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FLASHBACK ‘03:
District Courts
Chandigarh, December 29 The fight between Amarinder Singh and his political opponent Rajinder Kaur Bhattal surfaced during the court appearance of Ms Bhattal, when she openly criticised him for his style of functioning. For the first time in the history of judiciary here, two judicial officers — Jalandhar’s District and Sessions Judge R.M. Gupta, and UT Judicial Magistrate S.S. Bhardwaj — were produced in the court a number of times in a case of corruption registered against them. The CBI arrested Mr Bhardwaj in May this year while accepting bribe. Later, Mr Bhardwaj allegedly escaped from CBI’s custody and remained absconding for a month. On the other hand, Mr Bhardwaj maintained that he had not been absconding and was simply seeking legal remedies. Mr Bhardwaj was backed by advocates who raised slogans against the CBI when he was produced in the court. The media covered the cases extensively. Reporters on the beat had a tough time as there were rumours that Mr Bhardwaj might have surrendered or been arrested by the CBI late during the night. Mr Gupta was released on bail, while Mr Bhardwaj is presently lodged in Model Burail Jail. For Punjab politicians, the year seemed tough as Amarinder Singh had to appear twice in a case filed against him by Parkash Singh Badal, accusing him of allegedly spreading and publishing false reports about his assets and property. Mr Badal and his son, Sukhbir Badal, appeared a number of times in different cases filed by them against Amarinder Singh. Rajinder Kaur Bhattal also had to appear in a case of corruption pending against her in the court of UT Special Judge. The court appearance of these politicians, who were usually accompanied by ministers and MLAs, attracted huge crowds. Besides, the year brought relief to many officials, including former Punjab and Haryana High Court Judge Justice M.R. Agnihotri, former Assistant Tax and Excise Commissioner S.P Kansal and Inspector of Excise and Taxation Department Arun Singla, who were given clean chit by the CBI in separate corruption cases. The year also saw the installation of an elevator in the new court complex after a long wait. With the involvement of the District Courts Bar Association, around 80 makeshift chambers were constructed on the court premises for advocates who had to sit in the open. Fire-fighting equipment was also made functional this year.
Also, for the speedy disposal of cases, the UT State Legal Service Authorities organised special lok adalats. The Permanent Lok Adalat functioning in the UT District Courts granted Rs 6.07 lakh to litigants and settled 1,650 cases.
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8.92 cr given as compensation by lok adalats Chandigarh, December 29 It was further stated that as many as 14 Special Lok Adalats were organised by SLSA for settling the bank cases. Wherein a total of 551 cases were settled and a sum of Rs 5.05 crore was awarded to the litigants and a sum of Rs 15.56 lakh was recovered from the defaulters on the spot. Giving details the Member Secretary of the SLSA-cum- the Judge, Permanent Lok Adalat, Mr Sant Parkash, said the legal aid Cell functioning in the Model Burail Jail had successfully disposed off 522 applications received from the inmates seeking legal help. While talking about the Permanent Lok Adalat for the Public Utility Services that started recently functioning in Sector 17, Mr Sant Parkash said this lok adalat had been taking up matters related to transport service for the carriage of passengers or goods by air, road and water or postal, telegraph or telephone service, supply of power, light or water to the public by any establishment, system of public conservancy or sanitation, service in hospital or dispensary, insurance service and housing and estates. Mr Sant Parkash further said the decision of the Lok Adalat would be final and neither of the parties will have a right to appeal.
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Warrants against son of ex-envoy Chandigarh, December 29 According to the police, Ranji, was in the Chevrolet car along with the 17- year-old boy arrested earlier and Varinder Singh, a PSO of Mr Pannu.
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Manch stages ‘Heer Ranjha’
Mohali, December 29 At those who attended the workshop, hailing from different parts of the country, are acting in the play and have performed for the first time in Chandigarh. The dialogues were in Hindi, Urdu and Punjabi and the music was rendered by Sushil Bothial. Stating that the play is based on the original love story of Heer Ranjha and has been re-enacted on stage in different forms several times, the Director Adakar Manch Mohali. Sahib Singh said the complete production would be a treat for the Chandigarh audience as the actors and actresses are not local artistes. Introducing the artistes, Mr Sahib Singh informed that the character of Ranjha was played by Taqir Varsi while Heer was played by Ishrat. The other actors and actresses who performed in the play include Sheikh Noor Islam, Rati Garg, Nishta Deswal, Deepti Bandhu, Monica Madan, Tina Dhawan, Lokender Singh, Pushpinder Singh, Arun Kumar, Dinesh Pandey, Mayank Bhardwaj, Sandeep Yadav, Vijay Goswami, Om Kishan Pandey, Rishi Ranjan Singh, Hemant Sharma, Pavan Bharti, Anil Dutt Sharma, Rajiv Makkar, Harpal Singh Yadav, Gaurav Sharma and Avineesh
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Don’t feel guilty if you
break New Year resolution Sitting behind the study table, sister Rupa would decide to work harder and score better the next year. And she would stick to her resolution almost without failure. Once she decided to stand first in the classroom and actually bagged gold medal in academics. But all that was years ago. Now the things have changed, indeed. Contrary to the general belief, youngsters still resolve, but the objectives are different. Instead of just “passing examinations with flying colour and lose weight”, they are determined to walk down the ramp of life looking brilliant. In case you do not believe it, just ask them. Your doubts will be removed for certain. Even before you complete the question, first year arts student Manisha Chaudhary chirps, “I have decided to buy tinted lenses in 2004. Soon I will be admiring the wonderland I live in with turquoise eyes”. Standing next to her in front of a jewellery and gift shop in Sector 11, Anamika Singh adds, “I too will be buying honey-tinted contacts. I have already saved enough money to purchase them in January 2004. Their friend Rina Kadian has also resolved to add a little sparkle in her appearance and life in 2004 by rediscovering a whole new self. She has decided to drive down the road to college campus with flowing tresses and apparels she “loves to wear, but was always scared”. Quoting Roosevelt, Sector 22 resident Kadian says, “He once said the only thing to fear is fear itself. That is why I have now decided to overcome phobias. Now, if I wish to don a sleeveless top with sequined pants, or an embroidered skirt, I will go ahead. I will simply not allow fear clutch my resolute hands”. Tarun Marwah has also resolved to colour her hair blonde. “What is the harm. Otherwise also, I am not going in for permanent hair colour, but something which will not last more than three months”. The plus two student is also learning the art of shaking a leg. “I simply love attending dance and dine parties, but stay away from the floor,” she asserts. “But soon I will be able to enjoy parties after putting on my dancing shoes. Will also stay fit because shaking tones up the body and helps in developing grace, besides flexibility”. Keep those resolutions By making resolutions you are following a four thousand-year-old tradition, as old as the New Year celebrations. If you do not know the history, here is a slice of it. The Babylonians celebrated New Year’s Day over 4000 years ago, although their celebration was in March rather than in January, coinciding with the spring planting of crops. Resolutions, as per the available information, are a reflection of the Babylonians’ belief that what a person does on the first day of the New Year will have an effect throughout the year. Since then man has been making, and breaking, resolutions. So if you break a resolution, do not feel guilty! You are merely continuing a long tradition of broken resolutions dating back to the dawn of recorded history! So don’t get discouraged with a false start. If you are experiencing a sense of renewal, and a guilty awareness of what all you did these 365 days, make 2004 different. Experts say: “You should aim for the stars with feet firmly on the ground”. “Resolutions,” says socio-psychologist Rahul Singh, “are mostly unreasonable”. He asserts, “Problems arise because we actually set high goals for ourselves. Then we try to guess why we failed to attain them. Little wonder, we either stop setting goals for ourselves like losing weight instantly or make resolutions that are ridiculously easy to keep, like going to a beauty parlour or club once a month”. That is not the way it should be. “If you want to quit smoking, reduce the number of cigarettes,” another psychologist Deepa Khanna suggests. “Chew a bubble gum every time you get an urge. Another thing, don’t make a fool out of yourself. That one extra harmless cigarette you wish to smoke over and above the number decided by you is definitely going to be a
step towards strangling your own decision’. So avoid it”. OC |
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The movies will be screened daily at 6 pm in Kiran Cinema, Sector 22, Chandigarh. The festival is open to all and is free of cost. The entry is through passes which are available at Alliance Francaise, Sector 36, Chandigarh. Marin Karmitz — Not only a producer, a publisher: “We usually speak of publishing in terms of literature, preferring to use the classic ideas of production and distribution for the cinema. By placing accent on publishing for the cinema, I mean to approach the cinema in the same manner as a publisher approaches literature, which is to say, the same desire to discover and make others discover new languages and territories hitherto unexplored in cinematic writing, with the ambition, utopian I’m sure, not to let anything escape in all the domains where quality exists. Being a publisher and not only a producer/distributor also means the necessity of making today’s cinema a luxury product, a unique piece of art. It means fighting against series and, consequently, fighting against a certain standardised American cinema. I think what best defines my work as a film publisher is my determination to fight against prevailing ideas, established values, dominant ideas, against fashion, given the tact that fighting against is also fighting for. For example, to facilitate the discovery of Third World cinema, distributed badly or not at all, to defend inventive European culture from films that copy, commercialise and exploit. My sole certainty is that it is impossible to live in a world without wanting to change it. That certainty has always guided my choices. If at first I was politically involved mainly making films that illustrated the common man’s struggle in the world (in Chile, Bolivia, Portugal, the United States of France), it’s because politics seemed to me a way to change the world. I don’t feel I’ve changed politics, but politics has changed and therefore, the cinema. I’ve always considered art, perhaps today more than ever, as the best means to break barriers. I trust my choices bear this out 1 can’t discuss the profession of publishing films without mentioning the pleasure engendered. Etymologically, to publish means to give to the world. My pleasure is of that nature. The pleasure of reading a scenario and suddenly saying.”I must make this”. Suddenly this necessity appears as a manifest of personal, mysterious, implications. The pleasure of a deep, close and impassioned relationship created with the filmmaker, the pleasure of following him in the meandering of his doubts and anxieties, helping him get around them overcome them, channel them. The pleasure of discovering, as first spectator, a work you have chosen, nursed from start to finish and then, a bit later, the pride of having been the only one to nourish the project and to follow it through to the end to its recognition by the public.”
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You always stand out in a crowd, but for all the wrong reasons. Just make sure you do not look the “odd woman out” during the New Year Eve bash at your favourite haunt. Here are some party tips compiled after talking to experts. Before leaving the cozy comfort of your dressing room on December 31, make sure your tresses are shimmering. “Do not blow dry your hair, just let the cool winter breeze do the work for you,” asserts fashion designer Neha. “Not-quite-straight, not-quite-curly, texture simply looks great”. If you feel like restraining your tresses from running in all directions, go in for a beaded elastic band, or a furry one. “Good ponytail holders, including the mirrored ones, are also on display in chunk
jewelry shops. You can also wear hats and caps. Pay attention to make-up also. “Brighten up your eyes with a thick coat of black mascara,” Neha adds. “You will be able to keep the look natural this way. Otherwise, try blue mascara. It will make your eyes look vibrant”. Just make sure you are not wearing too much jewellery before you leave your house. Says Ms Raman, owner of a jewellery and gift shop in Sector 11, “Simply stand in front of a mirror. Observe yourself objectively. Have you loaded yourself with ornaments you need not wear? If answer is in affirmative, bring about the necessary changes”. Do not wear prominent necklace with striking earrings,” Ms Raman suggests. “If the necklace you wish to wear is outstanding, go in for simple hoops, or vice versa. This is not all. Piling too many rings looks odd. “Chances are that the crowd will not see you as an uptown girl. They might think you are superstitious or something”, fashion designer Ritu Sharma asserts. “Wear rings, but with style. Chunky ones should be worn alone. If you love the thin ones, make sure you limit them to your fourth finger”. Replace the basic stuff with more festive pieces for the evening events,” Ritu recommends. Also, high heels can give you that super-sleek elegant look, but can also hurt your hoofs the day after. “High heels place pressure on your toes, arches and balls of your feet. That is why the ligaments in your knees take on extra strain and result in muscular pain. So go in for flat sandals and remember to have a good time. SM |
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Some more choices for New Year Eve
Singing sensations Babu Mann and belly dancers from Russia are doing in 2003 something Chandni did in early 90’s — pull crowd. If you do not believe it, ask hoteliers organising New Year eve parties. They will tell you all about it. Reposing on comfortable seats in their offices, they search the trash cans of their memories before coming out with an incredible story. “We were all scratching our heads with tired fingers thinking of something different for the New Year eve bash. Dance and dine parties with bonfires and barbeque had been organised so many times that people were actually tired of it. They wanted something passionate, full of excitement,” they say. It was then someone thought of creating Chandni. Giving details, the manager asserts, “Chandni — the famous Bollywood blockbuster starring Sridevi — had generated waves all over the country. Almost everyone was talking about the movie,” says a manager with a Sector 35 hotel. “For cashing upon the phenomena, a hotelier thought of calling Chandni to the city”. Revolving a paperweight on a centre table, he recalls, “Well, inviting Sridevi to Chandigarh would have proved very expensive. Otherwise also, it would not have been an easy task. So the hotelier simply called a singer from Delhi and gave her the name of Chandni. The strategy worked”. Pushing back the chair, he recalls, “Believe it or not, the idea was an instant hit. Soon after the advertisements appeared in the newspapers about Chandni’s presence in the city, the telephone kept on ringing for making reservations. The hotel bagged almost the entire business that New Year Eve”. Well, that was in the 90’s. After about a decade, the hoteliers came up with the idea of inviting disc jockeys from Delhi. “Suddenly you had advertisements about the presence of disc jockeys from the national Capital splashed all over the newspapers,” the manager reveals. “They promised to mix some real cool music for you to twirl all around the polished dance floor. For two or three years, the marketing strategy worked as so many residents pulled out precious money for cutting foot loose to the thumping beats of reverberating music. It is still working, along with another move”. Pointing towards some advertisements, he says, “Since last year, the hoteliers have also been inviting bartenders from Mumbai. They juggle with the bottles and set the bar at fire right in front of your incredible eyes”. But in 2003, some of the organisers, in an attempt to break free from the “routine celebrations”, are inviting you to savour Arabian belly dance by Egyptian and Russian dancers, along with live performance by Punjabi pop singers. |
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It’s my life Life is just like playing a game here, but rules in this game are somewhat different. There are no players, and a no-win situation. Once the “pieces” are placed in the starting position, the rules determine everything that happens later. Nevertheless, life is full of surprises. In most cases, it is impossible to look at a starting position and see what will happen in the future. The only way to find out is to follow the rules of the game. Life is played on a grid of square cells — like a chess board but extending infinitely in every direction. Life is one of the simplest example of what sometimes called “emergent complexity” or “self organising system”. Telling about myself — I am fond of trekking expeditions, river rafting and paragliding. Usually I like to spend some time on guitar. As we know in the present times, concepts like designing are becoming more powerful. That’s why I am at NIFD. I am enjoying while studying here. Sometime my heart says,
“How nice it will be, if my life go on so smoothly as it is but..... I know life can’t remain too smooth. After a certain stage. So, before touching that stage of my life, I want to enjoy every single moment of my life. As told to Chitleen Sethi |
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Twentytwo-year-old Tahira has resolved to look gorgeous in 2004. No wonder, the young university student has picked up a couple of nice alluring dresses to don in the New Year. Her sister was also in a habit of making resolutions just before the old year slipped into oblivion, but they were less stunning.
Alliance Francaise de Chandigarh and French Embassy will present a French Film Festival “Marin Karmitz — A Man of Image” from January 2 to 8.
At hotel Mountview
foot tapping music by DJ Rambo and performance by STEPS will be an attraction, along with fireworks. Coupons are available for Rs 2300. For any single, accompanying a couple, another Rs 1,800 will have to be pulled out.