Jalandhar, March 30
Theatre activity in the city is so meagre that the occasions in a year when some theatre actually does make it to the stage, can be counted on fingertips.

World Theatre Day is one of those few times when one can almost guarantee something from the theatre enthusiasts of Jalandhar. March 27 this year was a bonanza for theatre lovers when two events, productions by Sajda (Red Cross Bhavan) and Yuva and Style Arts (Desh Bhagat Yaadgar Hall), were witnessed.

Sajda

Sajda brought alive the magnificence of the man whose legend is chanted on every Lohri amidst shouts of “Sundar mundariye ho......”. Not many who sing about the rebel from Sandal Baar might be aware of his fable. That is just the point from where the play - Dulla Bhatti - took off. Scripted and directed by Sukhwinder Sukhi, it started with narrator Santosh Basran introducing Dulla, following the inquisitive requests of a modern-day Lohri crowd. The episodes from Dulla’s birth to his tragic death, owing to a conspiracy hatched by Akbar’s cunning official Mirza Nizamuddin (Baljit Singh), were well etched. It religiously held on to cliches, except the “Honi episode” where death was portrayed as a beautiful woman (Neeru Nagpal). Rajdeep Singh as Dulla was well chosen as the lead. Some episodes - especially tearjerkers - dragged, but that is forgivable, given the seriousness of the effort.

USP - Sajda sticks on to Punjabi culture giving lessons in folklore to Jalandhar. Plus its all new effort at getting the chaiwalas and clerks on to stage is laudable.

Style Arts

The Style Arts group presented the plays Baccha Hai Bhagwan and Parde Ke Peeche. Both the plays, written and directed by Neeraj Kaushik, were a dig at the double standards of society. Parde Ke Peeche was a hard-hitting take on behind-the-scene politics, while a play is under production. Be it inter-troupe or inter-actor rivalry, the audience’s lack of interest in serious theatre, the mad clamour for scripts or something as petty as clash of the romantic interests of directors and actors, the play talked about it all. Characters were all well chosen, Gagandeep, Sukhi and Mohit put in good performances. Special points to the paanwala (Vicky) and hijra (Vinod) for the funny, controlled act.

Yuva

Yuva presented the plays Girgit and Makhmali Dibbi, both directed by Ankur Sharma. While Girgit was a political thriller, Mamkhmali Dibbi was something which we haven’t seen earlier. Based on a story by Nemchandra Jain, the play was a thoughtful take on a short meeting between two men brought together by destiny after the death of the woman they both loved, one’s wife another’s beloved. Post a lot of loud action, the play stood out for the finer moments.

A log of wood, a broken chair and dry leaves scattered on stage, was what comprised the set and performances by Vikram Thakur and Vikas Anand were sensitive. It’s sad the four performances at the yaadgaar hall weren’t well attended. Whatever else might be the reason, quality wasn’t. By Jalandhar standards, it was good theatre. USP - Both the troupes have been tirelessly working for theatre, sticking on to it even in the grimmest of phases, the effort shows. 

Kapurthala, March 30
Finally, the Rail Coach Factory (RCF) rolled out the first air-conditioned (AC) double-decker coach of the country on Tuesday.

The coach has been rolled out on the Delhi-Mathura section for oscillation trials.

According to railway sources, Union Railway Minister Mamta Banerjee and senior officers of the Railway Board may inspect the AC coach in Delhi 
on Wednesday.

The railway minister had announced the introduction of AC double-decker trains in the last rail budget. The new coach, with pleasing green-yellow colour scheme, has all the features and comforts of a Shatabdi coach.

Sources further started that a totally new coach shell design, capable of running at a speed of 160 kmph, was developed by RCF engineers in tandem with Research Design and Standard Organisation (RDSO) within a short span of just nine months.

In the new design, 128 passengers can be seated as compared to 78 passengers in Shatabdi chair cars, thus increasing the capacity by almost 70 percent.

The overall height of the double-decker coach has been increased marginally (four and a half inches) keeping in view, the constraints like overhead structures, bridges, electric traction equipment, platforms etc. so that these coaches can be used without modifying any of the fixed structures except for clearing some minor infringements. Space for the two decks has been generated by optimally using the well space between the two bogies, sources added.

Jalandhar, March 30
The recently-proposed amendment in the Punjab Medical Registration Act (PMRA 1916) will enable the medical fraternity to represent itself from all areas of the state as with the implementation of this amendment, doctors from different areas of the state would be able to convey their grievances to the Punjab Medical Council. This was stated by the State President of the Indian Medical Association Dr. RS Parmar, who was here in the city to inaugurate the sports function organised by IMS Jalandhar.

While talking to The Tribune, he said an increase in the membership of the medical council from 11 to 21 members and increase in the term from three to five years will enhance the functioning and efficiency of the council as some areas of the state have been rendered under-represented in the 11-member structure. Past President of the state IMA Dr. Yash Sharma, who was also present at the function, claimed that the new voting pattern will enhance transparency in the polling process as previously the voting pattern was postal and was more prone to manipulations.

“In the previous council, there were five nominated and three elected members. However, after the implementation of amendment, there will be 10 elected members and seven nominated members,” said Dr Sharma.

He added that to make the council more democratic and efficient in its functioning, the IMA has been airing this demand for the last few years.

According to the amendment, the State President of the IMA, Director Health Services and Director Medical Education and Research would be the ex-officio members of the council. 

Jalandhar, March 30
Pushed by love, when he penned down his first poem in class VII, he probably couldn’t even have imagined that he would formally be initiated into the arena of poetry by none other than Amrita Pritam.

Agreed, poetry was always the first love for a Sahitya Akademi award (for his book “Kamandal”) winning writer Jaswant Deed, but his string of books, including first short story collection “Ik Lapp Yadan Di” in BA-I and the productive tryst with DD, make him one of the most versatile writer-poet-director-documenter combinations.

Despite the long list of acclaimed projects authored by him, his attitude is characterised by a matter-of-fact modesty. Talking about “Ik Lapp Yadan Di”, he says, “Those were my first stories.

After the first work, he moved on to poetry with “Bache Ton Dardi Kavita”, “Achanchet”, “Awaz Ayegi Aje” and “Ghundi”. With Kamndal (poetry again) he won the Sahitya Akademi award following which he came up with “Dharti Hor Pre” (prose) and also worked on a translation - “Jangal Di Kahani”, Yashpal. He openly thwarts literature’s fascination with purity and perfection. “They celebrate ‘Heer Ranjha’ and perfect mothers. “Mawan katal vi hundiyan ne”. But we are escapists. We don’t want to discuss the ugly side.”

Deed, whose stories often discuss the man-woman relationship, says, “When people scoff at my work or say something outrageous about it, I usually keep quiet. The next work I come up with is my answer to their criticism.”

Talking about Doordarshan he says it happened after ‘the’ conference.

During his M.Phil from Punjabi University, Patiala, he attended the First Punjabi World Conference in England. “It was the asli te vaddi conference not like the lock-the-room-and-call-it-a-conference stuff that happens these days. Eminent writers of the day were part of it. We were taken to BBC where we were shown a documentary on Batalvi. Imagine, we had no video documents of him back home.”

Deed presently works as Assistant Station Director at Doordarshan Kendra. He has come up with many award-winning series and documentaries since then, working on projects like “Saccho Sacchi Das Ve Jogiya”, the “Viraasat” series and the seven national award winning series on Guru Granth Sahib - Guru Maneyo Granth.

Where do you think Punjabi literature stands today?

Among Indian languages it has a good standing but it has a lot of catching up to do on the global level.

What has changed in the literature scenario as compared to a couple of decades ago?

I remember as kids we used read hired novels. Today kids just sit in front of the idiot box and they have no clue about what literature is.

What’s the reason for stagnation in the art of documentary making in Punjab?

DD is the only one that churns out stuff. Private channels just play songs and that’s it.

What are your upcoming projects?

I plan to write a novel for which I might be moving to Canada for a couple of months. Out here the characters of my novels move about around me.

Jalandhar, March 30
Tuberculosis remains a deep-rooted problem in India even to this day, with the country contributing as many as 20 per cent of the disease cases throughout the world, which makes for one-fifth of the world’s TB cases.

The country has a high morbidity and mortality rate due to the disease and the prevalence of the disease is increasing day by day. The above information was given by Dr H.J. Singh, an eminent TB chest specialist from Ranjit Hospital, Jalandhar, and vice-president of the Indian Association of Brochology, on the occasion of World TB Day. He said as per an estimate, if left uncontrolled, the disease will spread to around one billion people, killing as many as 35 million. He said drug-resistant TB (MDR TB) was fast sweeping across the country. According to WHO’s global report on the drug-resistant form of TB, an estimated 4.4 lakh people were infected with the disease in 2007.

Dr Singh highlighted that MDR TB had several issues which could prove problematic for the country.

Economically, it is 50 to 200 times costlier than the one used for treating routine TB.

He advised people infected with the disease to take proper and regular treatment and stressed upon the launch of a campaign against the disease on a war footing. — TNS

Jalandhar, March 30
Even after topping the merit list for the lecturer’s post in physical education and social master in sportsman general category three years ago, Hoshiarpur resident Surjit Singh has not received an appointment letter from the Punjab Education Department.

He had met the authorities concerned many a time seeking reasons behind the delay in issuing the letter but nothing substantial came out.

Surjit Singh applied for this post through C-DAC under the department in 2006 and after filing an RTI in 2008, he found that he topped the merit list. He also claimed that candidates lower in the list had been issued appointment letters. Talking to The Tribune, he said it was due to the apathy of the Education Department that despite appearing thrice for the interviews for this post, nothing has been done till date. “Despite appearing before the selection committee, my case was not considered. Candidates with lesser rank in the merit list have received the appointment letters while my case is still lingering on. The authorities issued appointment letters to social study masters in the year 2008 but I was left in the lurch,” he maintained.

It might be noted that the DPI office conducted interviews thrice for both the categories. The first phase of interview was held on November 15, 2006. 
The second phase of interviews was held a year after on September 29, 2007 while another round of interviews was held on November 21, 2007.

A kho-kho player with an excellent track record, Surjit Singh was a gold medallist in All-India Inter-university and All-India Beni Madhav Memorial Cup. Surjit did his postgraduation (M. PEd), Physical Education from Government Physical Education College, Patiala, in 2002.

Apart from this he also participated 10 times in the national level kho-kho championship and 16 times in the state-level championships. Surjit met Director Public Instructions (Elementary) Sadhu Singh Randhawa on November 8, 2009 to apprise him about his case. “He assured me that I would soon get my appointment letter. It has been months since I am waiting for the letter but to no avail”, he rued.

When contacted, Randhawa said, “We have considered his case and indeed he has been working good in the field of sports. He would definitely be issued the appointment letter as per his merit”.

Jalandhar, March 30
Manohar Singh (50) of Ghug village near Bhogpur is a proud man. His achievements as a progressive farmer figure in a book published by the Central government and recently released by Union Agriculture Minister Sharad Pawar in New Delhi.

The book titled ‘Harvest of Hope’ carries the success stories of 101 farmers across the country. He along with hundred other farmers received an award during the book release function.

Manohar Singh cultivates wheat and paddy and seasonal vegetables like bottle gourd and green chillies in his 25 acres of land. He has also taken to dairy farming to add to his income.

Divulging details about various techniques that he uses, he claimed, “I follow all recommendations of Punjab Agricultural University and district agricultural officers. I consult them from time to time on any farming problems. Unlike other farmers, I do not use any pesticides in advance anticipating a pest attack. Rather I use the chemicals only on demand basis. Weeds, of course, are a problem and I need to tackle these using inorganic substances. For replenishing the crop, I am not depending on any chemical fertilisers for I am only using manure.”

Dr Naresh Gulati, Deputy Project Officer, Agricultural Technology Management Agency (ATMA), was all praise for the awardee. “He is one of the few small farmers of Doaba region who have been tilling their own land with the support of their families and making it big.

He differs from most farmers of the Doaba region who prefer contract farming or largely depend on the labourers”, he said.

Jalandhar, March 30
Against the rising number of cases of chargesheet and suspension of employees in the Revenue Department a joint meeting of all the trade unions of the employees was held here today.

The meeting condemned the increasing trend of suspensions and filing of chargesheets against employees in the department.

In a press note released by Gurmeet Singh Nadal of the Revenue Officers Association, Gurmeet Singh, president of the Kanungoes Association, Punjab, and Baldev Singh, president of the Revenue Patwar Union, Punjab, alleged that to settle their scores, higher officials were implicating employees in false cases. 

Jalandhar, March 30
A National Conference on ‘Changing Landscape of Higher Education’ with special reference to challenges and issues, was held at the local Hans Raj Mahila Maha Vidyalaya on Sunday.

The conference was organised jointly by Non-Government Colleges Management Federation (Punjab & Chandigarh), Federation of Association of College Principals (Punjab & Chandigarh) & Punjab & Chandigarh College Teachers’ Union under the aegis of the Joint Action Committee, Punjab.

Dr. A.S. Brar the Vice Chancellor of Guru Nanak Dev University, Amritsar, was the chief guest while G.D. Sharma, Former Secretary of UGC was the presiding guest at the conference.

M.L. Aeri, Director Colleges, DAV College Managing Committee, New Delhi was the guest of honour.

The conference was aimed to draw the attention of the state government towards the grave financial position of the colleges in Punjab due to the late release and 
non-release of grants.

The sub themes of the conference were the current status and future challenges of higher education in India, financial crisis in higher education, role of various agencies in promoting higher education, commercialisation of higher education and more.

Vice Chancellor, Dr AS Brar said we can import technology from other countries but the mindset should be changed here and this is to be done at the school and college level.

Alumni meet

The local Trinity College organised its first alumni meet on March 29. As many as 100 students were present during the function. Students were given a cheerful welcome by the Director of the college, Rev. Father Simon. The students participated in different games and programmes. Principal of the college, Rev, Sr. Dr. Stella wished good luck to the students.

Training held

The local CT Group of Institutions, in association with HCL, held a training for B. Tech students through HCL K2 academy. As many as 500 students of computer science engineering and information technology engineering were given comprehensive training for technologies like Dot Net, Java, PHP, Linux and MCITP. The students would be certified by HCL.

Women’s Reservation Bill

The Women Studies Centre - a UGC aided centre set up at the local Kanya Maha Vidyalaya, held an inaugural seminar on the issue of women reservation bill.

A panel discussion was also organised, during which Jalandhar Cantt MLA Jagbir Brar expressed his views on the topic of women’s reservation. Director of BD Arya Girls College, Jalandhar Cantonment, Swaraj Mohan said the bill is the first step on the ladder of participation in every walk of life. Dr. Paramjit Ghuman, the Vice Principal of the local Government Arts and Sports College, also spoke at length on the bill and the status of women in the society. 

Jalandhar, March 30
The local Guru Gobind Singh Stadium has donned a new look and is gearing up for the first ever upcoming ten nations’ World Kabbadi Cup starting from April 3 at Patiala.

Kabaddi fans in Jalandhar would witness four matches at the stadium on April 5 from 1 pm to 6 pm, coupled with a full dose of entertainment on the ground.

While preparations are still underway, the Jalandhar Improvement Trust authorities have almost completed a majority of the necessary repair work at the stadium.

The premises of the stadium, including the stairs for the audience has been white washed. The floodlights have been repaired while the ground is being leveled and watered everyday. And an extensive cleanliness drive is also being carried on to provide a world-class ambience to the international Kabbadi players.

Talking to The Tribune, Deputy Commissioner Ajeet Singh Pannu said the stadium is being repaired and the administration would leave no stone unturned in making this tournament a success.

“The workers at the stadium are busy preparing for the first ever World Kabbadi Cup which is being held with an aim to give a boost to this rural game in the state”, he added.