Teachers go for protest march
Our Correspondent

Ludhiana, January 23
To protest against the “anti-higher education polices” of the Punjab government, hundreds of teachers from aided and private colleges of the city along with a few political leaders, trade union leaders, students as well as their parents had gone to Jalandhar to join the march organised by the Punjab and Chandigarh College Teachers Union (PCCTU) today.

The teachers have been blaming the government for reduction in grant-in-aid to non-government colleges. They have also blamed the government for misappropriation of Rs 21 crore received from the HRD Ministry for the payment of arrears to the staff of non-government colleges.

Meanwhile, Prof K.B.S. Sodhi, president of the union, had earlier declared that more protest rallies would be organised till the notification regarding pension gratuity scheme would be released. He also said that the teachers would have to intensify their struggle which might include a flag march in the constituency of Mr Parkash Singh Badal, Chief Minister, Punjab.

Cultural festival opens at college
Our Correspondent

Ludhiana, January 23
Contests for music, choreography, case presentation and just a minute, painting and poster-making marked the opening of “Expressions”, a three-day cultural festival, for the students of BBA, BCA and MCA of the Guru Nanak Institute of Management and Technology (GNIMT), Model Town, here today.

The auditorium was resonant with the music and choreography presentations by the students.

The individual and group song items regaled the audience followed by girls walking down the ramp in impressively choreographed sequences.

The day’s contests came to an end with poster-making and painting competitions which saw participation in overwhelming numbers.

Students lent colours to the occasion and beautifully depicted the themes like “55 years of Indian Independence” and “College campus” and exhibited their talent through paints and brushes.

Dr A.S. Bansal, director, appreciated the interest of the students and said that contests for individual dances, skit, dumb charades, mock press conference, cartooning and rangoli would be held tomorrow. 

Refund amount, PSEB told
Our Correspondent

Ludhiana, January 23
The District Consumer Disputes Redressal Forum has quashed PSEB’s demand of Rs 11,660 from Mr Vijay Kumar, a resident of College Road, Civil Lines, Ludhiana. It has also directed the board to refund the amount along with interest at the rate of 12 per cent per annum from the date of deposit till actual payment.

According to the complaint, the consumer received a bill of Rs 13,601, including Rs 11,600 on account of sundry charges, on October 25, 2000. The consumer stated that when he approached PSEB officials concerned for the clarification of the amount, he was told that the demand had been raised on the basis of a report of M.E. Laboratory.

The consumer disclosed that the meter was not checked in his presence and he was not issued any notice to be present at the time of checking, which was mandatory. It was alleged that the demand had not been raised as per rules and liable to be quashed.

The board pleaded that the meter installed on the premises of complainant was changed on November 10, 1999, and the meter change order (MCO) was signed by Mr Varinder Kumar, the representative of the complainant. It was disclosed that at the time of changing the meter, the glass was found loose and it was reported in the MCO. The removed meter was sent to the laboratory on 18 January, 2000, after sealing it properly.

The complainant was intimated about the checking of the meter, orally as well as in writing, but neither he nor his representative visited the laboratory. As such the meter was checked in the absence of the consumer and the checking revealed that the glass of the meter was tempered with. Moreover, a few pieces of broken glass was found inside the meter.

The forum observed that the demand had been raised against the rules and liable to be quashed.

CULTURE

Debu’s sitar moves students
Our Correspondent

Ludhiana, January 23
Sitar recital by Padmabhushan Debu Choudhary along with his son, Prateek, and tabla accompanist, Sumitra Mitra, weaved magical spell of music which made the students of DAV School forget the discomfort of sitting on bare and cold floor of the auditorium. The trio gave a performance in the morning hours in the school auditorium. The artistes performed under the aegis of SPIC MACAY (Society for promotion of Indian classical music and culture among youth).

The society is celebrating its silver jubilee year. For the first time the Ludhiana chapter has arranged performances by some noted artistes independently of its parent body, not only to play in the city, but also in new chapters like Nawanshahr, Mukundpur, Sidhwam Khurd, Gursur Sudhar and Khanna. The chapter has been active for the past 20 years in organising concerts in various educational institutions.

Pandit Debu Choudhary interacted with the students before he started his performance. He asked them whether they knew the names of ‘ragas’. Then he asked them whether they were familiar with the basic seven notes of music sa, re, ga, ma etc. He sang along with the students the seven notes to get them in the right mood.

Then to give them an idea of ‘ragas’, he asked the students to stand up and sing the National Anthem. Then he sang the notations of the Anthem to make them aware that basics of songs were the seven notes. Similarly, he demonstrated that many popular film songs were also based on ‘ragas’. He said ‘swar’ and ‘laye’ made a ‘raga’. He did not stop till the students learnt where to clap when Sumitra Rao played ‘teen taal’. Repeatedly, he made the students to clap at numbers one, five and 13 to know about this ‘taal’. The students enjoyed the experience and got a hang of clapping at the right numbers after many of false try. Thus they were initiated into classical music.

The students did learn about ‘ragas’ and ‘taal’ in this manner. He told the students that his aim of performing for SPIC MACAY before the students was to develop in their hearts a regard for traditional performing arts. He said, “Indian music can be improvised by artistes at different performances. It has certain ‘ragas’ which are ment to be played at different times during the day. No other music in the world has this tradition.”

He and his son Prateek started with ‘raag Bilawal’, a morning ‘raga’. Meticulously, trained and guided by his father, Prateek played in a graceful style. The intricate techniques used by the father and son delighted the audience. From their nimble fingers, rich tones and melodious phrases resonated. Their skillful fingers handled rapidly moving passages with ease while maintaining the integrity and beauty of every note. Later Prateek played a ‘bhajan’.