& V I C I N I T Y
Friday, August 14, 1998
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C H A N D I G A R H & V I C I N I T Y |
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Friday, August 14, 1998 |
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spotlight today's calendar |
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Top
models walk the ramp |
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'Task force' set up for
excise scheme Telecom
cyber office opens tomorrow Rajput's
two revision petitions fail |
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Top models walk the ramp SAS NAGAR, Aug 13 — Top ramp models of the country featured in a fashion show organised to mark the launch of the local chapter of National Institute of Fashion Design here today. The big names included Shweta Menon, first Gladrag supermodel, Mehar Bhasin, Revlon supermodel, Ruchi Malhotra, Femina Miss Asia Pacific '95, Jaishree, Miss Personality '96 and Tina. The show titled "Fashion for Freedom", organised to mark 50 years of the country's Independence, however, had very little to do with history except titles of rounds — freedom struggle and "azadi". Most of the other rounds largely centred around popular dresses and typical music. In fact many of the rounds like "green envy" "nakhra", "vineyard musings" and "bagpipers" reminded one of the fashion show organised by the same institute last month. The music sounded similar but was of high quality. The light arrangements deserve a special mention. The fillers between two consecutive rounds were provided by dances of Sonu and Joseph of the Dynamites group. They impressed the audience with good choreography. Mehar Bhasin, Ruchi Malhotra, Shweta Menon and Tina left no doubts about their mastery in this brand of popular shows. The show began with the sequence, "freedom struggle", in which models walked in saffron outfits. The next sequence featured them in flowing whites, symbolic of peace. Untamed, "green envy" and "vineyard musings" sequences deserve a special mention. The arrangements at the
entry were chaotic, with even media-persons being abused
by security personnel manning the gate. A number of valid
passholders remained stranded for long outside the gate.
The venue was packed and scores of onlookers perched
themselves atop trucks, adjacent to the stadium walls. |
CITCO indicted, couple to get Rs
10,000 each CHANDIGARH, Aug 13 — The UT Consumer Disputes Redressal Forum (II) has pulled up the Chandigarh Industrial and Tourism Development Corporation for inconvenience caused to a local couple during a tour arranged by the corporation. The husband and wife will be paid Rs 10,000 each as compensation by the corporation. Mr R.P. Bajaj, president and Mr H.S. Walia and Mrs Kamlesh Gupta, both members, gave the order on a written complaint filed by Mr P.P. Bansal, a resident of Sector 27, against the CITCO and the general manager of the Tours and Travels, Chandigarh Tourism. Mr Bansal in his complaint alleged that he booked two tickets for Kathmandu in September, 1993, for a journey arranged, sponsored and advertised by CITCO. The passengers were to travel by a mini-bus. They were assured of a safe and comfortable journey. Mr Bansal further said that on the way a co-traveller received a spinal injury due to rash driving. In another accident, he himself received a head injury. He was admitted to hospital and the wound had to be stitched. Mr Bansal and his wife abandoned the bus and returned to the city by train from Varanasi. CITCO on its part accepted the introductory facts. It however, denied the accidents. The reply maintained that the injuries to the passenger had been caused due to his wrong sitting posture. The Forum, however, noticed that it could not be believed that a passenger could receive injury merely due to wrong sitting posture. It said "after all a passenger could not be travelling the entire journey in the same posture". It was the duty of the driver to drive carefully in case the condition of roads was poor. It seemed that the driver had not taken due care and caution. The forum pointed out that Mr Bansal and his wife "underwent lot of harassment, inconvenience, pain and mental disturbance because of bitter experience in bus travel". It ordered a consolidated compensation of Rs 10,000 each to Mr Bansal and his wife on all accounts, including costs of the complaint. CITCO has to comply with
the orders within a month of the receipt of the copy of
the order. |
Campus
Beat CHANDIGARH, Aug 13 — No teaching work was reported in the local colleges and Panjab University as the indefinite strike by teachers demanding higher pay scales entered its third day here today. Dharnas were organised at the college level and the number of students who came to the campus was negligible. The action committee of the Punjab and Chandigarh College Teachers' Union (PCCTU), Panjab University Teachers' Association (PUTA) and the Government College Teachers' Association have chalked out a detailed action plan for the coming days. A spokesperson of the action committee said a seminar on "teachers struggle and higher education" would be organised in the English department auditorium of PU on August 17. Three speakers would be invited on the occasion who will outline developments in the field of education in the past 50 years. A protest march will be organised in Sector 17 on August 21. Teachers from Punjab will join the march. Teachers will distribute "handbills against misleading advertisements of the government, and highlight the genuine reasons for strike", the spokesperson said. A rally will be organised at Gandhi Bhavan, PU, on August 27. Teachers from Punjab, Haryana, UT and Himachal are expected to attend the rally. Sources point out that general secretary of the All-India Federation of University and College Teachers' Organisation will address the gathering. Meanwhile 'dharnas' in colleges will continue. Students at the campus have expressed concern over the ongoing agitation. The Panjab University Students' Union at a meeting held today supported the cause of the teachers with regard to their demands. The union, however, disapproved the action of going on an indefinite strike. The organising secretary, Mr Rohit Sharma "described the step as unethical, destructive and fatal for students. The strike was causing unnecessary delay in their academic session." The president of the
Haryana Students' Association urged the teachers to
resume work for the "benefit of the students."
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Crime
File CHANDIGARH, Aug 13 — Two of the accused in the alleged kidnapping of a minor girl from the Shaheed Bhagat Singh colony have been arrested. The girl was allegedly kidnapped on August 4. The two arrested persons are Sanjay and Joginder. The police is on the look out for the third person, Jeet Singh, allegedly involved in the crime. All three are residents of the same locality. Assaulted: A resident of the Punjab Engineering College campus, Surinder Kumar, was allegedly assaulted by certain unknown persons on Wednesday night. The police has registered a case. Money stolen: A sum of Rs 1.15 lakh was stolen from the glove compartment of Panchkula resident Praveen Kumar Garg's scooter by two persons who promised him admission in the PEC. The duo — Ravinder Kumar and Pankaj — planned a strategy under which the money was stolen as the vehicle was parked outside the estate office in Sector 17. Car stolen: A Maruti car (CH-01-H-3669) owned by Mr R.K. Ghai of Sector 21, had been stolen from Sector 17, the police said on Thursday. PANCHKULA Found
dead: An unidentified woman, aged about 35, was
found dead near the Sector 7 and 17 roundabout here on
Thursday. An autopsy on the body was conducted. The cause
of death is reported to be some illness. |
'Task force' set up for excise
scheme CHANDIGARH, Aug. 14 — A scheme which minimises litigation, lessons harassment of assesses and accrues revenue from central excise duty is scheduled to be launched, across the country, from September 1 next. Officialy named as "kar vivad samadhan" scheme, 1998, it is for a limited period. This exercise aims at giving "mini-amnesty" to those assesses, who have defaulted in payment of central excise duty commensurating with their business turnout and were duly issued show cause notices prior to March 31 last. It had come to the notice of the authorities in New Delhi that certain business houses owed duty payable under the central excise provisions running into hundreds of crores. Therefore, on the lines of the voluntary disclosures of income scheme the "kar vivad samadhan" scheme was framed hoping that at least 50 per cent of the outstanding revenue will be recovered from those who had evaded payment. The scheme was first announced by the Union Finance Minister in his Budget proposals for 1998-99. The scheme ends on December 31, 1998. According to Commissioner II, central excise and customs, Mr I.R. Soni, for the said purpose a "task force" headed by Deputy Commissioner, Mr S.J. Singh, has been constituted as the "designated authority" for the said purpose. The charge of Mr Soni comprises of Punjab (minus four districts: Fatehgarh Sahib, Patiala, Ludhiana and Ropar) and J & K. In his charge approximately 700 assesses had been served show cause notices prior to March 31,1998. The notices covered two types of defaulters — one where the levied duty, fine, penalty and interest is involved; and the others are where no duty is involved but only penalty, fine and interest. The amount recoverable from the two types of defaulting assesses, 700-odd, was calculated to be around Rs 120 crore. Under the proposed scheme, the designated authority will talk to the party concerned. Once an agreement is reached, the defaulter will pay 50 per cent of the amount due from it within 30 days of the orders passed by the commissioner. In the first type 50 per cent deposit will mean only the "duty" and not penalty, fine or interest. In the second category, where there is no duty involved but only penalty, fine and interest, again 50 per cent of the total amount of the three will have to be deposited. Once that payment is made the commissioner will issue a "certificate". The case will be "compounded". The entire process will be completed before December 31, next. This amnesty, Mr Soni,
clarified, was not applicable to such assessees who faced
either "criminal" or "detention"
proceedings. Any amount paid in pursuance of a
declaration made shall not be refundable under any
circumstances as outlined in the scheme. |
Be alert, SSP tells residents CHANDIGARH, Aug 14 — As part of the security arrangements for Independence Day, the Chandigarh Police has advised residents to keep an eye on suspicious-looking persons and also help the police identify those who have recently bought houses in Chandigarh or have moved into the city and taken a house on rent. The police has also asked the public to avoid touching any unidentified or abandoned objects like a transistor, radio, television set, or a brief case. In such circumstances the police should be informed. It has also sought the cooperation of the public in identifying those moving about in suspicious circumstances, the local SSP, Mr C.S.R. Reddy, said. Policemen have been deputed to check each and every bus and search luggage while passengers have been asked to be cautious and look for unclaimed objects beneath their seats. People have also been warned to check vehicles parked by them. In case of rumour-mongers, the police should be informed immediately and the citizens are advised not to get panicky. The SSP added all staff
members have been drafted for official duty and put on
security job. This is in addition to the staff already in
police stations. The checking of vehicles is also being
carried out and the identity of strangers moving about in
night is being verified. |
Telecom cyber office opens
tomorrow CHANDIGARH, Aug 13 — Chandigarh Telecom will open its cyber office as it goes online on August 15 to mark the culmination of the golden jubilee of Indian independence. The online service will provide round-the-clock updated information about the department. Subscribers can get in touch with the officials through this and know of the facilities and options available. The department will also provide e-mail, identification codes for the public to get in touch with the officials in various wings of the department: customer service. chandigarhtelecom.com; accounts. chandigarhtelecom.com and planning. chandigarhtelecom.com are the three wings that can be interacted separately. Chandigarh has been the first Internet in north-western India, which was opened in 1996. Recently, additional equipment has been commissioned to meet the ongoing demand of subscribers wanting Internet connection. The department has also
sought comments and suggestions. One can visit the
website at http//:www.chandigarhtelecom.com. |
Solar eclipse on August 22 CHANDIGARH, Aug 14 (PTI) — An annular eclipse of the sun will occur on August 22, a meteorological department spokesman said here yesterday. The eclipse, visible in India as a partial eclipse except in north-west areas; will begin at 4.40 a.m. and end at 10.32 a.m. The partial phase of the
eclipse will be visible from the North Indian Ocean,
South-East Asia, South China, Indonesia, Malaysia, the
Philippines, the Republic South Japan, Australia, New
Zealand and South Pacific ocean. |
CHANDIGARH, Aug 13 — The Municipal Corporation, Chandigarh, (MCC), and the Chandigarh Housing Board today organised a joint function to honour the freedom fighters of the city at Tagore Theatre. The UT Administrator, Lieut-Gen B.K.N. Chhibber (retd), presented mementoes and shawls on behalf of the MCC to 42 freedom fighters and their widows and wards. General Chhibber also distributed eligibility letters for allotment of flats to 11 freedom fighters, who could not get flats in the freedom fighters' scheme in 1985. The dwelling units in the scheme were constructed by the board. The freedom fighters who were given eligibility letters are Mr O.P. Vij, Mr Harswaran Singh, Mr Lal Singh, Mr Lal Chand, Mr Jagir Singh Sekhon, Mr Jagir Singh Bajwa, Mr Gurdip Singh Bhatti, Mr Kuldip Singh Batra, Mr Om Parkash Sharda, Mr Maksudan Singh, and Mr Puran Singh. General Chhibber said any country which could not give due honour and dignity to its freedom fighters was bound to be doomed. He added that if certain freedom fighters had been left out in the verification process by the the board, these cases could be taken up by the board. Mr Jagdish Sagar, Advisor to the Administrator, said that the long-standing demand of the freedom fighters had been met after the board worked out a new scheme to allot 11 more dwelling units to them. Mr Satya Pal Jain, local MP, said anything done for the freedom fighters was much less. He claimed that after the nuclear tests, India had emerged as one of the powerful nations of the world. The Chairperson of the board, Ms Meenakshi Datta Ghosh, said the board was delighted to make this gesture. But she cautioned that if the board were to learn that information provided by freedom fighters was inaccurate or facts had been suppressed, the board would be constrained to revise the decision. The president of the Chandigarh Freedom Fighters' Association, Mr O.P. Vij, while taking a dig at the politicians and bureaucrats for not doing much for the freedom fighters, said all that they wanted was love and respect. Earlier, the Mayor, Mr
Gian Chand Gupta, welcomed the guests. |
Rama Chhibber's stress on
children's health CHANDIGARH, Aug 14 —- Children are the future of the country and it is our duty to see that the nation produces healthy children and they are brought up in a good environment. This was the opinion of Rama, wife of UT Administrator, Lieut Gen. B.K.N. Chhibber (retd), as she was speaking at the conclusion of the Matri Suraksha Abhiyan at the poly clinic in Sector 22 here yesterday. She gave away prizes to 102 best pregnant and lactating mothers. The programme formed part of the forthnight-long golden jubilee celebrations of India's Independence. Each recipients was given a blanket, 30 capsules of Fefol and a book titled "Healthy Mother Healthy Child". More than 23000 pregnant and lactating mothers were registered from July 27 to August 8 by the UT Health Department. They were examined for blood pressure, weight, height, blood test for haemoglobin and urine examination. T.T immunisation and immunisation of the child against six deadly diseases was also done. The women were also educated about the required diet during pregnancy and lactating period. Of the mothers examined, 90 were found to be anaemic, 12 were having high blood pressure, one was overweight, one was below 5 feet in height and 12 were having sugar in urine. Of the 10,044 pregnant mothers, 632 were pregnant after third child. Otherwise all other women were already having two to three children. A total of 26 NGOs, the
Deputy Director, Song and Drama Division and the
Principal of Shishu Niketan Senior Model School, were
honoured by Mrs Chhibber. |
Tribal dances mark environment
week CHANDIGARH, Aug 14 — Tribal dances, plantation of saplings and painting competitions marked the "environment and nature conservation week" launched by the Western Command which culminated in a vanamahotsava at Don Vatika at Chandi Mandir, near here, yesterday. Addressing the gathering, the GOC-in-Chief, Lt-Gen H.B. Kala, called upon all ranks to take initiative in keeping the cantonment area clean and green. Underlining the need to create awareness about environment, he emphasised that a system should be devised for the proper disposal and recycling of plastic. The president of the Army Wives Welfare Association, Mrs Kusum Kala was the chief guest, and gave away prizes to the winners of different competitions organised during the past week. The 119 Assault Engineer Regiment and the 50 Light A.D. Regiment bagged the best garden maintenance and the best orchard maintenance awards, respectively. The environment week was also observed at other cantonments falling in the Western Sector. A vanamahotsava was also organised by the Punjab and Sind Bank at Naraingarh, near here. The SDM Mr S.S. Saini, was
the chief guest. |
Rajput's two revision petitions
fail CHANDIGARH, Aug 13 — The Additional Sessions Judge, Mr S.S. Lamba, today declined two revision petitions preferred in his court by Daljit Singh Rajput, a local advocate, contesting the order of the Judicial Magistrate, Mr A.K. Bishnoi, issuing his production warrants and remanding him in police custody for one year. Rajput, who was first arrested by the Ropar Police in connection with the Burail jail blow-up conspiracy case, was remanded in judicial lock-up. The local police, too, had registered a separate case. It had moved an application before the magistrate, seeking production warrants of Rajput with a view to interrogate him. The magistrate accepted the prayer of the police, issued production warrants of Rajput and later remanded him in police custody for one year. The plea of Rajput was that the magistrate did not have the powers to issue his production warrants. In his order the magistrate had observed: "Other proceedings mentioned in Section 267, Cr P.C. include investigation and as such I was competent to issue production warrants." He had further observed that the accused was required for custodial interrogation for the recovery of a mobile phone. Mr Lamba observed: "The observation of the magistrate has been supported by the Public Prosecutor on the dictum laid down by the Allahabad High Court in the Ranjeet Singh vs State of UP case." In that case it was held that the "other proceedings include investigation and the magistrate is well within his rights to issue production warrants." The accused-petitioner, on the other hand, referred to a Division Bench authority of the Rajasthan High Court in the case of Bharti Sachdeva vs State and others. In this case the high court had agreed with the Delhi High Court and had held that the investigation by the police could not be said to include "any other proceedings as they are not proceedings before the court." Mr Lamba held: "I have perused the authority very carefully. The bare perusal of Section 267, Cr P.C. makes it clear that the production are to be issued by the magistrate, when a person is required to answer to a charge. Requiring production of the accused during investigation would amount to facilitating the arrest of the accused by bringing him in the court." The judge further held: "The proper procedure, in fact, ought to have been to apply for an arrest warrant and to arrest the accused from the jail with the permission of the court concerned under whose order the accused was in judicial custody. However, this is my view, which is supported by the Rajasthan High Court. No authority of our own high court or for that matter the Supreme Court has been cited by either party." Under these circumstances, the judge held, if the magistrate had opted to take the view as expressed by the Allahabad High Court, it could not be said to be illegal or improper exercise of jurisdiction so as to set aside the order under revision. The revision to that extent failed and is dismissed. As for the police remand, the judge held: "I am of the view that the order for remanding the accused in police custody for one day cannot be termed as illegal. The present case involves the supply of arms in the jail premises with a view to blowing up the jail. The accused has been arrested with regard to the conspiracy." The police was well within
its right to seek the custodial interrogation of the
accused, the judge ruled. The magistrate, as such, had
rightly passed the order, granting police remand. The
police remand was only up to August 2. The revision
petition became infructuous. This petition, too, failed
and was dismissed. |
Panel discussion on IT
professionals CHANDIGARH, Aug 14 — A panel discussion on "Software professionals: India or abroad" was conducted yesterday by the local Computer Society of India (CSI). The panelists were Mr A.S. Sandhu of IIS Y2K Centre, Mr Anurag Sandhu, Director, CANAM, consultants, and Mr Sanjay Arora, Chairman, CSI. They discussed the opportunities and means for IT professionals to work abroad and the pros and cons of going there. Mr A.S. Sandhu explained in detail how to compete the US market. While Mr Anuraj Sandhu discussed Canadian immigration. Mr Sanjay Arora stressed on the need for making a scientific comparison between the scenarios here and abroad before taking a decision. This was the fourth in the series of panel discussions which the CSI conducts twice a month.
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Declamation
contest CHANDIGARH, Aug 14 — A declamation contest was organised by the Chandigarh Territorial Congress Committee as part of the golden jubilee celebrations of independence here yesterday. Arushi Singh from Government College for Girls, Sector 11, Shekhar Juneja from the Department of Public Administration, PU, and Yasmin Iqbal of the Department of Laws, PU, stood first, second and third, respectively. Mr Pawan Kumar Bansal, a former member of Parliament, gave away the prizes. Earlier during the day Mr Bansal inaugurated a painting competition at Government College of Education, Sector 20. Over 340 students took part in the contest.
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Help in
investigation, Registrar told CHANDIGARH, Aug 14 — The Investigating Officer of the alleged multi-crore sugar mills scandal yesterday made a statement before Mr Justice Swatantar Kumar, a judge of the Punjab and Haryana High Court, that the investigation of the case could not be completed because of the unavailability of certain files relating to the case. The judge asked the Investigating Officer how long would he take to complete the investigation. "Do you need one year to complete the enquiry"? asked the judge. Mr Justice Swatantar Kumar directed the Registrar of the Punjab and Haryana High Court to make available whatever record available in the high court to the Investigating Officer to help in the investigation. The judge directed the
officer to complete the enquiry, if possible, by August
27 when the case will again come up for hearing. |
Notice to defence for August 19
in jail blow-up conspiracy CHANDIGARH, Aug 13 — The Sessions Judge, Mr B.S. Bedi, today issued notice to the defence for August 19 on a revision petition filed by the Chandigarh Police against the order of the Judicial Magistrate, Mr A.K. Bishnoi, turning down its request for permission to interrogate Jagtar Singh Hawara and Jagtar Singh Tara, in the Burail jail blow-up conspiracy. Tara and Hawara are undertrials in the Beant Singh assassination case and are lodged in Burail jail. Both suspects cannot be taken out of the jail premises in view of the notification issued by the Chandigarh Administration for keeping them within the jail premises. A few suspects already arrested by the local police were alleged to have smuggled a mobile phone into the jail for use by Hawara. They were also accused of smuggling some explosives into the jail. Hawara was suspected to
blow up the jail and escape. |
Functions 'mark' 50 years of
Independence CHANDIGARH, Aug 14 — Various functions were organised for school children as part of the ongoing golden jubilee celebrations of India's Independence here yesterday. In Government Model Senior Secondary School, Sector 33, a talk was delivered by Mr Ram Narain Joshi, a veteran freedom fighter. Students took out a 'prabhat pheri" where students carried placards with messages of national unity and glory of the nation. A 'prabhat pheri' was also taken out by students of Government Senior Secondary School, Ram Darbar, which was presided over by Mrs Kamlesh, a municipal councillor. Saplings were also planted. Government Senior Secondary School (38-West) organised a cultural programme. A march in which over 700 children participated was also organised. GSSS, Sector 19, organised a sapling plantation drive. Mr D.S. Mangat, DPI (Schools), presided over the function. Floral tributes were paid to martyrs. A cultural programme was the highlight of the day. More than 200 saplings were planted in GSSS, Karsan, as part of the celebrations. The school also organised a 'prabhat pheri' and a cultural programme. The local Punjab National Bank organised a medical camp in Moti Ram Arya Senior Secondary School, Sector 27. The Ministry of Science
and Technology will organise a "Geo Map" quiz
in the Survey of India office on August 17. Schools from
the UT, SAS Nagar and Panchkula are to take part. |
UT promotes over 60 teachers CHANDIGARH, Aug 14 — More than 60 teachers have been promoted by the UT education department in the past few days. Mr D.S. Mangat, DPI (Schools), talking to TNS here yesterday, said that promotions had been made in various categories of teachers in government schools. A number of teachers had also been promoted from JBTs to masters; PTIs to DPEs; and similarly in other streams of science and arts. Teachers had been complaining about stagnation for the past few years. There have been no promotions effectively since 1992, leading to resentment among various cadres. No more promotions are on the anvil, Mr Mangat added.
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All over recovery charges CHANDIGARH, Aug 14 — An Ambala resident, Mr Ranbir Singh Ahluwalia, is a harassed man. Just to get Rs 500, a sum he deposited with the PGI, he has been to Chandigarh at least 15 times but to no avail. Mr Ahluwalia 's father was admitted to the PGI on April 24 and he died four days later. A sum of Rs 500 was deposited as recovery charges for the body. This, he says, is
refundable. However, despite attempts no money has been
received by him. |
Rally against price rise, graft CHANDIGARH, Aug 14 — Activists of the local unit of the Lok Shakti staged a rally in Sector 17 to protest against the price rise, corruption and lawlessness in the country. Addressing the rally, Mr Sudesh Kumar Sharma, general secretary of the party unit, said the leadership was not concerned and was not doing anything about the state of affairs in the country. The working of the local municipal corporation was also criticised. A memorandum was later
presented to the Deputy Commissioner. |
Powermen threaten to intensify stir CHANDIGARH, Aug 14 — Members of the UT Powermen Union staged a dharna in support of their demands in front of the Electricity Subdivision 7 in Sector 35 here yesterday. The protesters raised slogans against the Chandigarh administration and demanded PSEB scales for the left-out categories, creation of additional posts in view of increased workload and grant of promotions after four, nine and 14 years of service. Mr Bhag Mal Rana, general secretary of the union, said that the protesters would be forced to intensify their agitation if their demands were not met by August 19.
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Bansal wants CHB action probed CHANDIGARH, Aug 14 — The president of the local unit of the Congress, Mr Pawan Bansal, has demanded a thorough probe as to how the Chandigarh Housing Board collected money in the name of "development charges" from co-operative house building societies and never carried out adequate development. He was reacting to the news item published in The Tribune yesterday that had mentioned how only 10 per cent of the 105 acres of land had been developed. Mr Bansal said that the CHB had acted as a "profit-hungry middle man." He demanded that the Chandigarh Administration should terminate the lease rights of the CHB and the societies should be made direct lessees. The former MP demanded the
formation of a special cell headed by a senior officer of
the Administration to look into the problems of the
societies. |
CHANDIGARH: The word "Freedom" holds varied meaning for different people. For some it means "liberty", for others like Shovana Narayan it stands for "a manifestation of the inner self or the breaking of barriers". Gandhiji it seems took it as "home rule". He opined, "freedom is never dear at any price. It is the breath of life. What would a man not pay for living". A dear cost he paid to make his country free! This small statured, fragile man has made an impact on many. His thoughts and philosophy have inspired several — one such is Haku Shah from Gujarat. Haku Shah, recipient of Rockefeller and Nehru fellowships and a Padmashri in 1981, has been greatly influenced by Gandhian philosophy. He has used pieces of white handspun cotton, bits of handmade paper, postage stamps and bamboo strips to create his works, which are being displayed under the title "Gandhi Ka Noor Meri Nazar Se," at Government Museum and Art Gallery. This exhibition, which will remain open till September 15, was first put up in Delhi, then Mumbai and later at Durban. The exhibition has been made possible due to the combined efforts of the Chandigarh Administration and the local Lalit Kala Academi. "Gandhi Meri Nazar Se" is a journey into a world of meditative silence and introspection. It is a world which holds both hope and despair. Pondering over the frames, gives an insight into the two principles of Gandhi's life — minimalism and simplicity. * * * "The people liked her, loved her. She was the people's princess and that is how she will remain in our hearts forever". She was granted her wish when she had said: "I want to rule over the people's hearts". Rule she did. Lady Diana, with her charming smile, soft eyes and elegance unobtrusively travelled into our very cores and snuggled there for times to come. 'Darling of the camera', she was the most photographed lady in the world. As long as she was alive, she was hounded for giving clues to interesting stories. Her death took the world by storm. The Princess, "the heartthrob of millions" bade goodbye with as much fanfare as she lived. She inspired many to dedicate their works to her. Same is the case with Nirmal Singh of Jalandhar who has tried to capture Diana in her various moods in his sketches. They are simple pencil sketches, a few are in pastel colours. Without any formal training he has done a good job. Diana's concern for children, the poor and landmines, egged Nirmal to choose her as his subject. Diana is there in the verandah of the Government Museum and Art Gallery as a six-month old, a teenager, a mother of two, in her wedding gown, as a messenger of love and warmth, along with Mother Teresa. She is there in different roles with her winsome smile. The exhibition has been put up only for a day as all galleries of the venue were booked. This one should be given an opportunity to display longer as it is a matter closer to a common man's heart. Besides, it is so near to this "loved by all" personality's death anniversary. — Priti Verma From purple wigs to watermelon CHANDIGARH: Wednesday was the day of probing the genes of violence present in every individual with Mallika Sarabhai and Thursday at Government Art Museum, it was the day of the bizarre coupled with the tangible, with Maya Krishna Rao, who presented a production titled "4-Wheel Drive", "Come to me Mr Sharma" and "Body fat Murdered Show". Beginning with purple wigs to cucumber pieces, to huge video screens, to spoons and forks and outrageous dresses to finally a watermelon, Maya Rao created an assortment of stimulating images that kept the audience in splits. The effect of the symbolist, the surrealist and the fantastic was present not only in her body movements or her voice, but also in her whole self. The varied themes of a quintessential South Indian residing in the north, an accented North Indian coming back from the USA with a heavy drawl and of a fussy cookery show host was like experiencing a wave of unrestrained energy. The tirade of dialogues in the off- the-hat manner, that captured the essence of being a Chandigarhian — with a dig at schools hiking the fee, or the stress one felt on reaching Sector 17, or the importance of parsley and tadka in cooking — did more than simply entertain. The coffee-breaks in between various acts and the filming of the audience to make them appear on the TV screens broke barriers between performers and the audience, who suddenly sat prettily self-conscious when being filmed! Between the donning of one weird costume on top of another and wearing a swimsuit to jump into a pool, Maya Rao was teamed with her daughter Mimansa and Zulekha, who were in charge of the lights and the video camera. Ending the show with a slide-show that seemed to be a wallop on all pseudo-intellectuals who derive inspiration from the "wonderful mess of being an Indian", Maya Rao entered into the role of a preceptor who responds vociferously to the immediate surroundings. The grand finale with a "red and succulent" watermelon all over Maya's face and body, as the symbol of robust freshness in summer, and it was not hard to agree with "Just your 4-wheel drive and the melon by your side. You don't need him". —
Sonoo Singh |
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