Oct 1 — It was no routine award conferring function. It was to honour persons in pursuit of causes dear to their hearts.The local ARTS Forum today held a function to honour five personalities.
Founded by former principal, College of Architecture, Dr S.S. Bhatti, in 1988 the forum took inspiration from the generous life led by Dr Mansingh Virdi, whose birth centenary falls on October 1. Dr Virdi, the eye surgeon who illuminated the lives of thousands of people, provided the basic idea behind forming ARTS Forum wherein the words ARTS stand for action, reaction, towards, sanity. Dr Bhatti, the younger son-in-law of Dr Virdi found the forum with an objective of honouring those who are silently engaged in activities which further the cause of humanity.
Among the professionals who were honoured by Padmabhushan Dr R.P. Bambah were five persons from varied fields including Dr Darshan Singh, Dr Hari Jigyasu, Dr D.C. Bhattacharya, Laxman Das Sandhu and M.L. Koser. The award included a cash prize and a robe of honour, and was awarded for a tremendous contribution which the above mentioned have made to the various fields of human and academic activity.
The conferring began with Dr Darshan Singh who served as Chairman, Department of Guru Nanak Studies, Panjab University for 16 years and also served as member of Senate and Syndicates of institutes of learning. He is also widely acclaimed for his interpretation of the Gurbani.
The next read out by architect Ms Sumeet Kaur was that of Mr M.L. Koser who had contributed to the field of art and culture by founding Pracheen Kala Kendra which today has many branches all over the country. He was lauded for his efforts in reviving the taste for Indian classical music through the kendra which, apart from teaching, conducts examinations in classical music and dance.
Dr Hari Jigyasu was awarded for his role as a researcher in the field of music. Dr Jigyasu’s role as a violinist and later as an assistant to music director Hans Raj Behl was also brought to light. It was further made known that Dr Jigyasu is on the verge of making a tremendous contribution which would be known as a world classic. He has produced 3,000 manuscripts for a dictionary on the Indian ragas.
Yet another awardee spotted by the forum is the man who is one among the very few music exponents of the Patiala gharana. Laxman Das Sandhu, the man who made his debut at the age of 13 from AIR Lahore. From there, this disciple of Ustaad Barkat Ali Khan and Ustaad Bade Ghulam Ali Saheb went on to sing from all the radio stations of the country. He also participated in a number of national level programmes.
Dr D.C. Bhattacharya, who is serving his third tenure as Head, Department of Fine Arts, PU, was the fifth awardee of the evening. He could, however, not be available today due to ill health. Lauding the achievements of the five who were awarded here today, Dr Bambah, who was the chief guest for the evening, highlighted the importance of adopting self restraint when it came to sensitive matters. He said, “From 75 year’s of experience I can tell you that the most important thing in life is to look at another’s point of view. He added that the forum’s theme of moving towards sanity is as relevant today as it earlier was. It is insane to settle problems by way of armament. Mutual goodwill must be secured.”
Earlier the chief guest was welcomed by Mr K.P. Sinha, Associate Editor, The Tribune, who read out a verse in the honour of the guest: Subah ki pehli kiran sa, khat tera aaya hai aaj, hamne ye jaisa ujala din dhale paya hai aaj.” Mr Sinha went on to state that the birth of ARTS had a divine scheme, and the guiding line was: “Move on, don’t stop.”
Later Dr S.S. Bhatti introduced the personality of Dr Mansingh Virdi who dedicated his life to the service of his brethren. He also spoke about the reasons which led him to establish this forum. “I wanted to work out solutions. Today everyone in engaged in slander as a means of settling problems. But the fact remains that solution lies only in mutual goodwill which can be secured through a healthy dialogue.”
He added that the objective of the forum is to bring real talent to the fore. “We are here to tell you about those who work wonders in obscurity,” he said, adding that this was the dream which Dr Mansingh wanted to realise. Mr R.L. Goyal, president of the forum also spoke on the occasion.
