Axed school board employees hold dharna
Our Correspondent

SAS Nagar, August 13
Employees working as daily wage workers, on ad hoc basis and on contract with the Punjab School Education Board, who had been removed from service some time ago, sat in dharna in protest against the move of the board here today.

The protesters said they had been working for the education board for the past 10 years and instead of regularising their services the board authorities had removed them from their jobs. It is reported that 107 such employees had been removed from service on June 20 by the board authorities without giving any notice.

The protesters said the Punjab Government had issued a notification in 2001 in which it was said that the services of employees, who had worked for three years, be regularised. Later, a circular was also issued by the government which asked all boards and corporations in the state to implement the notification and later report back to the government in this regard. But, the employees alleged that the education board did not implement the notification. The employees said in March this year, the government issued directions which said all boards and corporations which had not regularised the services of employees keeping in view the notification issued in 2001 should regularise the service of employees by June 30.

The agitated employees said in May the government had issued another letter saying that employees who had been working for the past 10 years be regularised. Instead of taking action in accordance with the directions of the government, the board removed them from their jobs.

Another CBSE officer transferred
Tribune News Service

Chandigarh, August 13
Another officer posted at the Regional Office of the Central Board of Secondary Education (CBSE) in Sector 32 here has been transferred out in connection with the answer-book tempering scam which was unearthed in May.

It is learnt that Mr Rajbir Singh, who was posted as Assistant Secretary, was in charge of receiving the answer-books and then distributing these among the head examiners. He has been posted to the CBSE’s Allahabad office Mr Rajeshwar Sharma from the CBSE, Allahabad, replaces him.

The Chandigarh Police had unearthed a racket in May where employees of a private contractor employed by the CBSE to encode answer-books of the Class X examination used to take money from students to smuggle these out from the secrecy branch. The students would then fill in the correct answers and these would be smuggled back into the branch before being encoded and dispatched for marking.

The Chandigarh Police had arrested seven persons in this regard and seized a number of answer-books.

3-day function for students
Our Correspondent

Chandigarh, August 13
Students from five schools participated in a three-day function organised in connection with Independence Day by the Global Vision Home Charitable Trust and Gandhi Samarak Bhavan in Sector 16.

An inter-school song (solo and group) competitions and a declamation contest were also held. The winners of the competitions were Manish from Modern Convent School, Kirti, Rohit, Ajay, Shiv Kumar and Manglesh from the Institute for the Blind, Sector 26, besides Pooja, Shabnam, Sama, Mala and Durgesh from Pustak.

On the concluding day, speech and group song competitions were held. In the speech competition, the first and the second prizes went to Sacred Heart Convent School and the third prize went to Pustak. In the group song category, Pustak bagged all prizes.

The competitions were held to raise funds for the education and health care of child rag-pickers of Sector 25 slums. 

At last, recognition to guardian of Agra Gharana
Aditi Tandon
Tribune News Service

Chandigarh, August 13
As a celebrated vocalist of Agra Gharana, Pandit Yashpaul has created a vast repertoire of compositions that stand out not only for a remarkable rhythmic power but also for their simplified base. Known more for his innovations in the system of music education and less for his public appearances, Pandit Yashpaul has always been contented with the way life has treated him.

His only grouse over the years has been that the Punjab Government never really regarded him for his contribution to the structure of Agra Gharana and promotion of music consciousness in this part of the region.

Now as the Punjab Government has decided to award him the prestigious Samman Patra for his unstinted efforts in preserving the Hindustani classical vocal tradition, Pandit Yashpaul is exhilarated. Today, ahead of the award ceremony to be held at Kapurthala on August 15, Pt Yashpaul said the government had finally woken up to his existence.

Especially recognised for his khayal singing, international perfection, intuitive insight, creative vitality and the purity of the raga, Pt Yashpaul is famous also for his raga vistaar. He has composed over 300 original pieces based on the original structure of the raga. He has also created ragas under the pen name of Sagun Piya. The lyrics of his compositions are based on love, nature, relationships, devotion and philosophy.

He said: “After 45 years of labour that went into promoting music in this region, I always wondered why the government had never thought it proper to notice me. Besides having a teaching career that spans 45 years, I have also been under the tutelage of doyens of Agra Gharana like Ustad Vilayat Hussain Khan and Ustad Yunus Hussain Khan. I imbibed and promoted music all my life. Even as days passed, no recognition came my way. Not that my musical journey was hampered by this dismissal, but I used to feel frustrated at times. I am happy after this award not only for myself but also for my gurus, who gave me the gift of music.”

After retiring as Head of the Department of Music, Panjab University, Chandigarh, in 1997, Pt Yashpaul has been teaching the nuances of Agra Gharana to his disciples. Incidentally, this is his sole means of livelihood now. Says the vocalist: “When I came to Chandigarh in 1962, there was no conspicuous musical consciousness. There were some admirers, but they were scattered over vast areas. I got them all together under the aegis of Swar Sangam. I used to organise music conferences and concerts so as to introduce Punjab, Haryana and Chandigarh to the rich musical legacy we possessed. My forte was Agra Gharana in which I went on to create my own pieces.” Pt Yashpaul’s devotion as a teacher has resulted in one of his students being awarded with the prestigious Sangeet Natak Akademi Award by the President on July 6. That’s not the end of the road for this vocalist, who is guarding the Agra tradition. As he says: “I wish success to many more disciples.”

Ranjit Bajaj MTV Roadies finalist
Tribune News Service

Chandigarh, August 13
Ranjit Bajaj, the city lad has made it to the coveted list of the seven finalists who will now form part of MTV’s adventure expedition, to be flagged off from Chennai on August 15.

Ranjit’s selection follows a rigorous selection process that was held all over the country in various rounds. The Chandigarh auditions of MTV’s first adventure reality show — “MTV Roadies” — that draws content from the famous Road Rules show MTV, was held on July 16.

After a long-drawn schedule at the auditions of MTV Roadies at hotel Mount View, fate had finally favoured 11 girls and 22 boys who thronged the venue of the audition from far off places like Shimla, Ropar, Patiala and Ludhiana. Ranjit Bajaj was the one selected from the region.

Auditions of the show were hosted in Chandigarh by MTV veejay Cyrus Sahukar, who had admitted, “This show is not about games. It’s about exploring the beautiful world and tasting it in all its flavours.” The adventure show will last 40 days during which the seven selected roadies will cover the 4000 km route from Chennai to Chail. en route, they will have the opportunity to visit breathtaking locations, enjoy the best of spas, live in haunted houses, build cow-sheds and plant trees.