EDUCATION

Kendriya Vidyalaya Principal dead
Tribune News Service

CHANDIGARH, Jan 9 — Mr Saranjit Singh, Principal of the Kendriya Vidyalaya, Sector 47, died of a cardiac arrest here last night. He was 55.

Mr Saranjit Singh had served with the Kendriya Vidyalaya Sangathan for three decades. His zeal and vigour had taken the vidyalaya to great heights. It was considered the most prestigious central schools of the region.

He leaves behind his wife and three daughters.

His cremation this afternoon was attended by principals, teachers, administrators and other prominent personalities of the region.

Students awarded prizes
Tribune News Service

CHANDIGARH, Jan 9 — Students who have secured the first, second and third positions in their classes were given prizes at the annual prize distribution function of Government Model High School, Sector 41, here, yesterday.

Presiding over the function, the District Education Officer, Mr Brahmjit Kalia, called upon the teachers to inculcate a sense of brotherhood among the children.

He also commended the work being done by the staff members in the filed of education and co-curricular activities. Mr Kalia also lauded the efforts of the school headmaster to beautify the school and good administration.

The General Secretary, Mr Sham Das, apprised the chief guest about the bad condition of the approach road and non-availability of play ground, an essential for the all-round development of children. Mr Kalia assured him that funds for the job have already been provided and the matter would be pursued.

Later, students presented a colourful cultural programme.

Order on school timings
Tribune News Service

PANCHKULA, Jan 9 — The district administration has ordered a change in the timings of all government, private and government-aided schools in the district from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. till January 31.

Stating this here, District Magistrate S.K. Monga said the decision, which would be enforced with immediate effect, had been taken in view of the prevailing chilly weather conditions and fog.

He further stated that in view of the weather conditions, the dress code of students may not be strictly adhered to and advised school managements to allow students to wear woollens as per their choice.

205 students get scholarships
Tribune News Service

PANCHKULA, Jan 9 — Nine students were given awards and 205 others scholarships under the brilliant but needy students' financial aid scheme at a function organised by the Shivalik Foundation at Sector 16 here today.

Shelly Aggarwal was awarded Rs 1,000 for getting distinction in the Haryana School Education Board (HSEB) class XII examination in the science group from the district. The other eight students were awarded a cash prize of Rs 500 each. Mehnaz Ansar was given the prize for getting distinction in class XII examination in the commerce group, while Parveen Rawat got the prize in the humanities group.

Vivek Gupta and Pooja Bansal were awarded the prizes for distinction in the class X Central Board of Secondary Education (CBSE) examination in the boys and girls categories, respectively, while Pankaj Kaushik was given the award for distinction in the HSEB class X examination.

For the middle school examination of the HSEB for the session 1998-99, the prizes went to Najma Chauhan and Deepak Sharma in the boys and girls categories. respectively.

The organisation also awarded scholarships to 205 handicapped students of classes IX and X.

CHANDIGARH CALLING

Venkataraman talks about stable government

IT was one of the biggest congregations of academics, politicians, senior citizens, and administrators in the city for the past many months. The occasion was the Lala Achint Ram Memorial Lecture at Lajpat Rai Bhavan in Sector 15 here on Sunday.

The distinguished and select gathering sat with rapt attention listening to the former President, Mr R. Venkataraman, as he unfolded his blueprint for a stable government. Many in the gathering could be seen nodding their heads at what the former President, who had the 'dubious' distinction of appointing three Prime Ministers and working with four PMs during his five-year term, had to say on the formation of the stable government.

For a change the Press gallery, which is almost empty on the occasions of such lectures, was packed to capacity and many journalists stood for almost over one hour to listen to the lecture.

Mr R. Venkataraman became the 11th distinguished Indian to deliver the prestigious lecture.

Prominent among those who have delivered lectures earlier are Mr Chandra Shekhar, Mr R.K. Hegde, Prof Madhu Dandavate, Mr K.R. Narayanan, Mr Shivraj Patil and Mr Manmohan Singh.

Watch out!: In the wake of the growing cases of theft in Panchkula, a resident of Sector 8 has come up with a novel way to keep miscreants at bay. The photograph accompanying the column displays his threat. To such display of challenges the Superintendent of Police, Mr Sudhir Chaudhary, says, "What is not prohibited by law is permitted.'' However, he refuses to comment on whether the message really holds water or not.

Rude drivers: The rude behaviour of the drivers of Haryana Roadways' buses found special mention at Road Safety Week being observed in Panchkula. At its inaugural session, the local police and the Haryana Roadways department held a special eye checkup camp for the drivers. During the course of the checkup, the Superintendent of Police, Mr Sudhir Chaudhary, could not help chipping in with, "Sawariyon ko aankhen dekhane ki jaghe, apni aankhen doctor ko dikhaao. Kuchh phaiyda hi ho jayega.''

Virtual galleries: With many virtual galleries floating on the internet, it is not surprising to find many an Indian artiste being displayed on them. One such gallery that displays artists from all corners of the world is the Pegasus Gallery, which can be viewed at pegasus00.com/gallery/gallery admin/frame.html.

The only Indian artist being featured in this gallery is one hailing from the city — Balvinder. One of his works, acrylic on canvas, 'Untitled' has been put on display.

In fact, for this month Balvinder has been short-listed as one of the 10 artists who would be voted as the 'artist of the month'.

In limelight: Who does not enjoy one's very own 15 minutes of fame? Well, not even journalists can feign not to enjoy the same!

At a recent function in the city, where dancer-actress of the yore, Madumati was obviously hogging the limelight, since her academy of dance and acting was being inaugurated a young woman scribe seemed to be getting noticed as well. The reason? Well — young, smart, woman and a journalist at that! It just so happened that as she was interviewing Madhumati some "uncles" cornered her and asked "Reporter Madam Hain Aap?" On getting the reply in the affirmative these uncles not only started introducing themselves but even invited their families to come and "see and meet" a woman reporter!!!! The day was certainly made for this woman journalist.

Immersion menace: The immersion of flowers, papers, cloth, earthen pots and bamboo decorations and even the idols by the various ethnic groups has been a source of pollution into the Sukhna lake for the last many years. The immersed items contain paints and straw which contaminate the waterbody. The bamboos cause hindrance in boating.

These are human problems and should be solved in a humane and environment friendly way. The Environment Society of India discussed this vexed problem with members of various ethnic groups and urged the Chandigarh administration to earmark about 30'x30' area at one corner of the lake. This portion should be fenced with steel pipes and wirenet. A signboard should be fixed at this place asking people to immerse all items here. All immersed material should be removed by the sweeper on duty the next day. Nominal fees should be charged from these groups who come to the lake for this purpose.

Poet journalist: Widely known as a columnist in the Punjabi world of letters, Sham Singh, a city scribe, has now established that there is more to him than being the author of a column, "Ang-Sang".

His poetry book titled "Rooh De Bol" was recently, released by the renowned satirist and comedian Jaspal Bhatti at the Chandigarh Press Club. In his typical Ulta Pulta style, Bhatti regaled the huge gathering of litterateurs with his jovial comments that "it is surprising and amazing that today I have been given the privilege of releasing a book on poetry although I have absolutely no knowledge of any poetry/shoetry". Despite this, Bhatti read out a verse from the book. "It is Bhatti’s compulsion, of course, to act as such", shouted someone from the audience.

The winsome book with an appropriate and pragmatic introduction by famous Punjabi poet Harbhajan Halwarvi has 19 geets, 26 nazms and 16 ghazals. The technique of penning these verses is lucid and they appeal to both imagination and emotion. A few of the scintillating poems were sung by R.D. Kailey on the occasion.

Of the many poems, one is a satire on the self by Sham Singh, which runs thus:

Sun oye Shamea, samen deya mamea,
Panian nu agg na tu la,
Rooh de bularea, such de pitamea,
Ambran nu jaffian na pa.

The occasion was marked by New Year celebrations besides greeting Sham Singh on his 53rd birthday.

Poetry: Mr K.V.S. Thapar, a senior functionary of Punjab and Sind Bank posted at the Sector 17-E branch, has come out with his latest collection of poems. Titled "Reflections", it contains as many as 63 poems. This 48-year-old product of Sainik School, Chitorgarh, did his Senior Cambridge in 1967. A postgraduate in English literature, he is the grandson of the founder Editor of "Risala Rahunmai Talim" which continues to be published in Urdu from New Delhi. For KVS Thapar, this is his third anthology. His fourth book on poetry is in press.

Baba Nand Singh Ji: Mr Parminder Singh, a reader, has in a letter to Sentinel, clarified that with reference to an item in these columns last week, the divine message of the Sikh saint of the millennium was globally unveiled in October in a colourful website on Baba Nand Singh Ji Maharaj and not Baba Sant Isher Singh as erroneously mentioned.The website wholly deals with the glory of Baba Nand Singh ji only and his divine message for the whole of the ailing and suffering humanity.

Air Chief Marshal: Air Chief Marshal Nirmal Suri (retd) says that he has nothing to do with the Atma Raksha Sangh. In a letter to The Tribune, Air Marshal Suri wrote: "I wish to deny in unequivocal terms that I am a member of the Atma Raksha Sangh or for that matter any organisation linked with Rashtriya Mukh Sanchaalak."

CULTURE

Rath yatra reaches city today
Tribune News Service

CHANDIGARH, Jan 9 — The Sri Kedarnath jyotirlingam rath yatra, which started from Ukhi Math, will enter the city tomorrow.

The yatra will be received opposite Satsang Bhavan in Sector 26 by the Punjab Minister for Local Bodies, Labour and Employment, Mr Balramji Dass Tandon. Several dignatories, including Mr S.K. Singh, IGP, and Mr S.K. Saxena, Hartron MD, will be present on the occasion, according to a press note.

The rath yatra will pass through the roads separating Sectors 27and 28, 29 and 30 and 31 and 32 before reaching Rajyoga Bhavan, Sector 33-A. From there, it will pass through the markets of Sectors 45, 34, 35, 36, 37, 24, 23, 22, 21 and 20 before culminating at Rajyoga Bhavan.

Day-long cultural function
Tribune News Service

SAS NAGAR, Jan 9 — The Punjab Lok Kala Kendra, Chandigarh, organised a cultural event, Mubarkan 2000, at the Dasehra grounds in Phase 8 here yesterday.

Known artistes like K. Deep, Mohammed Sadeeq, Kuldeep Manak, Karnail Gill, Sujat Bala, Manmohan Waris, Hardeep, Baboo Mann and a host of other artistes entertained the audience throughout the day.

The cultural event, which started in the morning, continued till late in the evening with a large audience in spite of dry cold weather. The chief guest on the occasion was a Cabinet minister of Punjab, Ms Satwant Kaur Sandhu.