Bhupinder Singh (senior), who represented India in the Australasia Cup, 1994, has played in the Ranji trophy and is presently the coach of the Punjab cricket team. He said the statement made by Kapil Dev was more a political one. "But I think that keeping in view the situation, ties with Pakistan should be snapped off. But why did the President of the BCCI have to wait for a sportsman to first make a comment on the present crisis and then take a decision to support him? The BCCI should have said the same long time back, at the beginning of this Kargil issue. Cricket should be regarded as a secondary thing now. What is more important is the safety of our nation and the soldiers who are laying their lives for it everyday," he added.

Mr M.P. Pandove, Honorary Secretary, Punjab Cricket Association, did not conform to the view that sports should propagate severing ties with any country, even in times of crisis. "Sports has always been a medium of strengthening ties between nations and cricket has been no different. I have visited Pakistan many times and people there feel no different than what the common man feels here. On the personal level, there are no ill-feelings", he said.

He added that in such times, it was important not to fall prey to any political games because this would provide no solution to the present situation in Kargil but worsen ties. He said as far as possible, India should abide by its commitment to the Sahara Cup and not refuse to play with any particular country.

Rakesh Jolly, Joint Secretary of the UT Cricket Association and captain of All India Customs Team, who has played with Kapil Dev, gave his support to the call for boycotting the Pakistani cricket team. "At a time when our soldiers are defending India and fighting against Pakistan, how can we think of playing cricket with them? This idea seems to be preposterous. How can we think of cricket in such times? My friend's brother-in-law fell as a martyr in Kargil. I know what that loss will mean to anyone whose family has lost a soldier for the cause of the motherland. Any game is all about friendship. When the nation is fighting a 'war-of-sorts' at Kargil, there should not be any two views about boycotting Pakistan," he said.

On bicycle to Kanyakumari
By A Correspondent

Chandigarh July 1 —A young man is cycling around the country to spread the message of peace and goodwill. Mr Ahirwar Charanjit Bhorna, a bicycle-buff, who has already undertaken two bicycle journeys, this time has cycled all the way from Jalandhar to Kanyakumari and back in a period of five months. Though Mr Bhorna's bicycle journey was flagged off on February 22, 1999, much before the Kargil issue flared up , since he wanted to realise his long-cherished dream of travelling around the country on a mode of transport dared by few, it was later that he decided to dedicate it to the brave Indian soldiers who had laid their lives fighting for the country and those soldiers who are protecting the borders.

Mr Bhorna, who works at Phagwara, says that he got the motivation to undertake such an unusual expedition from the famous film star and patriot Sunil Dutt way back in 1987 when he undertook the difficult task of covering the entire country on foot to propagate brotherhood .

Initially Mr Bhorna's idea was dismissed and he had to bear the expenses of the previous two journey all by himself. This time he was fortunate enough to get sponsorship from a Jalandhar based firm.

He intends to finish his journey in Kargil if the government does not create hurdles for him . he believes that nothing is impossible and dreams do come true if one tries hard with devotion towards achieving those goals .

He nurses another dream of travelling to Pakistan and Singapore by motorcycle.

Loud beats beat soft music
By Mohit Goswami
Tribune News Service

CHANDIGARH July 1 — You approach the house. Loud beats greet you. Some party is going on, you think. You enter the house. No crowds in sight, just a 14-year-old listening to music.

This seems to be the trend. The days of small two-in-ones and stereos are over. People have gone for hi-fi music systems and compact disc players.

Mr Sunil Kumar, who runs an electronics goods shop, says, "The taste of the people has changed. They prefer to buy digital music systems with 6-way speakers and plenty of graphic equalisers. They also go in for 1000-Watt speakers and above."

Loud seems to be the buzzword nowadays. The days of listening to music, playing softly in your room, in a relaxing mood, are over. The days of loud drums and synthesizers are here.

Says 40-year-old Rajdeep Ahluwalia,"I like to listen to old Rafi, Mukesh, Kishore and Saigal numbers. But this new trend baffles me. All this loud noise that passes off as music is not really music. There is no melody in it. I do not understand what people like in it. No meaningful lyrics, no soothing music, no soulful singing."

There may be many like him who are unable to grasp the choice of the modern generation. But this generation seems to know what it wants. It is quite clear on its choices. And it wants rhythm and beats.

Ms Kalpana Saini, a college student, says, "I like to play fast music at high volume on my remote control CD player. This way you can enjoy the music and feel the beat. Big music systems have better clarity and sound resolution than the ordinary ones. So the music can be better enjoyed even on low volume. But playing the music loud enhances the impact. And there is no need to get up in between to change the song."

The sales of big music systems have picked up. Mostly it is the youngsters who make their parents dish out money to buy these costly electronics goods. Albums having foot-tapping and fast-paced numbers sell like hot cakes. You do not require a 1000-Watt speaker to enjoy soul or jazz. You can even enjoy it on a small cassette player.

Says Ms Kiran Kaur, a mother of two teenagers,"I have come to look for a CD player. Basically my son and daughter want another music system. They do not like the old stereo we have in the house. They are growing up and their requirements are also increasing. I personally favour a small music system that does not occupy much space. But the children want big detachable speakers with high power output."

This trend seems to be catching up. Children insist on CD players and music systems with high power output. Parents accede to their wishes. And loud music makes its way into households. The old small stereo is discarded. Parents hardly get the chance to listen to the music of their choice.

Mr Sanjay Mehta says, "I have hardly any time to listen to music or for any other sort of recreation. I work in a multinational firm and so leave around 9 in the morning and return at 7 in the evening. Sometimes meetings and other work delay me further. Music and other things of recreation are for the family."

Not everybody approves of this trend. Many even point out the harmful effects of listening to loud music.

Mr Gopal Manchanda says, "Loud music harms the ear drums. It also causes disturbance to the neighbours. The beats get on your nerves. You play the music loud to enjoy it. But you spread noise pollution instead. Loud music in cars distracts attention while driving."

Still the craze for music systems continues. High wattage, graphic equalisers, detachable speakers, remote control, multiway CD changer, the more the facilities the better. And forget the cost because the parents will pay for the item. Youngsters never had it so good.

Sec 26 market full of slush, garbage
By Varinder Singh
Tribune News Service

CHANDIGARH July 1— Absence of proper cleanliness is all-pervasive in the Sector 26 Vegetable Market, one of the biggest such markets of north India, where buyers as well as sellers are forced to face unhygienic conditions and have to trudge through slush and garbage, scattered all over the place.

The market committee authorities are busy undertaking the construction of roads and pondering measures needed to improve the place. But it seems that proper maintenance has taken a back seat in the minds of officials, who have failed to ensure proper upkeep of the place. Heaps of garbage and poodles of slush, particularly in the backyard of the platform raised in the middle of the market, make the life of both buyers and sellers nightmarish.

"Though I have to come the market as vegetables are cheaper here, I do not to go to backyard. The perennial presence of garbage, consisting of loads of rotten vegetables is repulsive," said Mr Jairam, a Sector 22 resident.

Mr Ramsharan, a vegetable vendor, said the unhygienic conditions put off prospective customers. "No customer dares to come to us for to do this, in all probability, he will have to first wade through knee-deep slush, or at least, face a nauseating smell emanating from such stuff." He complained that sweepers deputed by the Market Committee are rarely seen engaged in the cleaning process.

The deterioration of the situation is due to frequent blockade of the sewer system, for which officials hold vendors and vegetable merchants responsible. "In fact, the problem gets compounded as vendors throw the rotten vegetables on road, which, in turn get stuck in the sewer system, the layout of which is faulty," remarked a Market Committee official. He said the situation could improve only with the active cooperation of vendors and vegetable merchants.

Besides garbage, another major problem, which dogs the place and results in frequent traffic bottlenecks is haphazard parking of vehicles for the purpose of unloading of fruits and vegetables in front of the shops of commission agents.

At times, the situation comes to such a pass that the entire road encircling the central shed is blocked with trucks and stacks of fruits and vegetables unloaded on the road and on the verandahs outside shops. Loads of straw and packing material coming with vegetables and fruits are generally left on the road, which in turn take the shape of slush with the passage of vehicles over them after slight showers.

Mr Ashish Kundra, Administrator of the Market Committee, said efforts were being made to give a cleaner look to the place.

"In the first phase, we are going to hire 10 more sweepers for the market," he added, saying that a proposal was under consideration for clearing the sewer system.

He said 80 per cent of the roads of the area had been recarpeted and the rest would be repaired within a fortnight.