 |
|
|
|
|
||||
|
PU Diamond Jubilee — Day II
Chandigarh, October 2 In the auditorium of Gandhi Bhawan, Prof J.N. Sharma, chairman, department of Gandhian studies said, “It’s great to start the ongoing functions by paying our respect to the father of the nation and remember him on this auspicious day of his birth which is also recognised as International Non-violence Day by the United Nations.” Dr Agnihotri, in his keynote address, emphasised that the real essence of the Gandhian thought is rural development. “Mahatma Gandhi completely identified himself with the toiling millions, mostly living in villages and that’s why he gave the slogan - Back to Villages.” The guest of honour on the occasion, Chaudhary Swarna Ram, minister of technical education and industrial training, Punjab, said Gandhi moved from ‘Antodaya’ to ‘Sarovodya’ and sacrificed his entire life for the upliftment of the downtrodden and neglected sections of the society. Earlier, Prof R.C. Sobti, vice-chancellor, Panjab University, stressed on the promotion of the study of the Gandhian thought and teachings across the country because the non-conventional subjects like Gandhian studies, peace studies and conflict resolution, belong to the future. He administered the pledge for the service of the country to the audience as advised by the union government, first in English and later, in Hindi. Chaudhary Swarna Ram gave away cash prizes and autobiography of Mahatma Gandhi to the winners and runners-up of the on-the-spot essay writing and quiz competitions which were held on September 28 at Gandhi Bhawan. In the essay competition, the first prize of Rs 1,000 was won by Satinder Singh and Disha Grover jointly whereas the second prize of Rs 750 was bagged by Rahul Arora and third prize of Rs 500 went to Gurpreet Kaur Kalsi. In the quiz, first position went to the team of Swati Mittal and Jaideep Singh of DAV College, Sector 10, which received a cash prize of Rs 1,000 while second slot was won by the team of Ishita Sharma and Ashish Lohan of GGDSD, Sector 32. The third position was bagged by Vikrant Awasthi and Kulwinder Singh of Government College, Sector 11. Dr M.L. Sharma, proposed the formal vote of thanks.
|
|
Bansal announces grant for campus beautification
Chandigarh, October 2 He recalled his student days and advised them to beautify and make the market a model for others to emulate. He also announced a grant of Rs 5 lakh for beautification of parks in the campus residential area. Bansal felicitated the senior most member of the market, V.P. Arora of Lyall Book Store. Prof R.C. Sobti, Prof S.S. Bari, registrar, Panjab University, and other senior functionaries accompanied him. Gopal Krishan Chatrath and Anu Chatrath, fellows, were also invited by the market association to convey their thanks to Bansal for having earmarked Rs 10 lakh for the beautification of campus market out of MPLAD fund. Dr Sobti thanked the minister and announced in response to a demand, setting up of a committee under the chairmanship of Chatrath to look and expeditiously decide problems and requirements of the market. Earlier, the market association representatives felicitated the minister and the VC on the completion of 60 years of the university.
|
|
From Schools
Chandigarh, October 2 Inaugurating the club, principal Vibha Ray said the club reminded us of the principles of non-violence and satyagraha propounded by the father of the nation. The club has been set up in collaboration with Yuvsatta, an NGO, she added. Chief guests for the occasion were Hushang Garmroud and his wife Susan Garmroud, Hushang is an educator, who spent his life as volunteer in Africa establishing three schools while Susan, an English, has worked extensively with children and youth in Lebanon, Tanzania and India. RALLY: A senior citizens’ meet and rally to create awareness about blood donation were the highlights of Senior Citizens’ Day function at Government Model Senior Secondary School, Sector 46, here yesterday. Over 30 senior citizens participated in the function which was attended, among others, by Jatinder Bhatia, municipal councillor, and president of the parent-teachers’ association. Poster making, cap making, rangoli and quiz will be the other highlights of the week-long celebrations, school principal H.K. Bhatia added.
|
|
Chandigarh SEMINAR: The NSS units of the college organised a seminar on the ‘Philosophy of Mahatma Gandhi - and Its Social Relevance in the Modern Period’ at GCG, Sector 11. More than 100 volunteers, along with teachers, participated in the seminar. Dr C.L. Narang, director, Punjab Red Cross Society, inaugurated the seminar. PEACE CAMP: Second Indo-Pak student’s peace camp kick started today at Dev Samaj College, Sector 45. Students, teachers, participants, host families and volunteers from the country and Pakistan are participating in the camp. Eminent guests for the first day of this distinguished camp included Capt. Kanwaljit Singh, cooperation minister, Punjab, Harjinder Kaur, mayor, S.K. Setia, DPI (schools) and Mubashir Mirza, chairman, CYDA, Pakistan. CELEBRATED: On the 5th day of the 10-day NSS camp, the volunteers of Government College of Education, Sector 20, celebrated Gandhi Jayanti as the International Day of Non-Violence. The function started by taking a pledge ‘India of My Dreams’, administered by the NSS programme officers, followed by a programme presented by the volunteers which included poems, thoughts, skit and songs based on the life and teachings of Mahatma Gandhi. GIFTED: Rotary Club of Chandigarh gifted 10 dental chairs to the newly set-up Dr H.S. Judge Institute of Dental Sciences and Hospital of Panjab University, here today. Pawan Kumar Bansal, MP and state minister for finance, formally handed over the chairs in the dental clinic to Dr R.C. Sobti. Rtn Dr H.S. Coonar, a former faculty at PGIMER, supported Rotary Club of Chandigarh in this project. — TNS
|
Consumer Court
Chandigarh, October 2 Jasbir Kaur has a son who is a minor. The complainant had asked for a compensation of Rs 20 lakh, claiming that Satnam worked as a tailor and earned Rs 5,000 per month. However, the relevant documents could not be provided. Judge S.K. Aggarwal said: “In the absence of any documentary proof regarding the running of a shop by the victim, he is treated like a casual labour. In this part of the world, a labour can earn minimum Rs 3,000 per month. As there is nothing to prove the actual income of the deceased, the same may be taken as Rs 3,000.” It was the rash driving of Tarsem Lal that killed Satnam in 2005. The compensation was awarded under the Motor Vehicles Act. The money was awarded in three halves, with the major share going to the deceased’s wife and son, and the third to Karnail Singh, his father. The respondents, Tarsem Lal and the Himachal Road Transport Corporation, were stated to be liable to pay the compensation to the complainant. Courier co fined Rs 50,000 Akash Ganga Courier Ltd has been directed by the Consumer Courts Forum to pay Rs 50,000 as compensation for not delivering a courier. Virender Singla, complainant, said he had sent three couriers through Akash Ganga Couriers on March 23, 2006, which were supposed to be delivered on March 28 but were not. It came to the knowledge of the complainant on March 29 that the order had not been delivered. He said he had even written “urgent” on the parcels. The respondents claimed that the complainant had not given the address and telephone number to aid delivery. However, the complainant’s counsel pointed out that it was mentioned on the packet. The forum’s president, Jagroop Singh Mahal, said: “The respondents are directed to pay a compensation of Rs 50,000 for causing mental harassment, torture and loss of earnings due to deficiency of service.” The State Bank of India had been directed to pay Rs 2,100 to a complainant for deficiency in services. The complainant, Parkash, had gone to an ATM to withdraw Rs 6,000 on October 28, 2005. However, due to a technical snag, he could not withdraw the sum. He withdrew Rs 5,000 the next day. On December 20, 2005, one of the employees of the bank made a manual entry in the savings account of the complainant, debiting Rs 6,000 without his knowledge. The fact came to his knowledge on February 18, 2006 when he received a letter showing the withdrawal of Rs 6,000. The copy of the complainant’s passbook, however, showed the withdrawal of Rs 5,000. The complainant claimed that he brought the discrepancy to the notice of the bank several times but no action was taken. He then approached the bank ombudsman and wrote a letter. The respondent, whoever, claimed that Parkash had withdrawn Rs 6,000, which could be established via the delivery receipt. Giving the verdict, the forum said: “Since there was a technical snag in the machine, question of transaction does not arise. So, the plea of the respondents that a withdrawal has been made is unbelievable.”
|
Where there’s pain…there’s poetry
Chandigarh, October 2 Rooted in mythology, ‘birha’ now flourishes more than before, thanks to Ram Kailash, who rescued it by contextualising its content. “It all began with Lord Krishna’s departure from Mathura. The lord had greater designs, but back home in Mathura, Varanasi and Vrindavan, people could not hold back their tears. They were desperate over their loss, and they sang in pain. These songs came to be called ‘birha’,” explains Kailash, in Chandigarh today on the invitation of SPIC MACAY. For Ram Kailash, ‘birha’ has never been a form of art; it has been a way of life, which he has practiced and enriched. No wonder, he lauds the form with passion: “To those in Uttar Pradesh, ‘birha’ means much more than senseless Bollywood music which has no lyrical or structural value.” “We spend time writing our verses, locating them in present-day world, lacing them with information and then binding them to music. It is an exercise in education. When we sing, we learn; others learn, too,” says Kailash, decorated with two major regional awards - the Uttar Pradesh Sangeet Natak Akademi award and the Madhya Pradesh government’s Tulsi award. “The second was presented by Amitabh Bachchan - comes a listless remark from Ram Kailash. The encounter certainly did not besot him. In fact, when Bachchan asked him what he did, Kailash replied: “Whatever you do. Only I do it for villages while you do it for towns.” “Self pride is what matters,” says the 70-something singer, who straddles many musical worlds. He sings hori, kajri and a whole lot of local folk forms, but ‘birha’ remains his forte; this despite the fact that he never attended school. “I still remember the first day at school. The country was enslaved. We were very poor and I had no slate or chalk. The teacher beat me up over my deprivations. That day and this, I never entered school. But I am educated, anyway,” Kailash says. He learnt by asking his literate friends to scribble alphabets in mud for him. Later, as a Class IV worker in Allahbad University, he learnt more by observing the students. It’s easy, says the diehard optimist, who wrote his first piece as a 15-year-old. “Inspirations come from epics, seasons, patriotism and Gandhism,” Kailash says. Today at PEC, he presented a musical narration of Gandhi's life. Supporting him in his tribute on Gandhi Jayanti were his troupe members on dhol, khartal and harmonium. Interestingly, Kailash’s khartal is different from the ones we usually see. “It is designed to create a rustic effect,” says Kailash, who draws from the repertoire of Kabir, Tulsidas, Sufi and Bhakti saints to enrich ‘birha’ - his family’s tradition for 200 years. “And now, the tradition’s survival has been ensured. People send us special invitations to perform,” prides the singer, before he hums for us, one of the 50,000 tunes he has written to date.
|
|
|||||
| HOME PAGE | |
Punjab | Haryana | Jammu & Kashmir |
Himachal Pradesh | Regional Briefs |
Nation | Opinions | | Business | Sports | World | Mailbag | Chandigarh | Ludhiana | Delhi | | Calendar | Weather | Archive | Subscribe | Suggestion | E-mail | |
