The Tribune, Chandigarh, India

EDUCATION

Exams bring anxiety among students
Shivani Bhakoo

Ludhiana, February 4
As the exams are approaching, signs of nervousness, depression and stress cannot be ruled out on the faces of majority of students in the city. This is evident from the fact that many parents have been approaching psychiatrists to find out the reason of memory loss and aggressiveness among their children.

A number of city-based psychiatrists feel that due to the pressure of studies during exams, the students were becoming disobedient, mentally disturbed and showed signs of temper tantrums. More troublesome was that this ‘examination anxiety’ prevailed among many parents also.

Dr Rajeev Gupta, a psychiatrist, said, “The incidence of anxiety and depression increased among students during these (exams) days. Due to the stress and burden, the children remained inattentive in the school. They refuse to eat and become destructive. It is very unfortunate to see children suffering from temporary disturbance of mind. So much pressure is put on the children by their parents and teachers that they start behaving in an abnormal way”.

“In order to get good marks in examinations, students neglect their physical and mental activities. They ignore their diet also. They hardly find time to relax and sleep as a result they become quiet and remain aloof. In severe cases, children start screaming, hit their younger siblings and become disobedient and destructive”, said Dr Gupta.

He said he received two to three such students everyday at his clinic. “Parents come to us and complain about their wards odd behaviour. But when asked they admit that they put pressure on them to secure good position”, he said.

Dr R.L. Narang, a former Head of the Psychiatry Department of Dayanand Medical College and Hospital, said students as well as parents showed signs of anxiety, confusion and restlessness during exam days. He suggested instead of putting pressure on children, parents should be regular in parent-teacher meetings. The problems of children should be discussed with the teachers. He said in some cases where parents were more anxious about their children’s exams, the latter complained of memory loss and mental disturbance.

Dr Gupta said the education had become very complex. The students had to study eight subjects as they had no other choice. There was extra burden of tuitions. Parents had become aware and they wanted to see their children on top positions, ignoring their capability. “For example a student gets ‘O’ grade in five subjects and ‘B’ grade in just one subject, parents start scolding him for not getting ‘O’ grade in that particular subject. The child becomes helpless and confused and goes into depression”, said Dr Gupta. Ms Madhu Jain (not her real name), whose son studies in Class XI in a reputed school, said her son went into depression as he scored poor marks in mathematics.

Prize distribution function
Our Correspondent

Ludhiana, February 4
The top three position-holders of all classes received prizes at an annual function held at Gupta Model High School here today.

Ritika Kapoor of Class IX received the best student prize. Class V students received the best class of the year prize.

Ankur Thakur of Class II, Antima of Class IV and Shilpa Sharma of Class VIII received the full attendance prize.

Students presented a variety programme which began with the singing of Vande Mataram. Students presented Punjabi songs and group dance items on latest Hindi numbers.

Dr M.A. Zahir, Dean, College of Basic Sciences and Humanities, Punjab Agricultural University, was the chief guest.

COURTS

PUDA directed to refund excess interest
Our Correspondent

Ludhiana, February 4
The District Consumer Disputes Redressal Forum has directed the Punjab Urban Planning and Development Authority (PUDA) to refund the excess interest charged on enhanced price amount (Rs 9,468) to Mr Jasjit Singh, a resident of the Urban Estate (Phase I), Dugri. PUDA charged interest at 36 per cent per annum on the amount while the forum has directed the respondent to charge interest at the rate of 18 per cent.

According to the complaint, the consumer was the owner of a plot measuring 400 square yards since 1990 and he constructed the house in 1994. The representative of the complainant, Mr S.S. Sarna, stated before the forum that the complainant had submitted an application for an NOC in the first week of January, 2001, to get the conveyance deed executed. But PUDA demanded Rs 36,450 as enhancement charges, Rs 9,468 as principal amount and Rs 26,982 on account of interest on the said amount, he added.

Mr Sarna disclosed that no notice was ever given to the consumer regarding the price enhancement and moreover he was told that the NOC would be issued only when the payment would be made. He further disclosed that the complainant had to make the payment. After that the NOC was issued and the conveyance deed was executed on February 2, 2001.

It was alleged that the amount had been illegally recovered from the consumer. It was demanded that PUDA should be directed to refund the amount along with an interest at 18 per cent per annum and Rs 5,000 as compensation should also be given to the consumer.

PUDA pleaded that the disputed amount was payable by the complainant on account of late payment of enhancement price of the plot. The respondents disclosed that the interest payable was Rs 25,460 and not Rs 26,982.

PUDA maintained that a letter was sent to the complainant and moreover a public notice was also published in the newspaper but the complainant did not make the payment of the enhancement price as such the interest was payable by him.

CULTURE

PNB cultural meet concludes
Tribune News Service

Ludhiana, February 4
The 19th PNB inter-region cultural meet organised by the bank management concluded here today. Mr Keshav Aggarwal, Deputy General Manager, PNB, Punjab Zone, who had inaugurated the two-day meet, gave away the prizes to the winners. About 150 artists from all over Punjab participated in this meet.

According to a press release, the Amritsar region won the overall trophy by securing 19 points and Kapurthala region came second with 15 points. Mr K.C. Mittal of the Bathinda region was declared the best actor of the zone. Mrs Devinder Kaur of the Ludhiana region was declared the best actress of the zone. Mr Gurjinder Singh of the Kapurthala region and Mrs Baljit Kaur of the Ludhiana Region were declared the best dancer (male) and best dancer (female), respectively.

Mr H.L. Arora, Deputy General Manager, Mr Chand Singh, Deputy Zonal Manager, Mr N.S. Jain, Chief Manager, Mr H.M. Sood, Senior Regional Manager, Amritsar Region, Mr C.L. Mahajan, Assistant General Manager, Mr A.K. Jaitely, Chief Manager, and other senior officers were also present on this occasion.

Mr Aggarwal, also honoured the players of Punjab Zone who represented the zone in all-India inter-zonal meet held at New Delhi from December 22 to 29, and had won the overall trophy in athletics.

Striking the right chord with ‘Paro’
Tribune News Service

Chandigarh, February 4
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 yesterday 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.