Raj Kapoor fascinates Israeli envoy
Tribune News Service

CHANDIGARH, Dec 2 — India holds a special place in the hearts of Israeli youth tourists. Thousands flock here every year and the visit runs into long periods.The diversity in the land and population are recognised as the biggest attractors.

These views were expressed by Ms Shoshana Haim, the head of the cultural affairs in the Embassy of Israel, while interacting with the mediapersons here today.

The festival in India will be held in Jamshedpur, Lucknow, Jaipur and Delhi.The movies include ‘Hill 24 Does Not Answer’, ‘My Michael’, ‘Avanti Popolo’ , ‘They Were Ten’, ‘ and Dangerous Acts’.

Ms Haim said that cinema in the earlier phase of Israel started with views on the past and the gradual change .Nearly two-third Jews were executed and the fact with various views on the subject remained central to the earlier phase.The presentations gradually shifted to expressions of ‘individual’s world and his problems’.

The current international cinema scene had also affected the art field.Indian movies were popular particularly during 50s, 60s , and 70s. Raj Kapoor and his contemporaries were still held in respect, Ms Haim added.

The paper by Amy Kronish, a curator of Jewish and Israeli films, says that like Israeli literature and Israel itself, the country’s cinema was lowly moving away from ‘big’ issues such as war, ideology and the state-in-making. During the 90s the cameras have turned to love, loss and relationship. Social issues like drug abuse and poverty ,feminism and homosexuality and ethnic assimilation and alienation also featured in this phase.

Kronish adds that the society was developing and maturing,no longer obsessed with solely cosmic and political issues of existence but now interested in human portrayals of the ‘now’ generation.

Ms Haim said that there were attempts for Israeli-Indian productions. However, shows of Israeli film in India faced problems unlike in the western countries which provided earlobes with translation, ‘Hill 24 Does Not Answer’ scheduled for today was an impressive US-Israel co-production based on a story by Zvi Kolitz.This was a part of scores of films during the 50s which dramatised battles of war of independence and the historic events leading to it.

‘Hill 24’ is considered a classic which combines in-depth characterisation and elements of melodrama and romance with authentically-evoked incidents, which are based on historical facts.The movie was directed by Thorold Dickinson in 1954.

The Embassy of Israel, the Federation of Film Societies of India and the Chandigarh Film Society have collaborated to present ‘Israeli cinema in five decades. “My Michael” and “Avanti Popolo” will be shown at the Auditorium of Institute of Microbial Technology in the evenings. “They Are Ten” will be shown at Government Polytechnic for Women and “Dangerous Acts” will feature at the Institute of Microbial Technology, Sector 39.

Poor regulation of traffic at chowk
From Our Correspondent

PANCHKULA, Dec 2 — The entry point to the township from the Housing Board chowk presents a chaotic scene in the evening when offices close and rush of vehicles multiplies.

A heated argument erupted yesterday late in the evening at this entry junction, when the car of Mr HK Sood of Sector 6 was hit by a van. Vehicle approaching the township were stranded for nearly 20 minutes and brought into focus several lapses by the authorities concerned to regulate the flow of traffic at this round-about.

The area on the sides of this round-about is a ‘No Parking Zone’ but several cars can be seen parked in front of a restaurant, obstructing the traffic. The rush of vehicles during evening hours coupled with haphazard and unlawful parking often results in traffic bottlenecks.

The approach road to the town often witnesses minor accidents which are followed by a virtual traffic jam. The problems are further compounded as the round-about is being dismantled by the authorities for setting up of traffic lights. Besides, a bus stop close to the round-about, causes congestion. Sources in the transport department say that on an average a bus stops here every seven minutes.

Apart from this, lots of passenger buses halt at the bus stop in a day. Sometimes two or three buses stop at the same time. Even checking staff targets this point to check the tickets of passengers for which the bus has to wait till the checking process is over. This also hampers the flow of traffic .

A police check barrier near the round-about adds to the confusion. The police often conducts its routine checks in the evening. The process takes time and aggravates the problem of heavy rush of traffic from the congested round-about.

A taxi-cum-auto-stand situated next to the round-about creates congestion. The General Secretary of the Panchkula Resident Welfare Federation, Dr Sunil Dutt Rabra, has urged the authorities concerned to take steps to regularise traffic at this point.

A poet in search of publishers
By Sonoo Singh
Tribune News Service

CHANDIGARH, Dec 2 — For someone who is known as “one of the most happening writers in Kenya”, writing in both English and Punjabi, it certainly does not sound very snobbish when he says that Punjabi poetry is still stuck to the old-archaic forms.

Mehram Yaar, a writer, an art-critic, a film-critic, a poet and also one of the leading theatre directors, who has been based in Nairobi for the last three decades, in an exclusive interview with the TNS today, talked about his shift from Punjabi poetry to English poetry and his latest works, most of which are still in search for publishers.

Hailing from Jalandhar, and a student of Lyallpur Khalsa College, Mehram Yaar grew up with the name of G.S. Dhir, which he never used once he started writing.

It was as a Punjabi writer of short stories and poetry that Mehram first made his mark in the literary world. But he adds: “I tried to push my pen in the Punjabi literary world with little success, because I think that the themes, locales and even flavours had changed”. Was this then the reason for him to switch over to the English language? “I first went into silence, because I was not happy with the Punjabi language, since reading the contemporary Punjabi writers and poets I felt how they continued to churn out the same thing even now”.

The silence for Mehram did not last for very long, because when he was not writing he made his mark in the field of theatre, after which he took a literary retreat in a small village near Nairobi, where along with his wife he opened a nursery school.

This was the time when he was able to write five volumes of Punjabi poetry for which, he says, he has till date not been able to find a publisher. Admitting that there is a lack of readership of Punjabi literature, Mehram was quick to add: “This could be because there is nothing innovative being done. Readership has to be created. Even today Punjabi writers still resort to the old form of ghazal writing, and have failed to invent new forms of the Punjabi folk-lore, where the true spirit of Punjabi still exists”.

This multi-faceted poet-writer also said that the best poets have been destroyed because of their ideological hang-ups, like their rigid influences of Marxism. “My real inspiration comes form life itself”, said Mehram, who is influenced by the likes of Yahuda Amachai, an Israeli poet, Latin poets like Pablo Neruda, and finds a soul-mate in contemporary Russian poet, Andrei Voznesensky.

Mehram’s writings in English have been hailed as having made a unique contribution to the language through his refreshingly original poetry, which is at once transparently simple and yet soul-stirringly deep. His first collection of poetry, titled Rainbow’s End, turned out to be a trend-setting media event in Kenya.

One of his verses in this collection reads:

“Birds express their love in flight
And very very cleverly hide their sensuality under their wings”.

In 1994 he shook the Kenyan literary scene by organising a much talked-about Poetry ‘94 Festival in Nairobi, followed by ‘New Poetry from Kenya’, a bi-lingual anthology published in 1995 by the French Cultural Centre in Nairobi. Another festival that Mehram celebrated recently at Nairobi was the 100 years of Spanish poet Lorca, a poet on which he has just penned an epic poem titled Lorca is Guernica.

Today Mehram has his hands full with a book of short stories on the earstwhile Soviet Union, spread over from the year 1852 to 1992; one long poem titled Slouching Towards Bethlehem, about the journey of the Three Wise Men in search of Christ and the modern man’s search today; a volume of short stories set in Africa; another novella titled The Winged Troika and a book on its way to publication called Genesis Unbound.

When asked about returning to his Punjabi language, Mehram said: “I may return to my language, but at the moment I am writing in English and would continue doing so till some time”.

Civic body with little area to develop
From Bipin Bhardwaj

ZIRAKPUR, Dec 2 — Haphazard constructions have left little area to develop within the Zirakpur Nagar Panchayat. The problem has arisen because in the past the Punjab Urban Development Authority (PUDA) did not stop the mushrooming of unauthorised colonies in the seven villages which have been merged to form the Nagar Panchayat.

Moreover, owners have sold their lands to property dealers who have raised unplanned colonies The buyers, ignorant about the Punjab New Capital (Periphery) Control Act, 1952, the Punjab Apartment and Property Regulation Act, 1995, and the Punjab Regional and Town Planning and Development Act, 1995, have built houses on plots sold to them by property dealers.

This has created a situation in which about 75 per cent of the Nagar Panchayat area had been sold by land owners before the formation of the civic body. On such land unplanned constructions have come up, leaving inadequate space for roads, streets, parks, community centers, schools, hospitals and other public requirements. Only about 25 per cent of the area is left for the Nagar Panchayat to develop.

The Nagar Panchayat authorities are facing another problem for want of the revenue records of the seven villages which have not been submitted by the sarpanches.

The authorities find it difficult to plan facilities on the Chandigarh pattern with only 25 per cent of land at its disposal. Moreover, they will be burdened with the responsibility of providing civic amenities to the unplanned and unauthorised colonies.

Residents of the Nagar Panchayat hold the government and PUDA responsible for the situation. They maintain that the panchayat should have been created before the mushrooming of the unauthorised colonies.

However, property dealers and land owners say that construction of buildings on a large scale compelled the government to form the Nagar Panchayat. Now it is the responsibility of the civic body to provide basic amenities to the residents.

Mr Surjit Singh, Administrator of the Nagar Panchayat, said that areas where no construction has been done so far would be developed according to the town planning scheme.

"The property dealers have to get the maps of their proposed colonies approved from the Nagar Panchayat, otherwise legal steps will be taken against them. The Nagar Panchayat will not issue no-objection certificate (NOC) to such property dealers who do not get the maps of their colonies approved as per the scheme," Mr Surjit Singh said.

He also said that the sarpanches of the seven villages have been asked to submit the revenue records within seven days, failing which first information reports (FIRs) would be registered against them. The issue had also been discussed with Capt Kanwaljit Singh, Finance Minister, Punjab, and representations had been given to the Additional Deputy Commissioner (Development) of Patiala.

Diagnostic centre instals analyser
Tribune News Service

CHANDIGARH, Dec 2 — For the convenience of patients, the Bharat Vikas Parishad has installed a semi-auto analyser at its charitable diagnostic centre in Indira Holiday Home in Sector 24.

The analyser will formally be inaugurated by Prof V.K. Kak, Director-Principal, Government Medical College and Hospital, Sector 32, on December 5.

Justice Rama Jois, All-India Working President of the parishad, and Justice D.V. Sehgal, Presiding Judge of the Punjab and Haryana High Court Lok Adalat, will be guests of honour.

A majority of the tests, such as tests for haematological and coagulation studies, besides the serology, pancreatic, liver function, renal function and sensitivity tests, are now being conducted with the help of the analyser to get better and quick results.

"The tests are done by a team of well-qualified technicians under the able guidance of doctors. The reports of the subsidised centre are accepted in all hospitals, including the PGI," said Dr P.N. Thapar, who along with Mr R.K. Gupta, founded the centre in 1991.

Mr Madan Gupta 'Spatu', National Co-convener of the parishad, said the organisation was trying to add X-ray and ultrasound facilities in near future in other parts of the city.

The man behind the project, Mr Ajay Dutta, said the organisation was committed to provide the poor with costly medical assistance almost free of cost in the next millennium.

From abject poverty to smiling prosperity
From Vishal Joshi

BUNGA (Panchkula), Dec 2 — Tall sugarcane crop, fertile farms, tubewells and pucca houses, all indicate that prosperity has come to Bunga village, about 30 km from Chandigarh in the Shivalik foothills. Only a decade ago Bunga was a sleepy, desolate village inhabitated by Gujjars who could hardly manage their daily bread by grazing goats.

Today the face of the village has undergone a sea change. It all started in 1984 when the Haryana Agriculture Department, in collaboration with the Central Soil and Water Conservation Research and Training Institute (CSWCRTI), initiated a watershed project in this village.

The Rs 30-lakh project included construction of a dam for rain water with a capacity of 59.6 hectare metres. After some time the height of the dam was raised by one metre to avoid siltation.

Gradually, the village started feeling the difference. The water users society (WUS) regulates the use of the water from the dam. All fields in the village get water for irrigation. The society charges Rs 3 to Rs 6 per hour. The soil is no more eroded by rain and the land, which at one time was almost barren and infertile, now yields more than 16 quintals of wheat per acre. Agriculture has now become profitable, says Mr Basant, Vice-President of the WUS.

The catchment area now grows bhabbar grass, which has good commercial value. This year the society has earned Rs 1.5 lakh from the sale of this grass. In the past 10 years, the society has earned Rs 12 lakh from water charges and sale of bhabbar grass.

The society has 11 elected members all of them have so far been elected unanimously. The society has built a dharamshala, provided money to the school and purchased utensils for community use. The village is electrified and has a number of telephone connections. With prosperity have come TV sets, scooters, motor cycles, tractors and tubewells. Pucca houses have replaced mud huts.

Villagers recall the days only a decade ago when they lived in abject poverty. Durga Ram, Rounqi Ram and other villagers say that in those days their crops depended on rain.

According to Dr R.K. Aggarwal, Head of the CSWCRTI, despite an increase in the number of cattle in the village, the forest and the catchment area have acquired a green cover. Villagers used to graze their cattle in the area around the village. This had depleted the green cover and resulted in floods and soil erosion. Indiscriminate cutting of firewood and grazing were causing harm to the topsoil and the erosion had to be checked.

The watershed project had effectively checked the process. The villagers who used to keep goats have now taken to rearing dairy animals such as cows and buffaloes.

The 200 families which constitute the village now own a average 30 head of cattle each, said Prof S.P. Mittal of the institute.

But the village has its grievances. The 7-km approach road to the village is in bad shape and is rarely repaired. The cattle population has increased but the veterinary dispensary falls short of their expectations. A veterinary doctor rarely visits the dispensary.