 |
|
| Thursday, February 28, 2002, Chandigarh, India
|
|
||||
Toppers honoured for
winning ‘Test of Excellence’ Chandigarh, February 27 In his speech, Justice Bali said he was pleased to note that spirit of academic excellence was being promoted by Dr Khera in the city school and that several city school principals were making sincere efforts to prepare their students to excel academically through the “Test of Excellence”. Earlier also when he worked in an honorary capacity for 14 years in Dev Samaj Education Institution at Ambala City, his students topped in the state of Haryana and Kurukshetra University. Justice Bali hoped that such tests would instil the right amount of self-confidence among school students. The function was attended by the parents of meritorious students as well as the principals of 5 top schools, which topped in the “Test of Excellence”. Mrs Sarita Manuja, Principal of DAV School, while accepting the first prize thanked Dr Khera for taking keen interest in nation building through education. Dr Satya Bhalla, Director, Ajit Karam Singh International Public School, eulogised the services of Dr Khera to the city students by providing a healthy interaction with the students. The list of meritorious schools and students is as follows: Top five students: Surbhi Malik (Carmel Convent, Sec 9), Ruchi Sharma (DAV Public School, Sec 8), Manjot Singh (Shivalik Public School, Sec 41), Manu Manrai (DAV Public School, Sec 8) and Lipi Uppal (Bhavan Vidyalya, Sec 27). Top schools and principals: DAV Public School, Sec 8 (Mrs Sarita Manuja), Ajit Karam Singh International Public School (Dr Satya Bhalla), Shivalik Public School, Sec 41 (Mr D.S. Bedi), Gyan Jyoti, Mohali (Mrs Bedi), Shishu Niketan, Sec 22 (Mrs Santosh
Khurana). |
|
Environment awareness
camp Chandigarh, February 27 Sponsored by the Punjab State Council for Science and Technology, a panel of resource persons gave lectures on “Clean and healthy environment”. Maintenance of cleanliness and hygiene, especially in view of fear of plague, was the thrust area during the lectures. The PGI staff and students informed the audience about hazards of smoking and disposal of waste. Later, a demonstration on planting of ferns and palms was also given. Students participated in plantation activity and practical disposal of house waste. This was followed by a painting and slogan-writing contest. While the students painted on the topic “Grow more greens”, they wrote slogans on smoking, drinking or chopping of trees. The programme concluded with a quiz contest. The principal of the school, Mr Vijay Sharma, gave away prizes to the winners of various contests. |
|
Exchanging notes with the
British Chandigarh, February 27 He spoke at length on the historical development of the British educational system and the changes that took place in the form of decentralisation of the system in 1950. He further pointed out similarities between the Indian and British educational system and stressed on vertical and horizontal educational exchange programmes at different levels of education. He elaborated upon the role of students, teachers, trainers, fund providers, assessment and evaluation agencies and policy makers. For trainee teachers, he said that it was essential to love the child, to know the subject they were teaching and to be aware of qualifications required for becoming a good teacher. The principal of the college, Ms Satinder Dhillon, welcomed the guest speaker and reaffirmed the responsibility of a trainee institution in supporting and supplementing the education system. |
|
Jain’s police remand
extended Chandigarh February 27 The CBI had sought the police remand to extract information from him regarding documents related to the wealth recovered from him. The CBI says that he also has a property worth about Rs 90 lakh in other states. The defence counsel said the accused had already been in the police custody since February 24 and there was no need of further interrogation. The counsel said the co-accused in the case had been sent to judicial custody. Amresh Jain was posted at the Customs freight station of Ludhiana and arrested on February 23 by the CBI for allegedly possessing assets in disproportion to his known sources of income. An Inspector of Chandigarh’s Custom and Central Excise Department, Arun Kumar Singla, has already been sent to judicial custody for March 11 by the UT Chief Judicial Magistrate, Mr C.L. Mohal. The CBI DIG in Chandigarh, Dr R.K. Garg, said the CBI had recovered illegal assets and cash totalling Rs 3.5 crore from the two Customs officials arrested last week. He said the CBI had recovered Rs 2 crore and Rs 1.5 crore of assets from Amresh Jain and Arun Singla, respectively, that were disproportionate to their known sources of income. The CBI said the recoveries had been made on the basis of documents found in raids on the houses of these officials in Ludhiana and Chandigarh. |
|
3-day remand for Pakistani
national Chandigarh, February 27 Balbir Singh, who was arrested by the police in the case yesterday, was also remanded to one-day police remand by the magistrate. Balbir had allegedly helped Riyaz in the preparation of his fake passport. The accused had allegedly stayed in a Sector 45 with a fake name Vikramjit Singh, in 1999. The accused managed to get a forged ration card and a passport with the help of a city resident and former student of Panjab University. The accused had reportedly informed his neighbours that he was a resident of Ferozepore. Sources further alleged that the accused also managed to get a forged identity card of a university. |
Perfect handling of ‘Perfect Husband’ Chandigarh, February 27 “Perfect Husband”, the latest film on the rolls, is anybody’s dream film. Not just because it has a set of great performers (from Parvin Dabas and Neha Dubey to Rajeshwari Sachdeva and Amin), but also because it broaches a topic which leads the list of every young heart’s fancies. Set in a Punjabi backdrop, Priya’s new film reaches its climax after traversing the lives of three families which form quality content of Perfect Husband. The filmmaker uses her sensitivity as a creator on the one hand and a woman on the other to tell the tale of every woman’s heart. In this age of fleeting passions and volatile friendships, Priya dares to say things which may have been implied for ages, but have not been said in so many words. She says, “The film is a romantic comedy and a social satire. It talks of a woman’s expectations from her man; it touches upon dogmatic elements that mar our society. The idea is to talk of the fact that a woman should be loved for what she is and not for what she can be.” The topic of deliberation in the film may sound simple, but it is more than challenging. Simply because the issue is universal, everyone will be able to analyse it almost effortlessly. Hence greater scrutiny of how the director has handled the subject. But Priya sounds confident. After her success in small screen projects like the Dream Merchants, this one may not be so difficult to handle. Priya clarifies, “We are not here to make statements. We just want to make a point and leave it to the public for analysis.” The film, currently being shot in Chandigarh and Panchkula, has Parvin Dabas and Neha Dubey in lead roles. Parvin Dabas is only expected to be better after his true-to-life performance in Mira Nair’s Monsoon Wedding. The man is, however, not conscious of his character. As he says, “I went to two acting academies in New York. Both taught me not to act.” Parvin’s role in the film remains a mystery. He plays opposite the vivacious Neha Dubey, who set the stage on fire with Chunari Chunari in Monsoon Wedding. Both suit the director well, as Priya confirmed, “Parvin and Neha have a great chemistry on screen. I had no problem in choosing them. While Parvin had the perfect attitude I was looking for, Neha could reflect the Punjabi charms beautifully. Parvin also has the positive aura needed to project his role as a doctor. Neha can look innocent, as the script requires her to.” Meanwhile, Priya’s actors find her inspiring. While Dabas is in awe of the way she handles swift shifts with near perfection, Neha feels she knows what she wants. “Priya is open to inputs and offers space for growth and soft improvisation. This enhances the performance,” said Neha. Apart from Parvin and Neha, the film has Rajeshwari Sachdeva playing
opposites William Randel, a London-based actor, who features in the film. Pawan Malhotra of Nukkad fame has also been roped in. He plays Neha’s father. The film also has Dharam Gulati, who was the cameraman for Rudaali. Locations for the film are restricted to Chandigarh. Only one scene will be shot in Kasauli. Explained Paul, “We came to Chandigarh because we wished to trap the look of exuberant Punjab in our film. The energy, the virility and the large heartedness of Punjab is what brought us to Chandigarh.” The film revolves round three families — Khannas, Vermas and Bindras — which are shown settled in Chandigarh. As shoots progress day in and day out, Priya wears a calm face, explaining, “The transformation from small screen has not warranted much of a change. The thought process is the same, so is the marketing strategy. The only advantage is that films offer an immense scope at creativity. You can play with space and characters. You can give your best.” Interestingly, Priya got the project rolling on an astrologer’s advice. “He had asked me to start the film at a particular time. I followed him and the film is progressing fast,” said the young director. While stars remain settled for Priya, who is also producing the film, the heart and mind of Punjab await the film’s release to see how much of social acceptability it garners. |
|
City girl shortlisted for popstar
hunt Chandigarh, February 27 During her 10-day stint at Mumbai, Khushboo was constantly under the scrutiny of masters in their respective arts like Shiamak Davar, Shobha De, Seymour Styne (Madonna’s founder and groomer), Shankar, Ehsaan, Loy, (music makers of Dil Chahta Hai) and international supermodel Naomi Campbell, who was a hidden jury member. Apart the sessions from the entrants were constantly judged by Shubha Mudgal, Sandeep Chowta, Manish Malhotra and Sushma Reddy. She said today, “The first day saw us rehearsing with Shiamak Davar and his troupe. I could manage well inspite of a feeling of self-consciousness because I loved dancing”. Khushboo bagged maximum marks from Shiamak. Apart from dance sessions, there were fitness sessions with Nazim, a special session with Shobha De and yet another with Rochna, a vocalist. The contest will end with 10 girls — five regular ones, who will form the pop band, sign a one-year contract with STAR and will be paid Rs 25,000 every month; and five standbye girls in case of emergency. Flanked by proud parents, Dr G.S. Kochhar and Dr Kamaljit Kochhar, Khushboo was brimming with hope today. She said, “Every moment in Mumbai came laced with a strange kind of uncertainty. You had to be the best or else you would be out. Most of the girls could sing better than me, but I scored with my poise and gracefulness in dance and maybe the husk in my voice”. For her, the most interesting day of the stay, which was sponsored by Channel V, was one which saw 15 girls divided into groups of three each. Each group was required to write its own song, compose music, sing, do the sound recording, shoot a music video and finally perform live, just as any band would. Recalling the moments spent in Mumbai, Khushboo said, “I felt special every moment. There were times of stress, but the judges were there to cheer us. The stay was a great learning experience.” Interestingly, the song written by Pyro Females (the name of Khushboo’s group) bagged the best song slot. The vibrant girl also cannot forget the day when all the 15 girls were asked to sport Manish Malhotra costumes. As far as the question of making it to top five in goes, Khushboo certainly seems about 10 days from now to have the winning edge. Until then this young college girl is keeping her fingers crossed. |
|
Colours that stir the
soul Chandigarh, February 27 There are hues of the fire on a display in most of the creations by this head of department of the Fine Arts Department, Jalandhar. And even though the themes projected are not so fresh, they make a new statement of beauty and hope. Yellows, greens and reds dominate the scene and lend a peaceful image to the dull gallery of Kalagram. So soothing is the effect of pastels that the technique of execution does not confuse the mind any more. Finally only the visual rapport between the viewer and the work remains. Stems, leaves and flowers look stunning in spontaneity of water colours, which is the favoured medium of the artist. |
 |
| Punjab | Haryana | Jammu & Kashmir | Himachal Pradesh | Regional Briefs | Nation | Editorial | | Business | Sport | World | Mailbag | In Spotlight | Chandigarh Tribune | Ludhiana Tribune 50 years of Independence | Tercentenary Celebrations | | 122 Years of Trust | Calendar | Weather | Archive | Subscribe | Suggestion | E-mail | |
