The Tribune, Chandigarh, India - Chandigarh Stories

EDUCATION

STATE OF THE HOSTELS
Where only ‘good boys’ stay
Tribune News Service

Chandigarh
Living in one of the boys’ hostels of Panjab University is like having hotel accommodation at low rates, says a resident of the university’s boys’ Hostel Number 4. This opinion is shared by a resident of hostel Number 5.

These hostels are situated next to each other and are considered to be the most ‘‘well reputed hostels’’. The reputation stems from the fact that most of the boys staying in these hostels are studying for competitive examinations. So there is little chance of anything untoward happening, says a resident of Hostel Number 5. But there are some who disagree. ‘‘These hostels used to be ‘good boys’ hostels some years ago but now we also get a lot of crowd which is not so sophisticated,’’ adds a resident of Hostel Number 4.

Though most of the residents agree that there is not much to complain about as far as the facilities go, but there are certain problems which they could certainly do without.

As far as the common problems go, the residents of the two hostels feel that the biggest problem is that two boys have to share one room. ‘‘These rooms are so small that two beds cannot fit in them. One is barely able to have a bed and a table and a chair. But with another person in the room you can either have an extra bed or a table. We prefer to have the table and one person sleeps on the floor.’’

Cleanliness of the bathrooms and toilets is another irritating factor. ‘‘First, we do not have enough bathrooms that are useable. The ones on the top floors do not have water in the taps so most of the residents do not use them and, in any case, these also remain unclean. Every morning there is a long queue outside the bathrooms which are functioning,’’ says a resident.

There are geysers in every bathroom unit but most of these do not work and in winter there are long queues for hot water. After some time most of the residents start using immersion rods which, in any case, is not permitted. Many end up paying fines when caught but there is no other way.’’ says a resident. Water coolers also seem to be too few and many of them do not work, say the residents.

Food in the two hostels differs vastly. It is good in Hostel Number 5 since it is managed by a cooperative mess run by the residents themselves. Food in the other hostel is bad, claim the residents. ‘‘The quality is such that sometimes we do not feel like eating.

Any other problem? ‘‘Yes, we have a gymnasium which does not have proper equipment and the university gymnasium is not open to students. As far as parking is concerned, there are no problems. There is no time limit on coming and going.

COURTS

HIGH COURT
DC summoned over local body NOC’s
Tribune News Service

Chandigarh, July 26
Directing Gurgaon’s Deputy Commissioner to be personally present in court on July 31, a Division Bench of the Punjab and Haryana High Court today asked him to “show to the court the authority under which no objection certificates (NOCs) were issued to units for undertaking industrial activities in the residential area of the Municipal Council”.

The orders were pronounced on a petition filed by Mr Jugal Kishore, a resident of Chander Dhani Nagar. Mr Kishore had alleged that an electroplating unit in the area was causing pollution due to the use of chemicals.

During proceedings, chairman of the Pollution Control Board, stated that the consent for setting up an industry located in residential area could not be refused if the local body granted a no-objection certificate to it.

Pronouncing the orders the Bench, comprising Mr Justice G.S. Singhvi and Mr Justice M.M. Kumar, observed that they were unable to appreciate the stance of the board. The Judges added that the board chairman had failed to keep in the mind the provisions of the Water Act.

The Judges concluded that they were also surprised with the attitude of the Muncipal Council in deliberately refraining themselves from assisting the court in the matter.

Notice on plea against Dangi

The High Court issued notice of motion to a former Revenue Minister, Anand Singh Dangi, on a petition filed by the state of Haryana seeking the cancellation of bail granted to him.

In their petition taken up by Mr Justice M.L. Singhal of the High Court, the state had earlier stated that FIR No 275 under Sections 420, 467, 468, 471 and 120-B of the Indian Penal Code was registered with regard to the allocation of land.

The state had alleged that the trial court had ignored the fact that Dangi had deliberately and intentionally connived with the other accused and allotted land to interested persons who were not legally entitled to it after misusing the revenue minister’s powers.

Count emergency service for pension

Taking up a petition filed by a retired Captain, Mr Justice J.S. Narang of the High Court directed that service rendered during the period of “first emergency” by the petitioner shall be counted while computing the qualifying service for granting pension.

Issuing the directions, Mr Justice Narang observed that the petitioner “shall be entitled to arrears accordingly”. The Judge added: “It shall be appreciated if the entire exercise is carried out by the quarters concerned within three months of receiving the order’s copy”.

Captain K.S. Shergill, a Deputy Director of Sainik Welfare, Ferozepore, had earlier stated that the military service rendered by him during the emergency period was counted for fixation of seniority, but the same was not counted for calculating pension.

Plea referred to another Bench

In a petition before the High Court, former Minister Lal Singh today sought directions for quashing then Punjab Lok Pal Justice Harbans Singh Rai’s report complied on September 22, 1998. The petition was today referred to an other Bench by Mr Justice Amar Bir Singh Gill and Mr Justice Swatanter Kumar of the High Court.

The petitioner had also sought directions for quashing a special report, besides declaring null and void all proceedings in connection with a complaint against him. He had added that state of Punjab and Chief Minister Parkash Singh Badal were contemplating harassing him by taking advantage of the report and the special report so that his political career is damaged during the forthcoming elections.

FIR politically motivated: Jindal

On a petition filed by Hisar’s MLA O.P. Jindal, seeking the quashing of the first information report registered against him, Mr Justice Nirmal Singh of the High Court issued notice of motion to the state of Haryana and other respondents for August 27.

In his petition, the MLA had earlier stated that the FIR, dated August 20, 1999, was registered against him under Sections 323 and 506, IPC due to political reasons.

Giving details, he had stated that the FIR was registered on the complaint of a shopkeeper Bhushan Lal, with a view to intimidate and humiliate him.

CULTURE

“I would go for traditional type of roles”
Parbina Rashid

Chandigarh, July 26
With the release of the first historical Garhwali film “Garh Rami Baurani”, Madhu Bist’s childhood dream to become an actress has been fulfilled. And the best part is that one can almost identify her with the character, attired in a salwar kurta, mehndi-adorned hand and “churas” to complete the image of a traditional daughter- in- law as she talks about her role of a “sati savitri bahu” in the film.

Ask her, does she feel anything like the character Rami who waits 12 long years for her missing soldier husband? She replies with her ready smile: “The character belongs to the earlier half of the 20th century and one can not really identify with her.” But I am a traditional type of girl in real life, with a lots of faith in the Indian social system,” she adds.

This local girl, who recently migrated to Delhi after her marriage, is all set to take up acting as a career. After the success of ‘Garh Rami Baurani’ she has been singed by Sunil Babbar for his next project “Tilu Rau Tali,” another historical feature film in Garhwali, which is being produced by Anup Nek Chand, son of creator of the Rock Garden, Mr Nek Chand.

Madhu refuses to go for glamourous roles. “I would like to do only those roles which portray women in the traditional light”. Madhu has recently bagged a side role in Hindi feature film along with Sonu Nigam and Nandita Das as the main cast.

Though Madhu did not have prior acting experience, she was quite confident facing the camera. “Before acting for ‘Garh Rami’, I had already acted for a number of Punjabi music videos.“Besides, the whole experience was on the job training for me,” she adds. Her dancing career and modelling experience certainly gave her enough confidence to carry out the whole project without much hiccups.

“I have been performing folk dances on stage since my school days,” says Madhu. “I was so much into dancing that I have also opened up a dance school where I teach all kind of folk and modern dances,” she adds. Besides being a good dancer, Madhu has also played Basketball at the national level.

Madhu, who has recently completed the pilot shooting for “Mirza Sahiba”, a Hindi TV serial for Star Plus, claims comedy to be her strong forte. “In real life I am a comedian and would love to play the role of a comedian heroine,” she says.

Punjabi valour brought alive by ‘Tajposhi’
Tribune News Service

Chandigarh, July 26
Courtesy the Punjab Sangeet Natak Akademi, Mohali, the Punjab Kala Bhavan today witnessed some serious theatre activity. In evidence was the production of the akademi titled ‘Tajposhi’, which sought to reflect the crests and troughs experienced by the land of Punjab during the reign of Sher-e-Punjab Maharaja Ranjit Singh. The play was dedicated to the 200 years of coronation of Maharaja Ranjit Singh and was presented in collaboration with the Punjab Sangeet Natak Akademi.

Except for the fact that the play progressed a rather too fast, with a large number of sequences being staged virtually without any break, the show deserves to be applauded — not only for the great historical events which it showcased, but also for the strongly and sensibly-worded script, which brought to life the vigour which is so synonymous with Punjab and Sikhs.

Conceived, written and directed by Charan Singh Sindhra of the Punjab Sangeet Natak Akademi, the play was a typical folk theatre production. It involved the medium of storytelling, with the entire narration of the conquests by Maharaja Ranjit Singh, the desecration of Lahore, the victory over Shah Zaman and the final ceremony of Maharaja Ranjit Singh’s coronation, coming from the ‘sutradhar’ (played by K.S. Sagar) and ‘nati’ (played by Kanchan Joshi). The substance of the story was further enhanced by a blended use of poetry, prose, music, dance and dramatic sequences. The music of the play was also given by Charan Singh Sindhra.

A rather powerful performance of the evening came from a Ph.D student of the Department of Indian Theatre Jaspal Deol. In the role of Sada Kaur (who impressed by the valour of Ranjit Singh chooses to marry her daughter to him, given the fact that Ranjit Singh had done her husband to death in the battle) Jaspal was more than convincing. Her character reflected the spirit of a true Sardarni.

The play had a huge casting of 17 persons, including Gopal Sandhu as Jai Singh, Harish Verma as Shah Zaman, Satinder Kaur as folk dancer. Other presenters were Davinder Singh, Swaran Chowdhry, Harbans Lall, Simran Singh, Gaurav Sharma, Vinod Kumar, Jaswinder Singh, Ishwinder Dhillon, Tanvir Singh, Karan Diwan and Gurmit Singh. The costumes were designed by Surinder Kaur.