The Tribune, Chandigarh, India

Saturday, October 7, 2000,
Chandigarh, India

L U D H I A N A S T O R I E S

Dengue spreads while MC, Health Dept sleep
By Jupinderjit Singh
Tribune News Service

LUDHIANA, Oct 6 — Despite the denials of officials of the District Health Department regarding the outbreak of the dengue fever in the city, it is all set to assume epidemic proportions.

While the office of the Civil Surgeon says that only four cases of dengue have been confirmed, Ludhiana Tribune has found that hundreds of persons have been infected. They are receiving treatment in several private clinics in the city.

According to official figures, not more than 20 cases of dengue have been reported so far, including the two that have been reported today. However, according to a survey, several private medical practitioners have been receiving about 10 patients of dengue fever daily.

Experts fear that the number is likely to swell as the incubation period of the dengue virus is from two to 15 days. The number of cases of dengue have increased rapidly since the first week of October. Many other persons might also have been bitten by the mosquito.

The outbreak of the disease is not rare here. A large number of such cases are reported every year. The incidence of the disease is more prevalent in the city, while the number of affected persons in the rural areas is negligible. However, there is no sign of any preventive measure taken by the office of the Civil Surgeon or the Municipal Corporation. Officials have been caught napping this year as well.

Visit Janakpuri, Shivpuri, Sherpur, Dabba Road, Shimlapuri or any other slum area to see the high number of cases of dengue fever. Private medical practitioners regularly visit patients who complain of fever and bleeding. While most clinics are equipped to treat patients of dengue, the others refer the patients to Christian Medical College or Dayanand Medical College and Hospital here.

The survey has revealed that officials take action only after a few cases of dengue are confirmed. The confirmation test that is suggested by the office of the Civil Surgeon is the serology test. Many clinics in the city do not have the facility to conduct this test. Some private doctors, on the condition of anonymity, said they detected dengue only on the basis of symptoms and blood tests. They said, when the platelet-count decreased and the patient complained of bleeding, weakness, joint pains and mild fever, it was a case of dengue fever.

However, official confirm a case of dengue only after they receive results of the serology test. The office of the Civil Surgeon has not deputed its staff in all city clinics. It monitors the number of patients that are admitted in big hospitals only.

Dr R.C. Garg, District Health Officer, said their teams were monitoring the situation in the main hospitals of the city. He said it was not possible for them to keep monitor the number of patients that approach private medical practitioners. He said it was the duty of the private practitioners to report immediately to the Health Department if they detected a case of the fever.

However, private practitioners say that they do not report to the office of the Civil Surgeon because they are harassed later. They alleged that officials reproached them for leaking the reports of the incidence of the dengue fever to the Press. They also have to foot the bills of serology tests.

Dr Garg said, with cooperation of people, the outbreak of the disease could be controlled. About the steps taken by the office of the Civil Surgeon, he said the it had educated the residents about the need for cleaning away the water accumulated in coolers and the other machinery. He said 26 dispensaries in the city had been directed to keep surveying their area of operations for any incidence of the disease. He said the Municipal Corporation had also been requested to flush out stagnant water that had accumulated in several parts of the city.

Mr Dalip Kumar, Additional Commissioner of the MC, said it was not possible to flush out all stagnant water in the city as most mosquitoes bred in the water that accumulated in coolers or tyres. He said the department took remedial action as soon as a dengue case was reported. He said the MC had also decided to educate the public by advertising preventive measures on Siti Cable.

PAU to test paddy samples from Punjab mandis: VC
By Surbhi Bhalla

LUDHIANA, Oct 6 — Punjab Agricultural University has collected a number of samples of fresh crop paddy brought by farmers to mandis in various district of Punjab to test the veracity of the claim by the Chairman of the FCI, Mr Bhure Lal, that 80 per cent of the paddy being brought to the mandis was defective.

This was disclosed here today by the PAU Vice Chancellor, Dr G. S. Kalkat, in a talk with Ludhiana Tribune. He said tests would be carried out in the PAU labs to test the moisture and to identify the precise fault in the paddy after milling it.

Dr Kalkat said there were some spots on the grains, but it was yet to be ascertained whether the spots were confined to the husk or these permeated the grains also. Dr Kalkat also stressed that the quality of paddy produced by the farmers of Punjab this year was in no way inferior to that of paddy produced last year.

Shifting the liability of the present crisis in procurement of paddy to the food procurement agencies, Dr Kalkat informed that the paddy produced this year is better than that of last year, specially in terms of moisture content .

Advocating the case of the farmers of the state Dr Kalkat said the government should come forward to help them because their income from farming had come down over the years. He also asserted that the farmers should be paid remunerative prices for their produce. He disclosed that all these years farmers had been paid 22 to 31 per cent less than the international price. He said the government should keep the interests of the farmers in mind, and help them in such a crisis.

According to Dr Kalkat, the paddy was not so bad that it did not come up to the expectations and match of the specifications set by Government of India. Regarding other defects pointed out by the FCI in paddy like discolouration and broken grains, Dr Kalkat said he would only comment after the report of the samples came to light.

“I personally believe that the grain has not been spoiled’’ he said. But he strongly refuted that there was anything wrong with the seed or the soil of the region.

Being sympathetic with the farmers, Dr Kalkat said the farmers could repay their loans only if they were able to sell their produce. But the farmers were becoming poorer with each passing day, as today they were getting a return of Rs 300 to Rs 400 per quintal as compared to earlier times, when the farmer used to get Rs 500 to Rs 550 on an average.

He emphasised that Punjab Agricultural University always supplied and recommended the best available varieties of paddy to the farmers. The latest ones included PR 114, PR 115, PR 116.

However, Dr Kalkat was of the view that the farmers should reduce the area under paddy by 20 to 25 per cent.

He informed that an average farmer owned less than 5 acres of land. He suggested that the farmers should sow legume or fodder in atleast one acre of his/her land, which would save their expenditure in terms of weedicides and pesticides and help in producing better quality of succeeding wheat crop.

‘’The only solution to the present crisis is procurement of paddy at the minimum support price, and keeping farmers interest in mind,’’ said Dr Kalkat.

Cyber crime baffles police
By Ruchika Mohindra
Tribune News Service

LUDHIANA, Oct 6 — Lack of knowledge about cyber crimes and provisions for booking the accused under the Information Technology Act, 2000, by the local police and district legal experts have caused a major delay in booking the creator of a pornographic website, the visitors to the site and the Internet Service Provider (ISP) that had cast aspersions on the lifestyles of the wards of some select 'rich and famous' of the city, even as the said website was withdrawn today.

In spite of the fact that a group of six persons, whose names or the names of their wards figure in several pages of this site had formally complained to the police yesterday and a prompt action on part of the police and the district administration ensured the withdrawal of the website, the police has failed to register a case. In fact, no one was aware of the provisions under the Information Technology Act that deals with such crimes and were in a fix as to how to proceed further.

The SP City 1, Mr Gursharan Singh Sandhu, when contacted, said that the police, as well as the District Attorney were studying the Act and the accused would be booked after they were clear about the various provisions of the Act. " We have procured the address of the creator of the website from the ISP, Satyam Infoways, and a police party will be sent there soon. In addition, the ISP to the website, too, comes within the ambit of this Act," he informed.

Interestingly, the district administration, too, called a meeting of its officials to discuss the issue that has snowballed into a major controversy with a large number of people whose names figure in the website putting pressure on the administration to nab all the accused involved. The Deputy Commissioner, Mr. S.K. Sandhu, when contacted, said that he had deputed the SDM, Mr Manjit Brar to look into the matter. " We have asked the officials of Satyam Infoways to come and explain the entire episode. Moreover, as soon as we are clear about the nuances of the IT Act, legal action will definitely be taken as per the provisions under the Act," he assured.

This website (www.freevotes.com) actually calls for the names of candidates under various categories and for voting for them by visitors so that they can be ranked under the categories specified. The site has the names, addresses and vehicle numbers of the wards of the creme-de-la-creme of the city. The site has been created by a local resident under the name of Ashish Jain, as registered by the ISP, Satyam Infoways, allegedly along with an official of the ISP.

In fact the website has been so designed as to let visitors put their own points of view and also list other categories under which other visitors can vote. Thus, a large number of visitors used their " ingenuity" and added several derogatory categories.

According to the provisions of the Act, the police can also book these visitors on charges of hacking, under Section 66 of the IT Act. The creator of the website is likely to be booked under Section 67 of the Act on charges of creating pornographic material on electronic media.

MTs face no threat: expert
From Our Correspondent

LUDHIANA, Oct 6 — Voice recognising systems cannot be a threat to the career of the medical transcriptionists (MTs) because according to the US law, a legal report made by a machine is not valid. The voice system also picks up other sounds around the doctor, thus, introducing errors in the report.

This is what Mr Kawaljit Singh Bakshi, director of Med Digital, an institute of medical transcription to be inaugurated tomorrow, claimed in a press conference here today. The chief guest on the occasion will be Mr S.K. Sandhu, Deputy Commissioner, and Mr Sohi, Joint Commissioner, Income Tax. This will be the second institute of medical transcription in the city.

Explaining about the new Internet-enabled technology, Mr Bakshi said, ‘‘In the technique of medical transcription, a medical report made by the doctor in the form of a recorded voice tape is received over the Internet, listened to, typed on the computer by a transcriptionist, and sent back again over the Internet.’’

Mr Bakshi said the US medical transcription companies targeted India specifically as it was the most suitable place for the purpose. ‘‘The time gap between the two countries is 12 hours. The voice file made by the doctor in the US is received by the medical transcription companies here over the Internet. The file is carefully listened to and typed over the computers, checked for accuracy and sent back within 12 hours to the transcriptionists to prepare the reports. In addition, India has lots of English speaking people which is again an advantage. Labour here is ten time cheaper, thus, the job is done at a much lower rate than those by the Americans,’’ said Mr Bakshi.

About the training part, he said, ‘‘The training will be of five months duration during which the trainees will be taught on medical terminology and American English, in addition to imparting practical skills. The eligibility of the trainees will be XI or XII in any stream. After training, there will a test and all those who qualify will get a job in the institute itself.’’

Star TV, Siti Cable standoff continues
By A.S. Prashar
Tribune News Service

LUDHIANA, Oct 6 — A meeting between officials of Star TV and Siti Cable today failed to resolve the standoff between the two which has disrupted the viewership of Star TV channels in large parts of Ludhiana city.

While the Siti Cable continued to complain that Star TV was trying to force it to accept the whole package of channels beamed by it, Star TV came out with the startling allegation that Siti Cable was “stealing Star TV signals” from other cable operators in the city in order to illegally beam their programmes on its network. Star TV also accused Siti Cable of using “pirated cards” to beam its programmes.

Mr Sumant Bahl, area sales manager, distribution and marketing, news television (India) LTD, which is distributing the Star TV signals, told Ludhiana Tribune here today that Star TV had been forced to switch off the channels on Siti Cable “due to non-payment of its dues for over two months”. The dues total in excess of Rs 8 lakh.

“Star TV had not switched off its channels earlier keeping in view the viewers’ interest in mind. But we have now been compelled to do so as the outstanding amount from Siti Cable Ludhiana has exceeded the limits at which Star TV could keep the network switched on without making the payment”.

Mr Bahl also alleged that the Siti Cable, Ludhiana, had been accepting advertising on the popular programmes on Star TV channels in violation of the agreement with Star TV.

He emphasised that Siti Cable was only one of the 14 cable operators in Ludhiana city and since they were big, they were trying to blackmail Star TV at the cost of the viewers to get undue concessions. “We do not have any problems with any of the other cable operators of the mega city. Siti Cable in other cities also have good relations with Star TV. It is only in Ludhiana that they are depriving the viewers of our quality channels covering a vast spectrum like education, current affairs and entertainment.” It is not Star TV that is blackmailing Siti Cable. It is Siti Cable what is blackmailing us by using the sentiments of viewers”, he said.

Sports complex or cracker market?
By Kamal Kishore Shankar

LUDHIANA, Oct 6 — The government-owned multipurpose sports complex near Guru Nanak Stadium here, is no longer being used for the promotion of sports. It has, instead, become a perfect place for selling crackers.

As many as 25 retail stalls for selling fireworks for Divali can be seen in the premises of the complex. Their presence has not only affected sports activity, but is also proving a major hindrance in the ongoing renovation work of the complex, which is being spruced up for the organisation of the National Games.

What is baffling sportspersons even more, is that the stalls continue to do business, even though the Deputy Commissioner Mr S.K. Sandhu, had ordered their immediate removal last week.

According to sources, Mr S.L. Lotey, District Sports Officer (DSO), had in a complaint sent to the DC informed him about the menace and requested him to get the stalls removed at the earliest. Subsequently, Mr Harsuhinder Singh, Assistant Commissioner General (ACG), had inspected the sight and stopped these retailers from functioning. He had also assured that the site would not be made available to these people again.

However to the dismay of the district sports officials and sportspersons, the firework sellers have again returned to the complex. As Divali is still three weeks away, the stalls will remain in the complex for that period.

Interestingly, the stall owners told this correspondent that they had the permission of the Deputy Commissioner. However, they were not able to produce any document to substantiate their claim. They only said that Mr Vinod Jain president of their union had the copy of the document. The President could not be contacted.

The stall owners said they erected their shops here as they have no other place in the city. Earlier they used to operate from Daresi Grounds, but now they had to shift from there as a Dasehra Mela was being organised at the place.

Mr Lotey said the stalls were proving a big hurdle in the way of the renovation work of the complex. He said a synthetic track had to be laid at the complex which would serve as a warming up place for the players.

Kar seva begins at Taliana Sahib
Tribune News Service

LUDHIANA, Oct 6 — Kar Seva for the construction of a diwan hall at Gurdwara Taliana Sahib Rohtak at Raikot started yesterday.

The kar seva is being undertaken by Sant Baba Harbans Singh Delhiwale and Baba Karnail Singh of Sant Baba Gurmukh Singh Ji Kar Seva sect.

The Panj piaras, including Sant Baba Harbans Singh of Delhiwale, Jathedar Jagdev Singh Talwandi, Sant Baba Karnail Singh Delhiwale, Sant Jagir Singh Pihowawale and Sant Bir Singh Madhokey performed the takk ceremony (digging the foundation) and the ardas.

The kar seva organisation, headed by Sant Baba Harbans Singh, popularly known as Sant kar sevawale, is simultaneously undertaking kar seva of around 70 historical gurdwaras in different parts of the country, including Gurdwara Bangla Sahib, Sisganj Sahib, Rakab Ganj Sahib, Fatehgarh Sahib, Chamkaur Sahib among others.

Addressing the conference, Mr Talwandi, senior vice president and chairman, Disciplinary Action Committee, said Gurdwara Taliana Sahib was an important religious place for the Sikhs where Guru Gobind Singh was conveyed the news of the martyrdom of his younger sons and his wife Mata Gujri. It was here that the Guru had announced the fall of the Mughal Empire.

Mr Jagjit Singh Talwandi, chairman, PSIEC, addressing congregation announced that the youth of the area would volunteer for Sant Baba Harbans Singh ji, in large numbers for the kar seva. He said the completion of the Divan Hall and Darbar Sahib at Taliana Sahib Gurdwara would be a small token of respect for the great sacrifices of the 10th Guru.

Sant Baba Harbans Singh informed that the engineering wing of the organisation had already prepared the plan and construction work would be carried out at a brisk pace with the involvement of the sangat.

Mechanised milking parlour inaugurated at PAU
From Our Correspondent

LUDHIANA, Oct 6 — Dr Rattan Singh, Minister for Animal Husbandry, Dairy and Fisheries, Punjab, inaugurated a machine milking parlour at dairy farm of Punjab Agricultural University yesterday. Speaking on the occasion, the minister said as a result of the adoption of the technology evolved by the PAU, the Punjab farmers have brought Green Revolution and now they have the capability to usher White Revolution but the marketing is posing a great challenge to their efforts.

The minister called for the creation of infrastructure for marketing processing and export milk products. But at the same time he stressed that only high quality products will be accepted in the international market. Machine milking can play a significant role in producing high quality hygienic milk. The minister also expressed concern at the problems faced by the farmers in the marketing of paddy and warned that if such conditions continue the agriculture production will fall down.

Dr G.S. Kalkat, Vice-Chancellor, PAU, Ludhiana, said more than 70 per cent of the farmers are meeting their daily needs by selling milk. So there is a need to increase milk production to improve the standard of living of our farmers. Through dairy development we can also bring down the area under paddy by diverting it to fodder production. Dr Kalkat also expressed concern that due to intensive cultivation the micronutrients of the soil are depleting as a result their content in the farm produce is also coming below the required standards.

The farm produce poor in micronutrients is not suitable for health and will not be accepted in the international market. He also called for the conservation of the two important natural resources, soil and ground water. The dairy development can play an important role to conserve these resources. Dr Kalkat said only the farmers of Punjab will have to face the challenge of the WTO agreement because only they have marketable surplus.

Dr Jagtar Singh Sandhu, Head of the Department of Animal Breeding, PAU, said as a result of the scientific breeding and management practices it has been possible to get the highest yield of 52.5kg per day from cow and 27kg per day from buffalo. He said that getting high yield from dairy animals is necessary to minimise the cost of production in order to compete in the international market.

Dr M.S. Bajwa, Director of Research, proposed a vote of thanks and revealed that in the newly constructed milking parlour it is possible to milk 16 cows at a time without physical handling the milk right from the udder to the container. The milking parlour inaugurated today is the first of its kind in any agricultural university in India.

Bangiya Sansad celebrates Durga Puja
By Minna Zutshi

LUDHIANA, Oct 6 — The resounding beat of Dhak, lotus-studded baskets, the aroma of coconuts and colourful saris — as if one had stepped into a traditional Bengali village. But this Bengali ambience was very much in Ludhiana. Of course, the occasion was typically Bengali — the Durga Puja celebrations.

Every year, the Bengali Association of Ludhiana (the Bangiya Sansad) celebrates Durga Puja with traditional fervour. This year, the celebration started on October 3 at Shastri Nagar. “The Bengalis believe that the goddess, along with her children (Ganesh, Kartikeya, Saraswati and Lakshmi), comes to her parental home every year and stays there for five days,” explained Mr A.K. Paul, president of the Bangiya Sansad.

For the Bengalis, Durga Puja is an assiduous affair. Preparations begin months in advance. Making the idol requires a special skill. So, an artist is brought all the way from Calcutta. Work on making the idol starts almost a month before the puja. When the artist has done his job, the priest takes over. He infuses “life” into the idol with his mantras. The clay image, then, becomes a manifestation of Mother Goddess.

“Durga Puja offers us a chance to keep alive our cultural heritage. The dance-dramas and other cultural programmes which we organise during the puja, give the new generation a feel of our heritage”, says Mr Tapas Banerjee.

This year, on Maha Ashtami day, in addition to puja and preeti bhoj (community langar), an ‘alpana’ contest was also held. ‘Alpana’ is a sort of rangoli done in white colour, the main ingredients of which are rice paste and water. Women take pride in making beautiful designs with rice paste.

The Maha Ashtami evening was a delightful rendezvous with Tagore’s famous dance-drama, “Chitrangada”. The dramatic tale told through song and dance kept the audience spell-bound.

The celebrations will conclude on October 8. Before the conclusion, there will be an interesting ceremony called ‘Darpan Visarjan’. It refers to the immersion of the mirror in which the image of the Mother Goddess is worshipped. In the last part of the celebrations the idols will be taken to Doraha for immersion.

FLAVOUR OF THE WEEK

Oct, 6 — The new festive month of October began with a lot of ‘shobha yatras’ on account of Ramlilas. Ludhiana finally has become a pot pourri and melting pot of cultures of different regions. Along with Ramlilas, the Bengali community is busy celebrating ‘Durga Puja’. Durga had two daughters Lakshmi, who spells wealth and prosperity, and Saraswati who is a symbol of knowledge, whereas Karitkeya symbolises valour and Ganesha signifies achievement. With these as our role models, one should not only make merry and dance till one gets blisters on one’s heels, but spend some time thinking and retrospecting on how to save Indian traditions. This year ‘dandiya’ also made its appearance on the Ludhiana scene, but the Punjabis do not know what to do with the sticks and reverted to their Daler Mehndis and Harbhajans.

People have not been enthused as far as shopping is concerned. Shop keepers are keeping their fingers crossed and waiting for the sales to pick up. The rise in petro prices has dampened their spirit.

Students of various schools who witnessed the programmes put up by Spic Macay and got interested in upholding ancient arts of India can become members of association and so can everyone to whose heart culture of India is dear. Spic Macay also offers Gurukul facilities. The only programme missing in Spic Macay were qawaalis. Ludhianvis were fortunate in having Abdul Hameed Sabri to sing for them courtesy Bhogals who have floated in Markaz-e-Mausiqi .

Movie-goers can have plenty to choose this week from among the movies. Aagaz — a usual movie, is the remake of a Telugu blockbuster. The music score is good and Sushmita Sen plays a police woman — That should be interesting. ‘Dil pe mat le yaar’ — a light comedy — just what the doctor would prescribe for holidays. Good cast and good music. Shikari is a crime thriller and has a lot of action. Shikari would appeal because of its visual impact for it has been shot extensively in South Africa.

The fashion scene is hotting up. Girls are going for Indo-western costumes which would mean the ghagras would be less flouncy. Mermaid dresses tight till the knees, and then flaring up are hot favourites too. The colours are English pastels, lavender, lilac, hot pink, dull magenta. The mukaish work and badla work is evergreen favourites. Yellow make up is being preferred. Even men are going for tight fit suits, so, lycra is being mixed with other fabrics. There will be embroidery on the lapels of men’s coats and men are going dandy too.

Akalis are celebrating their victory in the Sunam poll. They are attributing their success to their agricultural policies. On the other hand, farmers are unhappy despite the bumper crop. The farmers are agitating over the slow pace of paddy procurement. Farmers complain that their produce has been rejected on one pretext or another. They are being harassed. They are showing their resentment by blocking roads, burning their produce as an extreme step, and staging dharnas. How can the government remain so apathetic to the conditions of the farmers, our bread winners?
What could be more ludicurous than to allow sale of crackers in the multi-purpose sports complex right under the nose of the administration? What could be more dangerous to allow the manufacture of crackers in the slums of Ludhiana? One good thing the DC has done is to stop the sale of crackers in Gur Mandi.

Thank God, the mysterious pink-prick mystery has finally been solved. To what low standard people can stoop, shakes the faith in humanity and, that too, in the festival season. Let’s pray to God to give everyone good sense and work for welfare of each other this festive season.
— AA

Lost girl found
Tribune News Service

LUDHIANA, Oct 6 — A five-years-old girl, Praveen, who had lost her way, was found crying near the Fountain Chowk by two scooter-borne youth at around 12.30 p.m. today.

The good samaritans took pity on the girl who was wearing a school uniform and stopped to help her. She said that she was a student of UKG in a Model School. Since the girl did not know much, the youth assumed that she was studying at on school on the Cemetry Road and took her there. The child also did not have any identification papers on her.

However, the school authorities claimed that she was also not a student there and two school teachers took her to Police Station of Division No. 5. Once at the police station, the child disclosed that her father’s name was Paramjot and he was a crane driver. Till the time this report was filed, the police had been unable to trace the family of the child.

Spreading light in our lives
From Our Correspondent

LUDHIANA, Oct 6 — They are the ones who light up others’ houses, but their homes remain filled with darkness. Still, they try to remain contented and happy because they take life as it comes.

Mr Noor Mohammad, Mr Phul Mohammad and Mr Lal Mohammad — three ‘Kumhar’ brothers have been living here for the past 20 years. These artists make a variety of articles like diyas, karvas, chakris, thoothis, daal wali tauri and pots. However, the buyers are seldom aware of the hard work that goes into the making of these articles.

These attractive and traditional articles require a lot of labour, and time. A particular mud is used for making these articles what is brought from Manekwal, Dhandra or other nearby villages. A horse-driven cart has to be arranged for getting it which usually costs around Rs 350. Mr Phul Mohammad said, “It has become a costly affair now. In the past, it used to be Rs 60 for a cart of mud.” He adds ruefully, “ But if we have to continue with our work, we have to buy the mud, whatever the cost .”

It may come as a surprise to us that each article made by a potter involves a long procedure. First of all, the potter prepare ‘kache’ articles. Then these articles are dried in the sun for two to three days. The next step involves baking the articles in the ‘bhatti’. Dead wood, dung cakes and dry sticks or hay are put into the oven and the articles are baked till they become hard and red.

To give the right shape to the articles, ‘Bijli Wala Chaak’ or electric heater is used. This costs around Rs 9000. Mr Lal Mohammad, the youngest brother said, “Everyone in our community uses these because the others are time-consuming and demand a lot of hard work.”

The potters usually spend the whole day making these articles, but the profit is netted by the middlemen. The cost of making a dozen small ‘diyas’ is usually about 95 paise. Unfortunately, the artists are forced to sell the diyas to the middlemen at the cost price, who further sell them for Rs 3 to Rs 5 per dozen. For the big ‘diyas’ also, the same story is repeated.

During the festival season, the artists start their work at seven in the morning and continue till late in the evening. “Our schedule during the festivals becomes hectic but we enjoy our work. We require the help of our wives also during this time,” said Noor Mohammad. Kashmon, the wife of Noor Mohammad chipped in, “The work helps us to at least two make ends meet. We assist our husbands in this work.” Her sentiments were echoed by Aroona, Phul Mohmmad’s wife.

On an average, 220 big and small ‘diyas’ are made in an hour. The festival season makes these artists quite ‘rich’. They manage to save Rs 3000 to Rs 4000 during this time. They make pots and ‘gharas’ during summer but the worst time for them is the rainy season, when they have nothing to do for three months at a stretch. As Phul Mohammad said, “Whatever we save in a year, is usually spent during rainy season.”

Modelling workshop concludes
From Our Correspondent

LUDHIANA, Oct 6 — Renowned choreographer and leading fashion model Kaushik Ghosh conducted an International Modelling Workshop in association with the National Institute of Art and Fashion, Ludhiana.

Out of 75 candidates, 15 were chosen for this workshop. Students were taught, about cat walk, public relation management, portfolios, ramp modelling, grooming, general etiquettes and fashion shows. There was a special workshop for children between four and 14 years age.

Ms Dimple Pruthy, Coordinator of the workshop informed, “All the workshop models will be launched in a fashion show to be choreographed by Mr Kaushik Ghosh”. The workshop was jointly coordinated by “The Professionals”, Chandigarh, and Ms Dimple Pruthy.