EDUCATION

Parishad dissolves managing panels
From Our Correspondent

LUDHIANA Aug 7 — Arya Vidya Parishad Punjab has dissolved the managing committees of a college and two senior secondary schools in the city and those of some other schools in Punjab are also likely to be dissolved soon. Member of Parliament, Lala Lajpat Rai, has been appointed Administrator for Arya College, Ludhiana.

The President of the Arya Pratinidhi Sabha and Arya Vidya Parishad, Dr K.K. Pasricha, told The Tribune here today that some “indiscipline and weaknesses” had crept into the management of these institutions. It was felt that the committees should be dissolved and the charge be handed over to some responsible persons.

The Arya Vidya Parishad Punjab is running a chain of about 60 educational institutions in the state. These include 18 colleges. The parishad has dissolved the managing committees of Arya College Ludhiana, Arya Boys Senior Secondary School and Arya Girls Senior Secondary School.

The decision of the parishad to hand over charge of Arya College, Ludhiana, may not stand legal scrutiny as each college needs to have a separate and independent governing body. Dr Pasricha said the governing body of the said college might be constituted soon.

The parishad President disclosed that the managing committees of various other institutions were also under observation following reports of mismanagement.

While Mr Ushnak Rai has been appointed Administrator of Arya Girls Senior Secondary School, Mr Romesh Sharma and Mr Kamal Chaitly have been appointed as his advisors.

For Arya Boys Senior Secondary School, Mr Anil Sareen has been appointed Administrator. Mr Sarabjeet Sharma and Mr Navdeep Bharadwaj will assist him as his advisors.

According to Dr Pasricha, Lala Lajpat Rai has been appointed Administrator of the Arya College, Ludhiana, for improving the management and academic culture in the college.

Lalaji said that he was pleased to accept the responsibility given to him by the Arya Vidya Parishad and would ensure that he came up to the expectations of the parishad.

Mr Harbans Lal Sethi and the Principal (retd) Mr S.K.Syal have been appointed as advisors to Lalaji. Bank accounts at all these institutions will be operated by the respective administrators and principals.

Postgraduate classes
From Our correspondent

Ludhiana Aug 7 — The management and staff of the Kamla Lohtia Sanatan Dharma College for Boys today celebrated the commencement of postgraduate classes. The college which earlier conducted classes for BA, B.Com, BCA and BBA, will begin classes for M.Com tomorrow. This has raised the standard of the undergraduate college to that of a postgraduate college.

"Entrance tests for M.Com were conducted in May by Panjab University. In August the entrance test for postgraduate diploma in computer sciences and applications will be held and the classes will begin soon after the test," informed the Principal, Mr B.D. Budhiraja.

In the absence of Mr Mohan Lal, Minister of Higher Education, due to illness, Mr Deepak Manmohan, dean, College Development Council, Chandigarh, and Dr H.S. Deol, DPI of Colleges of Punjab, presided over the function.

PAUTA declares election schedule
From Our Correspondent

Ludhiana Aug 7 — The Executive Committee of Punjab Agricultural University Teachers’ Association (PAUTA) has declared the election schedule for the year 2000-2001. It has drawn up the programme for the annual general body meeting for the election of various office-bearers.

According to a circular issued by Mr H S Brar, President and Mr M L Gupta, Secretary, the polling of votes will be held on August 22, in the examination hall of College of Agriculture. The counting will be held on the same day and the results will be declared immediately after.

According to the election schedule, the electoral list will be released on August 7 while objections can be filed by August 14.

The final voters’ list will be released on August 17. Nominations can be filed by August 19 and withdrawn till August 20.

The annual report will be presented on August 22.

Dr. G.S. Deol, Senior Entomologist, Department of Plant Breeding, will be the Returning Officer. Dr. R P Gupta, Senior Nutritionist, Department of Animal Nutrition, and Dr. A S Bhullar, Assistant Professor, Department of Economics, will be the Assistant Returning Officers for the elections. 

Laurels for DMC
From Our Correspondent

LUDHIANA Aug 7 — This year Dayanand Medical College and Hospital has created a new milestone in the history of MBBS admission through PMET in the State of Punjab.

During the MBBS counselling held in Baba Farid University of Health Sciences, Faridkot for three government and two private medical colleges from July 31 to August 2, the first to 31st rank holders of PMET-2000 opted for the 24 free seats ( annual fees Rs. 13000/-) of Dayanand Medical College and Hospital . By to 31st rank only two candidates each opted for Patiala and Amritsar Government Medical Colleges and the other two medical colleges of the state did not even open their account.

This year the first rank holder of Punjab opted for Dayanand Medical College and Hospital, while last year the first candidate had the seventh rank and the last free seat was offered to the 60th rank in this category.

In the paid category (Annual fees Rs. 1,10,000) the first seat was opted by the candidate with 37th rank, while the free seats in Government Medical College Patiala, Amritsar, Faridkot and Guru Ram Dass Medical College were available to be picked up. The candidates, option to pay for the quality medical education was evident by another fact that the last paid seat was picked up by a candidate of the rank of 208 and at that time the free seats were still available in the other medical colleges.

CULTURE

City boy headed for Bollywood
From Our Correspondent

Ludhiana Aug 7 — Vikas Vij is all set to make his entry into Bollywood. A homoeopathic physician by profession, Vikas has completed his medical degree from Lord Mahavira Homeopathic Institute.

Vikas has no acting experience to his credit. But in the very first attempt, he got selected for a serial, Apne Begane which is being telecast on Lashkara channel. He says, "It was for the first time, I faced the camera and I got selected in my first attempt". Apne Begane is directed by Rakesh Bharti of the Hasratein and Gudgudee fame.

Vikas has also won a number of titles, Mr. North India 99, being the most prestigious. He came into modeling, just for fun. "I wanted to do something different in life. The idea of modeling just clicked in my mind. I was declared the 'Fitness Model' of Punjab in '98. Then I won the Mr North India title in '99 which was held at Patiala. I was crowned ed the 'Best Physique' award at the Pune festival. I was the first Punjabi to participate in this festival and I was honoured in it", he said, while narrating his achievements.

Vikas has done a number of ramp shows for NIFD at Chandigarh and Delhi. He has also done a number of shows in Pune and various press advertisements for Red Hill and Maler t-shirts. He said, "I was offered a number of ads but due to so much involvement in my studies, I did not take them seriously. I am also doing a serial called Jeevan Sathi for Sahara TV and serials like Khel Naseeban Da and Puran Bhagat which will start in near future for Zee Alpha".

"The serial Apne Begane has given me a platform. It is an exposure for small screen. If everything goes well then you might see me in Bollywood," Vikas said with confidence.

The Chandigarh Modeling Association had also approached him and he did a number of shows at Hyderabad, Chandigarh, Pune, Delhi, Nasik.

His parents have been a support to him.

‘Virasat Punjab” from Sep 3
Tribune News Service

LUDHIANA Aug 7 — Come September and ahead lies a month full of classical music, dance, art, literature, crafts, theatre, cinema and yoga for Ludhianvis. The fete is a month-long celebration, “Virasat Punjab” by SPIC-MACAY (Society for the Promotion of Indian Classical Music and Culture amongst Youth).

Beginning the September 3, the legends of the Indian classical music like Pandit Bhimsen Joshi, Pt. Jasraj, Parveen Sultana, M.S. Subhalakshmi, Pt. Hari Prasad Chaurasia, Ustad Amjad Ali Khan, Ustad Bismillah Khan, Pt. Birju Maharaj, Mallika Sarabhai and Leela Samson and many young and budding artistes shall perform in various educational institutions of Ludhiana.

An event of such a magnitude shall perhaps be the first of its kind to have ever been staged not only in Ludhiana, but the entire state of Punjab, says Dr Ishitta Arora, Coordinator, and Ms Amita Rai, General Secretary of the Ludhiana chapter of SPIC-MACAY. SPIC-MACAY, a non-governmental organisation, which has in the recent years been at the forefront in promoting Indian art and culture, is the driving force behind this grand show.

“Virasat Punjab” would be dedicated to Ustad Bade Ghulam Ali Khan and Bhai Vir Singh, father of modern Punjabi literature. Besides, the festival would also be a tribute to Ustad Allah Rakha Khan who was born in Gurdaspur and passed away recently.

Apart from witnessing the performance of the country’s top notch vocalists, instrumentalists, dancers, the people of Ludhiana stand to gain from yoga camps. There will be other artistes like — Manjit Bawa, musicologist Raghav Menon, and archaeologist Gurmit Rai — to deliver talks about their respective fields.

Club celebrates Teej
From Our Correspondent

Ludhiana Aug 7 — Teej was celebrated at the Roopika Ladies Club premises here today. The club members were dressed in colourful saris and suits.

The President of the club, Ms Anju Kapoor, welcomed the audience by singing Jagjit Singh's famous ghazal, Ye daulat bhi lelo, ye shauhrat bhi lelo, bhale chheen lo mujh se meri jawani,magar mujh ko lauta do bachpan ka sawan, woh kagaz ki kashti woh barish ka pani, explaining the importance of sawan.

There were tombola games for the members and guests. The dance number from Taal presented by Suruchi Kapoor was appreciated by the audience. The ramp and the dance sequence, 'Music-n-Dance', presented by club members was applauded by all.

The dance number from Lamhe presented by Mala Dhanda was exquisite. The most prominent feature was the display of variety of tatoos on the arms and backs of the participants.