Demand for setting up of park in Dalanwala
Dehradun, October 27
The Dalanwala Residents Welfare Society has demanded the setting up of a park at the site of the Pritam Road office of the Mussoorie Dehradun Development Authority in Dehradun.

Mussoorie, October 27
The sound of dialogues delivered by superstars of Western and Hindi cinemas that once echoed while passing through six cinemas houses situated in Mussoorie is no more to be heard and has become a distant dream due to their untimely closure.

Not even a single cinema house is functional in Mussoorie, which once used to boast of six cinemas houses till 1990. Though their buildings still exist, they are in a state of dilapidation and on the verge of being converted into shopping malls. Silver screen lovers attribute the advent of several TV channels and pirated film DVDs and a high entertainment tax to the demise of good old-styled cinema houses.

Local historian Gopal Bhardwaj said the Electric Picture Palace was opened in 1912. One of the earliest cinemas of the country, it had a good business and showcased films both from hollywood and bollywood until it was closed abruptly in the late 1980s.

Another local historian and the author of book “Mussoorie Ek Dastavez,” Jai Prakash Uttarakhandi, says during British Raj, the Electric Picture Palace also had a bar-cum-refreshment room and a billiards room, where one could take alcoholic drinks or tea inside the hall. He further said: “In 1925, the Picture Palace used to be considered on a par with London Theatre.” Another cinema house, Jubilee, was also witness to many superhit films, especially that of Rajesh Khanna.

An eminent author from Mussoorie, Ruskin Bond, also recalled his days of watching movies in Mussoorie and said he had watched many hollywood movies during his childhood at Capitol Cinema Hall situated below the magnificent Hakman’s Grand Hotel. It survived till late 1970s, but later its projector and the sound system gave way.

Javed Khan, a former manager of the cinema house situated at Library Bazar, said its name was changed twice. During British Raj, it was known as Majestic, then was renamed Brij and finally came to be known as Vasu Cinema.

Sunil Arora, a local resident, said another cinema house, Roxy, that was situated near the Rink was also renamed La-Anjuman. Here the sound was so loud that one could hear it out on the streets.

People like Dr VV Giri, a former President, and his Holiness the Dalai Lama had also watched films at famous Rialto Cinema Hall situated in Kulri Bazaar. Tom Alter, a bollywood actor, has also dedicated a book“ Rerun at Rialto” to it. Today, all six cinema houses are lying closed. Some of the buildings like the picture palace have been purchased by big industrial houses.

Residents of the town have urged the administration to make efforts to reopen at least one cinema house in the town. 

Dehradun, October 27
The festival of Goverdhan Pooja was celebrated in the state capital today.

Special prayers were performed at temples. The idols of Lord Krishna were decked with new clothes and ornaments. After the offering of prayers, sweets offered before the deities and after that devotees approach the food in order to have the “prasada”.

Feed was provided to cows as part of the Goverdhan Pooja celebrations.

Meanwhile, Sanatan Dharam Mandir, Peepal Mandi; Shyam Sundar Mandir, Patelnagar; and Krishan Mandir, Ballupur; were among the prominent temples in the Dehradun city which organised the Goverdhan Pooja. 

Dehradun, October 27
A fire broke out at a quilt shop situated in the Kargi area here last night. The reason behind the incident is yet to be ascertained.

According to information, the fire was first noticed by neighbours, who reported the matter to the police as the owner of the shop, Ashish, had gone to his relative’s house.

Firefighters had a tough time extinguishing the flames. Two motorcycles and a tractor that were parked outside the shop were also burnt. 

Mussoorie, October 27
A large number of people from all walks of life today gathered at the symbolic tomb of Baba Bulleh Shah, a Punjabi mystic poet, near Bala Hisar in Mussoorie to observe his urs.

Members of the Bulleh Shah Committee and devotees offered a chaddar on his tomb and sought his blessings. A qawwali presented by Saajan Babu Ghoongroowale in the Sufi style enthralled the devotees. Qawwals sang from the verses of Baba Bulleh Shah and other Sufi saints and through their music they conveyed the message of unity and spiritual oneness, the mainstay of the Sufi teachings. A qawwal group of women also sang in praise of Baba Bulleh Shah.

Mussoorie MLA Jot Singh Gunsola, MLA Rajpur Ganesh Joshi, former Mandi Parishad president Upendar Thapli and Mussoorie Municipal Council president OP Uniyal were also present.

Harbhajan Thakral, vice-president of the committee, said ration for the langar that was organised on the occasion was donated by local residents. He said this was one of those special places where people belonging to any religion were free to visit and seek blessings.

Secretary of the committee Harbhajan Thukral said Baba Bulleh Shah’s poetry reflected his rejection of a nexus between the clergy and rulers and all trappings of a formal religion that created a gulf between a man and his Creator. The common theme of his poetry was the pursuit of self-knowledge that was essential for the mystical union with the beloved.

A Rab, president of the committee, said the teachings of Baba Bulleh Shah were relevant to the present situation, where communal strife was the order of the day.

He said the symbolic tomb of Baba Bulleh Shah here had played an important role in preserving the secular culture of the town and maintaining a bonhomie among believers of different sects and religions.