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| Sunday,
August 4, 2002, Chandigarh, India
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Schools frown on use of ‘Hinglish’ Chandigarh, August 3 “Hinglish”, they agree, is fashionable. “But any language, be it Hindi or English, loses its character and depth when you treat it casually,” they say. Giving details, a school teacher asserts, “Blending Hindi, Punjabi and English, is in vogue not only among college students, but also among school kids, no doubt about it. But adding slang, using abbreviations and coining new words is just not the right practice.” Offering an example, she asserts, “If you do not stop them, rickshaws becomes rickas and gulab jamun jolly boys. ‘Geri’ is now considered an accepted word in English. You do not even turn around when someone says ‘yaar’ his ‘fandas’ are clear or her dress is simply ‘mast’. Impurity in language is unfortunately now an accepted fact.” Going into the background of the new trend, the teacher claims, Children are not exactly to be blamed for this. In a large number of cases, it has come to our notice that parents, consider Hinglish to be a status symbol and encourage their children to blend languages. It sounds cool — the uptown parents claim. In certain other cases, children substitute words from other language when they cannot think of an appropriate word, or are not sure of it.” She further claims, “There is another reason for it. Actors on the small screen play with languages every now and then. Even in songs you have a mixture of Hindi, Punjabi and English. Little wonder, children do not even realise that blending results in corrupting language.” No matter what the reason behind this “disturbing trend” is, the school authorities are issuing detailed letters to parents asking them to “tell their children to speak one language at a time.” They are also requesting parents to ensure that the young learners “speak in English while at school”. “The intentions behind the instructions are to encourage children to think and articulate in English effectively,” the teacher says. “We have nothing against other languages. The reality is that in majority of the cases, children are well-versed with both comprehension and articulation of their mother tongue. As English is the second language, extra efforts are sometimes required on part of students as well as instructors.” She concludes, “However, our efforts to build up a strong language base go down the drain if parents do not stop their children from messing the language. All we are asking mummies and daddies of the world to do is to make sure that their kids keep the languages pure.” |
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Seminar
on portal trends Chandigarh, August 3 A team of Infosys Technologies Limited, comprising Mr Narinder Pal Singh, Ms Amarjeet Kaur Virdi and Mr Abhishek Aggarwal, addressed the seminar. There was a talk on the emerging opportunities in the field of information technology (IT) in India vis-à-vis the US followed by a date with experts and an interactive open house. Mr Narinder Pal Singh presented a paper on the basics of portals and their business trends. He explained how the portal-implementation could help to enhance the value proposition of existing applications. He said even in current financial crisis enterprises were proposing to invest in portal implementation. Ms Amarjeet Kaur Virdi and Mr Abhishek Aggarwal, IT experts of Infosys, spoke about portal and portal architecture. A case-study of a real-life project executed for a chemical firm by Infosys was also presented. The seminar was attended by as many as 45 professionals of various companies. |
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Smiles
for senior citizens on Guru’s birthday Chandigarh, August 3 “The collective celebration was aimed at providing lonely senior citizens with solace and company,” said a teacher. Teachers, students and the Ms Harpreet Kaur, Principal of the school, recited hymns from Gurbani, served ‘langar’, presented ‘shabads’ and delivered lectures on the life and teachings of the Guru. The gathering recalled the Guru’s service to people down with smallpox. |
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Vanamahotsava
in school Chandigarh, August 3 The function was organised by Region XIII of District 321-F Lions Club, Lions Club Chandigarh “Host”, Lions Club Lotus, Lions Club Chandigarh Grace, Lions Club Manimajra, Lions Club Mohali, Lions Club Shivalik and Lions Club Rajpura. Addressing the gathering after inaugurating the plantation drive, the Region Chairman of District 321-F, Mr R.K. Rana, said it was essential to grow more trees for fresh air and combating pollution due to vehicular traffic. |
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7 nominations
for PUTA chief Chandigarh, August 3 Withdrawals will be accepted till August 5, a press note said, here today. Those contesting for the post include Dr Anirudh Joshi, Dr J.K. Chauhan, Dr Lalit K. Bansal, Dr M.P. Sharma, Dr P.K. Mittal, Dr Rajeshwar Sharma and Dr Ronki Ram. Elections are also scheduled for the posts of the vice-president, the secretary, the joint secretary, and the treasurer. |
HIGH COURT Chandigarh, August 3 Delivering the verdict on a petition filed by the Union of India against the award of compensation to an employee in a pension case, Mr Justice Viney Mittal of the high court ruled: “The District Consumer Disputes Redressal Forum and the State Consumer Disputes Redressal Commission are both creations of the statute and, therefore, derive their jurisdiction and powers from the provisions of the said statute and are courts of limited jurisdiction. Such statutory forums do not enjoy any plenary or inherent power as enjoyed by a civil court”. Mr Justice Mittal added: “Unless or until it is shown that the complaint filed by a consumer falls within the four corners of the Consumer Protection Act of 1986, neither the forum nor the state commission have any jurisdiction in the matter to deal with such a complaint”. In their petition the Union of India had earlier submitted that Gurgaon’s District Consumer Disputes Redressal Forum acting on a complaint filed by Mr B.S. Yadav alleging deficiency in service on part of the Central Pension Accounting Office had ordered the payment of Rs 1,000 as compensation to the complainant. An appeal against the orders was subsequently dismissed by the Haryana State Consumer Disputes Redressal Commission after holding that the amount was “too meagre”. Challenging the orders the counsel for Union of India had contended that their relationship with Mr Yadav was not of a consumer and a service provider. Allowing the petition, Mr Justice Mittal observed: “The district forum and the state commission did not have any jurisdiction in the mater to entertain the complaint…. It is abundantly clear that Mr Yadav by any stretch of imagination cannot bring himself within the definition of a consumer and, therefore, question of deficiency in service does not arise”. FIR against chemist quashed The Punjab and Haryana High Court has quashed an FIR registered under the Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances Act, and consequential proceedings, against a retail chemist having norphine injections in his possession. Pronouncing the orders, Mr Justice Viney Mittal observed: “The entire case against the petitioner is that he was possessing Norphine injection. In fact, the seized substance was a manufactured drug and was not covered under the provisions of the NDPS Act. In this view, I hereby quash the FIR dated July 6, 1996, and consequential proceedings against the petitioner”. |
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FILM REVIEW
Even the backing of a big Bollywood name like Harmesh Malhotra is unlikely to save a sure debacle at the box-office despite an encouraging cast for such films that have a very good track record. The faces on the screen include Govinda, Raveena Tandon, Kader Khan, Shakti Kapoor and Asrani, to name a few. The scenes have been stretched a little more than necessary and dialogues to evoke laughter seem to fall flat. The script is not convincing in covering the language of the Mumbai underworld and lesser convincing in its screen rendering. The ‘hero of the masses’ has not done justice to the role of a foreign returned English speaking high-class lad. Kader Khan is running a shop of pirated and stolen articles. He has a massive support of the underworld. He wants his daughter Raveena to be married off in the house of some high-flying don. He selects Shakti Kapoor in a jail who has a “glorious crime record”. Raveena meanwhile falls for Govinda. Tikku Talsania and Anjana Mumtaj also feature in an average presentation. Sameer has lent lacklustre words in lyrics to an equally average music by Anand Milind. Story and screenplay has been done by Rajeev Kaul and Praful Parekh; Anwar Khan has written the dialogues; Shyam Shipogkar is the cinematographer; R. Verma has given the art; Mahendra Verma is the action director; and Govind Dalwadi has edited. Ganesh Acharya has been unable extract the best out of the effortless dancer and master screen captivator. Raveena also has nothing significant or better to offer.
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WESTERN FILM REVIEW CHANDIGARH: Steven Spielberg lives in, thinks of and works for the future. “I think all of us would love to know what is just around the corner”, the director who has made science fiction his signature trait, said in a recent interview, adding “we’d all love to know what is going to happen next — in the world, in our lives”. His futuristic action thriller, “Minority Report” (Kiran), deals with the concept of what if people had the chance to know certain things about the future. The world Spielberg has envisaged is set in the year 2054 in Washington DC. Crime has been eliminated in the city. The future is seen and the guilty punished before the crime has been committed. All this has been possible due to the efforts of the Pre-Crime unit of the Justice Department, headed by John Anderton (Tom Cruise), which hunts down potential murderers through the psychic abilities of “Pre-Cogs”, the three beings kept in a liquid chamber suspension who can foresee a murder and help Pre-Crime prevent it. The visions of “Pre-Cogs” have always proved right. John has come to believe they cannot go wrong. But this time, there is a problem. The three have presaged a murder and the would-be killer’s identity — John will murder a stranger in less than 36 hours. Devastated by the prediction, John is now on the run with his own unit, led by his rival, Danny Witwer ( Colin Farrell), tracking his every move. He wants an answer to only one question: Is it possible for “Pre-Cogs” to be wrong? Based on a short story by the late science fiction writer, Philip K. Dick, ‘‘Minority Report’’, with 481 visual effects shots, more than in any Spielberg film, may be lapped up in a big way by spectacle freaks. What any other director would have reduced to a farcical flirtation with fantasy has been turned into a complex exploration of the cerebral and emotional worlds of the protagonist, who becomes a victim of a system he had so assiduously worked to build. It is about science and technology. It is also about destiny and nature. Stupefied? What has science got to do with destiny, you may wonder. But then, hasn’t Spielberg always envisioned such paradoxical worlds for you and has almost always succeeded in making you live in them? |
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Of sculptural
forms and melodious tunes Chandigarh, August 3 The evening rolled on with Sanchita Bhattacharya's odissi recital which brought the beauty of the Jagannath sculptures alive. Embodying grace, subtlety and vitality, the danseuse led the audience through a spiritual path using her dance form as a tool for worship. With absolute devotion in each item, Sanchita managed a applause every now and then. Opening her recital in a non-customary fashion (she presented a ‘dashavataram’ instead of the traditional ‘mangalacharan’), Sanchita combined the elements of gestures and ‘abhinaya’ to offer pleasure to the audience. In the first presentation, she enacted the incarnations of Lord Vishnu right from meen (fish) to Parsurama. Then came the item which is synonymous with spring, hence growth and vitality. Set to raga ‘saveri, Pallavi’ was a virtual delight to the eyes. Capturing beauty of nature and the element of growth in her dance, Sanchita quite well proved her lineage. From ‘Pallavi’ to a pure ‘abhinaya piece’, sanchita completed the cycle gracefully. She chose to dance on a beautiful piece by poet Shalo Baig, who, being a Muslim, was never allowed inside the Jagannath temple. In the piece, the poet calls upon the Lord to break the walls of hatred among people. After a pure item laced with gestures, came the soft and subtle ‘moksha’ which was combined with ‘Durgastuti’. Wearing inimitable calm, the dancer gave meaning to the final presentation. In her facial as well as bodily gestures, she was more than just perfect. Odissi gave way to santoor and its melodies, as created and unleashed by Pt Tarun Bhattacharya, who is credited with the creation of a ‘shataktantri’ veena. Accompanied by a master tabla player in Amjad Khan Chowdhury, Pt Bhattacharya went on to cast a magical spell on the audience. He played all forms of music right from ‘alaap’, ‘jod’, ‘jhala’ and ‘jhaptaal vilambit’ to ‘teen taal drut’ in ‘raga raageshwari’. With absolute control over the nuances of raga, Pt Bhattacharya beautifully unfolded it before the audience, exposing it in sift, subtle layers of melody. Experimentation with techniques and delightful modification as the hallmark of Pt Bhattacharya's presentation this evening. Wedded to the santoor from as young an age as eight, Pt Bhattacharya had picked up the art form from his father Pt Ravi Bhattacharya during the initial years. After presenting his first stage show at eight years of age, he went under the tutelage of Pt Dulal Roy, further refining him self on the instrument. His stint as a student under Pt Ravi Shankar helped him the most. As the artiste admits, "Although Pt Ravi Shankar's discipline is sitar, he is well-versed with the nuances of santoor. He passed on to me the invaluable knowledge of the principles of music, its ideals and disciplines. Ever since childhood, I was reared in an ambience filled with music. It was natural for me to become a musician." His grandfather was a singer of mettle and his father is credited with the establishment of a music institute in Kolkata. Called Santoor Ashram, the institute provides free education in music to the interested students. Pt Bhattacharya informs, "Our objective is to create and nurture musicians for the coming generations, also to inculcate interest among the students." |
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Practising
music beyond deejay’s closet Chandigarh, August 3 And fortunately for Amit, he possesses both these assets. Essentially a dancer, who worked as a lead choreographer with ace singer Parvati Khan for some years, Amit rose as a deejay when he mixed Hindi films songs under the title of Jhatka mix some time back. Identified with pulsating tunes and vigorous beats, Amit courted fame in the field very fast, fast enough to stand parallel to many famous deejays in Mumbai. Today, he has no time to be associated with a single club as a deejay. As he says, “There is so much of music happening. The many projects at hand do not leave me with any time to be in job at a particular place. I like to travel, catch tunes floating in the air and make my own music. That is the only way to grow in this profession.” Strangely, Amit never regrets having left active dancing, despite the fact that he bagged the best choreographer award at the all-India dance championships, judged by Javed Jafferey some years back. “Music is any day a better healer. And I always imagined myself making or mixing music. I had my fill as a dancer. I performed extensively and directed many dancers. Having done all this, I decided to move ahead. The opportunity came one day and I cut the Jhatka mix album, which did the trick for me,” said the young DJ. Born and brought up in Mumbai, Amit grew up on music. Currently taking the second-grade training in piano, Amit plans to master the western classical music stream. “That will help me relate better with all music now happening in the West. Latin American singers like Shakira and Enrique have a great fan following in India. As a deejay, I must be able to mix these tunes with those from my own land. The blend should be natural and should not sound jerky. In order to achieve that level of music mixing I must know the Western discipline myself.” As a deejay, Amit values the happiness of crowd the most. “If I am not able to make them happy, I am worth nothing at all. I should be able to catch the pulse of people and take them to the height of pleasure through art. Most of the people here like Hindi commercial music.” Still learning and understanding the nuances of music, Amit does not want to limit his scope with deejaying alone. “That is not my cup of tea. My area of activity lies beyond the stage and the deejay closet. I want to master all instruments from the keyboard to the synthesiser. Someday I see myself making my own music.” With rhythm commanding him, Amit performed for the second time at Aerizzona in Sector 9 today. Last time he had accompanied singer Micky Narula to the discotheque.
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‘Ankhiyon Se Goli Mare’ (Nirman and KC, Panchkula) is a loosely packaged comedy ‘masala’ which lacks in slickness of the dialogues typical to situational comedies and smartness of presentation.