|
|
|
|
City’s pride
12-year-old set to enthral audience through melody
|
|
||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|
‘Ancient Chinese apparatus helps in learning maths’
Rare heart surgery performed
Rural belt becoming a tourist hub
Diamond jubilee show of Punjabi play
City doctor attends global conference
Weekly round-up
Consumer awareness camp
|
|
City’s pride
From a one-room teaching centre to an institution that has carved a niche for itself in the educational scenario of the nation, Guru Nanak Dev University has come a
long way, says Varinder Walia
Guru Nanak Dev University, established on November 24, 1969, under an Act to mark the 500th birth anniversary of Sri Guru Nanak Dev was started from single room of the agriculture wing of Khalsa College with one table and two chairs only! This furniture was borrowed from Khalsa College, which was later affiliated to the University. Interestingly, the first driver-cum-peon was also taken from Khalsa College. Incidentally, Prof Bishan Singh Samundri, the visionary Principal of Khalsa College, became the founder Vice-Chancellor of Guru Nanak Dev University, who remained at the helm of the university affairs for nine-long years, and left for his heavenly abode on December 9, 1997. He never brooked any interference in his working as he wanted to make Guru Nanak Dev University the “varsity of his dreams”. He picked up people of eminence from different fields as his advisers and members of Senate (formed in 1970), including Prof Abdul Majid Khan of F.C. College, Lahore, who had settled in Shimla after Partition. He was a close confidant of first Prime Minister Jawaharlal Nehru, and had a stint as India’s Ambassador to Iran. "For many Gursikhs living in Amritsar, it has been a practice to walk from their homes to the Golden Temple. I personally know one such person and he was late Bishan Singh Samundri, former Vice-Chancellor of Guru Nanak Dev University. He used to walk barefoot to the Golden Temple. It was out of respect and hence nobody should term it as a ritual (That is quite fashionable term these days),” wrote Bibi Yogi Kaur. Other prominent senator included film star and Punjabi writer Balraj Sahni, senior journalists, Sadhu Singh Hamdard, Jagjit Singh Anand and G.R. Sethi. The sterling contribution of Professor Samundri to the building of this university and making it a premier institution of the nation is remarkable. Born in a Sandhu Jat Sikh family in Chak No. 140 G.B., a village near Samundri tehsil, of Lyallpur District (now Faislabad in Pakistan), he inherited the legacy of his illustrious father Sardar Teja Singh Samundri, a legendary figure of the Gurdwara Reform Movement. Sardar Teja Singh Samundri laid down his life for upholding the cause of religious liberty in the face of imperial repression. The Teja Singh Samundri Hall in the SGPC complex stands today as a monument in his memory. Mr Jasbir Singh (now the secretary to the Vice-Chancellor), was the first employee who had joined the university as the personal assistant to the Vice-Chancellor. Both Mr Samundri and Mr Jasbir Singh joined on November 1 (Punjab Day), 1969. They continued to work with the makeshift arrangement till the new VC office (later converted into the guest house), came up in the varsity complex. However, Mr Bharpur Singh, then Principal of Gardiwala College, was appointed as the founder Registrar on December 1 by the state government, a week after laying of the foundation stone (November 24) by Mr V.V. Giri, President of India, at the barren land. Mr Jasbir Singh says that a “kutcha” passage was constructed overnight to pave way for laying the foundation stone at the place where big Administrative Block of the university stands today. Out of 500 acres of land (barren land and orchards) of Ghanupur Kale and adjoining villages, 322 acres of Khalsa College were acquired by the state government to construct the new university. The new university had to depend upon Panjab University, Chandigarh, Punjabi University, Patiala, and PAU for the trained staff. Recalling the formative years of Guru Nanak Dev Varsity, Mr Jasbir Singh says the then Vice-Chancellor of Panjab University had given “verbal instructions” to his employees not to cooperate with the university. “With the result, we had to face many difficulties in collecting supporting material for conducting the first examination in 1971, which was a big challenge for everyone”. The founder Vice-Chancellor, Professor Samundri was a person of uncompromising nature so far as good quality of building material or faculty was concerned. He was perhaps the first person in Punjab to recognise the visionary spirit of Dr Manmohan Singh, (now Prime Minister). Dr Manmohan Singh, who was the seniormost Professor of Delhi University in the 1970s, was almost the permanent member of the selection committee for the Department of Economics. On his personal invitation, Dr Karamjit Singh Rai, Professor of Biology at the University of Notre Dame, USA, founded and established the Department of Biological Sciences, comprising six major departments with international standing during the academic years 1973-74. Similarly, Professor Samundri brought the “best teachers” from various corners of the world. He would recruit them on their terms. Historically, various departments made noteworthy strides and blossomed into the best departments of the country. The university in its eventful history of 37 years has taken long strides in spreading the message of the Guru and promoting education in science, art, management, information technology, industrial technology, environment, planning and architecture. Carefully nurtured by illustrious academicians and administrators, it has created a place of pride for itself on the academic map of India, and is striving to equip the students to face the challenges of the 21st century. The motto of the university, as engraved on its emblem, (Guru’s wisdom illumines all) speaks of the vision and idealism for which the university stands. Initially, it was a big challenge to convert the barren and arid land into the modern university of today. The Building Advisory Committee, constituted by the founder VC, comprised Dr Gurdial Singh Dhillon, the then Speaker of Lok Sabha, Dr M.S. Randhawa, the then Vice-Chancellor PAU, Chief Engineers of Punjab, UT Chandigarh, and towering personalities of different fields. Spread over a stretch of 500 acres towards the west of the city, Guru Nanak Dev University now presents a picture of modern architecture, which has a history behind it. The celebrated and world-renowned architect, Jasbir Singh who had won the first prize for designing the Indian Pavilion in Japan, was engaged to design the university campus. Traditional red-brick geometrical blocks represent time-honoured values and commitment to scientific advancement. The university today boasts of about 40 full-fledged academic departments, two regional campuses at Jalandhar and Gurdaspur, two constituent colleges and a score of support service departments, besides several administrative offices. The university is the first one in the north India to get assessed from the National Assessment and Accreditation Council (NAAC). It has got the highest Five-Star level status. The UGC has also selected this university as the Centre of Excellence in Sports Sciences, keeping in view its achievements in the field of sports. However, the ambitious project of “Heritage Village”, which was the brainchild of Dr S.P. Singh, Vice-Chancellor, could not come up, despite tall claims. The village was supposed to preserve the rich heritage of Punjabi culture. Tiding over the bad phase It is a historical fact that teaching and non-teaching members of the university tried to maintain congenial atmosphere even during the peak of militancy. Incidents of violence at that time included setting on fire the conduct branch of the university to thwart the examination, and sensational killings of two students, including the son of an SP (City). So much so, the then Vice-Chancellor started receiving threats from gun-totting boys, and a bomb was planted in the VC Office. Lately, two incidents of violence created panic on the university campus. At least four persons, including two final year students of the Law Department, were injured when two warring groups clashed in front of the boys’ hostel. In yet another incident, a student had hired a notorious “Likhari gang” to settle scores with his classmate. Tinsel town connection Balraj Sahni, perhaps the best-known film actor in India to emerge from the post World War II Left cultural movements, was one of the founder senators. Despite his busy schedule, he would come all the way from Mumbai to attend the meetings. He used to be the star attraction since he would come in traditional Punjabi dress supported by “Turlewali Pagdi” and
“Chadra”.
|
|
12-year-old set to enthral audience through melody
The Kishore Memorial Society (KMS), Ludhiana, has decided to promote 12-year-old local boy, Lakshay Kapoor, by launching his solo music album ‘Lakshay’ (The target) of 8 Punjabi songs. Mr Goldy, President of the KMS, said the society found musical current in the performance of this artiste during a “Kishore Nite” programme organised in January. Lakshay was among over 40 singers from all over north India who performed in the finals of the show. He said the society under the sponsorship of a reputed company took the initiative to promote Lakshay, a student of 7th standard of Spring Dale Public School. He said the album would carry audio and video CDs / DVDs on all eight songs and was likely to hit the market in the mid of May. He further said that all the songs of the album were scripted by experienced lyricists of the Punjabi poetry like Gurnam Gama and Chand Sanspuri. He said the tunes of these songs were being composed by Goldie-Darhsan at Geet Studio, Mumbai, and were framed keeping in view the rich culture of Punjab. The songs of this album would showcase Lakshay’s voice in sad moments, hilarious moments and one patriotic composition on Indo-Pak relations of friendship to conquer the hearts of music fraternity, he added. The father of the boy, Mr Raman Kapoor, said that he recognised Lakshay’s vocal melody and fantastic scale pitch when his son was 9 years old. He said that Lakshay was immediately put on the tract of formal coaching daily for 2-3 hours. He said soon his son started performing on stage in musical events bringing many laurels to his credit. Ms Manveen Sandhu, Principal, Springdale School, said that it had been their endeavour to promote the students in the fields they excel. She said as Lakshay had to participate in various stage programmes they had to make him feel comfortable by accommodating him during the exams. She appreciated Lakshay, saying he never asked for any relaxation like other students who participated in various state or national level games.
|
|
‘Ancient Chinese apparatus helps in learning maths’
An ancient Chinese calculating apparatus has come as a boon for children to learn mathematical tips of multiplication, subtraction and addition in an easy and quick way.
As per the trainers, the major advantage of this equipment perhaps is that it triggers the brain cells of the children in their right and left brain. A demonstration to showcase the effectiveness of this apparatus and technique was organised at Service Club here recently. Parents, along with their children, from various schools witnessed the solution of big figures by students in minimum time. The programme was organised by the Ideal Play Abacus India Pvt Ltd, a franchisee of Play Abacus Malaysia. Its Managing Director, Ms Shaarda K Sriram, said this abacus was a whole brain development program in which “mind hand coordination” enhanced the ability of children. She said that their programme helped activate the right and left sides of the brain, especially the right one. She said that the studies had proved that majority of the great persons of the world had their right side of the brain active. She said their programme involved the children under 12 years of age as 99 per cent brain was developed by the age of 14 years. She added that the programme increased various skills of a child, including listening, concentration, memory, imagination, speed, accuracy of calculations, retention, recall, logical, analytical abilities, comprehension, creativity and confidence. Abacus is a manual Chinese tool using beads to solve arithmetic problems. It is a device used for addition and subtraction, and the related operations of multiplication and division. It does not require pen and paper. Ms Meenakshi Kapoor, Director, Lifetime Skills, a franchisee of Ideal Play in Punjab, said that they were running 15 centres across the state.
— OC
|
|
Rare heart surgery performed
The doctors of Escort Heart and Super Speciality Institute Ltd. (EHSSIL) here claimed to have performed a rare heart surgery.
Dr H.S Pannu, Chief Cardiac Surgeon, EHSSIL, said that employing a rare technique, the affected portion of heart of 56-year-old Mr Jagdish Singh from Herian village in Ludhiana district, was preserved. He said the fact that the sensitive surgery was performed at a critical stage made the operation more commendable. Angiography of the patient revealed critical triple vessel disease with severe valve leakage of the main heart valve (mitral valve). The patient was recommended for bypass surgery and valve repair. However, the 13-member medical team faced a piquant situation of whether to replace or repair the valve. As the valve replacement in such a situation was a very risky operation, Dr Pannu said. The surgery lasted for six-and-a-half hour. The patient said that he had felt chest pain some five years ago, but he ignored it. However, it subsequently came out to be a major one. Dr Pannu advised that people feeling chest pain must meet cardiologist immediately. It would not only nip the disease in bud but also save their precious money, as the later stage of treatment was proved very costly, he added.
|
|
Rural belt becoming a tourist hub
The Manawala-Sultanwind belt, one the several militancy-affected areas of the district, today stands transformed into a major rural tourist hub of international standards.
The villagers living in this belt would have never imagined that the area would offer a high-tech tourist point with world-class facilities. Apart from educational institutes, many tourist resorts dot the Amritsar-Jandiala GT Road. The United Nations had initiated the project to integrate rural areas with the international tourism. A report prepared by the UNDP aimed at developing tourist hubs in two places around the Holy City. The project had initially focused on Rajasansi in close proximity to the international airport where the tourists would be taken around a typical Punjabi village. The UNDP report had formed the basis of similar tourist spots in various parts of the state. Amritsar was selected for the projects in view of its international character. This transformation has not been easy for once the sleepy village nestled in green fields. Engaged to crystallize his dreams Mr Ram Singh set a blistering pace from 2001 onwards for establishing a mega project to set up modern resort fully equipped with indoor and outdoor sports besides providing excellent entertainment for the entire family. Passionate about the project, Mr Ram Singh, a resident of the area, said he had taken the clue from the UNDP to integrate the rural tourism concept with the rest of the world, “so that the foreign tourists can get a peep into Punjabi lifestyle”. He said he conceived this project in 2001 after numerous travels abroad. The project will have a relaxation complex, including a resort hotel with indoor and outdoor facilities, health club, yoga centre, a small golf course and a driving range. Three main activity zones in the resort would replicate British architecture with a pub. The club would have French architecture and the 70-room hotel based on American architecture. Mr Ram Singh said the first phase of hub would become operational after Baisakhi, which would include a pub, a rectangular swimming pool, clay tennis courts, golf course and a walking, jogging and cycling track and green spaces. The surroundings have been encircled with medicinal and herbal plants, including avenues of neem, mehndi, bamboo, sirin, citrus and mangoes. About 300 varieties of seasonal flowers will add to the aesthetic value of the resort. The irrigation system has been meticulously planned with stress on saving the natural resources, including water. Rain harvesting, solar geysers and in-house sewage treatment plant have been installed in conformity with giving boost to the natural surroundings. Other project in the pipeline includes development of the Harike wetland, largest bird sanctuary in Asia. Mr Ram Singh said he also had plans to promote tourism in and around the city by organising the sightseeing bus on the pattern of the buses in London taking tourists to historic and religious places.
|
|
Diamond jubilee show of Punjabi play
The diamond jubilee show of the Punjabi play,
‘Faasle’, was staged at Punjab Naat Shala here recently.
Mr Jatinder Brar said that it was for the first time in the history of Punjabi theatre that a diamond jubilee show was staged. He added that he was committed to bring back the charm of theatre here, as it held an important place in his life. The play,
‘Faasle’, had artistically highlighted the ever-widening gap between the rich and the poor, the upper and the lower caste and the privileged and the underprivileged sections of the society. The story of the play revolves round the unvoiced liking of a young girl named “Noori” (a snake charmer) for a government-employed doctor posted in a dispensary. The play was set in a village situated in a backward area of the
‘Mandh’. The play left the audience mesmerised for nearly two hours as it depicted the role of the present day corrupt government employees, who exploit and fleece money from the native villagers through their nefarious practices. The play conveys a strong message to do away with the social evils and disparities by inculcating a spirit of brotherhood among the audience. The modernisation of the theatre by creation of banks of a flowing river, the creation of moon and star studded sky, the making of rainfall to match the intricacies of the scene and the switching of sets by using a remote controlled revolving stage leave the audience spellbound. Veteran artistes like Pavel Sandhu, Sukhi Pawar, Vedh Sharma Jaswant Jas, Pawandeep, Satwinder Soni, Sarbjeet
Ladda, Harmeet Kaur Sanghi, Soni Sidhu, Dolly Saddal, Bharati, Mamta, Vinod Mehra, Rajinder Nagi, Chowdhry, Gurpreet, Master Harjot Singh and Baby Sandeep have given their performance in the play. Set designer, Balwant Singh, light in charge, Jaswinder Singh, and sound in charge, Subash Rao, have also made valuable contributions to make the play a success.
|
|
|
City doctor attends global conference
Dr Raman Chatrath, an anesthesia specialist from the city, became the first selectee from north India to be invited to the second World Congress on Anesthesia and Pain Therapy held in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, recently.
He was among the six specialists selected from India including ones from Delhi, Jaipur, Kolkatta, Ahmedabad and Cochin, by the “Asia Oceanea Society of Regional Anesthesia”. Dr Chatrath said more than 1,000 specialists had arrived from the
world over for the conference that was conceived last year. Dr Chatrath has the distinct record of inducing anesthesia and post-operative pain management that has led to more than 400 bilateral and unilateral (pair and single) knee and joint replacement surgeries that have been successful in the city in past four years. Besides being instrumental in pain management of complex surgeries including gynecological and orthopedic cases, he has also managed pain in nearly 2,500 neuro surgeries (brain). Describing the specialist panel discussion at the World Congress the anesthetic who has had a stint in DMC Ludhiana and PGI Chandigarh said he had laid bare the Indian experiences especially of this region and on specific techniques that were more acceptable here. He said people in the northern region were averse to painless labour in delivery cases. Dr Chatrath said he has experienced successful management in chronic problems like backache, headaches and diseases like herpes and high-threat pregnancy cases facing multiple-risk factor like heart diseases and diabetes. Interestingly, he said “the West was hungry for ‘Yog Asanas’ and expressed a great desire to know about it.
|
|
Weekly round-up
The Rotary Club Amritsar Central organised a vocational award function to honour renowned personalities of the city recently. The president of the club, Dr Naresh Grover, said that the eminent educationists, Ms Neera Sharma, principal DAV public school, was awarded vocational honour for dedicating 25 years of her life to the service.
The second awardee was Dr Ravi Kumar Mahajan, renowned plastic and micro vascular surgeon, Dr Ajit Singh Randhawa, neurosurgeon, and Mr Anil Kumar Razdan, TV and Radio singer. Dr Grover said that Mr O P Soni, MLA, was the chief guest, while Dr S P Singh, Vice-Chancellor of Guru Nanak Dev University was the guest of honour and Mr G S Bawa, past district governor, was the presiding officer on the occasion. Annual
function Mr S.K. Salwan, Vice-Chancellor, PTU, gave away prizes to students of the Shiv Shankar Institute of Engineering and Technology being run by Shahid Bhagat Singh Educational Society, Patti, during its annual prize function. Prizes were given to 11 B.Tech and 20 pharmacy students. Mr Salwan appreciated the opening of the institute in the border area for providing technical education to rural youths without leaving their places. Election Prof A.K. Dhir, Head Department of Commerce, BBK DAV college, and Prof H B Singh, Department of Botany, Khalsa College, has been elected as district president and secretary, respectively, of the Punjab and Chandigarh College Teachers’ Union in the elections of the district council held recently. Workshop on HIV/AIDS A sensitisation workshop on HIV-AIDS for 49 Heads of the senior secondary schools of the district was held here at Government Senior Secondary School, Ram Bagh. Speaking on the occasion, Ms Rekha Beri, Assistant Director of Punjab State AIDS Control Society, said that about 6,000 persons were affected by the deadly disease daily. She further said that about 50 per cent of these were in the age group of 15 to 16 years and 35 per cent were of the age of 15 to 24 years. Ms Satinder Kaur, Director SISF, Chandigarh, said that there were about 41 million people affected by the disease. Of these, 5 per cent were Indians. The workshop organised under the aegis of Punjab State AIDS Control Society in collaboration with SISE Punjab, Chandigarh, was held under the leadership of Mr Gursharanjit Singh Mann, District Science Supervisor. The school Heads were also given a cheque of Rs 2,500 on the occasion.
— OC
|
|
Consumer awareness camp
Most of the samples of loose milk, collected from different households, were found adulterated with water and soda during a consumer awareness camp organised by the Verka milk plant here recently. Speaking on the occasion, Mr S.R. Saini, General Manager, Verka, urged the consumers to use Verka
pasteurised milk, which, he claimed, was free from pathogens and adulterants.
He further announced that the next camp would be organised on April 27 at
Putlighar.
|
| 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 | |
