When school dons kids’ colours
Our Correspondent

Ludhinan, June 27
It was a different experience for the Kids of Chanda Mama Play School when they were told to try their hands on the school boundary walls at the conclusion of the summer camp here today.

Children were thrilled to work with larger brushes on a wider scale. They started with some patches but were quick enough to move on to the larger scale. The whole exercise was to build their confidence.

Drama and story telling sessions were held during the camp along with indoor and outdoor games.

English speaking classes saw children shedding their inhibitions. A day was specially reserved to teach them good habits, good values, etiquettes and table manners through a questionnaire. Ms Harpreet Kaur Gill said counselling parents would be held on July 13 and the evening would be celebrated as “ Ek sham bachon ke naam”.

Workshop for kids at PAU

Ludhiana, June 27
A five-day summer workshop for children organised by the Department of Human Development and Sociology, Punjab Agricultural University, concluded here today. Dr S.K. Mann delivered a talk on balanced diet this morning. She told kids to avoid junk food such as noodles, chips, cold drinks and chocolates. Dr Sarita Saini, assistant professor, took a class on self-help skills. Dr H. Verma, trained them in yoga. OC

CMC entrance test results declared
Our Correspondent

Ludhiana, June 27
Brijesh Takkar, a student of Sacred Heart Convent Senior Secondary School, Sarabha Nagar, has topped the MBBS entrance examination to Christian Medical College here from the general category, the results of which were declared last evening.

Jatinder Goel has stood second and Ankur Gupta third. As many as 3,125 candidates from all over India had appeared for the entrance test to MBBS, BDS and B.Sc. Nursing at CMC.

Dr Anup Benjamin, Registrar, said the counselling for all selected candidates would be held on July 14. He said the results were available on the site www.cmcl.as.

CULTURE

From engineering to showbiz
Asha Ahuja

Ludhiana, June 27
“As a host of the show my prime duty is to make people forget their anxieties and tensions. If I succeed in this, I feel I have been a success,” says Jo Baath, a well-known anchor and DJ. He was in the city to host a show for a cement company.

He adds: “Right from the beginning I had decided that while anchoring a show, I would not crack jokes, recite couplet, resort to mimicry and deliver dialogues. I tired to interact with people and humour came out of situations. I have been doing so and I am still getting hired.” Jo Baath changed the course of his life many a time and finally chose to host TV shows and stage shows and be a DJ. All rolled into one.

Jo Baath was Amarjot Singh Baath when he went to study Automobile Engineering in Australia. He studied hard and worked in the evenings to get his degree. His friends nicknamed him “Jo” in Australia. Then why did he discard his degree and jump into show business? “There is no business like show business,” says Jo.

When he returned from Australia he got a number of modelling assignments. He adds with a wry humour: “Then I was trim and slim. I modeled for prestigious companies. But then I decided to enhance my portfolio and from modelling I moved on to become a Radio Jockey on Times FM. Soon I was hosting live shows. I anchored “Main nahin kheda” and “Ek minute dian khedan” on Alpha Punjabi TV. Now I plan to host shows for children on TV channels, as there is a dearth of programme for children on TV.”

Though Jo presently lives in Delhi, he was brought up in Chandigarh. He says: “During our summer vacations, we used to go to my mother’s native village near Phagwara. I grew up listening to songs of Asa Singh Mastana, Ramta, Kuldip Manak, etc. I now want to promote the songs of these singers who had enriched Punjabi music by singing timeless songs. After a thorough research, I would like to bring out a remix album of songs of these singers.

“Punjabi folk music is transforming with modern times but there are some songs that are an insult to Punjabi culture. Punjabis are emotional about two things — their food and ‘boli’. If these are adulterated, they cannot stomach them. Some catch words do not make music.”

Jo feels these songs will fade away just as rap songs have faded away. Every singer has his/her own style and it will be appreciated as long as they do justice to music.