EDUCATION

UT teachers seek staff for mid-day meal scheme
Parbina Rashid

Chandigarh, August 7
Irked by the duel responsibility of teaching as well as management of various funds and fee collections, the UT Teachers Union has planned applying pressure on the authorities for appointment of clerical staff in the schools.

This decision was taken at the general body meeting of the Association recently.

Dr Vinod Sharma, convener, UT Government Teachers Union said though various unions had approached the Administration for considering the matter, nothing has been done so far.

A section of teachers feels that the additional charge of managing funds, collection of fees or distribution of ‘matthis’ as a part of the mid-day meal scheme does rob them of their efficiency to certain degree as well as disrupt the academic schedule.

A proposal mooted by the administration about three years back for creation of non-teaching posts of clerks, ayahas and class IV employees was refused by the Union Ministry of Human Resource Development three years ago. The Administration had been advised to manage these non- teaching posts through internal adjustment.

“We had earlier approached the Centre to create non- teaching posts but were refused, so the matter do not actually lie in our hands,” says. Mr D.S. Mangat, Director Public Instruction (Schools), maintains that the distribution of mid-day meal or collection of fees is very much of a teacher’s duty.

“There are other ways of sorting out this problem,” says Mr Mangat. “For instance students can be involved in the collection of fees and deposit it with the cashier. This way they would get to learn first hand about such matters,” he said.

PU gate opposite PGI closed
Tribune News Service

Chandigarh, August 7
Panjab University today locked the entrance to the campus from the side opposite to the PGI. This happens to be the stop on the main road (Madhya Marg) and caters to the needs of a sizeable student strength.

Mr R.K. Singh, the chief security officer of the university, said the university was forced to take the step in the wake of the recent spate of violent activity on the campus. He said the university feared “too much interference” by outsiders. He was referring to “interference” in the context of a likely announcement of election to the Students Council.

He said the university will issue stickers to all vehicles entering the campus. The university during students polls last year issued different coloured stickers to different sections of visitors to the campus including teachers, non-teachers and students. A formal request in this regard has been made to the office of the Vice Chancellor.

The police station of Sector 11 today was expecting Khushbaz Singh Jattana, the prime accused in the ‘murderous assault on a leader of the rival student organisation to turn himself in. Jattana, president of SOPU, is alleged to have assaulted Malwinder Singh Kang, president of the Panjab University Students Union in the campus market on July 30.

The Welfare Society, Sector 15, under the chairmanship of Mr Rampal Sharma, vice-president of the Chandigarh Territorial Congress, in a letter to the Inspector General of Police has said that the police had registered a “false case” of indulging in campus violence against Munish Bansal. A request has been made to spare the innocent and arrest the real culprits who should be thoroughly interrogated.

Kang today went for his check-up to the PGI and was later shifted to the faculty house of the university in the evening.

Candidates for PUTA elections
Tribune News Service

Chandigarh, August 7
The final list for candidates to figure in the elections to the Panjab University Teachers Association has been finalised following the last date of withdrawals on August 5. The elections are scheduled for August 13, an official press note said here today.

Dr Harjinder Singh (Chemistry) is pitted against Dr J.K. Chauhan (Laws) for the post of the president. Dr D.S. Toor (Physical Education) has Dr R.K. Sharma (Department of Correspondence Studies) in the opposition for the post of the vice-president. Dr Akshay Kumar (English) will contest against Dr Ashwani Sharma for the post of secretary.

Dr K.K. Sharma (Department of Evening Studies) has Dr (Mrs) Praveen Rishi (Microbiology) in the opposition for the post of joint secretary. Dr R.K. Sapru (Public Administration) and Dr Rajeev Puri are contesting for the post of treasurer.

Seats vacant in UIET

Panjab University in an official press note here today has announced that certain seats are lying vacant in the University Institute of Engineering and Technology.

These vacancies pertain only to the categories of NRI, NRI-sponsored and industry-sponsored candidates. Seats are vacant in the same categories in the Departments of Chemical Engineering, Bachelor of Pharmacy and B.Sc (honours school).

Students have been asked to apply to the chairperson of the Depart-ment of Chemical Engineering and Technology. Interviews are scheduled for August 22.

PU boys’ hostel Warden gheraoed
Our Correspondent

Chandigarh, August 7
Irked by the problems faced by residents of Boys’ Hostel No. 4 of Panjab University, activists of the campus unit of the Akhil Bhartiya Vidyarthi Parishad (ABVP) gheraoed the Warden of the hostel here this evening.

However, the Warden, Mr Manoj Kumar, denied that he was gheraoed.

Mr Saurabh Joshi, secretary of the unit, told Chandigarh Tribune that there were no doors in the bathrooms on the first floor in Block No. 4 of the hostel and there were no lights in at least two corridors of the hostel.

He alleged that the tomatoes and potatoes supplied to the hostel mess during the past two days were rotten.

He said the wild growth in the grounds of the hostel was also brought to the notice of the Warden. He claimed that last week a snake had entered a room in Block No 3 of the hostel. 

Students display cooking skills
Our Correspondent

Chandigarh, August 7
Burgers, salad, cutlets and pakoras along with cakes and desserts were on display at a cooking competition organised at St Xaviers School in Sector 44 today.

Around 100 entries were received for the competition in which items were cooked with “Maggi” and “Milkmaid” as major ingredients. Students of Class VI, VII and IX came out with innovative ideas and prepared tempting dishes. 

Students from Kashmir in city to study nature
Our Correspondent

Chandigarh, August 7
A team of seven students from Kupwara and Anantnag districts visited the DAV Senior Secondary School in Sector 8 for an interactive session here on Tuesday. The team en route to Delhi and other historical places stopped here for a nature study camp at the school.

The students — four from Kupwara and three from Anantnag — along with two teachers, Mr Inder Pal Singh and Mr Mustaq Ahmed Turqi, were briefed about the study of nature, drip irrigation system, water harvesting, sprinkle system, greenhouse and other activities by Dr Vikas Kohli, co-ordinator of the Eco Club.

Special Lok Adalat settles 26 cases
Our Correspondent

Chandigarh, August 7
As many as 26 cases were settled and Rs 28.35 lakh outstanding dues of the State Bank of India was recovered in a special Lok Adalat organised by the State Legal Services Authorities(SLSA) on the premises of SLSA, in the Ground Floor of Additional Deluxe Building, Sector 9 with a view to settle the outstanding dues of the State Bank of India at pre-litigative stage here today.

A sum of Rs 28,000 was also recovered from the defaulters.

The Judge Permanent Lok Adalat-cum- a member of SLSA, Mr Sant Parkash, informed that following persons were entitled for the free legal aid: a member of a Schedule Caste or Schedule Tribe, a victim of trafficking in human beings or beggar, a woman or a child, a mentally ill or otherwise disabled person, a victim of a mass disaster, ethnic violence, caste atrocity, flood, and industrial workman, person in custody, including in a protective Home, juvenile home, psychiatric hospital or nursing home, a person whose annual income from all sources does not exceed Rs 50, 000.

Giving details about the facilities being provided to the litigants, Mr Sant Parkash, said a permanent Lok Adalat was also functioning daily in the district court premises in Sector-17, here.

CULTURE

A dancer on a creative journey
Aditi Tandon
Tribune News Service

Chandigarh, August 7
Living up to names is not an easy thing to do. But Malavika Sarukkai, the dancer who enriched the canvas of Bharatnatyam with her ever-evolving style of creation, has managed to justify her name not only in letter but also in spirit. Recently awarded the Padmashree for her ability to use dance as a medium for exploration, Malavika is still walking the path of Bharatnatyam, her religion.

Malavika’s creative journey began years ago in Mumbai when she was named after Kalidasa’s heroine by her mother Saroja Kamakshi. In the city today, Saroja Kamakshi explained her “divine” urge. “Dance is a discipline of devotion. Though I was never a dancer, I always wanted my daughter to be one. So I named her Malavika, the dancer in Kalidasa’s creation.”

Call it the power of mother’s will or anything else, Malavika was literally born into dance. She completed her arangetrum at the age of 16, after which the family shifted base to Chennai so that the budding dancer’s journey towards perfection was not interrupted. Recalls Malavika, who has just returned from a performance in Zurich, “I was fortunate to be coached by Guru Kalyanasundaram of the Tanjavur School and Guru Rajratnam of Vazhuvoor School. I also took lessons in abhinaya from guru Kalanidhi Narayanan, who opened my eyes to the world of abhinaya. Guru Rajratnam allowed me to dance the way I wanted to.”

Herself a guru at Kala Vahini now, Malavika refers to the learning process an individualistic affair. “If you want to learn the classical arts you must have a certain reverence. It’s like not choosing to storm past the patch of green grass, but finding the time to pick up a blade and admire it. Then perhaps you can learn.” It’s this very reverence which has taken Malavika places and has fetched her the most coveted of awards — from the Sangeet Natak Akademi Award to the Nrityachoodamani award, among others.

A firm believer in the continuity of the Indian classical tradition, Malavika has been able to find space for creative impulses within the tradition. Her production “Khajuraho, the temples of the sacred and the secular,” is inspired not only by the rich architecture of Khajuraho, but also the relief panels that tell the tale of warfare. She uses abstraction to reflect a theme as romantic as “sambhogam.” Her creation, “Longing (Utkantha)” looks into the urge of longing — to create, generate and nurture, to grow with the fullness of life and to reach for the sacred. It relates the poignant story of an infertile village woman, who satisfies her longing for children by planting an avenue of banyan trees all along the road leading to her village.

Another production “Kashi Yatra” is based on an eighth century text that talks of a courtesan in Kashi. Creating wonderful vocabulary and grammar, Malavika focuses on the courtesan, whose spirit is shattered by the death of a child, in whom she seeks comfort. Says Malavika, “It’s about exploring the other spaces in the life of the courtesan, who loves this child. It traces the pain of the woman, who is filled with sorrow at the death of the child. I end the piece with a poem written by my sister Priya Sarukkai Chhabria. Called “A bird in flight”, the poem symbolises the courtesan’s flight to pilgrimage.”

Choreographing diverse themes has been for Malavika a creative journey, a learning process and a challenge. “The idea must spark you off and stir you emotionally. Then comes the lyrics and the interpretation. My mother helps me with concepts,” says Malavika, who has also trained in Odissi under guru Kelucharan Mahapatra.

Bharatnatyam, however, remains her first love, as she says, “It’s awesome. It offers great movement possibilities. I have used miniature paintings and English texts in my pieces. What better adaptability can you ask for as a dancer- choreographer,” wonders Malavika, who is in the city to perform in the honour of art historian Dr B.N. Goswami, a family friend.

New Release
Sci-fi with touch of romance

Chandigarh, august 7
The master perfectionist Rakesh Roshan is all set to take centrestage again with his eleventh film beginning with the eleventh alphabet, 'Koi Mil Gaya'. the film is dubbed as Bollywood's first science fiction.

'Koi Mil Gaya' is a romantic, emotional film. This one will be released at Piccadily here and KC, Panchkula, today. Rakesh Roshan is the producer-director of this film. it has been made at a cost of Rs 30 crore. Film pundits are hopeful that KMG will get a favourable response from the audiences and it could prove a test for both the father Rakesh Roshan and son Hrithik Roshan.

'Godzilla' special effects master Mark Kolbe has been roped in for special effects, which are amazing. The animation alien is designed by Australia's Bimmini special effects house. The promos of 'Koi Mil Gaya' are getting a good response. Those who have seen the rushes predict it will be a superhit.

The film is inspired from 'Forest Gump' and ET but remains different from the two Hollywood blockbusters. Hrithik Roshan plays a mischievous mentally challenged youth with a mind of an 11- year- old boy.

Preity Zinta, Rekha, Prem Chopra, Rajeev Verma and Mukesh Rishi are the other stars. Ibrahim Ashq, Sayeed Naseer Faraz and Dev Kohli have penned the lyrics for music- director Rajesh Roshan.

There is sheer magic in Rajesh Roshan's compositions, specially Adnan Sami's song 'Jadoo jadoo'. DP