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HIMACHAL PRADESH |
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Dalhousie
One killed: The top-quality seed of various crops was destroyed when a canter fell into a deep gorge at Dobh village, near Bhanjraru, about 80 km from here, on Saturday. The driver succumbed to his injuries on the way to hospital. The deceased has been identified as Puran Chand of Ladhan village.Mandi
Immolation threat: Purva Chaynit JBT Abhiyarthi Mahasbaha vice-president Suresh Kumar warned on Sunday that its members would be forced to commit self-immolation if the state government failed to start a training programme for selected JBT teachers. Man
assaults wife, held: Niku Ram, 65, a resident of Padru under the Balh police station, reportedly severely beat up his wife, Mastu Devi. She was admitted to the Ratti community hospital. The man has been arrested and a case registered. Thief
arrested: A thief was caught and a stolen vehicle recovered from him here on Sunday. The Mahindra vehicle (HP-35-5500) recovered from him was stolen from Nar Chowk a night before. He was later identified as Budh Ram, 23, a resident of Nagchla. The vehicle was restored to its owner Krishan Chand. Budh Ram was dressed like a woman at the time of arrest. Stir threat: The Oriental Insurance Officers’ Association has threatened to intensify its struggle if the management did not withdraw the changes made in the officers’ promotion policy that has hit the chances of promotion.
NAHAN
Digvijay is Nagrik Sabha chief: Leading social worker Digvijay Singh was unanimously elected president of the Nagrik Sabha of Nahan on Sunday. The Sabha has authorised him to form the executive body of the organisation. The newly elected president in a statement said he would raise burning issues of the town and will march ahead by taking all the social organisations of the town into confidence. PALAMPUR
Eye unit inaugurated: A seminar on diabetes and eye-care was held at the local Rotary Eye Hospital on Sunday. The seminar was organised to mark the inauguration of a state of the art vitreoretina unit in the hospital. Dr S.K. Sharma, director of the hospital said this was the latest addition to the existing anterior segment facilities and said this was the first unit to be installed in the state.
Regional potpourri
Fading image
This old-world camera belonging to Ramesh Kumar is a rare sight in this digital era.
— Photo by Ravi Kumar |
In this hi-tech age of digicams and handycams, Ramesh Kumar may seem the odd man out. Still, passersby stop to see him at work.He runs a photo studio under a shady tree near the Karnal bus stand and can be seen clicking away in the sunlight. What makes him a rare sight is that he’s probably the only photographer in the town who still uses a plate camera. In his mid-40s, Ramesh may not know the type of camera he is using, but sees it as an interesting instrument to keep memories alive. This antique camera requires the photographer to put his face in a wooden box to adjust the focus. The same box serves as a dark room where the prints are developed. Unlike today’s sophisticated gadgetry, his contraption works only in natural light. He had bought the camera for Rs 8,000 from a shop in Chandni Chowk in Delhi. “I was a vegetable and fruit vendor earlier. But my passion for photography made me take it up as a business. Now, even this work is not fetching much returns,” he rues. He wants to wind up his business as he feels people have lost interest in old-fashioned photography. “In this highly competitive market, I have to be content with whatever the customer is willing to pay,” says this old-world shutterbug, who may soon fade out of this profession. A magnificent spiritual journey
Madhu Sud and her family members with the Chandoa designed by her in
Amritsar. — Photo by Rajiv Sharma |
Spiritual journey to salvation has different meaning for different people. For Madhu Sud, it was a task ordained by the Almighty to embroider Sukhmani Sahib in silk to create a marvellous Chandoa at His altar. The road for Madhu to complete this task was a fulfilling spiritual experience. The Chandoa is for Madhu yet another milestone in the journey of Gurbani. One feels like offering prayers standing beneath the Chandoa. It's a transformation for a modest and an astute dress and fashion designer, who produced this magnificent piece of spiritual art. Gurdev Singh, a devotee of Bhai Sahib Harbhajan Singh Yogi, had a wish to have embroidered canopy Chandoa on Guru Granth Sahib in Denmark. He made a request to Madhu, who he thought was spiritually inclined to produce this aesthetic piece of work. Gurdev had never visualised that Madhu would produce hand- embroidered Sukhmani Sahib as a powerful manifestation of Gurbani, which is the first of its kind in the world. Madhu started reading Sukhmani Sahib many times, visualising and finally conceptualising the whole thing. Madhu sought answers from Sukhmani Sahib and found that the God was willing to give her strength to accomplish this wonderful task. The moment one enters the room to view Chandoa hung in one of the special prayer rooms, one is awestruck. It was a spiritual experience having the full text of Sukhmani Sahib. Two years of hard work and dedication went into the making of this Chandoa. Contributed by Vishal Joshi
and Ashok Sethi
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