 |
|
|
Foreign Fetters |
|
||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|
Weekly Round-up
Market Buzz
|
|
Foreign Fetters
More than half of Doaba is on move. To find a foothold on foreign shores. And no price is high if it lands Doabites in one of the foreign countries, the preferred destinations being Canada, the United States, the United Kingdom, though even lesser countries like the African nations serve the lust for foreign land.
“Everything is geared towards foreign relocation. Life in this region is a big, bamboozling wait — the wait to get transported (sometimes literally) to a foreign land. Youngsters wait for that one fine bright morning when they would open their eyes in a land where dollars rain through a cloud of pounds. For some, the wait gobbles up years together. A few fall into fake agents’ traps. But the mesmeric charm does not fade,” says Mr Bakshish Singh Arora, a retired government servant. If we go by statistics, almost every second family in the region has a relative or two trying their luck abroad. No wonder, marriages are made and unmade keeping in view the foreign factor. “Nothing is sacred when it comes to a chance to go abroad. Consensual divorces are common these days. Both parties work out strategies to facilitate their immigration,” says Mr Barinderjit Singh Shelly, a city-based advocate. There has been 20-25 per cent increase in divorce cases over the past few years. And city lawyers like Mr Ram Pal Singh Gill and Mr Balbir Singh Sanga vouch for it. Sometimes, consensual divorces backfire, too. In a recent case, a woman from a well-off family from a village near Hoshiarpur was married into an equally rich family from a village near Kapurthala. These days, she is fighting a case of alleged fraud and harassment against her in-laws, who charge her with “immoral activities”. It is learnt that the woman had agreed to a consensual divorce, thinking that it would help her to join her husband who is ‘settled’ abroad. Later, the woman and her in-laws fell apart, and the in-laws allegedly touted the ‘paper divorce’ as ‘the divorce’ willingly agreed to by the woman “who did not want to stay with their family”. Surprisingly, even such cases of divorces having gone sour do not deter people from making and unmaking marriages for ‘foreign purposes’. Often barter system is followed to pave the way for siblings’ immigration to foreign countries. Matrimonial advertisements are chock-a-block with barter offers (you marry my sister who lives abroad; I’ll marry your foreign-settled sister). Compatibility, age difference and other considerations are all conveniently glossed over. A few marriages work, many limp and others simply collapse under the weight of foreign baggage. In such a scenario, dysfunctional (or almost dysfunctional) families abound. Life here rests on a tripod of three thumb rules — successful-in-foreign relatives are role models to be emulated, ends justify means, and money (or foreign bait) can buy most things, vices included, says Mr Lakhbir Singh, founder-president of NGO Pahal, which has been working with Doabite youth. “Many times drug addiction, unemployment and dollar-pull fuse in strange permutations. Not long ago, a girl, whose father was a drug addict, came to me. She was not doing well in studies. After a couple of years, she met me again. She was travelling in a swanky car and flush with money. Later, I came to know that an aged NRI had got a house for her, and during his visits here they stayed together,” he adds. Often alcoholism and drug addiction find a fertile soil in these dysfunctional families. “The profile of an alcoholic may swing between two extremes — an upwardly mobile, moneyed man who considers alcohol-swigging a status symbol and an unemployed or underemployed man who feels he is too disturbed to remain sober,” says Mr Gurmail Singh Dhillon, an advocate. Yet another dimension to the Doabite society is the marked rise in land dispute cases. Over the years, as the land prices soared, the land dispute cases, too, registered an increase. Most of these cases pertain to NRIs and their relatives back home. “Land dispute cases have become a routine now. In one of the recent cases, a family settled abroad approached court to ‘reclaim’ its land in a village here. The family contended that it originally owned 3-4 acres of land and it had pumped in money to increase the land holding to 30 acres. But now, relatives back here were not giving the family its share,” explains Mr Shelly. The ‘foreign connection’ seems to be costing Doabites pretty dear!
|
|
‘It’s all a play of colours’
AN artiste has sensitivity that is seldom scotched by adverse circumstances. And G.C. Jena, a painter who is also art teacher at Sainik School, Kapurthala, knows it rather well. He saw his house being reduced to a pile of rubble during the Orissa cyclone in 1999 — life had to start from the scratch. It was a gruelling existence. The very basic needs had become a luxury which few could afford. But from this hard grind itself his creative urges got their sustenance. “I had a choice. Either I could wallow in my misery or I could transmute my feelings to my art. I chose the latter and have no regrets,” says Jena.
Though pastoral scenes are his favourite subjects, yet abstract paintings and portraits, too, find a prominence in his art. Equally proficient in oil and water colour mediums, he likes to experiment with colours. “Sometimes, I paint the same scene using different colour combinations. These paintings have a dramatic quality about them. A sepia tone can give the scene a timeless look, while earthy colours highlight the scene’s vibrancy,” he explains. He has won quite a few awards, including those given by the Punjab Lalit Kala Akademi, the All-India Fine Arts and Crafts Society and the Indian Academy of Fine Arts. Recently, his work Light was adjudged the first in the North Zone All-India Art Teachers’ Exhibition-2004 organised by the Camelin Art Foundation. Jena considers artistic ability to be a gift of god. “You can improve upon your art but you must have the minimum necessary artistic inclination and talent,” he emphasises. The art of painting would never lose its charm however much advanced photography may become, he feels. “Paintings are more alive than photographs. They capture even the tiniest whiff of emotion. And oil paintings have a long shelf life, may be even 1000 years,” says this artiste, who receives a good number of requests from NRIs to do portraits of their aged parents back home. Sometimes, he is asked to paint in oil the old, faded pictures that are barely visible, and he tries his best to capture the feel of these ancient-looking pictures in his paintings. No wonder, brushstrokes are the driving force for this young artiste!
|
|
Singing is in Navraj’s blood
His father is a Sufi singer par excellence. Navraj Hans — son of Hans Raj Hans — is following in his father's footsteps.
Navraj, a second year student of the Lovely Institute of Management, is the first prize winner of classical music in university-level contests held by Punjab Technical University this year. In ghazal singing, he won the first prize at college level and second prize at university level contests. Likewise, his Indian group song team won the first prize in college contest and second in inter-college contest. Earlier also, he had bagged first prizes in solo folk song contests held at three different inter-college contests at Ludhiana. Being just a novice in the field with hardly any training in music, he says he has a long way to go. "My father did not want me to pursue music. He said the profession took much time in riyaaz and shows. He told me that a singer was forced to sing with much passion and concentration even when sad," says Navraj. "My passion for singing began when I was in a hostel in England to pursue a 64-week diploma in management at University of Birmingham. I felt that I was left all alone. I called up my dad and told him that I was very depressed there. He sent me 125 CDs of Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan and told me to listen to those. It was at that time that I developed love for music and started singing," he recalls. But this budding singer does not want to confine himself to Sufi singing. In fact, he says he wants to be versatile — the way people want their singing stars to be. "I want to sing all kinds of songs," he says. "I get up at 5 am and do riyaaz for an hour. Then I study a bit and go to college. At 4 pm, I again begin practising music and it sometimes continues till midnight. These days I am preparing three Punjabi songs sung by my dad for an annual function to be held in my college," he adds.
|
|
Herbal Holi in city
When it happens rang barse this Holi in the city, it would be with herbal gulal. Though pegged at almost double the price of synthetic colours, the sales of herbal colours are an all-time high.
Available in a relatively less range of colours, primarily red, orange and green, almost all shops in the markets of Model Town and Rainak Bazaar here are flooded with herbal Holi colours. Safe for skin and eyes, stain-free and eco-friendly, herbal colours are believed to have a good effect on the skin. Well-prepared herbal colours are said to leave the skin softer after wash and these colours can be removed with a soft mop in contrast to synthetic colours that leave the skin dry and take much effort to be wiped off the skin. Prepared from natural pigments in flowers, leaves and rhizomes of plants like hibiscus, rose, marigold, bougainvillea, sandalwood, and from henna, tesu, turmeric, multani mitti, spinach, indigo, amaltas, berberis and pomegranate to name a few, the herbal gulal does not cause any skin allergies or infections, believes Dr Raj Kumar, Principal, Dayanand Ayurvedic College. He says that the synthetic colours are a deadly cocktail of acids and toxic metals like lead and cadmium along with fillers like salt, starch and sand which can lead to various skin diseases and even blindness. Dr Kumar adds that synthetic colours are toxic and can result in anything from skin allergies to cancer, eye irritation and blindness. Most of the colours sold in markets are oxidised metals or industrial dyes. These chemicals can lead to irritation of the skin, boils and allergies, he says. Shopkeepers say that herbal colours are expensive but people still prefer buying these colours, knowing their safety values. Mr Manoj Aggarwal, a shopkeeper at Rainak Bazaar, attributes the rise in sales of herbal colours to the growing fear of skin infections from synthetic colours. He adds that the herbal items are reasonably priced at Rs 20 for a herbal colour pouch and Rs 80 for a rose water bottle. Rose petals for red Take some red roses and separate their petals. If petals are wet then spread them on some newspaper or tissue paper and expose them to direct sunlight. Once the rose petals are completely dried, keep them in an airtight bottle. Grind these petals soon and do not keep them for a long time. Make them into a powder, which you can use as gulal. Henna leaves for orange Take dried or fresh mehndi leaves and grind them to powder. You can even mix them with water to make a paste, if desired. Marigold flowers for yellow Soak 25 marigold flowers in 1 litre of water. Boil it till it exudes fragrance. Leave it overnight. You will get rich wet yellow colour. By drying the petals of yellow chrysanthemum, various shades of yellow can be prepared in powder and liquid form, the former by grinding, the latter by adding water. Gulmohar leaves for colour These leaves need to be dried first. Coriander leaves, mint and spinach leaves dry even if kept in a refrigerator and properly wrapped in a newspaper or in airtight bags. Once they are dried they can be ground in a mixer to get a fine powder.
|
|
From the Colleges
The annual convocation of Hans Raj Mahila Maha Vidyalaya was held on Saturday.
As many as 856 students, including 117 postgraduates and 36 honour graduates, received their degrees. Gold medals and rolls of honour were presented to 16 students who had secured first positions in the university examinations. Ms P.S. Sharma, Principal, read out a brief report about the college activities during the session. In his convocation address, Mr M.L. Khanna exhorted the young graduates to transform their dreams into reality. He said the foremost qualities required were those of self-discipline, faith and strong character. The college students presented cultural items like sitar recital, folk orchestra, mimicry, group dance and songs. Student nominated Ms Shallu Narula, a meritorious student of Hans Raj Mahila Maha Vidyalya, has been nominated as a member of Guru Nanak Dev University's Senate by Governor of Punjab, Gen S.F. Rodrigues. The student has been given the honour for her consistent excellence in academics. She gave the credit of the rare achievement to her teachers and principal. The principal has congratulated the student and her parents. Training The Lovely Institute of Management launched a one-month training programme on speaking skills on Monday. Mr Ashok Mittal, president of Lovely Institutes, said that the students should aspire for achievements in academics and also for personality development which would make them employable in the corporate world. He said 35 students had been selected on merit to undertake the training programme. Mr Harpreet Singh, a faculty member and trainer of the course, said that the students would be trained in grammar skills, phonetics, extempore, group discussion, negotiation skills, body language and confidence building measures in a structured training programme of 30 hours' duration. He said that quality circles, audition and video playing techniques would be used to impart training. Farewell party The final year students of MA Punjabi and Political Science, BD Arya College, Cantt Road, were given a warm farewell by their juniors on Wednesday. A cultural programme was organised by the first year students. A fashion show was also organised, in which Amandeep Kaur was declared Ms PG BD Arya, Amita Sharma was chosen the first runner-up and Kiran was selected the second runner-up. Aarti was declared Ms Beautiful and Poonam was chosen Ms Charming. The programme was presided over by Ms Swaraj Mohan, college director and consultant. Ms Karanjit Kaur, Principal, wished the students good luck for their future.
|
|
From the Schools
Mr Mark Bartholomew, Head of the University of Cambridge Local Examinations Syndicate, visited the newly launched Cambridge International School for Girls at Urban Estate last Sunday.
In his address, he told the staff and the parents that education would be learner-centred in the school. He said rote learning would be discouraged, and instead real learning would be encouraged. Mr Bartholomew said the students would not just be provided academic competence but would also be introduced to international environment in the social and cultural spheres. He said there would be several exchange programmes for students as well as teachers. He said the school would have a national curriculum by becoming a member affiliate of the Central Board of Secondary Education (CBSE). He informed that the school was ready to begin its first academic session on April 1 this year. Mr Shahshank Virk, CEO, Global Educational Management Systems, was also present on the occasion. Annual day Kidzee School celebrated the annual day at Lions Club, Lajpat Nagar, on Wednesday. Tiny tots presented a variety of items, including dance, music and drama. The programme began with the singing of Tamso ma, followed by Gayatri Mantra. An item Chunnu Munnu depicting the story of two brothers was applauded by all. Patriotic items had kids raising slogans of Jai Hind and Bharat mata ki jai. The ABC song also won applause. Mr Jai Kishen Saini, former minister, was the chief guest and Mr Subodh Sharma, branch manager, was the guest of honour. Ms Harsimmerdeep Kaur, academic coordinator, conducted the whole show. Eurokids Tiny tots of Eurokids@MayorWorld who got promoted from play way to nursery took part in a graduation ceremony held last Sunday. Kids attired in gowns were presented "passing out" degrees and trophies. A sports event with the theme "Health is wealth" was also held on the day. The kids participated in march past and rhythmic drill, followed by vegetable race, Mickey and Buddy race, jungle race, rain creature race and carry-on race. The school also organised races for parents. Mr Mark Bartholomew, Regional Head, University of Cambridge, UK, and Dr Ian Barker, Director of Mayor World School, were also present on the occasion. Meanwhile, the school held an interactive session for parents on Tuesday evening at Red Cross Bhavan in which the parents were given tips on personality development. Various innovative methods to do arithmetic calculations and language exercises were demonstrated on the occasion. Olympiad
achievements Students of Ambika Modern School, Kapurthala Road, have bagged top positions in the 7th National Science Olympiad conducted by the Central Board of Secondary Education. The results of the Olympiad were declared recently. Aditya Bathla, with 96.05 per cent, has stood first in the city. Arshleen Kaur has been declared sixth in the city. Abhinav Kumar, with 95.87 per cent, has been placed eighth in class VII. Ajitesh Kaushal has secured the ninth rank in the city. Chairperson, Ms Veena Bhandari, and Principal, Mr V.K. Mehta, have congratulated the students and the staff. Commissioner visits school Mr R.L. Jamuda, Commissioner, Kendriya Vidyalaya Sangathan, visited Kendriya Vidyalaya on the campus of the Rail Coach Factory, Kapurthala, last Saturday. Mr Jamuda laid the foundation stone of the extension of Kendriya Vidyalaya for third section. He promised further extension to facilitate the fourth section in the future. He expressed his satisfaction with the performance of the students, especially in the area of sports.
|
|
Teachers from various colleges in the city observed a day-long hunger strike on last Thursday to protest against the alleged failure of the state government to implement the demands of teachers, including the release of grant, merger of 50 per cent DA, pension and gratuity scheme and implementation of the Johl Committee Report. Meet on infertility A seminar on "Advancement in infertility management" was organised jointly by Military Hospital, Jalandhar, and the Jalandhar Obstetrician and Gynaecologist Society at Military Hospital, Jalandhar Cantt, last Sunday. Brig Sukumar Anand, DDMS, Vajra Corps, presided over the function. More than 100 doctors and gynaecologists attended the seminar. Management camp Senior Secondary School, Jamsher, organised an NSS camp during which the NSS programme officer, Mr Jasbir Singh Sandhu, told students about the importance of disaster management. He also told them that the Jalandhar zone was the earthquake-prone danger zone. Baby show Baby Anmol and baby Gurmannat bagged the first and the second prizes, respectively, in the photographic competition held during the Baby Show-2005 organised by Chawla Nursing Home and Maternity Hospital this Sunday at Red Cross Bhavan here. About 150 children participated in the show. (Compiled by Minna
Zutshi)
|
|
Residents flay MC for dumping
garbage in vacant plots
The lack of proper planning on the part of the local municipal corporation authorities has left residents of three residential colonies here fuming. In the absence of any earmarked space for garbage dumping, vacant plots on 120-foot road have been converted into temporary dump yards.
The residents say that they have submitted several memorandums to the authorities concerned, requesting the latter to set up a proper garbage dump, but to no avail. On receiving several complaints from the area residents, The Tribune team visited the place. The residential colonies — Dilbagh Nagar, Ekta Vihar and Dilbagh Nagar Extension — were found to be worst-affected, as adjoining 120-foot road is dotted with the garbage dumps. Temporary garbage dumps start from near Bir Babrik Chowk to Basti Guzan Chowk on 120-foot road. “The garbage remains strewn about. There is no arrangement for its removal on daily basis. Mosquitoes and other insects continue to breed in these places,” says an area resident. During rainy season, water mixes with the garbage and the stench can be felt miles ahead, says Mr Kamaljit Singh Bhatia, a former area councillor, who has submitted scores of representations in this regard to the municipal corporation authorities. The area residents had launched an agitation against the authorities about four years back to stop the corporation staff from using the place as a garbage dump. The agitation turned violent as protesters allegedly damaged municipal corporation trucks. Six persons were booked under various sections of the IPC for causing damage to public property. “Though the corporation authorities have spent lakhs of rupees on beautification of roundabouts in the city, no serious effort has ever been made to redress the problem that affects the health of more than 20,000 residents of these localities. Such dumping points pose a serious health risk. The authorities concerned should immediately make proper arrangements for the disposal of the garbage,” says Ms Gurjit Kaur, a housewife. Interestingly, the corporation authorities have put up several notice boards at the place to advise the public not to dump garbage there, but the corporation staff itself dumps truckfuls of garbage there. The residents maintain that the authorities should construct fully covered garbage dump points for the purpose, instead of littering the place. “If the authorities themselves continue to dump garbage here, how can anyone stop residents from doing so?” says another resident. When contacted, the MC Commissioner, Mr S.S. Johl, maintained that it had been decided not to use the place for garbage-dumping. “We have decided to construct a children’s park there, while the front portion of the land would be sold (through auction) for setting up shops,” Mr Johl added.
|
|
Banga road in bad shape
To drive on the five km stretch of Phagwara-Banga road linking Mehli-Mehtan Phagwara bypass is a pain in the neck. The road links very important and busy Phagwara-Banga-Chandigarh state highway with the National Highway No1. But it is so pockmarked that it gives the impression of a field raked by a farmer. Some of the pits are so wide and deep that they look like gaping craters and are enough to break the bones and vehicles of unsuspecting drivers.
Those using light vehicles like cars and scooters jerk, wobble and vibrate as if they were pebbles on a crusher-belt. In rainy season, when these pits become puddles, the plight of motorists and other users is to be seen to be believed. A drizzle is enough to inundate these pits and the accompanying slush spells hell for people, especially pedestrians, cyclists, scooterists. The elbow- bend near meat shops in the crowded bazaar through which the road passes, the portion in front of the local Banga Road cremation ground and an area near octroi post are the worst parts of this stretch. Many accidents have occurred due to the bad condition of the road. Many vehicles have been damaged. The nine-km bypass, constructed at a cost of Rs 26 crore (land price included), and inaugurated on June 25, 2003, has come a bane so far as this road is concerned. Ministers, bureaucrats and other bigwigs coming from Chandigarh to Jalandhar or going back glide through the bypass, skipping Phagwara city. Result? The road is neglected. When contacted, local MLA Joginder Singh Mann, Chairman, Punjab Agro Foods Corporation, told Jalandhar Plus that he had written to Punjab PWD Minister and had taken up the issue with the top brass of the department many times. SDM Pritam Singh said that an estimate of Rs 1.7 crore had been sent for approval. However, no PWD official could be contacted.
|
|
Market Buzz
To mark Holi celebrations, Sagar Ratna, a chain of vegetarian restaurants, has introduced a Malabar steam dosa series.
Some special dosas and attractions like Addai, Pessarettu, Mangalore Dosa and Semiya bathe, which were earlier available only in Delhi, would now be available at the Jalandhar outlet. The GM, Mr Pramod Kumar, claimed that it was the only outlet in India that had its own mobile catering bus for the service of guests at special rates. He said the bus stood outside Skylark Chowk in morning and at Model Town in evening, and was giving free home delivery service to the guests. Planet M opens outlet Planet M, a chain of music stores, opened its outlet in the city on The music and entertainment hub that opened at the Model Town Market here has a wide rage of VCDs, DVDs, smart audio accessories, trendy memorabilia and other music related stuff. The distributor said that contests, free trips and family picnics were in the offing for those who joined Planet M as Road shows To promote its foreign exchange business, the Bank of Punjab held road shows throughout the region that culminated at Kapurthala on Wednesday. Mr Sudarshan Motwani, Vice-President, said that the bank had worked out a tie-up with the Western Union, which was the world’s largest money transfer company. He said the road show was held to educate customers about how their money was safely, quickly and conveniently transferred from one part of the world to another part. He said the bank had also opened their state-of-art foreign exchange bureaus where customers could exchange currencies of over 100 countries. The services included remittances on account of students’ fees and immigration, besides sale and purchase of currencies and traveller’s cheques.
|
| HOME PAGE | |
Punjab | Haryana | Jammu & Kashmir |
Himachal Pradesh | Regional Briefs |
Nation | Opinions | | Business | Sports | World | Mailbag | Chandigarh | Ludhiana | Delhi | | Calendar | Weather | Archive | Subscribe | Suggestion | E-mail | |
MORE
than half of Doaba is on move. To find a foothold on foreign shores.
And no price is high if it lands Doabites in one of the foreign
countries, the preferred destinations being Canada, the United States,
the United Kingdom, though even lesser countries like the African
nations serve the lust for foreign land.
