The Tribune, Chandigarh, India - Chandigarh Stories

EDUCATION

Lack of space forcing special school to shift
Our Correspondent

Chandigarh, February 3
About 10 years after it was established, the School for the Deaf and Dumb Children, run by the Punjab IAS Wives Association from the Sector 11 Karuna Sadan here, is being shifted to one of the government schools in the city due to a paucity of space. The school has 65 students and 12 more slum-children are expected to join from the next academic session.

According to sources in the UT Administration, the space problem requires urgent attention as the school already has more students than it can accommodate. Sources added the Adviser to the Chandigarh Administrator, Ms Neeru Nanda, was also taking a keen interest in the project.

“Two schools have been shortlisted for the shifting in — the Sector 46 Government Model Senior Secondary School and the Sector 19 Old Primary School. These schools have been selected by a group of the UT officials comprising the Secretary of Social Welfare and Housing Board, Mr G.K. Marwaha, the Director of Social Welfare, Ms Madhavi Kataria, the Director Public Instructions (schools), Mr D.S. Saroya, and the District Education Officer, Mr Brahmjit Kalia,” said sources in the Administration.

“Most of these students belong to the economically weaker section and can study only upto Class VIII. Our aim, however, is to upgrade the school,” an official said.

The head of the Punjab IAS Wives Association, Ms Kamal B.J. Singh, said, “Efforts are also on to inculcate a sense of confidence among these children. Some of the former students of the school are now well settled in government jobs. The school, housed in two rooms, was established in 1991 by Ms Tejinder Khanna with just 20 children.”

Saksham, Palak winners at St Anne’s fete
Tribune News Service

Chandigarh, February 3
On the concluding day of the two-day silver jubilee function at St Anne’s Convent School, Saksham and Palak Jain were declared junior prince and junior princess in category A (under six years of age) of the well-dressed boy and girl. In category B, Aditya Kaul and Raisa Gupta were declared prince and the princess and in categories B2 and C, Ankush Arora, Komalpreet, Rasik Malhotra and Karishma were declared the winners.

In the healthy baby contest, the winners were Group E Vrinda Gupta 1, Mihir Sukhej 2 and Rytham Sharma 3; Group F-Chitenaya Sharma 1, Kanika Sobti 2 and Nishtha 3. In the art competition, the winners were Paras of Shivalik Public School 1, Jasraj of St John’s High School 2 and Dushant Trigotra of St Anne’s Convent School 3.

In fabric painting contest winners were Kangan Sood of St Anne’s Convent School 1, Dhanya Nayak of Chandigarh Baptist School 2 and Sabiha Basur again of St Anne’s Convent School 3.

CULTURE

Striking the right chord with ‘Paro’
Aditi Tandon
Tribune News Service

Chandigarh, February 3
Laurels come easy to him. Right from 1983 when he won the best folk singer award at Guru Nanak Dev University, Amritsar to 2001 when he entered the Guinness Book of World Records as the best bhangra artiste in the world, Malkit Singh has been striving to keep “Punjabiyat” alive through his music. Today with 19 albums to his credit, Malkit is rather satisfied, not just because he created an international hit of the order of “Tutak tutak tootiyaan”, but also because he never compromised on sacred elements of music to sell himself. His credibility has taken him places, so much so that next year he is again slated to enter the Guinness Book as “the only Indian artiste to have performed in 27 countries.”

But as times have changed from 1993, when Malkit’s “Tutak tutak” bagged the most outstanding bhangra track slot, Malkit has changed too. Where his earlier albums were thoroughly folk in nature, his current albums are a little “commercial” in the sense that they cater to a wider set of listeners. As the singer admitted today when he was in town to promote his latest album Paro, “This age does not allow the singer to sing just for himself. And as such, I am basically a performer. I have to take care of what people want. So the present album, which has Jawahar Wattal’s music, has everything — Punjabi folk, Hindi melody, apart from a medley of sad and vibrant songs. Personally I like the wedding song of this album.”

Confused over the way pop singers are created overnight these days, Malkit wondered what would finally become of music, especially Punjabi music which is being sung by all and sundry. “When I started my journey, I was inspired by great singers like Kuldip Manak, Mohd Siddique and Ranjit Kaur. I learnt the nuances of music from them. Even when I left for London, I knew for sure that I will never desert my tradition. I will keep it up. Till date none of my albums reflects nudity and other things which are considered important for marketing,” Malkit said. Decrying the way music channels were promoting everybody, he added, “The easy availability of promotional channels is taking its toll on music”.

On his own front, Malkit is working to promote folk tradition abroad. Through his Golden Star band, he has forwarded the message of tradition as far as he could.

While Malkit has released many albums, few have been released in India. His last album “Kudi patole vargi” did fairly well, though it could not match the charm of “Tutak tutak tootiyaan”. The singer has fair hopes from the new album Paro, which has nine songs, with four video shoots. His hopes were further strengthened today when he garnered wide support at Aerizzona, where he performed for his fans later during the day.

Vibrant play of colours and bronze
Tribune News Service

Chandigarh, February 3
There is magic in colours, especially when they have been employed on the canvas to convey a certain line of thought. Blues, greens, mustard ...and some hues of fire find place in the canvases of Deepa Jain, who opened her exhibition in the city for the first time.

On display are landscapes spanning vastness of the ocean. There is a specific and intentional use of pastels, which further the beauty of nature on the canvas. There is a lot of yellow and orange, offering peace to the viewer. The dominant feature of all her works is the sea. And in most of the pieces, Deepa has taken care to project the minutest of details. So while children playing along the beach remain in focus, a hazy picture of a lady carrying palm leaves features in the background.

Freedom breathes in all the works and the artist is quite vocal about securing it all the time. “There is life in liberation. Restriction of thought, as also of strokes, suggests something unpleasant. I try to portray the world just as God has made it — free and beautiful.”

Camped alongside the impressive landscapes are sculptural works by Neeru Suri. Powerful and perfect, the works make a strong impact. On display are sculptures of women in a mood of sharing. In every piece, the idea of harmony and unity is great. One work which deserves a special mention shows a woman, seated on a cot, busy sieving paddy. The intricacy with which Neeru Suri has moulded the figure is impressive.

The exhibition will go on till February 9.