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Love finds new destination on Valentine’s Day
Chandigarh, February 14 However, the heart of the city remained devoid of much of the colour and flavour of the festivities all through the day. Here, the spirit of the celebration fell prey to the hawk-eyed policemen keeping watch at the most frequented spots in the city, playing spoilsport in the process. Despite this, Valentine's Day successfully painted the town red, heart-shaped balloons, roses and the attires of young girls and boys, all donned the colour of passion to mark the day. At Sukhna Lake, all young hearts seemed to want to boat, be on their own, in the midst of the blues, and yet be a part of the crowd. The road from Panjab University through the Lake and to Sector 17 became an alternative gerhi route for youngsters zipping around in flashy cars and jazzy bikes. The more discreet, however, opted for Rock Garden with its labyrinth offering greater “exclusivity and privacy” to the not-so-open. It turned out to be the most happening spot for those wanting to be away from the “madding crowds”. Fun Republic, the shopping mall in Mani Majra, attracted lovers of all age-groups, right from the recently-in-love college-goers to the tiny tots accompanied by grandparents. Decked up in keeping with the theme of the day, red heart-shaped balloons, thermacol hearts and rocking music kept Valentine's Day alive and kicking till late evening. An especially-created dance floor, too, attracted love-enthusiasts. The Sector 17 plaza was a house-full as friends and couples descended at the shopping complex in search of celebrations. In the end, it turned out to be one big party, more so with the Naval Symphonic Band playing melodious tunes at the venue. The young and the not-so-young attended numerous walk-in-parties to shake a leg to peppy numbers under blinking lights in discos in the afternoon and late evening. At Bharat Petroleum petrol station in Sector 21, too, love was in the air. They decided to create a Garden of Eden by planting rose shrubs. Almost
250 rose shrubs were planted near the petrol station by couples. Gifts were hidden in the rose beds, and each couple planting the shrub could walk away with the gift. Considering the national obsession with assertion of self, or of one’s love in form of graffiti, a giant rock was created for couples wanting to etch their names. Florists, having doubled their rates to make flowery expressions an expensive affair, did flourishing business till noon. With roses being the “most delivered” flowers of the day and gladiolus, a close second, by afternoon business was practically over for them. Flower shops on the gerhi route in Sector 10 and 11 lost out on customers on account of heavy police deployment. Meanwhile, closed on account of a second Saturday, Panjab University, usually central to such celebrations, wore a deserted look. A handful of students were all that there was to the celebration in the name of Valentine’s Day at Student Centre. Hearts were up for sale outside Government College for Girls, Sector 11, as balloon vendors in large numbers lined the road to the college. There were no takers as hostelers stayed behind closed doors and took solace in celebrating the day with a dance party on the college premises. In other colleges of the city, barring SD College, Sector 32, there were hardly any day scholars attending classes, most of them choosing to stay away from the classes. Most SD College students reported to their classes to avoid a Rs 100 fine to be levied from all absentees. A local gift shop, Dewsun, today launched a privilege card. The holder of this card will pay only 50 per cent on love theme cards till the next Valentine’s Day. Enrolment for the privilege card is free of cost from February 14 to 21, according to Mr Diwakar Sahoonja, director of Dewsun. Valentine’s Day, in short, was the stringing together of odd little happy moments spent with loved ones on a day epitomising love. The first flush of romance, the celebration of being in love and the excitement of being loved, together, made for a memorable Valentine’s Day. So long till next Valentine’s from the love struck! |
Flocked by love-struck, palmist reaps a harvest Chandigarh, February 14 Call it yet another innovation to maximise customer satisfaction or simply a gimmick to cash in on the festive occasion, the idea proved to be quite a hit in the end. Scoring over a host of other places which did not have a palmist in the routine list of Valentine’s Day offerings, this particular hotel managed a huge gathering. Youngsters, lined up at the reception area, with their palms extended.Following the palmist’s instruction, the girls but forward their left hand while the accompanying boy extended his right. Together, the three made a pretty picture on the cupid’s day. As the couples waited anxiously to know whether they were compatible with one another, Pt Keshavanand had a good time forecasting. In most of the cases he would begin with asking the name of the prospective client and then linking it up with some character in the scriptures. The next step was be to narrate a high sounding Sanskrit
shloka, which would then yield the path for palm reading which, the Pandit said, “was a fine art in itself.” Happy to be invited by the hotel staff, the palmist added, “I don’t go anywhere without invitations. It is a good thought to invite me so that I can help any youngster who wants to know what the future holds for him/her.” The hotel’s front office manager, Mr Rajesh Kalra, said: “We wanted to target youngsters. So we did all we could to make them happy.” Meanwhile, the Panditji remained seated in his place right till 5 pm when the Valentine Day celebrations going on in the hotel’s bar lounge ended. Taking care of the tender hearts, he declared his observations cautiously. Even if he saw a relationship on the rocks, he cared not to shatter hopes of lovers. In most cases, he suggested ways out of possible crises. The stars will cause worry but we have solutions to every problem.”, he said to some couples. Small wonder then most youngsters had Panditji’s address secured in their diaries by the time they left. Richa and Sanjay, who joined the revelry at the hotel, were all praise for hotel people, as they said, “This is a novel idea. This shows how much the hotel people care for us. Panditji has pointed out some problems in our relationship, but he says all will be well if we resort to “upaays”. We will go to him later.” It was the same story for most others who got their palms read as a special incentive on the Valentine’s Day. Interestingly, all of them gave Panditji his
dakshina, though the latter asked for none. |
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21st century belongs to India, says H.K. Dua Mohali, February 14 Mr Dua was the chief guest at the school’s silver jubilee function. Over 150 students were awarded for their achievements at the prize distribution function. In his address, Mr Dua pointed out that the 21st century was an important point in the life of the nation and its people. ‘‘I hope that future generations will not only set things right but also shoulder the responsibility of taking the nation forward,’’ he said. ‘‘The future to a large extent depend on what these children have inherited from us. India has been a free country for 56 years and we owe it to the generation before us who, fired with idealism and a spirit of sacrifice, fought the mighty British empire. With Independence came the happiness and the pain in the form of the Partition. But there was hope and there was a gigantic task to rebuild India. But recent times have seen a decline despite progress. A decline in values and idealism with cynicism and despair setting in,’’ he said. ‘‘It is now for the future generations to reaffirm the faith and achieve the goals that we had set. I can see that spark and in the next generation there is reason for hope for the country. One can look towards the students of YPS and other such schools to provide leadership to build India of the 21st century.’’ Exhorting students to contribute positively to society, Mr Dua suggested that each student should teach the basics to an illiterate. ‘‘It could be the servant’s child, the gardener’s son or even an adult. If you are able to teach him some basics, it will be like changing person’s life. Secondly, each one of us should plant a sapling every year, maintain it and see it grow. This will help the nation’s economy and make it greener. This does not require much effort and no way clashes with the careers,’’ he said. Earlier, school students — Mannat, Jaipreet, Nehmat and Kanwal — read out the school’s achievement report. Mrs Komal Singh, a lecturer, asked the parents to spend more time with their children and be honest with them. The School Principal, Dr Harish Dhillon, earlier welcomed the school board members, the chief guest and the parents. Mr Dua gave away prizes to the winners of the various academic and extra-curricular competitions. The prize winners included Gursimrat, Baani, Ravtej of Class I; Aashna, Abhay, Arjun of Class II; Prabhleen, Harsimrat, Sahil of Class III; Saransh, Ashish, Prabhjot of Class IV; Prabhroohan, Shashwat, Aastha of Class V; Sukrit, Himmat, Dhriti of Class VI; Ravinder, Roopam, Jasleen of Class VII, Ripudaman, Vijay, Vinay of Class VIII; Anuj, Gurtej, Sarthak of Class IX and Abhinav, Pavitter, Nehmat of Class XI. Shibani, Ameekul, Savleen, Aikum, Komal and Naveen won prizes for music while Ajay, Tarini and Dilawar won prizes in art and Simran, Vrindha and Suraj won prizes for craftwork. Jashan Uppal and Bharat Bhushan Saini lifted the Air Force trophy for the best all-round student of Class VIII while Sikander Sharda and Samridhi Rana secured the Mrinal Dutta memorial trophy for the best all-round student of Class III and Simar Puneet Gupta lifted the Bharat Gupta memorial trophy for the best orator of the school. Bharmleen Kaur bagged the medal for the best result 2003 in the ICSE and shared the Badhaur medal with Arjun Singh Channi for the best all-round student of Class X. Gagandeep Singh won the medal for standing first in the ISC examination in the non-medical group, Amaninder Singh Mann in the medical group and Simar Grewal in the commerce group. Sahira Bhullar got the medal for the best all-round student of Class XII. |
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Models get duped, asserts Miss India As she introduced herself, a warm smile played on her lips. It broadened as she spoke about the necessity of guiding youngsters through modelling schools. “It is essential to prevent unscrupulous agents from duping young enthusiasts hoping to make it big in the tinsel world,” she asserted. Nikita was in Chandigarh to attend “Cancer Survivors Day” organised by Sahayta Cancer Sahyog at DAV College in Sector 10. Making herself comfortable in a hotel just before the
programme, Nikita asserted, “For so many youngsters, modelling paves the way for displaying talent in films. But sadly, the models get duped in the process”. Waving her hand in disapproval, she said, “That is why steps must collectively be taken to ensure that complete guidance is provided to the models through schools imparting training”. The models, she cautions, “should be careful of the agents”. Commenting on the country’s failure to emerge as a winner in international beauty pageants during the past few years, she said, “It is just a matter of luck. You go for the pageants with a gleam in your eyes and a hope of making your country proud. But in the end God’s will matters. People should not ascribe reasons to it”. Nikita also spoke about charity and her role as ‘’ambassador” for HelpAge India. “Charity comes from within.... It is not essential to be Miss India or a ramp model for doing good to people,” she said. “But being a celebrity helps. When you participate in events, you get publicity and that helps in generating funds”. Daughter of a doctor in the Army, Nikita said, “I started young. I was still in my teens when I started working with a non-government organisation — Akanksha. Social work gives me immense satisfaction”. Talking about her future plans, she said, “Destiny is not a matter of chance, but a matter of choice. So you should always make the right choice. I am very clear about what I want to do in life. After winning the Miss India title, I now want to release my own music album I also plan to act, and have received offers for Hindi films, but I am yet to sign one. Acting in television serials is strictly a no-no for me”. Just 20, Nikita is yet to complete her fashion designing course and plans to remain in Delhi or settle down in Mumbai. Giving tips to young enthusiasts eager to win the Miss India title, she asserted, “The combination of beauty and brains is essential, along with general awareness. Personality and confidence also makes a difference”. Regarding her likes and dislikes, she said, “I am a fitness freak and I believe workouts are essential to remain fit. |
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Smaller parties can tip poll balance
Chandigarh, February 14 A talk with a cross section of leaders of different political parties yesterday showed no signs of an alliance either with the BJP or the Congress at the moment. This can have a telling impact on the results. The Harmohan Dhawan group and the Bahujan Samaj Party have a decent following to make a strong impact on the results in case they sided with any party. Mr Harmohan Dhawan, a former Member of Parliament, had joined the Congress last time. He later left the Congress and floated the Chandigarh Vikas Manch. He said he had not yet decided to join any political party. Earlier the BJP announced its pact with the local unit of the Akali Dal for the forthcoming polls. Mr Gurpratap Singh Riar, president of the local unit, has ever since expressed his differences over any agreement. He has underlined the demand for a Sikh candidate. A senior BJP leader said the BJP and the Akali Dal had tied up at the Punjab level so Mr Riar’s statements meant little. He said discussions were on at the senior level of the party and the matter would be resolved soon. Mr Yash Pal Mahajan, the BJP president, said the party was open to alliances from like minded parties and avenues of holding talk with Mr Dhawan were open. Mr B.B.Bahl, president of the local unit of the Congress, said no understanding had yet been reached with any political party. |
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BJP terms
Bansal as incompetent Chandigarh, February 14 The BJP in a press note said a number of Congress workers in different parts of the city had joined the party because of being dissatisfied with Mr Bansal’s contribution to the development of the city. Mr Yash Pal Mahajan, president, claimed to have enrolled a number of Congress workers in the BJP. The Atal Sandesh yatra of the BJP, which envisages to cover the entire population of the city before announcement of the elections, yesterday covered Sectors 44, and 47, Colony No. IV and Ram Darbar. The BJP yatra today covered Sector 45 and Burail village. Mr Satya Pal Jain, former member of Parliament, said the BJP was contesting the elections on the basis of its achievements during the past five years. The yatra plans to cover Sectors 37 and 41 tomorrow. |
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City NCP may
go it alone Chandigarh, February 14 The matter has been referred to Mr Sharad Pawar, President of the NCP. Principal Gurbachan Singh, president of the local unit, will meet Mr Pawar in this regard shortly, he said. He said that Principal Gurbachan Singh had served the residents of the city for the past nearly 20 years. Principal Gurbachan Singh said, “If we are directed by the party high command to go with the Congress during the election campaign we will abide by the command.” Mr M.R. Premi was announced as the chairman of the National Trade Union Congress |
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Traders may field their own candidate Chandigarh, February 14 This was stated by the mandal here today. A meeting of the mandal was conducted under the chairmanship of Mr M.P.Kohli. Its members were critical of “unwarranted Excise raids at various establishments wherein the department created terror and unrest among the traders”. A high-level delegation of the mandal will shortly meet senior officials of the administration in this regard. It was decided at the meeting that a white paper underlining various problems facing the local traders will be handed out to different political parties. |
IT was in the late sixties when I joined service that I came in contact with him. A couple of years later he moved — on deputation — to the Union Territory of Chandigarh while I stayed back in Jalandhar. He would often say. “Tirlok I wish you take my place when I move to another posting”. Usually, a deputation lasts for three years, but he had become so indispensable that year after year, that the government would extend his tenure until it was time for him to retire 10 years later in 1982. As if destiny had designed to fulfill his wish, I moved into his shoes. It was a formidable legacy that I had inherited. Though Mohinder Singh’s post carried the title of Executive Magistrate, he was much taller than his designation and wielded enormous influence in the administration. He had endeared himself to people for from all walks of life. His imprint could be noticed in all facets of Chandigarh’s life. I tried hard to become his worthy successor and imbibe his qualities but who could match his humility, his affability and above all his unflappability. Cool and unruffled, he would handle the most difficult of situations with tact and imagination. Whether it was an explosive law-and-order situation, or imposition of censorship, or detention of politicians during the emergency, nothing was decided without consulting him. Joining the Army as JCO, he had risen by sheer dint of hard work, and on the way up acquired a Mater’s in English Literature. He saw action in the North African Campaign where he had the honour of meeting the Pope who came visiting the troops. Noticing his turban, the Pope said”You are a Sikh — Guru Nanak’s Sikh”, much to the surprise of fellow-soldiers. A stickler for punctuality and discipline, people in his neighbourhood would set their watches by the time he would set out for a walk around the Sukhna Lake, and the time he would return to his Sector 32 home. This reminds me of the German philosopher — Kant whose reputation for punctuality had become legendary. Having paid his karmic debt, ‘EM Saab’ slipped away quietly without much fuss as was his wont on the morning of 10th February, which was his birthday. Just as in life, so in his death he was a picture of poise and grace. Such men are a very rare phenomenon, and when they pass away, they leave behind a bag full of sweet memories. Antim Ardas for the departed soul takes place today at Gurudwara Sri Kalgidhar Sahib, Sector 20, Chandigarh. T.C. Gupta |
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Individualism taking sheen
off family ties, says expert Chandigarh, February 14 “In traditional families where all members lived under one roof, the individual was under the control of the elders in the family. With the joint families breaking up and giving way to nuclear families, each individual is aspiring to chalk out his own plans, unmindful of the requirements of the others and the elders," rues Prof Shah, who had taught at the Delhi University. In town to attend a national seminar on “Family in contemporary India: changes and challenges” being held at Panjab University, Prof Shah says immediate challenge to the families in the middle class comes from the economic forces. “The fact that children pursued their family professions kept the family intact in the traditional set-up. In modern life, children go into other professions. This is taking the younger generations away from home and inevitably leading to a collapse of the family, completely eroding the concept of togetherness,” he maintains. The ‘disintegrated’ family units are not only posing problems for the older generation, but for the younger generation as well. “With no help available at home and no role models to look up to, these youngsters are not in a position to identify their place within the family. They have no clue about behaviour in the new role whether it is that of the head of the family, the father, the wife or the mother. The individualistic approach is wreaking havoc with our system,” he opined. However, this rot in family systems has not set in as far as the affluent and the very poor are concerned. Among the poor, family is of great help.“Pooling of income is important to survival. This keeps the family together. For the rich, money is no problem. Staying together is also no hassle. The problem of staying together in the middle class is most acute,” adds Prof Shah, with two books on households and family systems to his credit. Prof Shah who developed interest in family systems and how they operate nearly three decades ago while carrying out field work in a village in Gujarat, opines that the biggest challenge for today’s sociologists comes from studying the content of family life. |
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Taint to family honour haunts Aroras Panchkula, February 14 The family rues the fact that the police had, immediately after the murder, declared that it was the outcome of a family dispute. However, later it came to light that robbers, and not the family members, were involved in the crime. The last rites of the Panchkula triple murder case victims — Dr Kastori Lal Arora (70), a retired Punjab Engineering College professor, his daughter-in-law Parveen Arora (40) and grandson Anmol Arora (9) — are being performed after over two months of murder. The Aroras, who have just come out after facing false charges, are holding the ceremony as per Hindu rituals. The house in which the three were done to death is still deserted. Since everything in the house had emotional significance attached to it, the family is not yet decided about the future course. While talking to Chandigarh Tribune, Ms Sarita Arora, wife of Dr Vinod Arora, was thankful that the reality had finally come to light. “The saying ‘God sees the truth but waits’ came true after more than two months of unnecessary harassment meted out to the family,” she feels. “Since we were dragged into the case without any concrete evidence, following which the rites for the departed souls could not be performed, we heaved a sigh of relief after the police nabbed the real culprits. Now all the rites would be carried out as per Hindu traditions,” says Ms Arora. It may be recalled that three members of the Arora family were stabbed to death by unknown miscreants in a Sector 4 house on December 7. The incident came to light on December 8 when Dr K.L. Arora’s eldest son, Mr Subhash Arora, who resides in Mani Majra, visited the house after none of the family members responded to his phone calls. The police had arrested Dr Vinod Arora and Amit Arora, son and grandson of Dr K.L. Arora, respectively, for their involvement in the murder. The two were remanded in police and later judicial custody by a Panchkula court. They were later discharged by the police after the police claimed to solving the case with the arrest of two members of a criminal tribe on December 9, 2003. The accused — Mukesh and Rakesh, both members of the Kanjar gang — reportedly confessed to the killing, with burglary being the motive. Mukesh and Rakesh are in police custody till February 20. |
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54 participate
in baby show Panchkula, February 14 According to school director, Mr Pritam Singh Serai, the participants were aged between 0 and 5 years who participated in the show based on ‘‘Healthy mind in healthy body” theme. The children were also examined for oral care on the occasion Mr Jogi Ram, Superintending Engineer, HUDA, who was the chief guest, distributed prizes among them. |
Four imposters
arrested Panchkula, February 14 According to the police, Sushil Chauhan and Sudesh of Ambala along with Ravinder and Rishi Pal of Manauli village, posing as inspectors from the Haryana Excise Department, started collecting entry tax from truckers on the Ramgarh-Barwala road late list night. One of them used to sit inside a Gypsy while the three others stopped vehicles crossing the road and collected tax. Following a scuffle with certain truckers, they were exposed as one of the trucker informed the police in Ramgarh. The in charge of Ramgarh police post, arrested the four and impounded their vehicles. The four were today produced before a Panchkula court and were remanded in judicial custody. |
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Purses stolen from car Chandigarh, February 14 Dixit was later handed over to the police. A case under Sections 356, 379 and 411 IPC, has been registered. A resident of Mansa Devi Complex, Panchkula, Ms Geetu Vaid, reported to the police that her two purses containing Rs 1,200 and some documents were stolen from her Santro car, parked near the regulator end of Sukhna Lake. The purses were stolen after breaking a windowpane of the car. A case has been registered. Mohali: Mr Gurbachan Singh, a resident of Sector 37, Chandigarh, complained to the police here that his white Maruti car (CHO1-V-3578) was stolen from the Phase VII parking space yesterday. He said that he came to his restaurant, Hungry Hunter, at about 10 am and parked the car in the parking place, but by 11.15 am the car was missing. |
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Murdered salesman identified Panchkula, February 14 The victim has been identified as Surinder Kumar (35), who was found dead in the liquor vend by Charanjit Singh and Yash Pal, two employees of Shiva Shakti Traders, when they turned up for collection of money at about 9.30 last night. They also found the cash box and other goods scattered in the vend and informed the police. According to the police, Surinder, father to two sons, was shot dead by certain armed assailants who later decamped with about Rs 3,000. Robbery was the motive behind the murder. |
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Constable succumbs to stab wounds Mohali, February 14 According of sources, Meva Singh, who was a resident of Sector 66, was on his scooter when he was attacked at Mauli Baidwan village. Going by the number of stab wounds on his body, the police believes that he was attacked by more than one person. Mr Manveer Singh, SHO, Sohana, said that Meva Singh died without giving any statement to the police as he remained in an unconscious state all through his stay at the PGI. He added that a hunt was on for more information about the assailants and appealed to the residents of Sector 66 and Mauli Baidwan to come forward and provide clues to the police. Meva Singh’s body was cremated by the police today. Meva Singh is survived by his wife and two small children. |
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Chandigarh, February 14
