From Schools & Colleges
Students highlight falling standards of TV
Tribune News Service

Brain development programme for kids
Tribune News Service

Chandigarh, December 8
After going through special programme ‘Brain Development Programme’, these kids have learnt to calculate tedious mathematical sums in no time. Imagine a child calculating 234 x 32 + 678 x 87 in a few seconds. Sarthak Mittal, a Class- III student of Saupin’s School, Kanika, a Class-II student of Vivek High School-38, Kanav Jain of DPS-40, Aakriti of Sacred Heart-26, Shreyas of St Kabir-26 are such wonder kids, who can amaze anyone by giving correct answers within seconds.

Rewant Mehra has won the Brainobrain National Championship held at New Delhi recently. Kanika has also won the national championship three times consecutively.

Ashok Subramanian, executive director, Quality Brainobrain, while addressing mediapersons, here said, "We cater to the children between 5 and 14 years. The programme is designed to improve memory, speed, accuracy, visualising skills, listening skills, concentration and self-confidence. The company is already training 15,000 children.”

National conference on power reforms
Our Correspondent

Mohali, December 8
A one-day national conference on “Power reforms and its scenario in India” was organised by Shaheed Udham Singh College of Engineering and Technology (SUSCET), Tangori, here today.

While enhancing generation capacity and cracking down on pilferage dominated the agenda of the conference, eye-opener discussions on various technologies and power efficient systems, marked the highlight of the conference which narrowed down on 33 abstracts out of 50 full length papers submitted.

The conference began with a grim overview of bleak power availability scenario constituting problems of inadequate generation, under utilisation of existing generation, below mark transmission, rising T&D charges, theft and inefficient use of power.

Stone of school auditorium laid
Tribune News Service

Chandigarh, December 8
The foundation stone of the proposed school auditorium was laid by bishop of Shimla-Chandigarh diocese Rev Dr Gerald John Mathias at St Anne’s Convent School, Sector 32, here today.

Rev Fr Thomas, Fr Ambrose, Fr Stephen, Principal Sister Felicia also joined in the prayer ceremony. The bishop of Shimla, in his valedictory address, spoke about the auditorium. He also requested everyone to work together to make the project a success.

From Schools
Annual day celebrated
Tribune News Service

Zirakpur, December 8
The students of Mount View Public School, Baltana, Zirakpur, presented the cultural programme to celebrate their 8th annual function on Friday. The function started with mantra, followed with lighting of lamp by Chief Guest Capt Kanwaljit Singh, cooperation minister. This was followed by cultural programmes. A play on female foeticide and menace of NRI marriages was also staged by the students.

School chairman Major Gurcharan Singh gave the annual report.

DAV employees stage silent protest
Tribune News Service

Chandigarh, December 8
Wearing black bands over their mouths, executive members of the MCM and DAV College Employees’ Union today staged a silent protest in front of the PU senate against the DAV management that continues to blatantly violate the statutes of the university.

The DAV employees presented a memorandum of their demands to each member of the senate.

SGGSC-26 told to refund tuition fee
Tribune News Service

Chandigarh, December 8
The Consumer Disputes Redressal Forum-I has directed the authorities of Sri Guru Gobind Singh College (SGGSC), Sector 26, to refund the tuition fee of Rs 27,000 to a student. They have also been told to pay Rs 2,500 in compensation along with Rs 1,100 as costs of litigation.

The petitioner, Vidhu, had enrolled himself with the college for BCA course after depositing Rs 27,000 as fee on July 4, 2006.

Vidhu, a resident of Sector 35, averred that he was in the waiting list of DAV College, Sector 10, where he got admission later.

He expressed his desire to surrender his seat with the SGGSC and sought fee refund vide a letter on July 12, 2006. But the college authorities declined to refund the fee.

The college authorities pleaded that under the terms and conditions laid down in the prospectus of the college, the fee and other dues once paid were not refundable.

They pointed out that even if a student left the college without attending a single class, the fee could not refunded.

However, the forum held: “The petitioner has not availed of the facilities of the college thus the college authorities cannot take recourse to the plea that the fee could not be refunded. The opposite party cannot refund the fee in view of the fact that the college prospectus has clearly stipulated that the fee and other dues once paid will not be returned. We, therefore, hold that the act of not refunding the fee of the complainant in the present case is not sustainable.”

Arguments heard in custodial death case
Tribune News Service

Chandigarh, December 8
Arguments were heard before the framing of charges in the Mani Majra custodial death case at the district courts today.

Defence lawyer Rabindra Pandit argued that judicial magistrate R.K. Singla should have asked for reinvestigation instead of sending the case to additional district and sessions judge RR Garg if he was not satisfied with the challan.

The prosecution, however, pointed out that there were 10 injury marks on the body of the victim, which indicated at the extent of torture that the victim had undergone in police custody.

Acquitted

UT additional and sessions judge S.K. Aggarwal today acquitted Gurdeep Kaur (25), accused of showing indecent gestures to another woman. Gurdeep was acquitted due to lack of evidence. Gurdeep was accused of abducting Surjit Kaur on August 15, 2001. The victim alleged that the accused had added some intoxicant in her cold drink with the intent to click the latter’s indecent pictures.

717 cases disposed of at lok adalat
Tribune News Service

Chandigarh, December 8
The State Legal Services Authority, UT, organised a special lok adalat for disposal of traffic challan cases in the District Courts today.

District and sessions judge Kewal Krishan Garg said 768 cases of traffic challans were taken up, out of which 717 were disposed of.

A fine of Rs 80,000 was imposed in the cases. The proceedings were overseen by Justice J.S. Khehar and Justice Pramod Kohli.

Member secretary R.K. Sharma said those intending to get their disputes settled at pre-litigative stage could approach the authority. He added that those with annual income under Rs 50,000 were entitled to free legal aid.

He said the lok adalats were held to settle disputes pertaining to outstanding dues of banks at pre-litigative stage.

The next lok adalat would be held on December 15.

CULTURE

‘I still can’t believe I have won’
Aneesha Sareen
Tribune News Service

Chandigarh, December 8
This one promises to be a star. But, we do not see any starry tantrums, no wading through the mob or making them wait for autographs nor do we see a new accent flaunted for that style sake. What we see is a 21-year-old blushing and smiling lad, every time the battery of journalists poses a question at him. Meet Madhu Sudan, the new Coca Cola ‘Voice of Punjab’ whose versatility in singing made him win the hearts of Punjabis.

“I still cannot believe I have actually won the title,” said Madhu adding that he was still trying to come to terms with the win. “The competition was very tough. All three of us in the final round were on an equal footing,” he said.

The new singer on the block is being promoted by P9 integrated - an entertainment and marketing company - which announced their decision to honour him at the Press Club today. “We are promoting him for giving a push to the Punjabi music and singers,” said Raman Gharu, owner of P9 integrated and director, Dancing Gods Motion Pictures. The company is also promoting a Punjabi movie - Lakh Pardesi Hoyaee - produced and directed by Dr Swarn Singh.

Madhu’s stint in the musical arena began at the age of eight when he started learning classical music. After an impressive performance at the Harballabh Sangeet Sammelan at the age of 11, this Jalandhar boy made sure his life moved with music... and it did.

On his debut album in Punjabi, he says, “I have just won the title and don’t know when the recording will finally begin.” About future plans, he says he will not remain confined to Punjabi singing alone. “Besides taking the Punjabi music to new heights, I will aim at singing for Bollywood too,” he gleams.

Theatre is ahead of times: Expert
S.D. Sharma

Chandigarh, December 8
“A playwright or litterateur should define the country's national psyche symbolising the deepest desires and dreams of its people in his literary creations," opined former director of Doordarshan and acclaimed thespian, poet and writer Vilayet Jafri. A pioneer in the light and sound spectacle art form in the country, Jafri has authored nine books, 11 plays and 21 light and sound productions.

He won the Sangeet Natak Akademi honour in 2001 and became a member of international jury ‘Golden Prague’, Czechoslovakia, in 1989. He was in the city on the invitation of the Chandigarh Sangeet Natak Akademi for an interaction with the city art lovers.

Talking to The Tribune, Vilayet Jafery said in view of the spurt of TV channels and record production of films, the theatre and its practitioners had not only learnt to survive but march ahead of the times by adopting innovative methods and technical virtuosity.

Except for the professional theatre, which had yet to catch up in this region, survival on the theatre alone was not possible. Those committed to this passion would stay and prosper later in view of the virtual change, he added.

Talking about the increasing popularity of theatre, he said, “See Punjabi theatre, which was once discarded due its verbosity, is coming up with élan. The theatre has learnt to offer an engrossing and meaningful entertainment with didactic and socially relevant themes.

In view of absence of any patronage from the government, the theatre producers must sell tickets to theatre buffs to serve them better. When in the non-Hindi land of Kolkata, thespian Usha Ganguli and others can run professional Hindi theatre, why not in Chandigarh?” My latest play 'Ek jama doh' was a sellout in Mumbai, he claimed.