EDUCATION

Kids’ own corner
Tribune News Service

Tarun Sibal, owner of Kids’Own, Sector 17, has fun on the play structure with a bevy of little ones around him. — Tribune photo by Parvesh Chauhan

Chandigarh, June 4
A little spark can add so much relish to the lives of little ones and that is precisely what ‘Kids’Own’ in Sector 17 (just above the Tommy Hilfiger store) has set out to do. With a simple mantra that emphasises on playing, creating, thinking and learning, this spacious space is not about ‘education’, but fun!

Owner, creator and author of this venture Tarun Sibal says, “We are not trying to teach here. I just want to inspire families to spend quality time with each other,” he explains. However, what this consultant in sales systems has also done in the process is “open up tiny windows to identify a child’s potential”.

It all started when Tarun and his family returned from Belgium after spending 15 years there. His 10 year-old son Arnav, who was used to the sophisticated play areas of the West, was at a loss. This led to much rumination and two years later Tarun and his wife Nalini opened ‘Kids’Own’ in February 2007. “What distinguishes this place is its “edutainment” element. We hope to bring in those little eureka moments in a child’s life that discovering something new is associated with,” says Tarun.

Spread over three floors and 2,500 square feet, ‘Kids’Own’ centers around the physical, creative and technological aspects of a child’s development.

The first floor comprises of a structure that develops and encourages physical activity in children. With five different entry and exit points, this structure helps exercise the upper, middle and lower body by making children slide, crawl, climb, glide, swing, and even unravel themselves through a maze.

With two sections; one for children under 3 years of age and one for children aged 4 to 10; the whole floor is geared to protect, safeguard and enthral.

Workshops like children’s yoga, glass mosaic-work, pottery, mind games and intellectually stimulating sessions will be ready on the second floor by July.

The third floor, to be ready by the year-end will hold the technical section where, apart from landing and flying aircrafts, children will also get to do practical operations, including understanding how optical illusions work, why bulbs light up and how cars run, amongst others.

“All of this is child-driven. It is what they want. All I want to do is light a little spark,” avers Tarun, who is all set to encourage “free expression”.

‘Kids’Own’ is also conducting summer workshops for children with the next one starting from June 18 to 30.

Parents are also encouraged to come, spend time, read newspapers and participate in their child’s wondrous moments.

Popularising cycling
Tribune News Service

Chandigarh, June 4
Today, on the eve of World Environment Day, volunteers of Yuvsatta, in association with the UT environment department, the Government Model Senior Secondary Schools of Sector 32 and 33 and Moti Ram Arya Senior Secondary Public School organised a bicycle rally from Parade Ground to Sukhna Lake.

Led by Ishwar Singh, director, environment and Arun Kumar, principal of Government Model Senior Secondary School, Sector 32, the young cyclists pedalled through the city before reaching the lake.

The volunteers were carrying placards with messages they hoped would wake up the city to the benefits of cycling before it was too late.

Addressing the young participants, Ishwar said in order to popularise cycling in the city, his department would provide assistance to educational institutions and NGOs promoting activities related to cycling.

He suggested that schools organise bicycle festivals, cycle races, cross-country bicycle rides and various other events to promote and propagate the use of bicycles.

He further said people all over the world were showing interest for natural and organic products because they had seen the hollowness of modern artificial lifestyles. “Cycling is also the perfect way to link us back to nature,” Ishwar said.

As part of their ‘Campaign for Peace-city Chandigarh’, volunteers of Yuvsatta are observing 2007 as the year of bicycles.

Chandigarh, June 4
They are supposed to slug it out for the Union of India in the Punjab and Haryana High Court but they are at war with each other over “unfair distribution of work”. The row between the Additional Solicitor-General of India (ASG), Centre’s seniormost counsel here, and a fellow Central government’s counsel has assumed alarming proportions.

It all started when the Additional Solicitor-General, Daya Chaudhary, had through a notice, dated January 25, withdrawn all work from G.K.S. Taank, Centre’s counsel, alleging that Taank was not handing over to her the high court notices he was receiving on behalf of the Centre.

This opened the pandora’s box with the issue going up to the Union Law Ministry under the Right to Information Act. Information has been sought from the Ministry as to how many cases had been retained by ASG Chaudhary with herself and also the total number of cases distributed to the Central government’s lawyers with date of allotment and case numbers etc.

This is not all. Taank is all prepared to move the higher echelons of power against Chaudhary. “A complaint against Daya Chaudhary is being forwarded in a day or two to the President, the Prime Minister and the Chief Justice of India,” Tannk said.

Accusing Daya Chaudhary of “unfair and inequitable distribution of work among Centre’s counsels, Taank said: “About 95 per cent of the work is being kept by the ASG or her favourite lawyers, thus creating a monopoly and violating Law Ministry’s guidelines over distribution of work.”

Refuting Taank’s allegations, Daya Chaudhary stressed that work allocation was being done according to the merit and she had never done any unfair allocation of work.

“I have to see that the interest of the Central government is not harmed in any way. I allocate work according to the ability and enterprise of the lawyers. There is no mala fide whatsover and the allegations are completely baseless,” Daya Chaudhary told The Tribune.

He alleged that he was appointed the Central government counsel about two years ago but so far had been marked only 10 cases by Chaudhary. This despite the fact that almost 50 notices were being issued by the high court daily.

Taank highlighted the fact that as many as 50 advocates had been appointed by the President of India as Centre’s lawyers but only 13 of them were actually working, Rest of them were virtually workless.

The ASG had her four blue-eyed boys to whom she was allocating most of the cases she herself was not looking into, he alleged. Not stopping at this, he added that ” I know of the instances when Chaudhary had taken money from the government but not filed cases.”

Narinder Kumar Singla of Patiala, Parminder Singh Gill of Samrala, Bhupinder Gill of Ludhiana and Parveen Kateria of Panchkula were amongst other Centre’s lawyers who had never appeared in the high court and carry a ceremonial tag of Central government advocates.