Vinod Khanna's legacy lingers through wife
People, these days, judge a man according to the legacy he has left. No big names or monuments are needed to keep someone’’s memory alive. All people look for are the seeds that have been left, are they blooming or has everything evaporated into thin air? Four-time MP and film icon Vinod Khanna often used to say that our life’s work determines our legacy and the impact we have on the world. His legacy and memory are now being kept alive by his wife Kavita Khanna. Ever since the film star passed away in April 2017, she has been regularly visiting the constituency. So much so, she still maintains a house here despite spending a large part of her time in Mumbai. Four years ago, she organised a cultural programme in her actor-husband’s memory in Pathankot. Artists and singers were roped in from Mumbai for the three hour long show which showcased the best of songs picturised on Vinod Khanna by the best of music directors. She had recently donated Rs 3 lakh to the Gurdaspur Red Cross De-addiction Centre. This week, in her capacity as a trustee of the Art of Living, she presided over a one hour long meditation programme held for principals and heads of government and private educational institutions. The event was held at the Shanti Devi Arya Mahila College in Dinanagar. Credit is also due to Principal Reena Talwar who was gracious enough to lend her college auditorium. Kavita has plans to undertake a drug de-addiction rehabilitation programme for which she is already in touch with experts. People, however, are attributing different motives for her presence in the constituency. Some say she is in the reckoning for the BJP ticket for the 2024 Lok Sabha polls like she was during the 2017 by-elections and the 2019 polls. Others say she is building a support base for her future endeavours into politics. On her part, she just terms such speculations as rumours. She has some plans for the future and says she will disclose them when the time is apt. “Do something today that your future self will thank you for. Moreover, I have an avid interest in the future because that is where I am going to spend the rest of my life,” she says.
Gurdaspur celebrates Martyrs’ Day
If not us, who? If not now, when? These must have been the thoughts uppermost in the minds of revolutionaries Bhagat Singh, Sukhdev Thapar and Shivaram Rajguru as the troika knocked the living daylights out of the British empire. If an ungrateful nation does not remember its heroes, a time will come when it will have none. Hence, it is apt that a nation should remember these warriors with dignity, decorum and distinction. Led by Deputy Commissioner Himanshu Aggarwal, SSP Harish Dayama and SDM Amandeep Kaur Ghuman, Gurdaspur celebrated the heroics of these freedom fighters by holding a district-level function at the Sukhjindra Group of Institutes.
(Contributed by Ravi Dhaliwal)
