Members of DUTA stand their ground
Sanjog Gupta

New Delhi, September 29
The Workload Committee constituted by the Vice-Chancellor of Delhi University to review the teachers’ workload submitted its final report on Friday. The committee decided to include two divergent opinions of its members in its report.

Meanwhile, the V-C’s appeal to call off DUTA relay hunger strike fell on deaf ears as the members continued their stir on third day. Anuradha Anand, an executive member had to be admitted in St. Stephen’s Hospital on Saturday night after complaints of high blood pressure.

In the course of the Workload Committee meeting, two opposing factions had emerged – one supporting an increase in workload and the other opposing it. The majority opinion that emerged from the committee is that the Ordinance XIII of the Academic Council on the issue of teachers’ workload be amended to incorporate an increase in teachers’ workload by one hour.

“Every teacher shall be required to teach up to 16 hours per week.” The minority faction on the committee is of the opinion that Ordinance XIII should be upheld and teachers’ workload is held at 15 hours a week.

DUTA is vehemently opposing the majority opinion on the grounds of “academic irrationality”. DUTA is also cross with the committee for stepping beyond its jurisdiction and opining on issues, which fall outside its purview.

Sanjaya Bohidar, DUTA Treasurer said, “We are applying moral pressure on the academic community to take the academically viable decision.” DUTA contends that an increase in teaching hours would lead to a 10-15 per cent retrenchment in teaching jobs, which will adversely affect ad hoc and temporary teachers. They have further contended that such a decision would also negatively impact the teaching profession in the long run.

The Workload Committee Report – including both opinions – will be presented before the 128-member Academic Council, which convenes on October 1 to decide on the issue of teachers’ workload.

SCHOOL BUZZ
A pulsating quiz to discover the world
Smriti Kak

PULSATING! How else can we describe the Discovery Channel Quiz 2002 that took place in the Capital’s Sardar Patel Vidyalaya. For the Delhi finals, quizmaster Derek O’Brien and the bunch of whiz kids put a show that was truly an enriching experience.

While Aritra Gupta and Shreyas Rangan of DPS, R K Puram, came first, Milind and Arup of Mother’s International, came second in the senior’s team.

In the junior’s team, Blue Bells represented by Srijan and Preet Angad Singh came first and the runners-up were Ayush Kulkarni and V Ananth from Ahlcon Public School.

Interesting rounds ranging from Truth or Scare, underwrite, Eye-ris and Blink-by-blink had the competitors inching ahead to press the buzzers and march ahead.

The quiz also introduced a fun round called “Think Healthy Eat Healthy” where each team was given Britannia biscuit packs, which had to be propped straight. The team with the maximum number of standing packs was the winner.

Bharatanatyam danseuse Geeta Chandran was the guest of honour and gave away the prizes.

Vision 2002

The literary works exhibited at Sadhu Vaswani International School for Girls.

Prof C. J. Daswani inaugurated an exhibition ‘Vision 2002’ the future of planet Earth at Sadhu Vaswani International School for Girls. The exhibits included charts, stills models and live displays in the form of skits.

While the literature section stressed on the aspects of personality that are desirable in the future man, working models of super conductivity, laser and a solar scare crow drew attention of the visitors. The visitors who were generous with applause duly acknowledged the hard work put in by the students and their teachers.

Zonal sports meet

Mr Balram .G. Srivastava, Dy. Director Education, inaugurated the zonal sports meet at Jain Mrigawati School in Nangli. Mr Devi Singh, Education Officer, was also present on the occasion. He exhorted the students for maximum participation in games for their over all development. Sports convenor Anil Kumar pointed out that 75 schools would participate in these games.

There will be 13 events, which will be organised in different schools till the November 8, 2002.

Silver jubilee feast

Chief Election Commissioner J. M. Lyngdoh gets a warm welcome at Mata Jai Kaur Public School.

A weeklong festival of academics as well as co-curricular activities took place in Mata Jai Kaur Public School. The festival, MJKP 2K2, was organised to mark the silver jubilee celebrations of the school.

The event was meant as a forum for students to interact with each other and foster a spirit of healthy competition. The festival began with a Bhai Sahab Ditta Mal English Debate, organised on the topic ‘Selfishness is a virtue in today’s world’. More than 20 schools participated in the debate.

Chief Election Commissioner J. M. Lyngdoh was the chief guest. Among those present were Chairperson of the school, Mr Surjeet Singh and Vice-chairperson, Ms Rasna Singh.

The judges included Mr K.T.S. Tulsi, Senior Advocate, Dr Bhasin, Reader, ARSD College and Lecturer in English, Mr Subash Sehgal.

Ruchi Saraf of Lancer’s Convent, bagged the first prize and a cash award of Rs 2,000, Shivani Gupta of Jaspal Kaur Public school came second and won a cash prize of Rs 1,500. The prize for the third best speaker and a cash prize of Rs 1,000 was won by Sarthak of the host school.

Divya Tuteja of the host school collected the best interjector award, she won a cash prize of Rs 500. The rolling trophy was bagged by Lancer’s Convent.

Chotta VJ

Shiv all set to make his debut as the Chotta VJ.

Here is a deadly combo of brains and brawn. There may not be enough triceps (as of now) to give the older guys a run for their money, but the muscles of his grey matter are something you have to acknowledge.

Meet Shiv Tandan from Ambala, who is all set to make his screen debut as the Chotta VJ on Nickelodeon.

The five feet and one inch tall is also a topper in class apart from being a trained classical singer, a tennis player, a computer and music addict.

Chosen for his talent, spontaneity, and fun-loving attitude, Shiv will be hosting Bollywood music-based show, starting November 2002.

Here is what the star has to say, “I simply can’t believe that I have become the Nickelodeon chotta VJ, but now that I am one, I am going to try and use the platform given to me to spread awareness about social evils that are plaguing our society, about the precious wildlife we need to preserve and have fun”. The fun has already begun, Shiv!

PRINCIPALSPEAK
The person who risks nothing, does nothing

WE live in a world that is full of fears. It is in our talk, on our faces and in our bearing. It has become a part of our lives - the fear of failure, fear of being laughed at, fear of darkness, of being late, of questioning what we consider wrong, in fact there is a whole lexicon pertaining to fear.

Parents scare children to discipline them and the kids grow up with fear. They carry this fear to school, and fear strict teachers and examinations. It paralyses, unnerves, numbs and incapacitates us in to mental wrecks.

We cannot let this happen, life is too precious to be bogged down by fears. The only way to release our emotional brakes and move forward is by building a positive attitude, high self-esteem and acting responsibly. When our minds are filled with courage we forget fears and overcome obstacles. The ups and downs of life have to be taken into stride.

With faith in ourselves and in the almighty we can go through the most trying times. Our faith and our convictions give us strength and courage to discover a fearlessness we thought we do not possess.

As long as listen to the voice of our conscience, we cannot go wrong. It is the courage born out of our conscience, which made great men like Mahatma Gandhi, Martin Luther King and Abraham Lincoln fearless and rebel against injustice.

Swami Sukhabodhananda, a spiritual guru of our times exhorts people to strive for action that is free from fear. Her says, “We must free ourselves from the fear oriented living to possibility-oriented living. All successful, powerful people are those who saw possibilities in situations”. The message is clear. Pain and failure should not be seen as obstacles, but as stepping-stones to success and happiness.

Nature is our first teacher. It urges us to overcome fears and take the required risks. Should we never teach our children to walk for the fear that they will fall?

Success necessarily involves taking risks, which are not the same as gambling foolishly and irresponsibly.

Many opportunities are lost because of hesitation borne out of fears and doubts. Once some one asked a farmer if he has planted wheat for the season. The farmer replied, “No I was afraid it might rain”. The man asked if he planted corn. The farmer replied, “No I was afraid of the insects that eat corn”. Finally, the man asked what he has planted, the farmer said, “Nothing. I played safe”.

How desirable is it to play safe if it results in inaction?

I quote the lines of a famous poem, “The person who risks nothing, does nothing, has nothing and is nothing…”

Madhu Chandra, Principal, Birla Vidya Niketan

COURTS

7-year RI for murder
Our Correspondent

Narnaul, September 29
Mr Laxman Sharma, Additional Session Judge, Narnaul, has sentenced Ajit Singh, son of Mool Chand (28), an Ahir by caste, a resident of Maksuspur village (Mahendragarh district) for committing murder punishable under Section 302 of the IPC.

The judge sentenced the accused to rigorous imprisonment for 7 years and also to pay a fine of Rs 5,000. According to the prosecution on April 4, 1988, Ajit Singh was beating his wife Bhrpai and creating a nuisance. Jai Chand, Vijai and Pehlad and others were sitting in the house of one Hanuman. On hearing the commotion, Jai Chand went to the house of Ajit Singh and cautioned him against making a noise at an odd hour. Vijay and Pehlad also followed him.

At this, Ajit Singh lifted ‘kassi’ (spade) and attacked them, with the result they were seriously injured and shifted to Post-Graduate Institute of Medical College, Rohtak. One of them succumbed to his injuries.

Play on Punjabis’ multicultural dilemma
Tribune News Service

New Delhi, September 29
For the first time in India, famous Punjabi play ‘Kamloops Ki Machiliya’, written by Amarjeet Singh, was staged by Shriram Centre Repertory here. The play is directed by Mushtaq Kak.

Many shows of this play were earlier organised in Canada because of its connections to our transatlantic cousins. Play is all about the situation in Canada where a large number of Punjabis have settled. It is about how the third and fourth generations are grappling with the problems of life in an alien land. The protagonist of this play is a middle class family of Punjabi migrants in Toronto. Kamloops Ki Machiliya’ analyses the psychopathological process in a middle-aged couple torn between the pulls of Indian and Canadian cultures. Their young son is confused in his relationship with an American mistress, an Indian beloved settled in Canada, an unknown fiancee back in Punjab and an illiterate wife through immigration, is all praise for a Canadian life but secretly feels guilty of deserting his faithful spouse.

The most haunting of all incidents is that of a grandfather left all alone in the basement. He lives mentally in India and craves to return to his country.

According to a 0popular belief, the fish in the Kamloops river lays eggs before dying. All characters in the play live the worst of both the western and Punjabi culture.

The multicultural dilemma of the Punjabi-Western self lies in all these characters, thus pointing to the various paths, an immigrant might tread in an alien land. The play begins with a cocktail party in the house to celebrate the marriage of the elder son. The newly-wed couple are on their way to Toronto from England where the marriage was solemnised.