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Cyprus team in city to woo
students Chandigarh, December 3 Offering on-the-spot admissions, they informed parents and students that Cyprus was a safe and quiet place where the cost of living was reasonable. They promised wide exposure for those opting for any of the undergraduate and postgraduate courses. “We are rated as the third country in the world in terms of education. This makes good faculty available to us. The emphasis in classrooms is essentially on interaction,” they said. Stating that the average study cost was nearly $ 5,000, they added that the students had the option of taking hostel accommodation, an apartment on the campus or rented accommodation outside the campus. “We have semester system and admissions take place thrice a year. On our campus, we have almost 12 per cent students coming from India. Their experience has shown that the level of secondary education in India is very high, which is essential for the success of college education. Indian students are fluent in English, hardworking, and excel in their respective fields. We are encouraged by this and come back to India for more students,” said Ms Alexandrou, Director, Admissions. While there are hardly any opportunities for Indian students in search of jobs in Cyprus, the foreign students can seek limited hours of work while they study. “We lay a lot of emphasis on practical work and the class strength could be anywhere between 10 to 35 students. The class is small in size so that personal attention can be given to every student. We have had a majority of the Indian students opting for hotel management and business management,” said Ms Makriyiannis, Assistant Director of Admissions. While they accepted that education standards in India were among the best in the world, they added that the seminar was an effort to create awareness that educational opportunities existed in countries other that the USA and the UK. “We will soon become a part of the European Union and would be able to give greater exposure to our students. The, studying in Cyprus would be as good as in any other European country, only at a lower cost,” Ms Alexandrou added. |
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Songs, dances mark school
function Chandigarh, December 3 Tiny tots of the junior wing, dressed in colourful attires, weaved magic through a song and dance sequence, transporting the audience to the Onam celebrations and festivities and enchanting Arabian nights. The programme began with a medley of nursery rhymes and songs by students of the pre-nursery class which was followed by an item titled “Heart-stealers” which saw the children dance to the peppy “Ketchup song”. In perfect
synchronisation with the music, the little gymnasts gave a laudable performance before a packed hall. An English play “Choclates in Your Dreams Too” was also appreciated. The chief guest, DPI (Schools), Mr D.S. Mangat, gave away prizes to meritorious students. While Anushka Sharma of Class II was given the Jefferson Samuel Charles rolling trophy for the best student in cultural activities, the rolling trophies of the “Most Discipline Class”, “Best Dressed Class”, “Best Kept Class” went to Class I-B, KG-A and KG-B respectively. The Shining Star trophies for outstanding performance in carrom and art went to Samridhi Piplani and Anushka Sharma, respectively. The programme ended with the students presenting “Let Peace Prevail”, which took the audience back to the days of devastation caused by Partition. While Pragaya, a student of Class IV, welcomed the parents and other guests, Raghav Bhardwaj of the same class proposed a vote of thanks. The programme ended with the National Anthem. |
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10-day NSS camp
inaugurated Chandigarh, December 3 At the Home for Juveniles, Sector 15, the NSS volunteers would teach them making paper file covers and book-binding, besides teaching them to read and write. At the venue for the base camp, they would sensitise children against cruelty to animals, promote vegetarianism and undertake anti-rabies vaccination and de-worming. Students from the college mentioned the objectives and role of the NSS and the projects that would be undertaken by the college volunteers within these 10 days at different centres adopted by the college. The camp would be held at Bal Niketan and Old People Home in Sector 15, Sahyog in Sector 41, Savera in Sector 42, Institute for Mentally Handicapped Children in Sector 32, SPCA in Sector 38, Missionaries of Charity in Sector 23, Blood Bank Society at the PGIMER, Institute for Blind in Sector 26 and Police Counselling Cell in Sector 17. The base camp was set up at Kajheri. The chief guest at the inauguration ceremony was Dr Subhash Gakkhar, Chairperson of the Education Department, Panjab University. The Principal, Dr Satinder Dhillon, also spoke. |
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An afternoon of songs and
dances Chandigarh, December 3 Eager to look better than the others, the preparatory and kindergarten students of Sector 26 St John’s High School came to the auditorium in the afternoon dressed up like vegetables, even fruits. No wonder, a visit to the market was not required as the parents rushed to the school premises to enjoy afternoon full of fun, songs and dances. They were also full of praise for students participating in Akbar and Birbal play. |
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Fine arts workshop inaugurated Panchkula, December 3 After visiting different venues along with the college principal, Mr Lather, appreciated the works of experts and students. He also encouraged the students and asked them to choose one particular field of specialisation and excel in that.
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Option of computer science in B.Ed Chandigarh, December 3 A decision to this regard has been taken by the Board of Studies of Education faculty. A meeting of a special committee was held here today. The special invitees who attended the meeting included Prof C.M. Bahl, Prof R.K. Singla and Prof Charanjit Chawla. It was pointed out in a university note that “computers had now become an
indispensable tool of teaching aids, particularly for teaching at the school level”. |
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Hamara School A red building surrounded with swaying palms. This is the world of Henderson Jubilee Senior Secondary School marked with hard work, passion and the will to succeed. Founded by missionary Caterine Hollister Jones in 1975, The school, located at Kharar, is affiliated to CBSE, New Delhi. Jones’ love for education encouraged people to send their wards to this school. After Jones’ return to New Zealand, the school is now being run by Mr Naresh Donald. The school has lush green lawns, computer labs, an administration block with the nursery block on one side and well-equipped laboratories and library on the other. Opposite the administration block is the main block where the teacher-and-taught interaction takes place. The nets, courts and tracks are the arena of the budding sportspersons and the four houses - Himalaya, Shivalik, Vindhaya and Nilgiri - the breeding places of orators, writers and dancers. Here, the performance of a child is evaluated throughout the year. To facilitate it, the school calender is divided into three terms and each term is further divided into unit evaluations. This school has helped many children from the rural background to come forward and join arts, commerce and science streams. To prepare a well-educated and a disciplined generation being a responsible task, the school always endeavours to get the best out of its students. The academic needs and day-to-day lifestyle of students have changed almost beyond recognition since the foundation of Henderson Jubilee Senior Secondary School by Jones in 1975. However, the learning environment established then is considered important even today. This is what makes this school different from other schools in the region. One of the oldest schools in this region, the school continues to enhance its reputation for excellence in teaching by embracing the latest and effective technology. There prevails a continuous determination on the administration and the faculty to achieve excellence in board exams. Every initiative is taken to inspire and encourage the students. The school offers everything that a student needs — from library to laboratories to sports. Nurturing the talent of students is the strength of the school. The personal attention complemented by dynamic co-curricular activities has helped the students to acknowledge their talent. New programmes are started regularly to improve upon the existing environment. A former student has described the school as “one which inspires dreams!” Since in inception, the school has been working for the intellectual progress of the region. The enduring ‘Jubilee does it better’ spirit and innovation inspires the parents who want their wards to achieve their personal and career goals in a conducive atmosphere. |
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‘Computers can’t replace teachers’ School Principal Reverend Naresh Donald says the present education system puts a lot of burden on the students as the focus is on reading textbooks and appearing for examinations. There should be a better system that involves the students in activities which are essential for their overall development. Vocational education is essential. He asserts that if a student is taught well in the class, there is no reason why he should need to supplement it with tuitions outside the school. The Principal observes that classroom teaching can never be taken over by computers completely. Human interaction is essential for teaching. But a good teacher will also enhance his or her technique of imparting education by using computers. At best, these are tools for a good teacher. Mr Donald says: “The best thing about our school is that we work like a family. The staff is wonderful and we are able to achieve much more simply because all of us here put in our sincere efforts. We have students excelling in sports and representing the state in various events. We are going to take up courses in spoken English both for the staff and the students.
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Mahatma Gandhi Great Mahatma wandered in the shades of light To fill our life with delight He kindled the light of freedom He taught us to fight for our rights He united us and fought with might He was great without any tricks Who was never violent and never picked up a stick He was sick but with a dream to make his nation free Ratinder Kaur, Class IX My Mother My mother is great In studies she helps me Thankful I am to thee She pulls me tight if I am not right I love her so much For her love and care With god’s grace you get A mother like mine I bet. Prabhdeep Singh, Class X Dear God Dear God, Let my games period be added My homework be subtracted My holidays be multiplied And lots of toffees be divided For them I promise dear lord I will be good as gold. Prabhjot Singh, Class VIII |
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Warrants against ex-Speaker Ravi Inder
issued Panchkula, December 3 Taking up a criminal complaint case filed by Ms Baljit Kaur, the court on August 23 had summoned Mr Ravi Inder Singh, Ms Rajmohinder Kaur and Mr Gurdev Singh to appear in person in the court on December 2. In her complaint Ms Baljit Kaur had alleged that six bighas of prime property in Abdullapur village near Pinjore owned by a charitable trust was motgaged with the Punjab State Industrial Development Corporation (PSIDC)by Mr Ravi Inder Singh for getting a loan for his factory. Claiming to be a trustee of the Sardar Baldev Singh Charitable Trust, along with the other accused, including managing trustee Ravi Inder Singh, Ms Baljit Kaur had alleged that the three accused misappropriated trust property and embezzled huge sums of trust fund for the former MLA’s personal gain. She had also alleged that of a company, Brahma Styer Tractors Limited, was floated at Mohali by Mr Ravi Inder Singh and in order to raise loans for company, tustees mortagaged the property with the PSIDC for Rs 75 lakh in 1998 , without taking Ms Baljit Kaur, also a trustee, into confidence. At that time, the property was valued at Rs 1. 75 crore, she added. The court, after going through the complaint had observed that ‘‘there is prima facie evidence that the accused have misappropriated trust property and sold off property owned by the trust at Pinjore, valued at Rs 1.75 crore for Rs 15 lakh. Hence there is evidence to proceed against the accused under Sections 420, 467 and 120-B of the IPC’’. |
Look for special stuff at exhibition rich in content, fascinating in form ARE you looking for some ‘special’ stuff in the market to decorate your house or handicrafts that would make your relatives cast envious glances? You must visit National Handicraft Handloom Festival-cum-Exhibition currently going on at the Parade Ground in Sector 17. It would continue till December 7. There are other reasons also to convince you to visit this exhibition. It has brought the artisans of various states like Andhra Pradesh, Orissa, Gujarat, UP, West Bengal and Rajasthan to sell their beautifully designed wood carvings, fine woven and embroidered textiles, kantha sarees, carpets, Hyderabadi pearls, khurja crockery and so many things under one roof. Rich in content, fascinating in form, an amazing range of objects in bronze, copper, brass, bell metal are available there at much lower prices than any showroom in the city. As you enter, the grand wood carvings of Tirupati Balaji, Ganeshji and others made by craftsmen of Andhra Pradesh greet you at the reception counter. Prices vary from Rs 300 to Rs 90,000. Do not mind, if you do not want to buy, just appreciate and move on. Mr Ramkrishan would tell you, “A wood carving of Ganeshji, over six feet in height, has been made by skilled workers in one month out of neem wood. You can buy it for Rs 90,000. There are pillars and even doors with carvings as well.” At the next counters, you will see a variety of T-shirts, suits, bedsheets, jewellery, bags, purses in new designs. Some of the finest printed jackets in the price range of Rs 150 to Rs 180 are available in the exhibition. Do not forget! The entry is free and there are no charges for parking. Even credit cards are accepted here. The exhibition has been brought to the city for the first time by the Grameen Hastkala Vikas Samiti, a society working for the artisans at Agra. At the jute handicraft stalls, you can buy some of the exceptional qualities of bags costing just Rs 100 or Rs 140. At the Orissa counter, one can buy silver jewellery at very reasonable prices. Says Mr Ershad Ali at one of the khurja crockery stalls, “We have brought a wide range of kitchenware flower pots and other material. These are made in the villages of Buland Shehar district in UP and are famous world over.” Says Mr Jayesh Kumar Gupta, Chief Organiser of the exhibition, “We are not offering the best quality products but give pay-back guarantee as well if one does not like the product. By buying these products, you will not only get the best handicrafts but would help thousands of families in the rural India, making efforts to keep the Indian heritage intact with a sense of dignity.” Once you are out of exhibition enclosures, you can now enjoy mouth- watering Chandani Chowk’s moong ke ladoo or Mumbai’s bhelpuri. |
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It’s my life I belong to small town Nabha (near Patiala) but always dreamt about those heights which were just considered to be jokes in that crowd. My father, who is a businessman, and my mother, a housewife, always encouraged me to dream big. My family sent me to Ludhiana for studying in BSc (home science). After the I took admission at the Northern India Institute of Fashion Technology (NIIFT) here and I am about to complete the course in knitwear design technology (KDT). I was good in sketching and designing from the childhood. This aspect got sharpened while I was doing my BSc. Now when I am about to finish my course in KDT I am confident that I will be able to give shape to those dreamy designs as practical lessons at NIIFT have given me a lot of experience. I want to be a designer of my own kind and come out with a collection of apparel that are wearable especially in ‘knits’ as not many designers are working on knitted fabrics. Knitwear technology is up and coming and is going to be more popular than woven fabrics. My parents and friends have always wished that I am able to achieve the heights that I have dreamt of. As told to Kulwinder Sangha |
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Home Decor Simple and functional. That is the best way to describe the house of eminent architect, Mr S.D. Sharma, at Sector 7 in Panchkula. Unlike most houses these days, the focus is on architecture at Sharmas’ home, rather than on adding beautiful accessories in the house. Home is not a museum, where expensive furniture is displayed for others to come and admire. Furniture has to be simple, according to the needs of the family and functional, says Mrs Geeta Sharma. With three architects staying under this roof (Mr Sangeet Sharma and his wife Ms Poonam Sharma are also well known architects, besides Mr S.D. Sharma), the house is planned in a typical climatic harnessing theory, as a central cut out has been provided with a skylight. The ground floor has the bare minimum of areas — masters bedroom, along with a spacious study, a living and a dining area. The cut out in the centre is the focus of the living area , with place for plants and a fountain. But it is the aspect (facade) of the house that first takes your attention. The exterior is of brick tile, which incidentally goes with the ideology of Mr S.D. Sharma, as the form emerges out of sheer passion of the figure evolving with placing usable rooms in appropriate areas as per the orientation of the plot. All rooms have extension of the balconies, that act as extension of the room. Being a nature lover, his innate fondness for natural things is reflected all over the house. From jute chairs and stools in the living room, fancy chicks that hang from the windows of the first floor, overlooking into the living room — the rustic essence has been preserved. The flooring is also simple, using cement slabs. The emphasis in each room is created with the brick inlay work on one interior wall of each rooms. The paint on the walls is also in neutral shades, being, cream and off white. Also in all the rooms, effort has been made to incorporate the traditional and modern styles. The architecture being modern, the furniture is mostly traditional. Colour is added to the living room by using brightly coloured abstract paintings, the living room proudly displays the photographs of Mr Sharma, with Mr Albert Jeannert, one of the architects who designed Chandigarh. |
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Eating Out IT is that time of the year when the rehris of kulfi, ice-cream, sherbet, lime water and other things cool suddenly give way to things warm. Like groundnuts, gachak... and soup. Enterprising little businessmen brave the chilling temperature and winds of the winter season to keep the others from shivering with their piping hot concoctions. Almost every other sector boasts of its own rehri that offers the appetising liquid full of flavour and nutrients. You just have to look out for your man. In all probability, you might find right outside your office! Specially, if you work in night shifts. The rehriwallahs, usually wearing woollen pullovers, monkey caps and mufflers, get down to work in a brisk business-like manner as soon as they get the order from a customer. The best part is, they end up getting quite a loyal clientele. For, who minds a swallow of the healthy bowl peppered with mouth-watering sauces and seasonings? And that too for only Rs 5 (small glass or bowl) or Rs 7 (big glass or bowl). As you chat with your companion, you keep an eye on the soupwallah as he first rinses the bowl in a bucket of water. Then, with great agility and expertise, he sprinkles the bottom of the dish with an assortment of chutneys and masalas — half-a-teaspoon of mint and coriander paste, a dash of red chilli sauce, a squeeze of a quarter lime, some vinegar. After this, comes the turn of the huge pot of the simmering broth — tomato, veg and non-veg (some rehris offer only non-veg soup). A spirited stir with a ladle and it’s ready to be poured on to the sauces and topped with shredded chicken pieces. Sprinkling of salt and pepper completes the preparation and you are ready to consume the smoke-emitting liquid, much to the satisfaction of the gastronomic juices that have by now accumulated in your mouth. Unlike a restaurant where you get the order on your table from the kitchen located somewhere behind the glazed walls, here you can request the friendly chap to mix the ingredients as per your taste — some more nimboo or no salt, your wish is fulfilled. In fact, they are also generous with some more helping of meat and broth too. Jasmeet is a regular rehri soup drinker in the Sector 44 market. He says with a glint in his eye, “There is some chore or the other to be done in the market almost every other day. This warm chicken broth with a generous amount of solid pieces is a big incentive for me to carry out those routine boring jobs. This man also recognises me now and makes the soup just as I like it.” The other customers nod in agreement as the soupwallah swells with pride, adding some more broth to the nearly-full bowl. “When we order soup in a restaurant, we have to think twice or cut cost by dividing a bowl into two. The rehri soup is economically priced and we can have it ‘aande jaande’, without bothering about our looks and pockets,” pipes Rashmi at the Sector 35 market stall as she sips the tomato soup while her sister dips her spoon into the veg soup bowl. For those hungry for more, most of the soupwallahs have stocks of eggs too. A couple of boiled eggs seasoned with salt and pepper along with the thick liquid should have an average person full for quite sometime.... and the numbness acquired from the cold weather disappearing for a long time. |
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Geeta Chandran to
perform on Dec 11 Danseuse Geeta Chandran will perform at the Festival of Music and Dance here on December 11. She is a bridge between the pristine classical style of bharatnatyam and the more contemporary dance form. Her first guru was Swarna Saraswathy. She went on to acquire additional skills in bharatnatyam under K.N. Dakshinamoorti and V. Krishnamurthi. Her ability to synthesise her learning and imbue the dance form with her persona has been the hallmark of this dancer. Her dance is an invigorating mix of the pristine tradition and her perspective on the classical arts. She is the recipient of several awards, including the Natya Ratna, the Sringar Mani, the Media India Award, the Indira Priyadarshini Award, the Natya Ilavarasi, the Green Ambassador Award, the Bharat Nirman Award, and the Dandayudhapani Pilai Award. She received the Department of Culture's junior research fellowship in 1993 and senior research fellowship in 2003. |
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Punjabi singer makes
debut Chandigarh, December 3 Laddi was born on December 10, 1981, in Amritsar district. His father was a television and radio artist at Jalandhar and is currently settled in the USA. He has participated in stage activities since the age of 10. He is a trained singer besides a music composer and a dancer. Other than singing, Laddi loves cricket, kabaddi and travelling. His favourite artists include Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan, Ghulam Ali, Wadali Brothers and Gurdas Mann.
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