‘Career guidance must for students’
Tribune News Service

Chandigarh, April 26
The Punjab Governor, Lieut-Gen J.F.R. Jacob (retd), here today, underlined the need for evolving a system of career guidance at school and college levels for helping the students to select career according to their aptitude and choice.

Speaking after inaugurating the Career Counselling Fair organised by Youngbuzz and Hindustan Lever Limited, here today, at Government Model Senior Secondary School, Sector 16, General Jacob said in free economy, every student should have liberty to select his career. He said in India there was no proper career counselling system that could help students in selecting career according to their choice.

Earlier, the Administrator went around the fair and interacted with students. He also interacted with the Fair and Lovely super achievers which included Aarti Surendra, Meera Zaveri and Sonali Bendre.

After the Governor left, it was Sonali Bendre all the way. Students and staff of the host school crowded around her for a glimpse of the star. She obliged them with autographs.

Also present at the function were the DPI (Schools), Mr D.S. Mangat, the District Education Officer, Mr Brahmjit Kalia, and principals of various government schools, including Principal Ram Kumar Sharma of the host school.

Later, speaking about the objective of the fest, the Director, Ms Bharti Gandhi, said it enabled children to choose a career from a plethora of options available to them.

Songs, dances mark school function
Tribune News Service

Chandigarh, April 26
Songs and dances marked the annual function of Kendriya Vidyalaya, Sector 31, celebrated at Lecma Hall, Air Force Station, here today.

The programme, inaugurated by Air Cmde SB Prashar, AOC of 3 BRD, began with an invocation to Goddess Saraswati with girls dressed in vibrant hues, the stage was a riot of colours as they threw out fistfuls of Holi colours as they danced and sang.

A play “Swatantrata Ki Kahani” was also staged. A satire on the present-day politics of votes, the play was highly appreciated. Two group songs on nationalism by the junior and senior wings of the school were also presented.

The cultural programme concluded with the vibrant giddha performance which had the audience tapping their feet and clapping all through the item.

Later, a prize distribution function was also held. The wife of the chief guest, Ms Santosh Prashar, gave away prizes to 335 students for excellence in academics, cultural activities and sports. Vinay Kumar Srivastava of Class XII (science), Shalini Thakur of commerce, Hardeep Kaur of arts and Mandeep Singh of Class X for securing the highest marks in their respective classes.

The Shivaji house of the primary section and the Raman house of the senior section were declared first for their all-round performances.

Earlier, the principal of the school, Dr S.P. Shergill, welcomed the chief guest and read out the annual report of the school.

Panchnad lectures on April 27, 28
Tribune News Service

Chandigarh, April 26
Distortions in Indian history will be the topic of this year’s Panchnad lectures to be delivered by Prof Devendra Swaroop, an eminent historian and columnist, on April 27 and 28. The two-part lecture series will be organised in the DAV College seminar hall.

The first lecture on Saturday evening will discuss “Blinkered concept of Indian history” and will be delivered in the session to be held at 5.30 p.m. The second part will be delivered on April 28 in the session starting at 10 a.m. As per the past practice the lectures will be followed by question-answer sessions.

COURTS

Hooda is HC Bar Association chief
Tribune News Service

Chandigarh, April 26
Excitement broke loose on the Punjab and Haryana High Court premises late this evening as Haryana’s former Advocate-General Hawa Singh Hooda was elected President of the Punjab and Haryana High Court Bar Association after defeating his rival by 42 votes. Mr Sukhjinder Singh Behl was, elected Vice-President. The total number of votes polled was 1,817.

Ms Razia Malik and Capt Sandeep Bansal have already been elected unopposed to the post of joint secretary and the treasurer, respectively. Today, senior advocate Hooda got 917 votes, while 875 lawyers voted in favour of Mr Sarwan Gupta. Mr Behl, on the other hand, defeated the rival candidate by a margin of 295 votes. As many as 992 votes were polled in his favour, while 697 votes were cast in favour of advocate Naresh K. Sanghi.

Talking to The Tribune soon after his victory, Mr Hooda, twice appointed as the Advocate-General and association President, thanked the advocates for their efforts and support. Regarding his priorities, he said he strongly believed in the concept of a strong and independent judiciary and would work towards its achievement as the advocates could play a vital role in the process.

He added that the association under his leadership would also work towards modifying the transfer policy of judges for making it more transparent. He said the policy was a success and had enhanced the image of judiciary. For young advocates, he promised more opportunities and security in the profession.

HIGH COURT
Fix reflectors on cycle rickshaws
Tribune News Service

Chandigarh, April 26
Acting on a public interest litigation, a Division Bench of the Punjab and Haryana High Court on Friday directed the authorities concerned of Punjab and Haryana to ensure that luminescent reflectors, or tapes, were affixed on the front or rear of cycles, cycle-rickshaws and other such vehicles without lights.

Pronouncing the orders on a petition filed by Punjab Civil and Consumer Welfare Front and another petitioner, the Bench, comprising Mr Justice G.S. Singhvi and Ms Justice Bakhshish Kaur, also directed that the campaign for affixing the reflectors should start within 15 days from today and continue for three months. The case will now come up for hearing on July 16.

No sympathy for delinquents

The High Court, in a significant judgement, ruled that delinquent officers conniving even “as passive partners” in cases of fraud, embezzlement and other scams do not deserve sympathy.

Delivering the verdict on a petition filed by an upper division clerk against orders dismissing him from service, Mr Justice R.L. Anand and Mr Justice Amar Dutt ruled: “We convey our feelings to the punishing authorities that such delinquent officers who indulge in corruption, fraud, embezzlement or who connive as passive partners in these types of scams deserve no sympathy”.

Dismissing the petition, the Judges further ruled: “While invoking the jurisdiction under Article 226 of the Constitution, we have to see whether procedural irregularities have been committed by the punishing or the appellate authorities. After going through voluminous record of the case, we are of the opinion that no procedural illegality has been committed by the inquiry officer, punishing authority or the appellate authority.... Keeping in view the role attributed to the petitioner, we cannot, by any stretch of imagination, say that the punishment awarded to the petitioner was harsh or disproportionate to the charge framed against him”.

File report on court complexes

A Division Bench of the High Court has directed the filing of a fresh status report on judicial complexes under construction in Punjab and Haryana.

Issuing the directions on a bunch of petitions, the Bench, comprising Mr Justice G.S. Singhvi and Mr Justice N.K. Sud, also ruled that the issue regarding the allocation of funds for 2002-03 will be considered on the next date of hearing on May 14.

MLA’s plea for pre-arrest bail

Mr Ranjit Singh Brahmpura, MLA, filed a petition in the High Court on Friday seeking the grant of anticipatory bail or else 15 days’ notice in case a first information report was registered against him. The case will now be heard tomorrow. The MLA was apprehending implication in an alleged corruption case registered against the director and the managing director of a cooperative bank. In his petition, the MLA stated that he has either been, or would be, implicated in the case. He added that the government had adopted a revengeful attitude towards the opponents and members of the Akali Dal in order to arrest them in false cases.

Drawings which balance elation & depression
Tribune News Service

Chandigarh, April 26
A drawing ensemble opened at the Government Museum and Art Gallery, Sector 10, today. It was put up by 24 artists who indulged in self renewal through art some time back. It unveiled elation and depressions of life through the medium of drawing.

For the first time perhaps, an exhibition dedicated to drawings has come into evidence in the city. Although basic to art, not many drawing workshops have been been organised in the city lately. In fact, today’s show was the product of a workshop organised by the Chandigarh Lalit Kala Akademi on the premises of Government College of Art on April 14.

As for the creations, they live up to the very essence of an artistic process — like a running stream averse to stagnation. Each work either poses a question to the marooned social structure or becomes an answer to the reality of existence itself. The Gujarat tragedy finds place in the artist’s mind and through his mind on the white paper. Such is the honesty of portrayal by Balvinder and Viren Tanwar that one can actually witness blood all over the space.

All other works by reputed creators like Shiv Singh, S.S. Bhatti, Subhash Shorey, Rajendra Sharma, Brahm Prakash and Ravindra Sharma, light up a flame or reflect a truth. Shiv Singh’s maze of lines is all about the state of being; Subhash Shorey plays with the beauty of nature in his wonderfully-structured piece; Ravindra Sharma’s tribute to Shiva is absolute; Satwant Singh concentrates on basic instincts; SS Bhatti lights up the divine flame. Placed together, the works by 24 artists are vigorous. The patterns brim with life, adding meaning to existence.

Another strong point of the show is its unified voice and appeal. Being a product of artistic stimulation, each work compliments another and serves as a window to the world — pointing fingers at how things are and how they ought to be. For once, the purpose of this display of art is not about offering pleasure to eyes. It is more about helping our eyes watch brutal facts facing the earth.

9-yr-old presents Jaipur kathak
Tribune News Service

Chandigarh, April 26
There is nothing wrong with a nine-year-old holding a concert, but any form of art requires a certain element of maturity for being handled. Today, Devanshi Mishra took on the stage with confidence and energy. Beginning with an invocatory sequence, she went on to take care of the nuances of Jaipur kathak, the stream which lays emphasis on sophistication and rhythm. In keeping with the fact that Devanshi is a very young performer, her presentation was decent enough. She held her energy levels high and did fair justice to the techniques of Jaipur kathak, presenting that, tode paran, chakdradhar paran, jhala and many more such sequences. While poise was not missing in her recital, maturity was somewhere lacking.

And that because of the element of age. In her second presentation today, Devanshi reflected her knowledge of the tenets of Jaipur kathak tradition, but in so far as expression is concerned, her recital was wanting. Trained by two gurus Sanjay and Yogesh, the little girl is sure to go a long way when seen from the angle of vigour and zeal. But it will take some time before she can handle “bhava”, which is the quintessence of any dance tradition of India.

Present on the occasion as chief guest was Adviser to the UT Administrator Ms Neeru Nanda. Guru Rajendra Gangani of Jaipur kathak gharana was the guest of honour.

Capturing nature on paper
Parbina Rashid

Chandigarh, April 26
Strokes of colours produce spectacular results when one uses his imagination to imitate nature. Nature paintings by Ashwani Kumar Verma, currently on display for public viewing at the Kalagram Art Gallery, is such an attempt to capture dreamy landscapes with a haziness all over, hiding and revealing the nature’s secretes.

“Nature is the most fascinating subject for an artist to capture,” says Ashwani Verma, a teacher by profession who is teaching art at Kendriya Vidyalaya in Jalandhar. “Nature changes hues, colours every second which is mysterious and unpredictable,” he adds.

And the mystic element that underlines his 42 paintings is what draws you like a magnet. At the same time it excites you as you can spot your favourite place in Himachal and Punjab. “Though I drew inspiration from picturesque spots of Manali, Mani Karan, Dalhousie and vast stretches of fields in Hoshiarpur, none of my creations tally the actual spot as there are always some addition or subtraction in the terrains based on my imagination,” he says. So you can get a fresh view of your own neighbourhood looking through his eyes.

“The techniques in water colour have gone under revolution in the recent years,” says Ashwani referring to the techniques adopted by the Shanti Niketan artists who go into details of a painting by applications of extra surface materials to give a three-dimensional effect.

Ashwani holds a MA (fine arts) degree from Panjab University and has participated in a number of solo and group shows all over the country. Honoured with a long list of awards by art bodies like Indian Academy of Fine Arts, Amritsar, Punjab Lalit Kala Academy. Chandigarh, KVS awards, New Delhi, Punjab Art Heritage, Jalandhar, and many more.

Moments of natural splendour
Tribune News Service

Chandigarh, April 26
Capturing moments in all their glory seems to be a way of life for M.S. Randhawa who displayed his prints in the gallery of IndusInd Bank today. Rooted to nature and its splendour, the photographs reflect magic of moments, beautiful and serene.

Featured in the collection are the best of places and the best of ambience. Nature remains the constant theme of creation. Deriving inspiration from the mighty trees with branches spread out like arms of God, Randhawa holds on to the beauty and seals it there and then. The most beautiful manifestations of nature and flowers are also focused in all their glory. Shapes, sized and appearances in which the flowers feature, inspire the urge to live, smile and make peace with the surroundings. Also featured are some works on exotic foreign locations. Om, the perennial source of energy, links all the prints in a common thread.

Streaks of experimentation cannot be ruled out in the works which blend creativity and imagination with techniques of the trade.