Jalandhar, September 4
The passion to don the uniform is in their blood. They come from a family where joining the armed forces is a hallowed tradition.

Meet Col Rajinder Singh Sekhon (retd) whose entire family, right from elders to his sons, has donned the olive green.

A known name in the defence circles, his family is a source of inspiration for many aspiring youngsters.

Impressed by the disciplined life of the Army and following in the footsteps of his father Major M.S. Sekhon (retd), Col Rajinder Sekhon too decided to join the armed forces at an early age.

An Indian Military Academy (IMA), Dehradun, pass out, he was commissioned in the Infantry in June 1963.

“I joined the forces as a regular commissioned officer. Since my father was an Army officer, I was well accustomed with the sophisticated lifestyle. For me, undoubtedly, joining the armed forces was one of the best career options,” he recalls.

Barring World War I, the family has seen action in nearly all major wars and peace-keeping missions abroad.

“My father participated in World War II and the 1962 Indo-China war. Even my father-in-law Major Kartar Singh participated in the same war, he revealed.

“I also witnessed the Indo-Pak wars in 1965 and 1971. Former Punjab Chief Minister Capt Amarinder Singh was my batch-mate at the IMA,” he fondly remembers.

The story does not end here. Both the sons of Col Sekhon, too, upheld the proud family tradition and followed in the footsteps of their father.

“It was indeed a big achievement for the entire family as both my sons showed the path for other youngsters in the family. However, the credit for this actually goes to my wife who instilled a sense of patriotism in my sons,” he proudly remarked.

At present, his elder son Col Vikram Singh Sekhon is posted at a peace station. An NDA alumnus from Khadagvasla and the IMA, he was also commissioned in the Infantry in 1990.

Vikram served in Siachen, one of the highest battlefields of the world. He also went to Congo as part of the peace-keeping force in 2005. Interestingly, his father-in-law was also an Army officer.

After eight years, his younger son has repeated history once again and brought glory to the family.

Major Karan Singh Sekhon joined the Officers Training Academy (OTA), Chennai, and was commissioned in the armoured corps in 1998.

Recalling the golden days of his family, the patriarch said, “There was a time when my seven first cousins were officers in the armed forces. And I am hopeful this tradition would continue in the years to come,” he wishes.

Kapurthala, September 4
The activists of `Sarkari School Te Shikhya Bachao Manch’ staged a dharna outside the office of Kapurthala deputy commissioner JM Balamurugan to press for their demand of restoring the charge of government schools to education department.

Notably, some schools were handed over to zila parishads during the previous Amarinder-led Congress government in the state.

The protesters gathered in front of district education officer’s office, from where they reached DC office, after passing through different bazaars of the city.

Jalandhar, September 4
The state consumer disputes redressal forum has directed the ITC company and its John Player flagship store Marrin Creations here to refund the amount of three defective shirts that a complainant had purchased during sales, pay up Rs 3,000 as compensation and Rs 2,000 as cost of litigation.

In his complaint, Nipin Bajaj, a resident of Golden Avenue, Phase-II, here, said he had purchased three shirts and four trousers from the showroom for Rs 3,292 on August 12, 2007.

He said one of his shirts shrank after one wash, one inch from the arms side and three inches lengthwise.

He said he went to the showroom where he was asked to keep the other two shirts with him. He said he was issued one receipt on back of a visiting card on September 25, 2007 confirming receipt of a defective shirt. He alleged that the other two shirts also shrank but he was refused refund or replacement.

The respondents, in their reply filed to the forum, stated that the items were sold on reduced prices during the annual clearance and they were not liable to exchange them. They said Bajaj had bought shirts of trim fit meant for youngsters preferring a body-hugging look.

They said they had told Bajaj to buy another shirt but he kept on insisting that he must get it on the same price that he had paid during the clearance sale.

The forum, represented by president M.M. Bhalla and member Surinder Mittal found that the respondents had failed to deny the defects in the shirts.

They observed that the condition imposed on the customers of calling for replacement within 24 hours was also unjustifiable.

“New articles are not used within few hours of purchase. It is also unjustifiable to ask the complainant to purchase new shirt at higher rate and pay the difference,” they opined.

The forum has asked the respondents to refund Rs 436 for two shirts each and Rs 476 for the third one along with compensation and cost of litigation.

Beijing Olympics ’08 is over but not the zeal and zest of the Indians who have been left enriched with the experience of having three medals - one gold and two bronze - in the individual category.

Interestingly, youngsters can be seen talking about the stunning victory of Olympic heroes Abhinav Bindra, Sushil Kumar and Vijender Kumar.

It is really nice that the so-called neglected sports, apart from cricket, are a matter of talk nowadays.

After his magnificient Olympic conquest Abhinav has remarked, “I sincerely hope that it changes how Olympic sports is viewed in India. Right now Olympic sports don’t seem to be priority and I hope this will change.”

This has in fact boosted the spirit of our youngsters who want to earn name and fame in sports.

Kudos to these three players who have not been totally dependent on any kind of government aid.

Rather, their success saga is a story of toil and moil of their parents and coaches who have given them more than a decade for this Olympic feast.

In spite of a plenty of prior splendid achievements, nobody was even aware who Abhinav Bindra was.

This Olympic gold medal has not only given him recognition worldwide but also made a colossal figure out of him.

This Chandigarh boy has carved a name for himself in the history books by becoming the first-ever individual to win an Olympic gold for India.

The new sporting icons of the country - Haryana’s Vijender Kumar and Delhi’s Sushil Kumar - too achieved distinction by winning two bronze medals for India.

The 23-year-old pugilist from Bhiwani Vijender Kumar became the first Indian boxer to punch his way to a medal in the 75-kg category.

Sushil Kumar won the country’s first bronze in wrestling after the 1952 games. Their success will definitely set a precedent for those young trainees who are inclined to pursuit for excellence.

Let us make every effort to immortalise this crushing win. Now it is the right time to shed the habit to glorify cricket alone and stop the step-motherly behaviour towards other sports so that a new era of Indian sports may sparkle.

For this the Sports Authority of India must provide its sports persons better facilities and good pay.

In Punjab too, earnest attempts should be made by NRIs, NGOs and the governmment to promote different types of academies to groom and shape the hidden talents of Punjabis.

Get frenzied by the opulent orgy of the Ganpati utsav. The whole country seems to capture the vibes of Ganesha celebrations.

The aura of Ganpati marks the powerful presence of the deity with all its glory. The thumping sound of “Ganpati bappa morya” mesmerises the devotees en masse.

Even a cursory glance at this refulgent festival tells us about the strong bond of unity and strength that was lacking in Indians before Independence.

The tradition of the utsav, though described in our mythology, never gained a momentum earlier as it has gained now.

The man behind this changed scenario was Lokmanya Bal Gangadhar Tilak who ignited the spark of tremendous faith among Indians and, thus, began a saga of jubilant celebrations.

This festival has brought about a total transmogrification of the mindset of Indians.

Though started in Maharashtra, the craze of Ganpati has arrested the attention of other states also. In Punjab too, people worship Ganesha with great fervour.

People deify the idol Ganesha and huge shimmering statues are built for the purpose.

Devotees invite Lord Ganesha into houses and offer him “durva” and “modak” with continuous chanting of his names like Ganadhipaya, Umaputraya and Vighanashaya.

Rituals are followed to please Lord Ganesha who is believed to abolish impurities of our life generated by our “karmas”. Ganesha is the symbol of wisdom unparallelled.

He annihilates all the obstacles of the devotees and beatifies them with imperishable bliss. After 10 days of adulation the statues of Ganesha are taken in great procession for the ultimate submersion in the water.

Devotees part with their god with heavy heart and god, too, promises a come back next year. This spiritual unending progression keeps on rolling in generations as a pious tradition.

Jalandhar, September 4
The city-based Vinko Auto Industries Limited (VAIL), which bagged the national award for its outstanding quality products, is ready with its expansion plans and would pump in Rs 10 crore to set up another plant in the Raowali industrial estate of the district.

Company director Vinay Kumar Gupta, which manufactures V-belts and hoses under the brand name “Alaska”, revealed that presently their turnover is Rs 35 crore with an export share of nearly 40 per cent.

“With start of the new plant, we expect to achieve a turnover of Rs 100 crore within a couple of years,” he pointed out.

MD Mohinder Gupta received the national award from Union minister of micro, small, medium enterprises Mahavir Prasad in New Delhi on August 30.

Jalandhar, September 4
Swimmers of St. Soldier Divine Public School, Mithu Basti, won 18 medals in the inter-school (CBSE schools) sahodya swimming championship, 2008, held at CT Public School.

According to school vice-chairperson Sangeeta Chopra, the St. Soldier students showed excellent performance and won one gold, three silver and 14 bronze medals. 

he said that Mohit, Saurav, Abhayjit, Sanchit, Gurpreet Singh, Karan, Manraj, Sukhdeep Singh, Tajinder Singh, Sukhjinder Singh got these positions
in the 50m freestyle, 100m freestyle, 200m back stroke competitions.

Deepak Kochar, Baljit Singh and Jasvinder Singh, students of BSc-multimedia (semester V) of GNA-IMT, got thje first, second and third rank, respectively. Management and faculty members congratulated the students on their success.

Eeha Rampal has stood first in the two-year journalism course offered by the
Guru Nanak Dev University. She was a student of university’s regional campus
in Laddewali, Jalandhar.

Amandeep Kaur of BSc-III and Ravneet Kaur of BSc-IV of Mahatma Hansraj DAV Nursing College secured the second and third position, respectively, in the recently concluded Guru Nanak Dev University examinations.

Neha Sharma and Anuradha, students of MA-I (fine arts) of the Apeejay College of Fine Arts secured the first and second position in the recently held Guru Nanak Dev University examination. Similarly, Prabhdeep Kaur of MA-II (fine arts) of the same college obtained 695 marks out of 800 and secured the third rank in the university.

The authorities of Dayanand Ayurvedic College would organise a day free medical camp on common diseases like joints pain, high blood pressure, diabetes, kidney stone, etc. on September 7 and 8.

Students of State Public School, Jalandhar Cantonment, organised a one-minute competition for the students of classes II to V and laughter competition for the students of classes VI to IX here on Thursday. School director B.L. Verma gave away prizes to the winners.

Harpreet Kaur BSc-II (fashion designing) of HMV College secured the first position in Guru Nanak Dev University.

Students of KMV College on Thursday established a “school for personality development” to enhance the over-all personality of the students.

On this occasion College principal Atima Sharma initiated a three-week course for the first batch of 45 students.

Pardeep Kaur of BA-III of the Kamla Nehru College for Women, Phagwara, bagged the first position in the district-level cultural and literary quiz contest organised by the Languages Department, Punjab, in Kapurthala.

The Women Forum of Guru Nanak Dev University College organised a lecture on skin diseases on Thursday.

The key speaker on the occasion Dr Rajat Chhabra said the root cause behind these skin problems was imbalance diet, pollution, anxiety and hormonal changes.

Simpson, who is now seeing Dallas Cowboys football star Tony Romo, is not shy about expressing her feelings for him.

She even calls him the "perfect guy". She has even written a song about him called "You're My Sunday". — ANI