Drug-laced ‘pedas’ leave NRI dead in train
Cash, jewellery looted
Tribune News Service

Ludhiana, October 11
An NRI died and three other members of his family, including two women, were left unconscious after they were drugged and looted on board the Kolkata-Amritsar Punjab Mail this morning.

They had consumed some drug-laced ‘pedas’ given by a fellow passenger, who decamped somewhere before the local station with Rs 2 lakh worth of jewellery and Rs 70,000 in cash belonging to the family.

The family of the NRI was travelling in the AC three-tier coach in the train from Kolkata to Ludhiana. They were residents of London and were on a visit to their native country to attend some family functions. They were scheduled to visit the house of a relative, Paramjit Singh, here in Jawaddi.

The deceased has been identified as Balwant Singh. His wife Harbans Kaur, daughter Pinki Goswami and son-in-law Raj Kumar Goswami and their two children were under treatment in the civil hospital here.

The incident became a cause of concern for the safety of rail passengers as it was the first major incident involving people travelling in luxury coaches. Till now such a gang of criminals was mainly targeting migrant labourers only. The Government Railway Police as well as the Railway Protection Force all over the state have failed miserably to bust the gang.

Pinki revealed to Ludhiana Tribune that the accused, who identified himself as Kuldip Singh, joined the family somewhere on the way and said he was too heading for Ludhiana.

The man gave them the ‘pedas’ after Bareilly station at about 9:30 p.m after which he de-boarded the train somewhere. The family members fell unconscious. It was Harbans Kaur, who was the first to wake up this morning just before the local railway station. She found her husband lying on the floor, and bags open. She sounded an alarm but could not find the fellow passenger.

The Railway authorities and police shifted the three unconscious family members to the Civil Hospital along with the semi-conscious Harbans Kaur. Late this afternoon, Balwant Singh died. He had consumed two pedas while the other members had one each.

“The man behaved in a very sweet manner and was very courteous. He was friendly but has left us devastated.” Pinki said.

Police sources said a case of murder had been registered and investigations were on.

The condition of the family members and their relatives was pathetic. Family sources said the relatives were uniting after a long time at a function. It was a happy occasion for them but all were saddened at the tragedy. The NRI’s relatives were quite bitter at their experience and criticised the police failure to stop the activities of such a gang.

VIP sons versus police row
Minister demands cop’s dismissal
Jupinderjit Singh
Tribune News Service

Ludhiana, October 11
The “VIPs' sons versus police” row intensified today when Congress Minister Malkiat Singh Birmi claimed that he had independent witnesses of the incident and stated the nothing short of the dismissal of the police officer would be acceptable to him.

He has demanded stern action against other personnel of the police station as well and alleged that policemen were demanding money from people in the market when the incident took place.

Meanwhile, the Deputy Commissioner, Anurag Verma, has accepted the recommendation of the city SSP, Mr Narinderpal Singh and ordered a magisterial inquiry into the incident. Mr Malwinder Singh Jaggi, GA to the DC, has been entrusted with the inquiry. Mr Jaggi has called both youths for recording their statement tomorrow afternoon.

Speaking about the controversy for the first time, Mr Birmi, Minister for Jails, Housing and Urban Development, said he was not content with the suspension orders of Inspector Sandeep Wadhera and would press for his dismissal from service.

“I have several witnesses of the incident in Sarabha Nagar market. They have seen ‘police brutality’ with their own eyes and will give a statement, besides sworn affidavits, to the magistrate” he said.

Mr Birmi said he had ample proof against the police officer and expressed surprise that the other personnel of the police station had gone scot-free. “The munshi of the police station misbehaved with me also and yet no action has been taken” he said, alleging that an IPS officer was shielding the police officer.

Mr Birmi denied that his stand would encourage his son or other wards of VIPs. He said he had recently sent a letter to the police and civil administration officers, asking them not to entertain any of his relatives who bragged about his name.

“My son, Jagdeep Singh, and Vivek Chhabra, son of Mr K.L. Chhabra a municipal councillor, are teetotallers and they did not given any apology to the police. Instead, the policemen apologised to them but then revealed the incident to the police,” he stated.

“Why did they not register a case against the youths. Why did they not get the youths medically examined?” he asked. Mr Birmi said he and Mr Chhabra had been defamed by the police.

Anish, a youth present in the market at that time, was presented as one of the witnesses. He said Vivek was treated as a hardened criminal, slapped several times and beaten with sticks. He was bundled in a police Gypsy and taken away.

According to Mr Birmi and Mr Chhabra, the police allegation that the youths were drinking in a car and causing nuisance was baseless. They said Vivek Chhabra was passing by and saw two of his motor-cycle-borne friends being questioned by the police. He just went to enquire but was abused and pushed around.

“Vivek called up his father over the phone to seek his help. The police officer started slapping him when he was talking to his father,” Mr Birmi said.

Mr Birmi and Mr Chhabra admitted that the youth had referred to the police officers as “policia”, at which the SHO slapped him. They said Jagdeep later went to the police station to the aid of his friend, Vivek, but was abused and slapped.

Smog suffocates residents
Kanchan Vasdev
Tribune News Service

Ludhiana, October 11
While the district administration is yet to take action against the farmers resorting to burning of paddy stubble in the district, the ill effects of the practice have already started showing in the city especially in the evenings and mornings. Owing to the burning, the city and rural areas of the district are engulfed by smog.

The city has started witnessing smoky evenings for the past two days, thanks to the rampant burning of stubble by the farmers despite warnings by agricultural experts and environmentalists that the process can ruin the soil health and create environmental hazards.

While the smog can be seen in the evenings and the smell of smoke can be felt during the daytime also. The environmentalists are of the opinion that owing to the fall in temperature, the smog was getting accumulated near the surface of the earth as the smoke being generated through the burning of stubble was getting mixed with the fog. They said the situation was going to worsen in the coming days in view of the ensuing festival season.

It is becoming very difficult to breathe in the open and those travelling on the roads in uncovered vehicles have already started experiencing eye and respiratory problems. It is not only in the city that the smog is creating inconvenience to people but in villages the situation is even grimmer. Villagers face poor visibility during nights while clouds of smoke can be witnessed in the villages throughout the day.

All village roads connected to the city were under the cover of smoke today. Burnt paddy stubble in the fields could be seen alongside the entire stretch of the roads. In some villages minor accidents had also been reported due to the poor visibility. A doctor at Pakhowal village told Ludhiana Tribune that he was receiving patients, particularly children, with complaints of bronchitis and other respiratory tract problems and irritation in the eyes.

A local doctor said it was likely to continue during the next two weeks as more farmers would resort to the straw burning. He advised the residents to cover their noses with a clean cloth before going out. He also advised them to wear glasses.

The experts have advised the farmers to incorporate the stubble in their fields instead of burning it.

Every year the Deputy Commissioner-cum-District Magistrate, passes the orders under Section 144, banning the burning of paddy straw warning the violators, however, such orders are yet to be passed in the district.

Jassi decries singers’ role in immigration racket
Our Correspondent

Ludhiana, October 11
“It is really shocking that singers like Shamsher Mehndi are taking hefty sums of money from people and taking them abroad illegally. I was quite confident that Daler Mehndi was not involved in it but reports to the contrary are appearing. I feel that all singers who indulge in human trafficking should be severely punished for their crimes,” said Jasbir Jassi, renowned pop singer, at a press conference held here today at Park Plaza.

Jassi is in the city to perform for Seagram's Imperial Blue at Magnet Resort tonight. Talking to the media, he said, “I am of the firm opinion that the government must keep track of the foreign trips of singers and the number of persons who go abroad with the troupe. These people are giving a bad name to the fraternity of singers and performers.”

Jassi said when he chose a career in singing, he thought that if he was a failure, at least he would have three acres of land to support him. Now when he had learnt that people had been spending Rs 12 lakh on sending their relatives abroad and even selling land to go abroad, he was horrified.

The singer said he was going to act as a hero in a movie, “The Outsider”. The movie is being made in English and the heroine is a foreigner. It depicts the story of a man who is alienated from his culture. He said, “I was never consciously trying to become a hero. I had done a lot of theatre with Harpal Tiwana before I joined the police. Now when I am being offered roles in films, I am being selective and will only act in films that will project art and culture.”

Jassi said he was still paying the price of shooting the video, “Dil le gai kudi Gujarat di”, with scantily-clad girls. He realised there was no need for the girls in the video, but since he was a new-comer at that time, he did not have any control over the making of the video. He now signs an agreement with recording companies so as to monitor the making of videos.

“The audio is the chief ingredient of a song’s success. Even if the video is superb, it is only 10 per cent responsible for the success of the song. New videos like “Nach Punjaban Nach” are really the pits. Vulgarity has touched a new low. It is time such kind of assault on the morality of Punjabi people should be stopped. The censor board should apply its scissors on television channels but it should be done judiciously, without putting any pressure,” he said.

Man held on charge of killing father
Our Correspondent

Mandi Ahmedgarh, October 11
Jagdeep Singh, a resident of Ghudani village, near here, has been arrested on the charge of murdering his father, Saudagar Singh. Earlier, in a statement to the police, Jagdeep Singh had said that his father, a farmer, had left for his fields on October 9 and his body had been found near the village the next day. The Payal police, after registering an FIR under Section 302 and 34 of the IPC, had handed over the body to Jagdeep after conducting a post-mortem examination, which confirmed injuries on the head.

Though the police had registered the case on the statement of the son, it suspected him of murdering his father. The Khanna police constituted a team headed by Mr Amrik Singh Minhas, Deputy Superintendent of Police, at Payal to probe the matter.

Preliminary investigations conducted jointly by the CIA, Khanna, and the Payal police revealed that Jagdeep Singh, the only son of the deceased, had become an addict. Saudagar Singh had to work alone in the fields because Jagdeep was allegedly disobedient also. He allegedly used to spend money indiscriminately and his mother used to side by her son when Saudagar Singh refused to give him money.

Jagdeep allegedly conspired with Mandeep Singh alias Deepa, one of his friends in the village, to kill Saudagar. When Saudagar was on his way to his fields, Mandeep hit him on the head with a wooden log. Saudagar fell unconscious and Jagdeep allegedly strangled him to death. The suspect threw the body in a field drain. It was later spotted by a resident of the village.

The police has seized an axe and a wooden log which were used in the crime. Jagdeep has been remanded in judicial custody.

MC launches Rs 19.32-cr road development programme
Kuldip Bhatia

A separate estimate of Rs 3.50 crore had been prepared for the upgradation of approach roads to the industrial hubs and approaches to the villages like Giaspura, Dhandari and Dugri which had now fallen within the municipal limits. 

Recarpeting causes chaos at Neelon
Amarjit Thind
Tribune News Service

Neelon, October 11
Hundreds of commuters were stranded as the authorities chose to undertake the recarpeting of the bridge over the canal at Neelon during daytime. Long queues of vehicles could be seen on both sides of the main Chandigarh - Ludhiana highway till late in the evening. The bridge intersection also caters to traffic on the Doraha - Ropar stretch.

Tempers were frayed and people had heated exchange with the workers engaged in carpeting the road as vehicles were turned towards the old single lane bridge which was unable to cope with the huge volume of traffic on one of the busiest highways in the state.

While commuters could be seen cursing the decision of the department concerned in going in for the exercise during daytime, the nearby dhaba owners had a field day serving refreshments to those stranded on the highway.

Mr Neel Kanth Sharma, a tourist from Bihar en route Durgiana Mandir at Amritsar, was fuming at the indifferent attitude of the authorities. "The least they could have done was to insert an advertisement in the papers about a detour so that the people were not held up. Better still workers could have been directed to regulate the traffic so that the commuters were not inconvenienced,” he pointed out.

Similar views were expressed by Mr Anil Arora who was travelling to see an ailing relative in Ludhiana over the weekend. We deliberately started off late in the noon to avoid the peak hour rush. As it is, it is hard to travel with children and the situation has been aggravated with the traffic jam and the ear- splitting sound of horns which is frightening the kids, he lamented.

The chaos was further compounded by taxi and bus drivers, who in their eagerness to make up for the lost time, were trying to take their vehicles over the road berms and along the canal embankments. The traffic barely moved by inches as those with a civic sense tried to take matters in their own hands but not without being verbally abused.

Commuters sore over late running of train
Tribune News Service

Ludhiana, October 11
Daily rail travellers between Moga and Ludhiana are a harassed lot owing to unnecessary delay in the running of trains between the two stations. Several complaints to the Divisional Railway Manager, Ferozepore, have failed to elicit any positive response.

In yet another complaint to the railway authorities, the copies of which are with The Tribune, the commuters have said the services of the train between the two stations are deplorable as they hardly ever reach their work-place in time due to the late running of trains and have to wait for several hours before reaching home.

“We, the daily passengers, travel daily from Moga to Ludhiana and would like to bring to your kind notice, that the services being provided by train No. 2LF are deplorable. It reaches Moga late and is further delayed in reaching all further destinations”, a passenger Darshan Singh has written to the General Manager Railways.

The commuters say they have lodged several complaints, the last two being at Jagraon Station on July 20 and September 29 last. The commuters question why other trains like the Sutlej Express are never delayed. They allege that this is because many people travelling by the Sutluj Express work in the Divisional Railway Manager’s office.

The commuters say though they can easily reach their place of work at 9 am if the train is on time, the train invariably reaches its destination between 9.15 to 10.30 am. They have threatened to launch an agitation if corrective measures are not taken immediately.

Prof Mohan Singh Mela from Oct 19
Our Correspondent

Ludhiana, October 11
The names of distinguished persons to be honoured during Prof Mohan Singh Mela were decided today at a meeting organised by members of the Mohan Singh Memorial Foundation at Punjabi Bhavan, along with a member of the Punjabi Sahitya Akademi.

The chairman of the foundation, Mr Jagdev Singh Jassowal, president Pargat Singh Grewal, senior vice-president Gurbhajan Singh Gill, and secretary-general Kulwant Jagraon attended the meeting along with Mr Ravinder Bhattal, general secretary, Punjabi Sahitya Akademi.

The two-day Prof Mohan Singh Mela will commence on October 19. On the second day, those persons who have distinguished themselves in different fields, like literature and culture, will be honoured.

The awards to be given are the following: Mahan Punjabi Purskar — Dr Jagtar Singh Grewal, former Vice-Chancellor, Guru Nanak Dev University, and former Director, Indian Institute of Advanced Studies, Shimla. Folk singer — Sarabjit Singh Cheema; Sur Shazanda Purskar —Sukhwinder Sukhi; Dhadi Kavishar — Tarlochan Singh Bhamaddi; Theatre artiste — Prof Nirmal Rishi; Award for literature — Parminderjit Singh (Amritsar). Comedian — Gurdev Singh Dhillon (Bhajna amli).

These awards have been constituted by the following: Mr Jagdev Singh Jassowal, in memory of his father, Kartar Singh Zaildar; Dr Meina Singh Sonar, former Director, PAU, in memory of his son, Jasjit Singh; Prof Harlal Singh, in memory of his son, Pushpinder; Iqbal Mahal, Vision of Punjab, Canada; Jagtar Singh Dhapai (Canada); and Rashpal Singh Pamel.

Mr Kulwant Jagraon said the first day’s functions would be organised by the Punjab Sahitya Akademi while the second day’s functions would be organised by the foundation. In the khulla manch programme, those keen to participate would have to sing a classic folk song like Heer or Mirza and the second song should be a composition by Prof Mohan Singh. Mr Kamal Mohan Singh, son of Prof Mohan Singh, talking to Ludhiana Tribune, said his father’s house should be acquired by the government and turned into a museum on the pattern of a museum made for Bhai Veer Singh. He said he was willing to donate Rs 1 lakh for the purpose. 

City Scan
Rich history of institutional progress

On Dasehra day, the foundation stone for the Institute of Laws was laid by Justice O.P. Verma, Governor of Punjab. It was a rare event of academic nature, much-awaited and much-needed since Partition.

An honest deed
Tribune News Service

Ludhiana, October 11
“Men with a true soul are the real stars and the ones who have kept honesty alive,” says Mr Balkar Singh, a Marketing Manager with a local company, who did not expect that he would ever find the money and jewellery his wife had lost when she misplaced her purse.

Giving details of the incident, Mr Balkar Singh, says that he along with his family had gone to Pizza Hut at Jalandhar on last Saturday. His wife forgot her purse there. It contained, gold worth Rs 70,000. Luckily, Mr Gourav, Floor Manager at the Pizza Hut, saw the purse after some time.

“He opened it and saw the huge amount of gold but without any temptation, he checked the purse carefully and found the identity cards of Mr Balkar and his wife, with a Ludhiana address”. Mr Gaurav personally went to Mr Balkar’s house at Ludhiana and returned purse with the valuables.

The family now says “Mr Gourav has become a source of inspiration for all and the children in the house want to grow up to be honest like their benefactor”, Mr Gaurav, whose parents live in Janata Nagar here, says that respect for values had been taught to him by his parents.

Non-release of DA irks employees
Our Correspondent

Ludhiana, October 11
Punjab Government employees and pensioners are demanding the release of the DA instalment which has become due from July this year. They have submitted a number of communications demanding the DA release to the Punjab Government but the government is dilly-dallying on the ground of financial crunch. This has caused widespread resentment among employees. The Central Government and some other state governments have already released the DA instalment.

Employees have pointed out that the state had enough money to spend extravagantly on the Chief Minister's foreign visits. The government has funds to provide financial cushions to ministers and MLAs with hefty salaries, allowances, perks and Qualis vehicles. The Punjab Vidhan Sabha the Speaker, the Deputy Speaker and the Leader of Opposition have recently been given another raise in their allowances.

Non-releasing the DA will be a deviation from the Central pattern that is being followed by the Punjab Government for the past 30 years, they say. 

Bairagi mandal hails move on holiday
Tribune News Service

Ludhiana, October 11
The Punjab Bairagi Maha Mandal has welcomed the move of the state government to declare October 16 as a public holiday in memory of Baba Banda Singh Bahadur.

Mr K.K. Bawa, president of the mandal, has thanked Chief Minister Amarinder Singh for establishing a chair in Punjabi University in the memory of Banda Bahadur and for agreeing to allot a piece of land for the construction of Baba Banda Singh Bahadur Bhavan. 

Shop gutted in LPG blast
Tribune News Service

The owner of the shop inspects her shop that was destroyed in a gas cylinder blast in Ludhiana on Saturday. — A Tribune photograph

Gang of robbers busted, 4 held
Our Correspondent

Ludhiana, October 11
Four members of a gang of robbers were arrested at a police naka at Gias Pura yesterday after a loaded and unlicensed revolver of .32 bore and the uniform of a Punjab Police havildar were recovered from their possession.

Mr Narinderpal Singh, SSP, said in a press note here today that a police team headed by Mr Pritam Singh, SP City II, and including Mr Saneh Deep Sharma, DSP, Industrial Area, and Mr Balkar Singh, SHO, Focal Point, arrested Daljit Singh, a resident of Bajwa Press Colony, Tarn Taran, Surinder Kumar, alias Sukha, a resident of Golf Avenue, Amritsar, Jaspal Singh, a resident of Aladinpur village falling under the Tarn Taran police station, and Jaspreet Singh, alias Preet, a resident of Kairon village in Amritsar district.

The SSP stated that three of the arrested persons had committed a dacoity and a case had been registered against them under Section 392 of the IPC and Sections 25, 54 and 59 of the Arms Act. A white Maruti car, which had been used in the dacoity, was also seized from the suspects, apart from the cash looted by them. An interrogation revealed that Jaspreet Singh, Surinder Kumar and Daljit Singh, who had been lodged in different jails in connection with various criminal cases, had recently secured bail.

Two murdered: Two cases of murder were registered by the city police under Section 302 of the IPC yesterday. The first case was registered at the division No. 3 police station on the statement of Sant Baldev Singh, a resident of Gurdwara Sant Baba Bagga Singh Trust, Sant Pura, near Jodhewal chowk, against Suraj Bhan, a migrant from Uttar Pradesh. The complainant had alleged that the suspect, who was living in the house of his brother, Ram Singh in Vishwakarma Colony, near Dholewal chowk, had murdered the latter on the intervening night of October 9 and 10.

The other case was registered at the division No. 8 police station on the statement of Anil Kumar, a resident of Payal village. The complainant had stated that his brother, Pawan Kumar Sharma, had gone to Ludhiana to meet his sister in Industrial Area-A. On October10 , someone strangled his brother to death in front of a gurdwara in Janak Puri.

Undertrial escapes: The Civil Lines police has registered a case under Sections 223, 224 and 225 of the IPC on the statement of Harbhajan Singh, an ASI attached with the Police Lines, against constable Balwinder Singh, SPO Pawan Kumar and Harvinder Singh, a resident of Nanoke village. The complainant had stated that he had gone to the courts in connection with a case yesterday when a prisoner, Harvinder Singh, escaped from police custody and ran away from the new courts Complex.

In-laws booked: On the statement of Pooja Sood, a resident of Urban Estate, Phase-II, Dugri, the Model Town police yesterday registered a case under Sections 406, 498-A, 323, 341 and 313 of the IPC against her husband, Abhishek Sood, father-in-law, Surinder Sood, mother-in-law, Usha Sood and Punal Sood, residents of Model Town. The woman had alleged that the suspects had beaten her up and caused an abortion. The suspects had also been demanding more dowry from her, she added.

Assault cases: The division No. 7 police registered a case under Sections 325, 323 and 34 of the IPC on the statement of Rajinder Singh, a resident of Kasi Khurd village, against R.P. Sandhu, his son, Pardeep, Amarjit and other persons. The complainant had alleged that the suspects had beaten him up yesterday.

The Sahnewal police registered a case under Sections 325 and 323 of the IPC on the statement of Sukhjit Kaur, a resident of Parha village, against her uncle, Nachhattar Singh. The girl had alleged that her uncle came to her house yesterday and beat her up.

Booked under SC Act: On the statement of Buta Singh, an employee in the CMO’s office here, the division No. 8 police registered a case under the provisions of the SC/ST Act of 1999 and Section 506 of the IPC against Sukhwinder Singh, a clerk working in the office. The complainant had alleged that the accused had cast aspersions on his caste and also threatened him.

Motor cycle stolen: The division No. 8 police has registered a case under Section 379 of the IPC on the statement of Suresh Kumar, a resident of Tagore Nagar in Civil Lines, against an unknown person who stole his motor cycle from outside his house on the night of September 18.

Negligent driving: On the statement of Dr Gagan Singla, the Model Town police yesterday registered a case under Sections 279, 337 and 427 of the IPC against the driver of a Maruti car for ramming his vehicle into the complainant's car near Sareen Hospital and speeding away. As a result of the mishap, his car was damaged and his wife injured, added the complainant.

Liquor seized: The division No. 2 police yesterday arrested Ajay Kumar, a resident of Mohalla Habib Ganj, and seized seven bottles of illicit liquor from his possession. The suspect, who was booked under the Excise Act, was later bailed out, the police said today.

Meanwhile, the Koom Kalan police arrested Diwan Mishe , a resident of Sekiana village, last evening and seized 10 bottles of illicit liquor from his possession. He was booked under the Excise Act.

Knives seized: The Shimla Puri police yesterday arrested Johkhan Chauhan, a migrant from Uttar Pradesh now living in New Janta Nagar, and Ramesh Kumar, another migrant, now living in Guru Gobind Singh Nagar, and booked them in separate cases under the Arms Act for carrying “kamanidar” knives.

BUSINESS

Slackness of banks causes fraud, says Chamber
Tribune News Service

Ludhiana, October 11
The Apex Chamber of Commerce and Industry has cited slackness of banks in handling cheques as a major cause of bank fraud. Pointing out that a recent detection of a case of fraud had established that most banks did not have a sealed box for depositing cheques, the Chamber said these could easily be stolen by unscrupulous persons and encashed fraudulently.

In a written statement, Mr P.D. Sharma, president of the Chamber, has highlighted a case wherein Ahuja Industrial Corporation gave a cheque for Rs 36,155 to T.R. Wire Industries, which was deposited in the Central Bank of India. Since the deposit box was not locked, the cheque was picked up and someone changed the mode of payment from account payee to cash. The miscreant later went to the State Bank of Patiala, SSI Branch, Partap Chowk, for encashing the cheques.

Since the computer operator, Varinder Dhanda, at the State Bank of Patiala suspected that something was amiss, he contacted Ahuja Industrial Corporation and the fraud was detected. Bank officials caught the culprit and handed him over to the police. It was found that earlier the same person had drawn Rs 69,405 from Punjab National Bank branch, Gill Road, and Rs 1, 20,000 from other banks. The Chamber recommended that the customer must get the signature of the bank official while depositing cheques.

Threats a must for growth, LMA delegates told
Naveen S. Garewal
Tribune News Service

Ludhiana, October 11
“Assured long life reduces the instinct to nurture the next generation”, as once Nathaniel Hawthorne wrote “The love of posterity is the consequence of the necessity of death. If a man were sure of living forever, he would not take care of his offspring.” These were the remarks made by Mr R. Gopalakrishnan, Executive Director, Tata Sons Limited, president, All-India Management Association (AIMA) and former Vice-Chairman, Hindustan Lever Ltd., while addressing the members of Ludhiana Management Association. He was putting across the importance of developing the second generation of managers to industrialists.

Mr Gopalakrishnan said: “Once the natural faculties are fixed through inherited genes, further development is achieved by breadth and width of exposure.” He elaborated this by taking example of the growth pattern of a crocodile. Bonsai crocodiles are well known and they are created by restricting them in enclosures that are too small for them. He cautioned the Indian organisations against developing Bonsai managers in the new world order. Giving example of Katla fish, he said, “Full potential can be achieved successfully and more rapidly by special attention to growth drivers and environment.”

“Obstacles and threats actually reorient organisations to survival and growth.” This he stated eloquently by taking an example of the snail and the predatory Cray fish as to how in a harsh environment, snail reallocates its resources away from production and towards growth and community survival.

You must learn to distinguish between the most effective way of doing things and the most efficient way. Environment does not permit an object traversing a straight line to stay on that path. The environment is an external force that deflects our lives constantly and, therefore, being on the straight and predictable line is the exception, not the rule. The spiral is the fundamental to the structure of plants, shells, the human body, the periodicity of atomic elements, the double helix of DNA.

Earlier, introducing the subject, “Mr V.K. Goyal, general secretary, LMA, said: “For thousands of years, people have told stories that teach lessons or morals. These stories usually have animal characters who act and talk like humans. In each fable, a character faces a problem similar to ones we humans face. The ways in which the character tries to solve the problem may be either clever or foolish. In either case, thinking about how the character acts helps us to better understand ourselves and the ways in which we act when we face problems. This is about stories. But otherwise also we can draw innumerable lessons from nature and from all the things around us. Why to go far? See your own body. Don’t you think the way our body which in spite of its complexities offers inspiration as to how an organisation which is far less complex can be run smoothly?”

Mr Mahesh Munjal, senior vice-president, LMA, in his presidential remarks said: “We all can learn important lessons of life only if we can just open our eyes, heart and mind to the activities around. Valuable insights can be drawn from animal life, plant life and eco system in a pond, and the everyday events that contribute to the circle of life.”

Mr Anil Kumar, vice- president, LMA, while proposing a vote of thanks said: “When old turtles, who normally remain in long periods of hiding, come out of the water to get some sunlight they seem to be giving us a message that no one can hide from the world forever. Similarly, lotus reappears majestically in the spring after disappearing in winter, apparently giving us a message that “Don’t think something is gone just because you don’t see it.”

The seminar was attended by more than 400 members of the association, besides senior industrialists, entrepreneurs, management professionals, academicians, doctors and students of business management of PAU and PCTE.

Designer shawls in market
Deepkamal Kaur

Ludhiana, October 11
With little time left for the winter to arrive, several shopkeepers have started displaying woollen wear in their showrooms. On top of the list for most of them are the shawls in an altogether new, elegant and designer style, available in smaller sizes, with bold colour schemes and embroidery patterns to go with all kinds of Western as well as traditional outfits.

The most striking novelty in the fresh stock are the colour patterns that have been used. Earlier, the shawls were available in just one colour, with embroidery on the corners or in the form of a complete mesh throughout the length. The new stocks for the season include shawls in chequered patterns with square blocks in different tones of one colour, having tussles at both ends and little embroidery here and there.

Another new pattern available includes double-shaded shawls. Such shawls have a plain colour in the centre with a second contrasting colour in the form of broad bands at both ends. The common contrasts include rust and maroon, blue and maroon, and maroon and black. The broad contrasting ends have little embroidery along the width of the shawls.

The patterns of embroidery do not simply include the Kashmiri ones. Instead, cross-stitched patterns, aari work and machine embroidery seem to be more common this time. Plain shawls with such work do not bear any borders on all four sides. Instead two diagonal corners have been designed in floral patterns to give them an altogether new look.

One of the most attractive patterns includes handiwork with sequence and shells. The feather wool stoles that were a big hit last time have been replaced with pure wool stoles with glittering work done with stones and beads. Such stoles are being preferred basically by young women who simply carry these to flaunt them with their designer saris or even jeans and trousers.

Last year, woollen stoles were available mostly in black and navy blue colours. This year, light shades of peach, blue and turquoise are more common. The new range of printed multicolour feather wool stoles has also arrived in the fresh lot.

Ms Mridula Jain, owner of Shingora Shawls, said fresh stock was coming in fancy patterns. Embroideries and colours have undergone a complete change to target young and middle-aged women, she said. ‘‘The size of shawls has been reduced so that they can be conveniently draped with jeans as well. Beads, sequence and shall works are going to be more common. Aari work is back in fashion this season. Bold colours like red, maroon and rust will be more popular. All-time favourite jamawars in silk wool or blended Pashmina wool would also be there.’’

Mr Rajeev Vohra, owner of Vohra Shawls, said this time computerised embroidery work was being done on light-weight shawls. He said since jamawars were hot favourites but somewhat unaffordable for middle-class people, such patterns were being made with machine work to reduce the cost price.

Exhibition compliments festive season
Our Correspondent

Ludhiana, October 11
‘The Outburst of Colour and Light’, a two-day exhibition of paintings and candles, was inaugurated at Sundial, Sutlej Club, here today. The murals, oil paintings, mix media and tile paintings on display have been made by students of the Rekha’s School of Art. The Tanjore art, acrylic, rendering, Varindavani, wash tempra and stone art displayed by Rekha, director of the school, and her students were the centre of attraction at the exhibition.

Rekha, while giving the details of her work said she had a passion for art. “These are different types of paintings. There are craft paintings, oil paintings and glass paintings among others. These days, glass paintings are out but the ceramic work is very much in. The paintings are made of ceramic powder, fevicol, cones. We colour them with poster colours and coffee powder and then polish these with varnish. I always try to bring uniqueness and variation in my work”, said Ms Rekha.

The cost of the paintings and art work ranges from Rs 3500 to Rs 15,000 depending on the work, the material used, the size and the kind of framing. In reply to a question whether people of the city appreciated the art, Rekha said,” This is my second exhibition in the city. Though the response is much better than the previous one, still people here do not have the buying spirit”.

Another attraction of the exhibition was the display of a variety of candles, by Charu Malhotra of ‘Visual Lite’. This young artist had made candles, ideal to be kept in bedrooms, kitchen, pooja-rooms, dining tables, bars etc. “We have floaters, different types of gift material and perfumed candles. The candles made in pastel shades were appreciated a lot by the visitors. The candles are made in different types of shapes like in mocktail glasses, huge flower vases, little cups, platters etc”, said Charu.

“We have a collection to suit every pocket. The small candles cost around Rs 40 and the range goes up to Rs 6000 depending upon the size, the material used and the work and labour. Since the festival season is in people prefer these different kinds of candles”, said Charu.

Ms Gunjan, a visitor said, “It is good that Ludhiana people have started appreciating the art. The paintings and candles displayed in the exhibition are really beautiful. The artists have done a lot of hard-work in their creations. Such exhibitions should be held regularly.”