canvasses on exhibit by 10 artists, including Viren Tanwar, Prem Singh, Satwant Singh, Madan Lal, Rajkumar, Pramod K. Arya, Rozy and Anubhav Som.

Anubahv Som, one of the youngest artists of the group, has shown an amazing synergy of abstract with realism through three canvasses on display.

Rozy’s way of looking at nature is like the flowering of life. Her bold, yet delicately executed flowers seem to speak for themselves. Prem Singh’s works are celebration of nature while Satwant has attempted to look at the sheer force of nature with a naked eye.