Tarn Taran Diary: Love for art, as seen through history
Harman Singh, a student of Class X, has great love for art and culture. He has created a number of models of gurdwaras, saints and other great personalities and religious places. He was attracted toward this hobby in art and culture during the Covid-19 pandemic and used his time to read Sikh history. He then started giving shape to his art with paper and card board. He never wastes his precious time on mobile or other unhelpful activities and in his spare time reads books on Sikh history. With his feelings and emotions, he has created a model of the century-old building of Sri Harmandir Sahib, Amritsar. Recently, he created the scene of the martyrdom of fifth Sikh Guru Sri Arjan Dev when the Guru was made to sit on an iron sheet (tatti tavi) with fire under it by the Mughal emperor Jahangir to kill him. His creations talk of the brave history of Sikhs. At the age of just 17 years, he has been honoured by the Jathedar of Akal Takht for his service to enrich Sikh history. Off and on, he has given space by the media and TV channels. He has great desire to do more work in Sikh history and he reads more and more books for this.
A stone steeped in history
There is a historic stone in Tarn Taran town on Muradpur Road which was laid on May 7, 1935. The stone laid 89 years back is historical in itself as it was laid by the then Deputy Commissioner, Amritsar, with Tarn Taran being part of Amritsar district then.
Tarn Taran was given the status of a revenue district in June, 1996 by the then Captain Amarinder Singh government. On the stone, the name of the then Deputy Commissioner is not readable but what can be made out is that in those days, in place of the IAS, there used to be ICS officers. The place where the stone was laid was opened for the Municipal Committee, Tarn Taran. It was a playground in those days and was meant for organising political conferences too where Pandit Jawahar Lal Nehru, the then Prime Minister and other leaders, used to address meetings. The stone with such rich history was totally neglected by the administration and the Archaeological Survey of India (ASI) must come forward to conserve it as it is part of the region’s history. At present, the stone with such history behind it, has never been cleaned ever.
Pawan Kumar, IAF employee, bags bronze in bodybuilding
Pawan Kumar (35) of Tarn Taran, an employee of the Indian Air Force, has ranked third in the 14th South Asian Bodybuilding and Physique Sports Championship-2024. He has been awarded the bronze medal for his achievement. The sports championship was organised by the Bodybuilding Association of Maldives held at Male, under the leadership of South Asian Bodybuilding and Physique Sports Federation recently.
The five-day sports championship was inaugurated with fanfare. He took part in the 90 kg group. After the conclusion of the sports championship, Pawan Kumar had rejoined his duties. His father Balram Kumar, a retired Patwari, said that Pawan Kumar started taking keen interest in sports at a very early age. Balram Kumar himself is a body-builder and Pawan too took to the sport at home. Pawan joined the Air Force about 13 years back and started body-building regularly as soon as he joined the Air Force. His boss Guriqbal Singh Kutwal always boosted his morale. Balram Kumar said that Pawan never missed practice and took a balanced diet. Pawan said that his dream is to go way ahead and achieve a position at the world level. Pawan Kumar was awarded with a medal and certificate in the competition at Male. (Contributed by Gurbaxpuri)
