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Womanpower unplugged
PM still leader of Opposition in Hindu College records
Spiritual grooming catches on in Phagwara
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Study finds female foeticide more rampant in Amritsar district
GND Varsity scientist to attend world conferences
in Australia
Hi-tech gadgets are here
to stay
Young World
Market Buzz
Art is a potent language for these artists
New management institute inaugurated
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Womanpower unplugged
Commanding from their seat, they may seem to be gutsy and firm with their stand, but these women government officers have to cope up with many problems, especially those arising from odd working hours, frequent transfers and family adjustments.
With their jobs demanding much more time compared to other conventional occupations, these women, now occupying high posts in the government offices, say they passed through very tough times in the initial stages. Four lady officers currently posted in Jalandhar made such revelations as they shared their varied experiences with Jalandhar Plus. Ms Sarojini Gautam Sharda, Deputy Director, Local Bodies, said she was perhaps the first lady tehsildar when she joined the post after clearing PCS examination in 1981. Daughter of a businessman, she said she did not have any idea about the job, as she had never seen a government office prior to her job. “That time I had just been engaged. I had not told my would-be husband that I had appeared in the examination as he had already said that he did not want a working wife. I, too, had not taken the exam seriously, but when I got to know that I had cleared it I was more worried than excited,” she reminisces. “Finally, I told my would-be husband about it, promising that I would quit in case I had problems at home. He, too, somehow agreed, as relatives on my in-laws’ side pressurised him to let me go ahead with the job. He waited for three years to help me adjust to my job before we got married, and I cannot forget that kind of support,” she recalls. The officer also recollected a funny incident in her office. “I was working as a tehsildar in a village when I saw an elderly woman coming to my room every five minutes. When I asked my peon as to what she wanted, he went out and checked up with her. He said the lady had been told that the tehsildar was sitting in, but every time she came and saw me, she thought it was someone else. She could not believe that a girl could also be a tehsildar,” she laughed. The officer said she hardly got time for her family, and even today when she went back home a bit early, her family members were surprised. She also narrated an incident when her son, Sidhant, suffered from chickenpox and she could not attend to him even for a day as she was too busy with official work. “My father took him away to Phagwara to take care of him. My son, now in Class X, may have forgotten that four-year-old incident, but the guilt will never go out of my mind,” she confessed. Ms Sharda said it was with her mother’s support that she still continued to be in job. “She took care of both my children. Though she is totally illiterate, she always wanted me to do extremely well in career, and she has been with me through thick and thin,” she added. Like Ms Sharda, Ms Neelam Chaudhary, serving as Assistant Excise and Taxation Commissioner, too, had become a PCS officer in 1981. She got recruited as the Excise and Taxation Officer in Kapurthala. But Ms Chaudhary was well aware of the working of government offices, as she comes from a family of government employees. Her father retired as a tehsildar from Kapurthala, and her brother, Mr Ravinder Chaudhary, is currently posted as an SDM in Khamano. She said her family had remained “split” at different places. “Even now my husband is putting up at Jammu where he is posted as Chief Manager with the Bank of Baroda. My son is taking PCS training from Chandigarh from where he is also doing an engineering course. My daughter is with me, as she has just appeared for the UGC examination,” she explained. “We have been getting together only after a fortnight or a month, but now we are used to it. The situation is better these days, for it was worse when my husband was posted in Jabalpur, Madhya Pradesh, for three years from 1996 onwards. We used to meet just four to five times a year. But I was well-prepared about the problems I have been confronting even before I got married. I had seen my father getting transferred to so many places even in Himachal Pradesh. We had to frequently change schools and colleges,” she added. The officer said her duty hours sometimes lingered on till night, particularly whenever there was an operation of the sort. “As an ETO, I have faced many problems. We had to conduct night detections that often yielded results. Once we were on such an operation when industrialists got together and gheraoed us. We were neither allowed to conduct checking nor allowed to move out of the place. We could not contact anyone, as there were no cell phones at that time,” she narrated. “After much persuasion, we were allowed to go. But we did not want the situation to go out of our hands. Next morning, we launched a major strike in the area with full police protection and managed to get the culprits nabbed,” she said, adding that she had won appreciation from the government a number of times for taking such steps. It has been altogether a different working for Ms Sita Rani Sharma, posted as inspector at Women Police Station here, where she remains busy solving marital disputes all day through. She joined the police force about 30 years back as a constable when “there were hardly any women in the force”. She began her services in Gurdaspur, but later got shifted to intelligence wing of the CID where she served for 20 years. She joined as inspector in the district police about four years back. Ms Sharma said that even as the work pressure on her was immense, she did not find it problematic to adjust at home. “I have a joint family and both my children are being taken care of well. My husband is a non-teaching staff member at Mehr Chand Polytechnic and he manages to spare enough time for our kids,” she said. The inspector said that when she had got married, she was doing a civil duty at Attari immigration check point. “My in-laws did not have any idea that I could be posted with the district police. They thought that it was a nine-to-five job. But now they know that there could be no Sundays off, and duty hours could be extended till late night,” she said. Ms Rakesh Kumari, working as a member of the District Consumer Redressal Forum, joined the post just five years back when she had turned 45. She recently got her term renewed. Before this, she was a social worker attached with the Inner Wheel Midtown Club at Hoshiarpur through which she even tried solving various family disputes. “I appeared for an interview conducted by the State Commission, and got selected. My husband is a known paediatrician in Hoshiarpur, but I did not specifically ask for a job there as I wanted to do it away from my home. Many people know us there, and they would have approached us for settlement of case in their favour, which I could not have done. So I preferred the job here. I decided not to use my surname ‘Kapila’ for the same reason,” she added. For all these lady officers, life has not been easy, but they made it with their grit and willpower. They faced many difficulties, but they were able to overcome these difficulties, thanks to their positive attitude and determination. More importantly, these women know that success does not come on a platter. They know that one has to work hard for it. Perhaps, this itself is the secret of their success. |
PM still leader of Opposition in Hindu College records
If the information brochure 2006-07 of the Hindu College is to be believed, then Prime Minister, Dr Manmohan Singh, is still the leader of Opposition in Rajya Sabha. Interestingly, Hindu College is the alma mater of the Prime Minister.
This is not only the anomaly. There are many more of this kind. For instance, Mr R L Bhatia, Governor of Kerala, is shown as Member of Lok Sabha, and Mr Justice (retd) R L Anand, as the present judge of the Punjab and Haryana High Court. Mr Nirpinder Singh Rattan is designated as Principal Secretary Higher Education. These personalities have been the students of the college. There are also some more discrepancies in the brochure. Mr K. J. S. Ahluwalia, a biochemist and local resident, said that this had caused unprecedented damage to the reputation of the college. It seemed that the college had not updated its records, he said. For an educational institution that enjoyed a good reputation and that had many shining stars among its alumni, such discrepancies were “very unfortunate”, Mr Ahluwalia added. He said that the college was among the institutions that had been established prior to Partition. It may be mentioned here that the college was established in 1924. The college is considered one of the most prestigious colleges of north India. Hindu College is proud of producing a number of prominent personalities of the country. These personalities include former Indian cricket greats Bishan Singh Bedi and Madan Lal, and Field Marshal S.H.F.J Manekshaw. Mr K.K. Arora, Director of the college, when contacted, asked the correspondent to contact the officiating Principal, Professor V.P. Lumba. However, the officiating Principal was not available for comments. |
Spiritual grooming catches on in Phagwara
Due to factors like declining spirituality, increasing stress, violence, corruption, addiction, selfishness and other negativities, the society seems to have fallen into the clutches of chaos. The only way to overcome these is through control over one’s views and attitudes toward mankind. These were the views expressed by some of the parents, who are busy enrolling their wards to a week-long course held by Prajapita Brahma Kumaris Ishwariya Vishwa Vidyalaya at Phagwara.
The course focuses on the spiritual grooming of children. Aiming at the emotional, intellectual, moral and spiritual quotients, the course has been aptly titled as the “Personality Development” course. Says B.K. Rewati, “Children these days are filled up with a load of knowledge, but are hollow inside. They lack the value system. So, this course has been organised to fill up that vacuum.” The method of teaching has been selected to suit different age groups. “Various subjects like existence of soul, God, meditation and world drama have been chosen to cover almost all basic questions regarding the human existence. I am teaching one subject each day.” The explanation goes like this, the human body is like a car where the soul functions as the driver. Just as using diesel instead of gasoline damages a petrol car’s engine, we damage our system by eating or drinking in excess. The simple and interesting anecdotes keep the students enthralled and captivated. Those children keen on attending these courses are quite excited about their queries. Says 13-year-old Reema, “I had so many questions about God and existence which are being answered one by one in this course. It has taken me by surprise.” |
The ‘branded’ generation
Shakespeare has once said “what is in the name”. But for today’s fashion followers “everything is in the name” as they believe in ‘branded mantra’. “It feels nice when you are wearing big brands,” says these brand lovers. From clothes to footwear, from bags to watches everything must have an established brand tag on it. Roopkiran, a young radio and television anchor, says “Branded stuff fill one with more confidence and you feel more in. So, I don’t mind spending extra bucks on them.” The fashion experts say that with the coming of international media, these brands invaded India. The satellite channels gave a huge exposure to the youngsters and inspired them to be more “trendy” and “hip”. The guarantee of quality also makes these branded products worth buying. The need for quality is very well justified, but the ratio of those blind followers are more who don’t even know that who started “Tommy Hilfiger” (started by Tommy Hilfiger himself) or the pronunciation of ‘Versace’. They just wear them for the sake of wearing. Ankit, a call centre employee, says, “Youngsters today are so fond of brands that even if they don’t have ample money to spend on brands, they don’t mind buying duplicates because they can’t give up their love for tags.” There are many people who really like established foreign brands because they find a quality in them. Sakshi, an engineering student says, “I wear brands because they fits better and lasts for long. Who doesn’t want the favourite stuff to remain for a long period.” However, for these brand-conscious, only foreign brands are a symbol of comfort and style. They call Indian brands as “non-brands” and “desi stuff”. Talking about footwear collections, for them ‘Nike’, ‘Lee Cooper’ and ‘Skechers’ are their choice, but the established Indian brands like ‘Bata’ and ‘Liberty’ are mum’s and dad’s stuff for them. “We sell both brands and non-brands (Indian brands). When a buyer buys a non-established brand, they start bargaining because they find the price very high, but on the other side when they buy foreign brands they never mind spending an extra amount. Sometimes, even the non-established stuff has the same quality but what matters is the brand tag,” Vicky, a showroom-owner, says, The discussion ends with the view that if a shirt worth Rs 600 or a pair of trousers worth Rs 1,000 gives you the confidence and makes you feel better than others, then go for it and join the race. What others say hardly matters! |
Study finds female foeticide more rampant in Amritsar district
Expressing concern over the lowest ratio of women in Amritsar district due to the female foeticide, Dr Balwinder Arora, a Reader in Guru Nanak Dev University, who recently conducted a study over the issue, has cautioned that it would lead the Punjabi society to disaster. Besides causing a rise in crime against women, the social evil would also gravely disturb the institution of marriage, she said.
As per the study conducted by Dr Arora, Reader, Department of Sociology, Guru Nanak Dev University, on female feticide on the directions of Gen (Retd) S. F. Rodriguez, Governor, Punjab, who is also the Chancellor of the university, the Amritsar district had the lowest ratio of women being 72 per cent, as compared to Jalandhar, Fatehgarh Sahib and Bathinda where it had 93.4, 77.4 and 84 per cent, respectively. Dr Arora said that if the ratio of women went down further the time was not far when the people of the Amritsar district would have to seek brides for their sons from the other states. Talking to Amritsar Plus, Dr Arora said that as the female feticide was closely related with gender bias emerging from patriarchal society, this issue had to be analysed by looking at the society holistically, which makes of four dimensions, a) value system b) socio-economic structure c) development paradigm and d) institutional arrangement. The social scientist said that the areas of study were three cultural regions of the state i.e., Majha, Doaba and Malwa and the districts chosen were Amritsar, Fatehgarh Sahib, Bathinda and Jalandhar. She said 150 samples each were taken from these districts and besides the students and doctors had been interviewed as part of the study. Even the secondary sources had been consulted, she added. She said 64 per cent in urban and 81 per cent people in rural areas were not aware of the social menace. She further said that 72.6 people lived in nuclear families, 79 per cent people had one or two children and 63.83 had both daughter as well as son. Dr Arora said as the development in the state was not balanced, its beneficiaries were largely men, in a way women were neglected in the process of development. She said women’s participation in different field largely remained invisible. She further said that rising cases of crime against women spoke volumes of lacunae in the functioning of institutions of the society and that their traditional roles did not go with the needs of the society marked by advance technology. About the action plan, Dr Arora said that it could be divided into two parts. “First being that there are already various acts, which need to be effectively implemented, and those violating the laws must be punished, some kind of act must be enacted to check those who use abusive language for women and in this regard the role of police becomes quite significant,” she said. Secondly, certain awareness programmes by the government and non-government organisations could be initiated and this task could be accomplished by different women’s studies centers as well as health centers, which could play effective role in this concern, she added. There was a dire need to change the mindset of the people by showing the worth of girl child and inculcating the value of equality in society. In the study, it was stressed that NGOs could play a major role by mourning the death of an unborn girl in front of the house of the errant couples and clinics to create fear of social boycott, Dr Arora said. |
GND Varsity scientist to attend world conferences
in Australia
About 8 million children are born with a serious genetic birth defect every year in the world and of these 3.3 million die. Those who survive either have a short life or are disabled for whole life.
Keeping this in view, the International Federation of Human Genetic Societies
(IFHGS) has decided to organise a special workshop during the 11th International Congress of Human Genetics at Brisbane, Australia, from August 6 to 10. Dr Jai Rup Singh, Professor of Human Genetics and the Coordinator of the Centre for Genetic Disorders of Guru Nanak Dev University, said it would formulate the guidelines and find out the ways and means to extend the benefits of discoveries of human genetics to the people in the poor countries. Dr Jai Rup Singh said 90 per cent of such births and 95 per cent of deaths of children with serious birth defects occurred in low-income countries, which currently did not have comprehensive genetic services for care and prevention. He said traditionally such genetic services had been confined primarily in rich countries. The International Congress of Human Genetics is the foremost meeting of the world human genetics community that is held once every five years. During his visit to Australia to participate in the 11th
ICHG, Dr Jai Rup Singh would be delivering several other invited talks and participate in other international satellite meetings that include; “Challenges of Genetics and
Genomics”; “Genetic Education in Developing Countries” by World Alliance of Organisations for the Prevention and Treatment of Genetic and Congenital Conditions; “International Genetic Alliance Conference” and “Symposium on
Thalassemia”. |
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Hi-tech gadgets are here
to stay
Technology has struck planet Earth. With the increasing dependency on hi-tech gadgets, it seems that contraptions have become inseparable part of our life. Be it a homemaker or a professional, a student or a businessman, everyone is falling in the loop. Jalandhar Plus chats up with some of the tech-freak in Phagwara to know more what gizmos mean to them.
“I simply can’t do without my laptop,” reveals Saurabh Bansal, an IT professional. With most of his job done online, he bought the electronic notebook for work initially, but now it has become an addition. “I know it has adverse effects, but I am helpless,” says Bansal. “Who thought that jogging would be possible in a small cabin one day. But it has become a reality today. Thanks to treadmills, one can burn hundreds of calories even without venturing out. Add to it a plethora of heating equipments like sauna belts etc available in the market that automatically reduce the fat. So there is no need to even exercise now. The wires have invaded our lives,” says fitness expert Hemant Vij. For homemaker, the tech era is a boon. Traditional cooking has become a passé after microwaves have hit the kitchen table. Then there are electronic blenders, mixers and dishwashers. “Life becomes so easy with all these machines around,” quips Anuradha Panchhi, a homemaker. “I am really dependent on my dishwasher and mixer,” she adds. The gadgets are also helping companies and business organisations a lot. “Now, for meetings, the physical presence is not really required, as most firms these days go for tele-conferencing. Presentations on products or LCDs are becoming a fad. It reduces the travel cost, time and burden,” says software professional Rohit Walia. “We need to imbibe the modern technology as we have to keep pace with the international companies,” he further says. However, the most smitten by the tech bug are youths, for whom, technology has become a part of the lifestyle. “I don’t forget to carry my palm-top, iPod and Bluetooth device, whenever I step out. It’s a style statement you know,” chirps Jasbir Chhabra, a graduate. However, many feel that the trend is not very healthy. “Earlier, outdoor games used to give physical exposure to kids but with the coming of video games, they have actually become a couch potato,” says Amrita Sondhi, a mother. “Technology may be a boon for many, but there is a flip side to it too. Spending long hours before the computer, has many harmful effects. Joint pains, uneasiness and unbalanced biological clock are the new lifestyle diseases, which have been reported among the kids,” says a doctor. |
Mehr Chand Polytechnic gets accreditation
Deepkamal Kaur Tribune News Service Mehr Chand Polytechnic, governed by DAV College Managing Committee, has been awarded accreditation in four programmes for three years by the National Board of Accreditation of All India Council of Technical Education (AICTE). Mr S.K. Sahdev, Principal, made an announcement in this regard on Monday. He said that the polytechnic had been given accreditation for conducting Diplomas in Mechanical Engineering, Civil Engineering, Electrical Engineering and Electronics and Communication Engineering with effect from June 29. He said that the institute was also running a community polytechnic wing for imparting technical training to rural youths, creating awareness regarding latest technologies and providing technical support and services to the rural masses. Folk dance contest
Students from nursery and kindergarten classes of the Cambridge International School for Girls participated in a folk dance competition on Monday. Little ones danced on the tunes of the songs presenting a rich cultural heritage. In nursery section, Aradhya Ashok Dhir won the first prize, while Lavanya Bahri stood second. In kindergarten, Mehak Bhatia, Muskan and Gurnaz left the audience spellbound. Ms Deepa Dogra, principal, presided over the function.
University exams
Kamaldeep Kaur Aujla, a student of Lyallpur Khalsa College, has got first position in Diploma in Library Sciences examination conducted by Guru Nanak Dev University this year. She has got 370 marks out of 500. Ranjit Kaur has stood third in the university with 357 marks. Gunveen Kaur, MSc-I (maths) student of the same college, has got third position in examination conducted by Guru Nanak Dev University. She has obtained 433 marks out of 500. Harpreet Kaur is fourth with 426 marks, while Amandeep Singh is fifth with 423 marks.Ramneet Kaur, a student of the Prem Chand Markanda SD College for Women, has bagged fifth rank in MA-II (Punjabi) examination conducted by Guru Nanak Dev University. She has secured 508 marks out of 800.
Toppers awarded BD Arya Girls’ College honoured four university merit holders during a function held on Tuesday. Sukhwinder Kaur was felicitated for getting first rank in MA (political science) in Guru Nanak Dev University. Shelly Sharma, eighth position-holder and Mandeep Kaur, 12th rank holder, were also honoured. Richa Soni, who had topped in BSc-III (medical), was also felicitated on the occasion.
GOC’s visit
Lieut-Gen Noble Thamburaj, General Officer Commanding of 11 corps and patron of Army Public School Beas, visited the campus last Wednesday. During his maiden visit to the school, he was welcomed by principal, Ms Subhash Joshi. He inspected classes, school library, counselling room, computer laboratory and language laboratory.
Tie-ups
Lovely Institutes has tied up with various overseas universities. Mr Ashok Mittal, President of the institute, said that the institute had tied-up with various universities of the world. He added that these are Wayne State University, US, Sunderland University, UK, Mount Allison University, Canada, Wellington Institute of Technology, New Zealand, Royal Business College, New Zealand, Northumbria University, UK, Red River College, Canada, and University of East London, UK, for credit transfers and articulations.
Entrance results
Career Point on Friday announced that its 671 students had got into IIT-JEE, 7565 students had cleared AIEEE and 161 students had cleared pre-medical examination. The director of the local centre said that the results pertained to students taking the course at its sixty centres across the country. |
It’s the season of monsoon sales
Tribune News Service Monsoon sale is on at Kala Mandir, a retail outlet here for designer sarees, suits, bridal wears, chudidar suits and trouser suits. Mr Sohail Khan, MD, said that clothes that had been put on sale had ideas of prize winning designers and craftsmen. Works such as phulkari, kota work, lampi, patch work and thread work had been used to embellish the fabrics, he added. He further said that printed suits and sarees with block prints designed by Satya Paul had also been put on sale. Leather unit
Hawk Exports, a Jalandhar-based leather manufacturing unit, on Saturday announced the opening of its first factory outlet at Shaheed Udham Singh Nagar here. Mr S.P.S. Virk, a partner, said that various leather products including shoe, belts, jackets, wallets and bags would be available at the new store and customers would get a value for money. He said that the company would soon open more showrooms in the city.
Blood donation
As a part of its forthcoming centenary celebrations, Bank of India organised a blood donation camp at its Jalandhar Overseas Branch on Saturday. Deputy Commissioner, Mr A. Venu Prasad, inaugurated the camp. Zonal Manager from Ludhiana Zone, Mr S.R. Birjarh, was the chief guest. Nearly 74 units of blood was collected from the staff of the bank, said Assistant General Manager, Mr I.M. Sarin.
IFFCO unit
The largest naphtha-based ammonia-urea complex owned by IFFCO at Phulpur in UP has been converted into a gas-based unit. Dr U.S. Awasthi, managing director of IFFCO, said this on Monday. He said that in line with the government policy, IFFCO had taken a lead to enter into an agreement with GAIL in August 2004 for the supply of re-gasified LNG to Phulpur unit. He said that GAIL had laid a dedicated 139 km long spurline to connect Phulpur to HBJ pipeline. He said the switchover would entail substantial subsidy savings of more than Rs 1000 crore annually to the government keeping in view the prevalent price difference in naptha and re-gasified LNG.
Anniversary bonanza
Celebrating its anniversary bonanza, Tanishq, a store for branded jewellery, has offered its customer a 10 gram silver coin on the purchase of 10 to less than 15 gms of 22 K gold jewellery and 0.5 gm gold coin on the purchase of 15 gm 22 K gold jewellery, Ms Aanchal Jain, merchandising manager said. The studded jewellery range also has a special offer of 0.5 gm gold coin on every purchase of diamond jewellery worth Rs 10,000 or coloured stone worth Rs 15,000, she added. |
Art is a potent language for these artists
Art is a potent language, with the help of which, the New Delhi-based designer-artist Jitender Thukral conveys his feelings, perception and point of view.
While their painting, “Homosapien”, was selected by Gerorge Armani and was showcased at his Milan-based art theatre, “Armani Casa” from April 5 to 10, the team had also been invited for yet another show held in Milan in June at the Museum of Turino. Two of their works have already been selected by Christies’, a reputed auction house based at Hong Kong and some others for the Taipei Art show. This creative band of two has also exhibited their works at Nature Morte and Alliance Francias, New Delhi, and the Hype Gallary of London. They have won numerous awards and the online display of 18 of their works have been chosen by the design portals and magazines, including Russia-based magazine Tartart. Their works refer fashion and advertising as the history of painting, combine cutting-edge computer graphics with retro-styled accessories and they create complex symbols and styles, paintings that are amalgamation of science and fiction. The contrast in their works is often construed as confusion as day-glo colours rub up against gilded antiques, while lavishly rendered simulations of florals and textiles jostle with electronic blips. But, the duo says their basic motive is to present information with vivid details and for commoners and connossieurs as well. Their work seems to revolve around difficult issues and themes, which attract one and all. For an example, one of their works depicts the infatuation of old people towards anything of yore — from old things to old music. “For me, and for that matter for us, art is a powerful language and both of us speak it out to convey our outlook or our feelings towards the world. We try to go as close to people’s sensibilities as we can and leave the rest to their intellect and its potential,” says Jiten, who believes in pushing the limits of graphic art to infinity and who likes to travel worldwide along with his work, which keeps on motivating him. |
New management institute inaugurated
The National Institute of Management and Technology was opened by Mr Pargat Singh, Director of Sports, Punjab, on Monday.
The students could study for one year here and in the next year at New Zealand, he added. The institute is offering diploma courses in hair dressing, skin care, cookery, kitchen operation, fashion management, interior designing and business management. The director of the institute also said that a welfare society run by PS Oberoi Group of Companies had even decided to offer scholarships to the deserving students in each stream by waiving off the complete course fee. Mr Oberoi said that the students would also get a help of Rs 20,000 each to start their own businesses. |
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