EDUCATION

A teenager dashing forward
By Minna Zutshi

LUDHIANA, Oct 25 — Nivi Jaswal is a BA I (Psychology Honours) student in the local Government College for Women. The intricacies of human behaviour fascinate Nivi. She feels that the study of psychology offers deep insights into human behaviour which have made her more tolerant of the ambiguities that life confers on us.

In 1998, Nivi was selected to represent Punjab in the Shropshire-Punjab Youth Exchange Programme. She spent about a month in Britain and participated in a play by John Milton staged at Ludlow Castle. “That experience was simply unforgettable,” she says.

Nivi has participated in several debates and declamation contests. She won the first prize at the district level elocution contest in 1998. Recently, she won the first prize in an essay writing competition on Information Technology.

It is difficult to put her in a strait-jacket. Though her favourite pastime is reading, she also likes to socialise and to go out with friends. She has worked as a part-time marketing executive and taught spoken English to students at a personality development centre.

Though still in her teens, Nivi is sure about what she wants to do in life. She plans to pursue either a doctoral course in industrial psychology or a postgraduate course in management. “The way people interact in the corporate world interests me. I am deeply interested in the field of advertising and the psychology behind it,” she says.

Nivi strongly believes in equal opportunities for women. She feels that economic independence is an essential prerequisite for emotional independence. Women, she says, should have the right to choose a career of their liking. “I believe that each individual is unique and to stereotype them in terms of their gender stifles human interaction,” she adds.

CULTURE

Popular Punjabi mirth-makers
From Our Correspondent

LUDHIANA, Oct 25 — You meet Balvinder Bicky at Mohan Singh Mela at Daad Pind and the name does not impress you. But the very mention of ‘‘Chacha Raunki Ram’’ brings a smile on your face and you are reminded of the rustic character who with his satirical skits has been lambasting corruption and other ills of society.

Bicky impresses you with his impeccable English. Suave and sophisticated in real life, he is just the opposite of ‘Raunki Ram’. He has just returned from Sydney Olympics where he was a member of the production team. Earlier he had been to Atlanta, to cover the Olympics there. He started playing ‘Raunki Ram’ at a very young age. This popular variety programme ran for six years. He also participated in another variety programme, ‘Raunak Mela’. Narrating the popularity of ‘Chacha Raunki Ram’ he says that he is generally addressed as ‘chacha,”. “Even my wife sometimes calls me “Chacha,” he recalls mirthfully.

He is now in a more serious business. Himself a sportsman, he has covered a number of sporting events such as the Davis Cup, World Cup Cricket and international hockey matches. He telecasts four days a week, a programme of rural sports. His natural flair for comedy enables him to do comic roles and his knowledge of sports comes handy in covering sporting events.

His favourite comedian is Gurpreet Ghuggi. The two acted together in ‘Raunak Mela’ and ‘Lashkara’. He also admires Jaspal Bhatti.

Gurpreet, the anchor of the programme ‘Ghuggi Express’ is a popular comedy star. He recalls how Balwinder Bicky became his mentor. Gurpreet used to take part in college plays and had won prizes for his acting. During one of the plays, Balwinder Bicky was the judge and he interrupted Gurpreet during the play which angered the actor but after the play Bicky hugged him and asked if he (Gurpreet) would act with him (Bicky). ‘Ghuggi’ was 18 when he started acting with Bicky.

He appeared on the TV in ‘Raunak Mela’ and his name ‘Ghuggi’ became synonymous with comedy. He has performed in many Punjabi variety programmes. His audio cassettes based on parodies of popular songs were in great demand.