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| Tuesday, October 31, 2000, Chandigarh, India |
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University teachers submit memorandum CHANDIGARH, Oct 30 — The All-India Federation of University Teachers Association (AIFUTA), along with the Federation of Central University Teachers Association (FEDCUTA), today submitted a memorandum, for the release of arrears and implementation of certain other demands, to the University Grants Commission (UGC) here. The memorandum has been addressed to members of the UGC, asking them to take serious note of the way in which the Union and the State Governments are evading their responsibility of honouring the agreement between the HRD Minister, Prof Murli Manohar Joshi, and the teachers’ representatives on September 5 1998, after a nationwide strike by university and college teachers. The major demands put before the members of the UGC include release of payment of arrears in cash, uniform implementation of revised pay scales, enhancement of retirement age from 60 to 62 years, notification of modalities for placement in the super selection grade for professors, teachers’ participation in management of the universities, consultative mechanisms at the national and state levels wherein the Ministry of HRD should hold quarterly consultative meetings with the representatives of various federations of university and college teachers, review of the anti-research work schedule, incentives for post-doctoral research work, equivalence of active research with participation in refresher courses, gender sensitivity in counting of past service for CAS in case of women teachers and resistance against commercialisation and privatisation of higher education. The federation has also stated in the memorandum that UGC observers will not bring transparency to the selection process and that it is “extremely unfortunate that instead of holding with AIFUTA representatives issues of openness in the selection process, the UGC and the HRD ministry officials have chosen to adopt anti-academic measures such as imposing UGC observers in the selection committees.” Meanwhile, the Panjab University Teachers Association (PUTA), on a call from AIFUTA and FEDCUTA, staged a rally in front of the Vice-Chancellor’s office today for an hour to focus the attention of the authorities on these demands. |
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PUCSC office-bearers
take oath CHANDIGARH,
Oct 30 — The newly elected office-bearers to the Panjab University Campus Students’ Council (PUCSC) and the Department Representatives (DRs) took over their offices here today after an “oath taking ceremony” held at the Students’ Centre in the presence of the Vice-Chancellor, Prof. K.N. Pathak, the DUI, Mr Ashok Sahni, and the DSW, Mr V.K. Bansal. Bhupinder Singh Bhuppi took over as president while Vivek Chauhan takes over as general secretary. Mukta Sharma takes over as the vice-president and Harpreet Singh as joint secretary of the PUCSC for this session. The oath was administered by the DSW to all the DRs and the office-bearers. All hostel wardens and some members of the faculty were also present on the occasion along with a large number of PUSU-ABVP-HSA supporters. The vice-chancellor wished the new office-bearers and hoped that the council would involve itself in activities which were in line with the academic environment of the university. The PUSU-ABVP-HSA combine had
swept the elections in the university. Despite the threats given by SOPU supporters that they would not allow the new office-bearers to take over, the ceremony went off peacefully. |
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Colourful start to youth festival CHANDIGARH,
Oct 30 — The Government College for Girls, Sector 11, fetched maximum number of prizes in the starting events of the youth festival today. The first phase of the Panjab University youth festival (zone A) began on a colourful note at the Government College for Girls Sector 42. Rangoli, fine arts and creative writing competitions were held at the college campus and teams from MCM DAV College, Sector 36, Dev Samaj College, Sector 45, GGS College, Sector 26, Home Science College Sector 10 and Government College for Girls, Sector 11 apart from the host college participated in these events. The teams were welcomed by Principal Mohini Sharma in a traditional manner with a tilak and shower of flowers. The results of the various events which were held today are as follows: Fine art competitions including drawing from life, in which Gayatri from GCG-11 stood first, Gurpreet Kaur from GGS College-26 stood second and Nisha from GCG-11 stood third. In landscape drawing, Marylin from GCG-11 stood first, Arpana Sood from MCM DAV College stood second and Sugamjit from GCG-42 stood third. Jasmine Mallick from GCG-11 stood first in the poster making competitions while Irvinjit Kaur from GCG-42 stood second and Ashima from GCG-11 stood third. In the Clay modelling competitions, Rashi Paliwal from GGS College-26 stood first, Aayushi from GCG-11 stood second and Kavita from Dev Samaj College, Sector 45, stood third. Gurpreet of GCG-11 stood first in the cartoon competitions while Kavita Singh of GGS College-26 stood second and Priyanka Rana of MCM DAV College stood third. In the still life competition, Jyoti from GCG-42 stood first, Geeta from GCG-11 stood second and Sunita Chanda from GCG-42 stood third. In the collage making competition, Neeru Saini from GCG-42, stood first, Pooja Soni from GCG-42 stood second and Pooja Puri from GCG-11 stood third. In the story writing part of the creative writing events, Maya Singh of GCG-11 stood first, Harpreet Kaur from GCG-42 stood second and Poonam Rani from Dev Samaj College Sector 45 stood third. In the poetry writing section, Ranjana Tripathi from MCM DAV College stood first, Gurleen Tiwana from MCM DAV College stood second and Ekta Varmani from Home Science College, Sector 10 stood third. In the essay writing category, Gurneet Tej from GCG-11 stood first, Ritu Rani from GCG -42 stood second and Prachi Yadav from MCM DAV College stood third. In Rangoli competitions, Quency of MCM DAV College stood first, Aashta from Home Science College, Sector 10, stood second and Pratibha from GCG-42 stood third. The youth festival's main events will be inaugurated at Tagore Theatre tomorrow. |
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MCM DAV bids adieu to Sneh Mahajan CHANDIGARH,
Oct 30 — ‘Thirtytwo years is a long time indeed and for those who have been associated with MCM DAV College know that Ms Sneh Mahajan is an institution in herself and to think about the two separately is difficult if not impossible.’ said Prachi Yadav, president, MCM DAV College Student’s council. The council had organised a function to bid farewell to Principal Sneh Mahajan who retired today. Students of the college spoke emotionally about their Principal and their time in the college. Ruchi Malhotra, vice president of the council promised the outgoing Principal that they would make all efforts to take the MCM flag higher. Tanvi, council’s secretary quoted Robert Frost saying that the students had a long way to go and would be achieving all that they had been encouraged to dream of. Gurbinder Sidhu, Ruchita, Aarushi and Sakshi were others who spoke on the occasion. Many of the students and teachers of the college were seen wiping tears and trying to keep their emotions in control. Ms Shashi Sharda,
Ms Vibha Bakshi, teachers in the college also shared their experiences of working with Ms Mahajan and wished her happiness and good health. Mrs Usha Gupta of the Department of Mathematics who takes over as the new officiating Principal, also spoke on the occasion. Ms Mahajan thanked the students and said the three most important virtues in life were courage, compassion and consideration. Courage for standing by the truth and speaking the truth; compassion for those who are less fortunate than us and consideration for others, the old and the needy, were the real lessons to be learnt in life. Ms Mahajan joined the MCM DAV College in 1968 as a lecturer in philosophy and took over as the Principal of the college in 1986. Known for her inimitable style of working, she has been considered as a strict disciplinarian by many. She was often compared to by the students as a “strict mother, who taught us how to conduct ourselves and lead a life of a highly disciplined citizen of the
country." said a student. Meanwhile, Ms Mahajan stated that many senior lecturers with 25-30 years of service would be debarred by the UGC insisting on PhD as an essential qualification. “Panjab University is taking up this issue with the UGC recommending to relax the essential qualifications for four
years." This is to clarify what was reported earlier in an interview with her. |
UBS entrance
on basis of CAT CHANDIGARH,
Oct 30 — Admissions to the various courses offered by the University Business School (UBS), Panjab University, will be on the basis of the Common Admission Test (CAT) conducted by the Indian Institute of Management (IIM) Lucknow. The test is scheduled to be held on December 10, 2000. All those who are desirous of taking admission to MBA, MBA in International Business and MBA in Human Resource courses offered by the UBS can take this test. They can apply to the university on the UBS prospectus available with the cashier. The last day for submission of these application forms is December 8, 2000.  |
Bonanza for music lovers CHANDIGARH, Oct 30 — Who in logical words can explain the effect music has on us? A kind of inarticulate, unfathomable speech, which leads us to the edge of the Infinite, and lets us, for a moment, gaze into that. What Thomas Carlyle said long ago continues to hold good even today. One such memorable experience through a rendezvous with great musicians of the country will, once again, come true between November 3 and November 5 when the city will host the Chandigarh Sangeet Sammelan. Thanks to the concerted efforts being made by the Indian National Theatre officials in providing continuity to India’s great musical heritage, this year’s sammelan will be the 23rd in the series of many such. This sammelan, which gathers inspiration from the Harballabh Sangeet Sammelan, was initiated by the Indian National Theatre with a view to adding an aesthetic component to the concrete fabric of the city. It may also be mentioned here that its inaugural function was graced by none other than the legendary Prithvi Raj Kapoor. The scheduled three days of the concert this year will see some extremely gripping performances at Jaisukhlal Hathi Sadan in the local Bharatiya Vidya Bhawan from the promising musicians of the country. Among those due to perform are Meeta Pandit, granddaughter of Pt Krishnarao Shankar Pandit of the Gwalior gharana and His Holiness Acharya Goswami Gokulotsavji Maharaj, the noted khayaal singer of the Kirana gharana. Talking to The Tribune about the idea behind holding the concert every year, Mr Navjeevan Khosla, member secretary of the Indian National Theatre, said: “The objective is the promotion of music which has some grammar, some base. The kind of music taking on the younger generation these days is ephemeral. It fades out for lack of substance. We are here to lead our youth back to our great cultural heritage which is unparalleled in the world.” He also informed that this very sammelan introduced some top level musicians to the city, including Pandit Jasraj, Kishori Amonkar, Kumar Gandharva and Budhaditya Mukherjee. Gradually the organisers have attempted to broadbase the movement by arranging performances of young talented musicians, after moving away from the heavyweights. Sticking to this very idea, the three-day sangeet sammelan, this time, will open on November 3 from 8.30 onwards with the performance of an outstanding young vocalist, Meeta Pandit, who is known for her powerfully honed voice with an exquisite purity. She is acknowledged as one of the most promising young musicians of today. At a young age, she has been able to carve a niche for herself in the world of music, with having to her credit participation in some famous concerts like the Tansen Festival, Harballabh Sammelan, Kashi Utsav, The Spirit of Unity Concert, Onam Festival, to mention some. She happens to be the sixth in the unbroken lineage of musicians of the legendary pandit family of the Gwalior gharana. Having been groomed in the meticulous care of her grandfather Padma Bhushan Pt Krishnarao Shankar Pandit, Meeta gave her first performance at the age of seven. Meeta’s performance on November 3 will be followed by that of (His Holiness) Acharya Goswami Gokulotsavji Maharaj who heads the Vallabhacharya samprada. A noted khayaal singer in and outside of the country, he sings in the style of Ustaad Amir Khan Sahib of the Kirana gharana. Violinist Sangeeta Shankar will give the first performance on November 4 from 8.30 onwards. Sangeeta, another bright star in the world of Indian classical music, is the daughter of Mrs N. Rajam, former head of Department of Music at Benaras Hindu University. Her recital will be followed by a vocal recital by Kaivalya Kumar Gurav of the Kirana gharana. A triple graduate with BCom, BA and MA (in music with distinction and a gold medal), Kaivalya is blessed with a naturally- high pitch, mellifluous voice, coupled with an aesthetic approach to the raga presentation. The final days will see another powerful performance from Shruti Sadolikar Katkar from Mumbai who will perform on November 5 from 10 am onwards. Shruti, who has often performed in the city earlier, is the daughter of celebrated vocalist late pandit Wamanrao Sadolikar, a brilliant representative of the Jaipur-Atrauli gharana. A disciple of Aladiya Khan sahib, Panditjit was on the classical circuit in a big way. Shruti seems to be following Panditji’s footsteps. The accompanists of the concert also need no formal introduction as such. They are high in their own right. Mehmood Dhaulpuri will accompany the musicians on the harmonium. Known for accurately reproducing the vocalist’s nuances, along with presenting some magic spells of solo, Mehmood has performed in almost every city of the country. On the tabla will be the young talented Mohammad Akram Khan who belongs to Ajrara, the famous tabla gharana of Meerut city which is considered to be the foremost school of tabla. The gharana to which this instrumentalist belongs is famous for its typical composition and whole composition in different rhythmic patterns. |
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