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New school launched in city Chandigarh, December 8 Opened in collaboration with the Shri Ram Educare, the school is spread over 11 acres in Togan village, opposite Dhanas. While admissions opened today, the school would begin with a day boarding up to Class VI. After the release of the school prospectus by the Principal Secretary, Irrigation, Punjab, Mr K.R. Lakhanpal, the Director of Shri Ram School, Ms Abha Sood Adams, said there would be 27 students in every class. A fee of nearly Rs 5000 for a quarter, in addition to Rs 20,000 as admission charges comprising caution money and amalgamated fund, would be charged. Claiming that the school would employ innovative teaching methods, she said the school aimed to impart world-class education and value systems to its students. She informed that a special skill and sensorial development programme had been planned for the playway classes, the Ankur section. The Shri Ram Educare had 15 years of teaching experience behind it and was already running three schools, two in Gurgaon and one in Delhi. “We believe in learning by exploring rather than cramming,” she said. “Our idea is to make thinking a part of the curriculum. We are spearheading a change to create and develop multifarious talent while ensuring that the students have their feet firmly planted on the ground,” said the Principal of the school, Ms Komal Anand. The patron and managing trustee, Mr J.S. Sukhija, informed that the school was a result of his commitment to his parents’. “We have a multi-facility, state-of-art school in place and are providing everything needed to make a child a responsible citizen,” he held. |
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Tiny tots enliven annual day celebrations Chandigarh, December 8 An invocation of Goddess Saraswati marked the beginning of the
colourful extravaganza. The audience got a peek into the diverse cultures of India as students of the kindergarten section, attired in dresses of the various states, presented folk songs and dances. The children of pre-nursery class presented a ballet on “The Sound of Music” where the main character, Maria, was played by
Pavni. Carrying colourful umbrellas, students of Class I presented a dance to foot-tapping music, while in a dance sequence students of Class II depicted the changes in fashion in Bollywood and its influence on the lifestyle. They showcased the era from the times of Raj Kapoor to Salman Khan. Straight from
tinsel town, the famous movie pairs of Raj Kapoor and Meena Kumari, Jatinder and
Mumtaz, Rishi Kapoor and Neetu Singh, Salman and Aishwarya left the audience spellbound with their performance. In a spectacular tae kwan do show, students broke marble slabs and wooden planks. Recreating Punjab, the students of the Mohali branch of the school presented a Punjabi folk song. The programme ended on a melodious note with giddha and bhangra presentations. The chief guest and District Education Officer, Ms Rajesh Chaudhary, applauded the efforts of the school in inculcating stage confidence and a spirit of competitiveness among tiny tots. Earlier, the Principal of the school, Ms Manju Sood, stressed upon fostering leadership building among students and the role of the school in shaping the personality of the tiny tots. The chairman, Dr
Deshbandhu, outlined the future plans of the school and announced that the construction work at the school site allotted in Sector 41 had begun.
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Tender Heart’s cultural extravaganza begins Chandigarh, December 8 After the lighting of the lamp, the Robin house staged the first item depicting the importance of various colours and finally the merging of these into white, which stood for peace and unity. The Skylark house presented an artist's dream of unity, love and peace while the Bulbul house had modeling, singing and dancing woven in a single item dedicated to the motherland. The Kingfisher house staged the last item on need for values and virtues. |
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Orientation programme for teachers Chandigarh, December 8 The Central Board of Secondary Education introduced the subject of disaster management in Class VIII from the current academic year. The orientation programme is being organised to apprise teachers of this subject. The Principal of the host school, Ms Madhu Bahl, will be the course director, and will be assisted in training by a team of resource persons. |
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Expert explains e-governance Chandigarh, December 8 Professor Kapur of the Indian Institute of Public Administration, New Delhi, who is an eminent consultant and adviser on e-governance, said the services needed to be demand driven and not supply driven and hence the processes needed to be IT-enabled and not IT-driven, with focus on governance and not on technology. He underlined the need for good governance, and said the government should get closer to the people, in which e-governance could definitely help. However, he said drastic changes were required in the work culture. |
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2.50 lakh released for schools Mohali, December 8 A special function was organised as the Government High School Phase XI to mark the release of the Rs 2,42,000 grant to 27 schools in the Kharar constituency. Other than this the MLA also gave a grant of Rs 4.5 lakh to the high school in Phase XI for development. |
High Court Chandigarh, December 8 Appearing before a special Division Bench, comprising Mr Justice Swatanter Kumar and Mr Justice S.S. Nijjar, counsel for the PGI, informed the judges that its President had placed Dr Sharma under suspension. A copy of the order was placed on record. Another copy was handed over to Dr Sharma’s counsel. After going through the order, the judges fixed December 11 as the next date of hearing in the case. Dr Sharma, in his petition had sought directions for quashing the resolution passed on October 9 in this regard. Directions to the Union of India and other respondents were also sought for allowing him to join back as Director. Meanwhile, in a related development, former general secretary of the PGI Employees Union Ashwani Munjal had filed an application seeking permission to intervene in the matter pertaining to the move of sending Dr S.K. Sharma on leave. PCS exam:
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Batra’s bail plea hearing on December 9 Chandigarh, December 8 Pronouncing the orders on Vikram Batra's complaint, Magistrate Poonam Ratti had earlier ruled: "All accused are ordered to be summoned under Sections 467, 471 and 120-B of the Indian Penal Code (IPC)". In his complaint before the magistrate, Vikram Batra had earlier claimed that their grandfather
B.L. Batra was the chairman of Batra Group of Companies. In good faith, his parents had handed over some blank signed papers, along with blank signed share transfer forms, besides other documents, to
B.L. Batra for the smooth functioning of the company. After his death, Naresh Batra took over the control of companies. The complainant added that he owned highest proportion of shares in Gajraj Beverages Private Limited, compared with all other share holders in the company. But the shares of his father and family were transferred from companies having assets worth crorers into Batra Films Private Limited — a company having absolutely no assets. Subsequently, a complaint was lodged with the police on the basis of which a first information report was registered, the complainant asserted. He added that during the investigation, he and his family were shown photocopies of documents pertaining to the transfer of shares. Some of the documents had been forged on papers signed by his parents. In case of certain other documents, the signatures of his parents, along with grandfather, had been forged. The complainant added that the accused should be summoned as they "had caused loss to his family to the tune of approximately Rs 20 to Rs 25 crore, which was increasing". After going through the complaint and the evidence, the magistrate held: "It is evident that investigation in the state case has been completed and copy of the challan has been sent to the court. From the perusal of the statements given by the accused, it is shown that the accused were stated to be present at the meeting when the transfer of shares, as alleged by the complainant, took place. Therefore, prima facie offence of conspiracy is made out against the accused so as to summon them to face trial. Hence, all accused are ordered to be summoned under Sections 467, 471 and 120-B of the IPC". The magistrate concluded: "The offences under Sections 420 and 468 are not made out as both of them envisage inducement for the delivery of property, which is not so in the present case. The offence under Section 406 is also not made out as there is no averment that entrustment was made by the complainants to the accused". The case will now come up for further hearing on January 16, next year.
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Landlord’s bail plea rejected Chandigarh, December 8 Kuldip and his three brothers were booked in the case filed by Ms Durgesh Nandni Tiwari. Ms Tiwari was a tenant in the Sector 15 house of the Behals. Meanwhile, Pradeep, brother of Kuldip Behal and also an accused in the case, has alleged that case on his family was “baseless and motivated”. He claimed that on November 12 Ms Tiwari had given an affidavit to them stating that she was vacating the premises herself. ‘‘The case has been slapped on us to pressurise us to vacate a shop in Sector 17 market, which we have taken on rent”, alleged Pradeep Behal while talking to Chandigarh Tribune. “We have failed to understand why Ms Tiwari took a month to file a case”, asked Pradeep. Pradeep, who is evading arrest, said they would approach the UT Administrator and the Chief Justice of the Punjab and Haryana High Court. “The Health of my mother is deteriorating since my brother was arrested”, said Pradeep. A case under Sections 323, 341, 350, 450, 392, 451, 506 and 120B of the IPC was registered against Davinder Behal, Kuldip Behal, Pradeep Behal and Ravinder Behal, all brothers, after the complainant approached a local court. |
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District Courts Chandigarh, December 8 The Lawyers For Human Rights International (NGO) and a city resident whose daughter was killed by stray animals on November 14 had filed the suit seeking directions to the officials to take all necessary steps to ensure that no animal was allowed to come out on public road, street and also municipal land. Besides, directions to prevent intrusion by stray cattle into the city from surrounding areas have been sought by the plaintiffs. Pleading that there was an urgent need to take immediate steps for containing the menace, the plaintiffs had stated that numerous human lives had been lost on the city roads in the past few months due to the presence animals on the roads, residential areas and public places. Giving details about the negligent attitude of the authorities concerned, the plaintiffs said regular disposal of the garbage from garbage bins was not being carried out by the MC. Moreover, the apni mandis were not regularly cleaned and no steps had been taken to prevent the animals from venturing into the residential areas, roads and public places. Statement recorded: While deposing before the UT Additional District and Sessions Judge, Mr Balbir Singh, the officer said he had examined the handwriting and signature of the two accused. Balwant Singh and Jagtar Singh Hawara. He added that the handwriting and signatures of the accused placed in the CBI records had matched with those taken in the court earlier. Meanwhile, the counsel for the accused has moved an application in the court for the supply of the scientific aid with which the officer had examined the signature and handwriting. The counsel has also demanded the enlarged photographs of the documents examined by the officer. 1-year RI for man:
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Lawyers' protest rally today Chandigarh, December 8 He said the executive committee of the High Court Bar Association had also been requested to participate in the protest. Advocates throughout the country had decided to observe the protest against the amendment to the Legal Service Authorities Act, 2002, the implementation of Section 30 of the Advocates Act, 1961, the entry of foreign lawyers, and the Justice Malimath Committee recommendations among other issues, he
said.@
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HC restrains police from harassing couple Chandigarh, December 8 Issuing the directions, the Bench, comprising Chief Justice Mr Justice B.K. Roy and Mr Justice G.S. Singhvi, also directed the police to ensure against harm to the petitioners. The Judges also issued notice to respondents. In their detailed order, the Judges ruled: “The petitioners, claiming to be adults and married, allege violation of their fundamental rights enshrined under Article 21 of the Constitution of India at the hands of parents of a petitioner in league with the Chandigarh Police.” |
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Young achiever Chandigarh, December 8 “My mother inspired me to take up singing as a hobby and I took a year's training in classical music when I was in Class III. Initially, I used to miss playing with other children and was even reluctant to tell them that I was learning singing. When prizes started flowing in, I got over the hesitation and now I am proud to have a voice that earns appreciation from one and all,” he says. Among the top five students in class as far as academics go, Nishank says he never believed he would make a mark for himself in singing, especially since his guru, Mr Rajesh Mohan, left to settle in another town. “However, before he left, he gave me his recorded cassette for practice. I would listen to that cassette and improve upon my performance everytime, sacrificing my playtime for music. Now, I call him up everytime I win a prize. Moreover, my mother encourages me to practise all the time and I find it a little difficult to balance between my studies and music,” he adds. Claiming that his Principal, Ms P. Cheema, and teachers have also nurtured his singing talent, he says, “I have to frequently miss classes because of the contests I participate in and studies do suffer. My teachers always willingly accommodate me and solve my problems in their free periods. My Principal, too, is all praise for me and encourages me to participate in contests.” Nishank won the first prize of Rs 3000 when he was in Class III. “I bought a harmonium with the prize money and it has become a ritual to practise singing while I play it. Since then, I have come a long way and my room is full of trophies,” he contends. He, however, does not want to pursue singing as a profession. Instead, he wants to do engineering and then appear for the Civil Services Examination. |
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Akanksha to perform
on December 11 Her performances are not only rich in traditional form of dance but also attach importance to the understanding and popularity of the modern age dances. She is intensively engaged in extending, diversifying and popularising Kathak. Akanksha started learning dance, when she was just eight, by Pandit Arjun Mishra. She acquired the art of presenting traditional and disciplined form with blending of rhythms. She is also a choreographer and has produced a number of ballets, including “Kathak Swaroop” and “Taal Chakra”. |
Upasana for censoring videos Punjabi film actress Upasana Singh has come out strongly in favour of introducing some kind of censorship for videos being aired by various TV channels.
“I feel that song videos are becoming increasingly vulgar,” she said in a talk with mediapersons at Chandigarh on Monday. “Just look at their gestures, expressions and what they say in the videos. It is terrible. How can anyone watch them in the company of their family members?” She was of the view that if the Union Information and Broadcasting Ministry was contemplating introducing censorship for these videos, it was a step in the right direction. Upasana felt that it was primarily the video companies that were responsible for the increasing trend of nudity and vulgarity in entertainment. “I don’t think you can hold the artistes responsible for it. What can they do? If one girl refuses to do it, there are 50 others who are falling over each other to grab the chance. “This is just what happened in the video ‘Kaanta laga....’ Initially, the girl who was supposed to do the song declined to wear the revealing dresses and perform the act the director wanted. She was thrown out unceremoniously and replaced by another who did what you all now see on your TVs. The rest is history....” Hailing from Hoshiarpur, Upasana is an alumna of Panjab University’s Department of Indian Theatre. “I passed out in 1990 before trying my luck in Bollywood. I started from zero. When I reached Mumbai, I did not even know a spot boy. Luck plays a big role in everyone’s life. I got a break in a Rajasthani movie which went on to provide me with a platform to act in more regional movies, including Gujarati, and, of course, Punjabi.” Upasana has so far acted in nearly 15 Punjabi movies besides a few Hindi movies, including “Judai,” “Hungama” and “Sarfarosh”. Her forthcoming movies include “Mujse Shaadi Karoge”, “Yahoo”, “Jo Bole so Nihal” and “Mai Tumhari Khatir”. She predicted a bleak future for Punjabi movies. “Good Punjabi cinema is no longer being made in Mumbai,” she said, adding that Punjabi films left much to be desired in almost all departments of production. “They are rather crudely made with the result that they are unable to attract audiences which prefer the slicker, big-budgeted Hindi movies”. Upasana felt that the only way to get Punjabi movies out of the rut into which they had fallen was a helping hand from the Punjab Government. “The state government must come to the aid of the Punjabi film industry and offer subsidies to good movies.”
— TNS
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Upasana Singh on Monday launched her maiden audiocassette, “Yaari”, in which she has sung eight Punjabi songs set to music by Onkar. The lyrics have been penned by Sham Balkar, Sikander Bharti, Kumaar and Sonu. Marketed by T-Series, the cassette is a presentation from Sanjeev Kumar, who also acts in the video of the title song. “It is not a sudden development,” said Upasana, “I have always been interested in painting, dance and music. As a matter of fact, I have been singing right from my childhood. Now I have had a chance to sing for audiocassettes too.” |
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Brushing up English with Cambridge
Dictionary Chandigarh, December 8 “In a world of fast-advancing information technology that is slowly and surely eclipsing and edging out Indian regional languages, the advent of the Cambridge Advanced Learner’s Dictionary should be a cheering news for all those wishing to hone their language skills”, says Mr Anil Pande, of Cambridge University Press. In a talk with TNS, he emphasises that “English language is a gateway to the wide open world as well as a passport to a prosperous future. It has become an acknowledged fact to the eager children of the rich and poor alike and as well as to the progeny of the humblest of cobblers, washermen and tobacco vendors in the existing metro centres and emerging small towns of India. What best would satisfy their yearning for a sound knowledge of the English language than the new Cambridge Advance Learner’s Dictionary with 170,000 words, phrases and examples including over 1,000 new words. The volume is the work of one of the most reputed and largest academic and educational publishing houses in the world, going back to the time it secured a royal charter from King Henry VIII in 1534”. The dictionary, he says,is a handy guide to both written and spoken English within a lexicon framework. It’s an online dictionary with a CD-ROM tucked in a pocket at the end of the volume and making the search for the right word or phrase, its correct usage and meaning just a click away. Whether you like to pronounce words the American or British way, this dictionary highlights accents and the differences in meanings or usage alongside each entry. Learners are directed to what are called “guidewords” which help choose the right meaning. The definitions of words are simple and pithy and are couched in easy-to-understand English. Special notes enable one to avoid common mistakes. There are nearly 90,000 examples of sentences with 25,000 “collocations” (combination of words formed when two or more words are frequently used together in a way that sounds correct) to show how words work together in natural English.
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A school proud of its band IT has been a musical existence for a group of 32 students engaged with the school band of Government Model Senior Secondary School, Sector 21. Pride of the school, the band has been performing at various functions of the UT Administration and has participated in various inter-school contests. Dominated by girls, the band has only two boys, who play side drums. They, too, are on their way
out." We stand out in the group since we are dressed in white uniform whereas the girls have colourful dresses complete with sashes and caps. The school has been unable to find a suitable band uniform for us. We will move on to Class IX next year, after which the school does not intend taking boys in the
band," inform Mohit and Aman, students of Class VIII. With students in the band drawn from Class VII and VIII only, this is the first band of the school and the group has been trained by a professional band
master." We have an excellent band, which has made a mark among government schools in its first year by standing first in the programme for scouts and guides. Besides, the band is called in frequently for functions of the UT Administration,” says Ms Indira Dhingra, Principal of the school. Says Tajinder Kaur, who plays the flute in the band,”As soon as we don the uniform for the band, we get a special feeling. It gives us great satisfaction when our performance gets a loud applause from the crowd, especially at a high-profile function.” Having opted for the band to cater to her musical interests, Manpreet Kaur, also a flute player, adds,”I am very fond of music and the forming of a band troupe in the school provided me an opportunity to learn from an expert. I jumped at the opportunity and, now, can compose my own tunes of the latest film songs on my own.” Training the students to perfection is the physical education teacher, Mr Gurmail Singh.” These students are quick learners and are very enthusiastic about performing. While they keep in touch by playing the band in the morning assembly, we have rigorous rehearsal sessions for two to three days before any function,” he explains. There are students in the band troupe who will be promoted to Class IX in the next academic session and would have to leave the band to focus on studies. One such student, Navneet Kaur, rues, “The school limits the participation to Class VIII, which means I will no longer be able to perform. I wish the school had started a band troupe a few years ago so that I could have had my fill.”
— TNS |
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City’s winged beauties Butterflies, which are called bio-indicators, can be seen flitting across the roads, in municipal parks, forest area behind Panjab University, the Rock Garden, vegetation between the Sukhna Lake and the golf grounds, the catchment area of the lake, which is botanically the richest area in the city, or in the backyard. The common stuff — the plain tiger, blue tiger, psyche and pioneer — the species range from lime blue to tawny coster, from painted lady to forget me not, from common sergeant to commander and from grass jewel (smallest butterfly) to common mormon (largest butterfly). Common mormon, which has a wing span of 90mm to 108mm, can be seen hovering leisurely over lemon, bael and curry leaf trees. Its forewings are black with a series of pale white spots. While plain tiger, a dark orange butterfly, can be seen throughout the year, psyche, another butterfly with white wings having irregular black spots, is seen in this season. Yellow orange tip is available throughout the year. It is more common in April. This fast flier keeps its wings almost stretched while resting on flowers. Butterflies and moths come under the order Lepidoptera, which means insects having scaly wings. The class Insecta comprises about 32 orders, most of which are named on the basis of the number, structure and texture of their wings. Regarding a misconception about butterflies and moths, the entomologist explains that while moths are nocturnal insects, butterflies are diurnal except common evening brown which is a pest of rice and grass. The population of butterflies fluctuates depending upon the temperature and other climatic conditions. During scorching days of June, they hide themselves in branches of trees and venture out only when the sun loses its sheen. On the arriving of spring they lay eggs on the tender leaves of plants. But they are very selective. Dr Walia explains that each species depends on a host plant for laying eggs. However, some of the species depend only on one host plant. But sadly their population is declining like other species and due to similar reasons — habitat loss, pollution, deforestation and spraying of herbicides and pesticides. Dr Walia says the decline in population is not restricted to any specific area but is a widespread phenomenon. The ripping out of shrubs like lantana, ak and hibiscus and trees like amaltas, pipal and bor from the city areas has put them in danger.
— TNS
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It’s my life
“LIFE is a battle and each day emerges as a new
war, where survives the fittest.”
This belief has carried me to
what I am today. With the grace of the Almighty, and support of my
family, at the age of seven, I was introduced to martial arts, which
makes me survive, and survive boldly. Martial arts infused in me a
wish to face challenges and adventures in all aspects of life.
Participating and maintaining top position in painting competitions,
debates, declamations and poem recitation contests at inter-school,
state and nation-level further furnished my desire to win. I have a
strong inclination towards religion and spirituality and a desire to
help elderly at old age homes. I can’t tolerate atrocities against
females or any weak person. Once out of school, my desire for
competition, challenge and adventure led me to high-end sports like
bike racing. Basket ball and lawn tennis became my all-time
favourites. To change the myth that “a Sikh can’t have a future
in modelling”, I appeared as “Mr Talented, Look of the Year,
North-2003” and “Mr Talented-Fresher NIFD” hitting another
bull’s eye. So, here I am, looking forward towards a bright future
in the world of Designing & 3D Animations, always believing in the
fact that every success has at least one failure behind it, and
concentration is the key to success. As told to
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Chandigarh, December 8
These little winged beauties are not aliens. They are part of city’s unspoiled flower-rich grasslands dotted with woods and can be seen throughout the year.
Of the 1,439 species of butterflies that have been reported in India, 78 species belonging to nine families have been recorded by the Department of Zoology, Panjab University, in and around the City Beautiful.
Dr V.K. Walia, an entomologist at the Department of Zoology, who has been studying butterflies for more than 25 years, says grass jewel, a dark brown butterfly, can be seen flying slowly over the grass. Its wing expanse is 16mm to 18mm. 