The Tribune, Chandigarh, India - Chandigarh Stories

From schools
Olympiad test on February 15
Tribune News Service

Chandigarh, February 1
The Chandigarh Coaching Centre will organise an Olympiad test in physics, chemistry, mathematics and biology on February 15 for students appearing for engineering and medical examinations.

Farewell: Class IX students of St Peter’s School, Sector 37, organised a function to bid farewell to Class X. A cultural function was organised on the occasion.

Exhibition: The two-day annual exhibition-cum-prize distribution function of Government Model Senior Secondary School, Sector 33, concluded here on Saturday. The exhibition was inaugurated by the District Education Officer, Mrs Rajesh Chaudhary. Students of various classes displayed models. Mr D.S.Mangat, DPI (Schools), gave away the prizes on Sunday.

Essay competition: The Maxmi Devi Memorial Trust organised an on-the-spot essay competition on the birth anniversary of Swami Vivekananda ( Youth Day) on the premises of Government Model Senior Secondary School, Sector 33.

The three-day winter carnival, “MCC-2004” of Mt Carmel School, Sector 47, ended on the school premises yesterday. The event saw a number of students and their families participating in various events.

Mr Charles Samuel, Principal of the School, said the main attractions were inter-school competitions and flower arrangement. The participants were from classes VI to IX of Vivek High School, St Stephen’s School, Ajit Karam Singh International School, St Mary’s School and Stepping Stones School.

Antakishri was held for teachers.

Results of various competitions are:

Flower arrangement ( fresh): Roma 1 and Janvi 2

Flower arrangement ( dry): Anchal and Bhavna 1

Salad dressing: Komal and Simranpreet

Antakshri: Neeraj Bakshi and Sanjeev Kumar 1, Navneet and Raminder 2 and Seema Chadhray and Ritu Arora 3.

Repair sports ground, demand students
Tribune News Service

Chandigarh, February 1
As many as 70 students from the Department of Physical Education led by the PUSU president, Mr Rajwinder Singh Lucky, protested against the inability of the university authorities to repair the sports ground. Braving the weather, the students sat on a dharna demanding that the main sports ground, which was the venue of the Indian Science Congress, should be repaired.

Prizes given: As many as 200 students of the State Institute of Education, Sector 32, were awarded their presentations at the prizes for science exhibition. Mr Vivek Atray, Director, Science and Technology, presided over the function. The Director, State Institute of Education, Dr Saroj Saini, thanked the Department of Science and Technology for their cooperation in making the event a success.

Seminar: A two-day national seminar on “Regional dimensions of population, agriculture and environment in India since 1990” concluded at the Department of Geography, Panjab University. During the seminar 24 research papers were presented by eminent scholars from different disciplines.

Last date for admission forms
Tribune News Service

Chandigarh, February 1
Panjab University has extended the last date for sale and submission of forms for admission to technical courses in institutions and colleges affiliated to the university.

The last date for sale of infomation bulletin-cum-application form for the examinations to be held in 2004 is February 11, while the last date for submission of application forms is February 14. The last date for receipt of request for obtaining the forms by post has been fixed for February 6.

Hamara School
Preparing students to face competitive world

Rai School, Sector 48 B, Chandigarh, is a branch of Rai School, Lodhi Road Complex, New Delhi. It is a young school which provides education from pre-nursery to Class XII following the CBSE syllabi.

With the motto “In pursuit of excellence”, the school aims to provide quality education and help children grow into responsible citizens. The school endeavours to prepare children to face the competitive world. It also lays stress on inculcating the values of sharing, caring and universal brotherhood.

Spread over an area of 5 acres, an eco-friendly environment with provision for outdoor and indoor games. The earthquake-resistant school building has well-designed octagonal rooms with areas specified for different activities. The classrooms are airy, well-lit and colourful. The school has planned playgrounds with a separate play section for tiny tots.

Rai School teachers are being groomed to make the learning process more effective and interesting. Teachers have been selected on the basis of their social and emotional maturity so that they establish a warm relationship with their students. Special learning programmes have been devised to create awareness of environment, interest in art and craft and love for plants and pets. Computers, audio-visual aids, toys, puzzles, games and other learning material provide an interactive learning environment.

Special attention is given to the development of perceptual, organisational, linguistic and reasoning skills. Children are taught to detect likeness and differences so that they can classify objects and ideas into various categories. Special training is imparted to develop linguistic skills. New words are introduced through stories and day-to-day experiences.

Innovative methods are used to help children understand concepts of mathematics, science and social studies as well as to figure out a puzzle, a joke or a riddle. There are several fun-to-learn activities, including games, storytelling, singing rhymes, finger plays and art and craft.

Need to help children realise their potential

Ms Punam Dogra, Headmistress of the school, feels that schooling is not just academic. It is the overall development of a child that matters. There are qualities and abilities in children which remain unrecognised. There is a need to discover their unique capabilities and realise just how they are smart.

There are cases in which kids lose self-esteem and become resigned. We have to help children learn to use their minds fully, joyously and creatively instead of having them abused, misused and refused. Trying to comprehend how children think, learn and communicate can be profoundly helpful in achieving the real purpose of quality education. The education system should honour the richness of diversity in learning.

On education: Education should teach values. Education is above religion and it should make children good citizens first. If a student is talented, physically and mentally fit he or she can face any challenge in the world.

All-round development envisages development of total personality of the child, encompassing development of his or her cognitive capacities like reasoning and analytical qualities.

About the school: The school believes that education is not limited to academics alone. It conducts formal learning and gives training in community living. In this spirit we organise various cultural and social events.

Rai School teachers endeavour to discover the talent of each child and hone it to perfection. A well- developed and properly planned holistic programme of education is followed. Special learning programmes have been devised to create awareness of environment and love for plants and pets. For the all-round development of the child, special care is taken to build self-esteem and self-confidence, help them learn to express feelings, overcome shyness, jealousy and fear of separation, make friends, consider other people’s feelings, accept responsibility, interact with others and solve problems.

There are no short cuts to making your child do his or her best. It is a gradual process of support, encouragement and hard work. No education is complete without informal education. Through it a student develops a personality and is trained to face the rigours of the ruthless world of competition.

LIFESTYLE

Grandparents in a new avataar
Ruchika M. Khanna

The grandmother of yesteryear loved to make chutneys and pickles, looked after the house and her grandchildren, while the son and daughter-in-law went out for work. Grandfather, mostly dressed in a kurta-pyjama, read the newspapers in the morning, got the family’s monthly rations, deposited the bills, and socialising for both meant a walk in the evening. But no longer.

The new age trouser-clad grandmoms love to party, play rummy and let their hair down at the weekly party in the club, get their facials and manicures done; and wear the latest shape in solitaires. Their husbands like to tee off at the Golf Club during the day and sip their Scotch on the rocks, while they flaunt their Park Avenue and Armani jackets.

The grandparents in the city have come of age. They are there for the grandparents day at their grand-children’s schools, as comfortably as they freak out during their annual or biannual vacation. Or go to the slimming clinic next door to shed the extra kilos.

Mrs Sheel Chopra(77) is now a proud great- grandmom. But neither age, nor her elevated familial status has stopped her from living life kingsize. The “jaan” of Thursday Ladies club as well as the city’s social circles, she is the perfect example of the new age grandmom. In fact, the woman is an inspiration, not only to her generation, but also to the younger generation, as she dispenses her roles at various cultural events organised in the club with elan.

“My children, their children and grandchildren are well settled. I fulfilled my own duties as a mother and it was after becoming a grandmother and seeing my children settle down in their own families that I rediscovered life, and now I enjoy every minute of it,” she says.

Similar thoughts are echoed by Mrs Savita Brijmohan, a grandmother of five. She had scripted and produced a successful Punjabi movie — Shaheed Udham Singh in 1976 — in the prime of her life, and now, she is again scripting a “Hinglish” movie based on human relationships.

A former lecturer at Government College For Boys, Ludhiana, this resident of Sector 7 here, says that education, economic independence, and the media blitzkrieg brought awareness and consciousness in today’s generation of grandparents.

“So, they jaunt around and party take good care of their personal appearances and assert themselves. Gone are the days when as soon as you became grandparents, you were relegated to the background. Today’s grandparents have evolved as individuals and give new meaning to their lives,” she says.

Today’s generation of grandparents emerge from the nuclear family set-up, where they have two or three children. Gone are the days when people would exhaust almost all their financial resources in marrying off their children. Now, most parents have discharged duties towards their children in their late 50’s and are ready to rediscover themselves thereafter.

Agrees Mr Subhash Nagpal, senior advocate and resident of Sector 8. “Nowadays, people are working for a longer span of time and are economically independent. More importantly today’s grandparents have more exposure, communicate better with their children and grandchildren, and are more educated - which explains their new status”.

His wife, Mrs Pratibha Nagpal, a faculty member at Panjab University, adds. “The fact that grandparents are becoming more communicative nowadays is also responsible for their changed role in the family and better lifestyles.”

Col Manjit Singh Khaira, a grandfather of five, says today’s grandparents have emerged as their grandchildren’s friends. He plays cricket, races around the house, takes interest in their school activities and socialising. “ With parents being busy in their own careers, grandparents, without losing out on their own lifestyle, have to fill in the gap. As a child, I maintained a distance from my father and grandfather. As a father, I was a strict disciplinarian with my children, but with the grandchildren I have turned their friend,” he says.

In love with colours

Ankita Khanna with her painting.

If wishes were horses, nine-year-old Ankita Khanna would paint the town red... green, pink and yellow. Literally. The young girl is gifted with a rare artistic skills. She sketches and paints human figures, candles, her own frocks, mother’s suits - well anything she can lay her hands on. Her parents, K.L. Khanna and Hemlata Khanna, say that the only gift she ever asks for is a sketch book and paints.

This young girl, a student of Sacred Heart Senior Secondary School, has been painting and sketching since the time she was four. Her parents have kept her ealier works, and looking at these, one realises how the child has evolved as an artist.

Using oil-based crayons, she can shade a flower- a rose, a daffodil or a pansy- with the ease of a seasoned painter. The choice of colour combination is also exceptional. Her human figures and animal figures (birds, butterflies, and dogs) are too good to be true.

The young artist has used various media - fabric paints, crayons, water colours and water inks on her works. One of her specialities is creating a neat texture as a base on her paintings, be it thumb impressions, cartoon texture, thread or marble texture effect.

What is worth mentioning is the fact that Ankita has never had any formal training in drawing and painting. Being a keen observer, most of her paintings are indicative of her intellect.

The child has won various inter-school and national-level painting and clay modelling competitions. Ankita says these days she likes to paint models in various dresses. Her Mother says she recently saw a beauty contest on the television. Since then she has made variations of models in different gowns - the halter necks, off shoulder dresses, or dresses with veils and fur stoles.

Ask her if she would like to be a doctor or engineer, and pat comes the reply,” Anybody can become a doctor, but only a few can paint. Even if I choose another career, painting will remain my first love.”

Narrating stories with animated sounds
Geetanjali Gayatri

Vivid descriptions, engrossing stories and a participative audience—the story-telling session for children, held at the British Library, Sector 9, Chandigarh, was this and much more. Animated sounds and an interesting narration style made for an entertaining presentation at the first story-telling session at the library attended by 60 children of different age groups on Monday.

Discovering the joy of reading, six-year-old Arman Sandhu sat in rapt attention as his monkey family from the story book fussed over the purchase of a wrong overcoat. The pictures fascinated him and the voice modulation during the narration kept him in awe. Another small group learnt to cross the road at the zebra crossing with the characters from “Eat Your Peas” story.

Organised by the British Library in collaboration with Chitkara International School, the session, the first of its kind, had select stories to keep the children interested and, educate them in the process.

While story-tellers, teachers of Chitkara International, recreated jungles in their descriptions, the animals and their antics in the stories interested the children most. The youngest group of three plus learnt about animals and their habitat. For the seven plus, the mission to reach the sun seemed the ultimate while the story of a girl and a dog from outer space on “One Green Island” kept the children engaged as they discovered the animal kingdom on the island.

“I am an avid reader. I want my son to be as interested in reading which is why I brought him here. Besides, meeting children in new surroundings outside school provides them tremendous exposure and helps make learning fun,” says Ms Suneet Kheterpal, a parent attending the session.

And since story-telling is an art, the parents, too, were given tips on honing their narration skills and putting life into the stories, rather than simply just reading these out to children.

“To make reading a joyous experience for children and rekindle their interest in books, we thought of undertaking such a venture. We involved the parents in this exercise because they, too, need to learn the knack for getting the child interested,” says Ms Marga Buhrmann Singh, Principal of CIS.

The incurable romantic
Aditi Tandon
Tribune News Service

Chandigarh, February 1
You just cannot miss the glow in his eyes, forever on the prowl for exotic, soothing locales that can fit into the artistic scheme of his films. Yash Chopra, the quintessential romantic who manages to find hope in the most desperate of situations, will again direct a script that celebrates the magic of love. And for love to bloom and prosper, he has come back to the Himalayas.

In Chandigarh, which he is using as a base camp to move around the region in his search for apt locations, Yash Chopra talks with a great deal of old-world charm. Rooted in cinema that instantly touches base with the audience, Yash Chopra says he would forever indulge in a creative process that finds place in the heart of the people.

“Before leaving for the holy city of Amritsar, the ace filmmaker, who is synonymous with success, talked about his approach towards cinema, which is a way of life for him.

“No matter which age we enter and how much technology we apply in making our films, they will cast an impression on the public mind, only if chosen with honesty of the scripts in mind. Ultimately, the purpose is to communicate feelings through the camera. I like to portray pure, virgin feelings, without going in for too much of flamboyance.

“Everything in the film must complement the plot. I think a film has served its purpose only if years after the day it has been released, it still possesses the power to tickle your sensibilities. I have been lucky that the audiences have loved the way I work and approach the subject,” says the unassuming director.

He is now working on another script that explores human emotions - which are Yash Chopra’s forte. This time, the film features Shah Rukh Khan, Rani Mukherjee and Preity Zinta. “It is for this film that I am looking for suitable surroundings. Himachal Pradesh is a natural choice, so is Punjab, which is rich with its lush green fields. I am yet to decide where to end my search. The film is being made and will be released on Divali, so that everything is ceremoniously placed.”

Yash Chopra made references to the new breed of filmmaker who experiment with fresh, novel ideas, almost revolutionising the way cinema is handled. “The talent is amazing, so is the variety of themes. With the kind of films being made today, one can be sure of improvement in quality of Bollywood. The churning that is happening is welcome indeed.”

For his part, the director of films like “Silsila”, “Dil To Pagal Hai”, “Darr” and “Dard”, Yash Chopra says his stress in film-making will remain on the way the subject is approached. “Characters in the films should be able to strike a rapport with real-life characters that watch them. If this relationship is established, a director’s job is done”, he adds.

Mohni dared to be different
Parbina Rashid

When Punjabi folk in western beat seems to rule the roost in the music scene, here is a singer who dares to be different from the rest. Rajinder Mohni, already a popular figure has ventured into a field which has been neglected by many — qawwali. His latest album “Jind Tere Naam” is the first step towards his new ambition.

“Jind Tere Naam, contains one qawaali item complete with a video which was added in the album just to check the pulse of the music lovers,” says Mohni. Confident about qawwali’s acceptability with the audience, Mohni is planning to bring out a complete album on it.

“I had always been told by my fans that my voice is suitable for qawwali and I started thinking about it seriously when I was awarded a cash prize during a stage show for rendering a sufiana kalam sometimes ago,” says Mohni. Greatly inspired by Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan, Mohni, has high regards for Bulle Shah and Shiv Batalvi.

Son of singer Shukar Singh, Mohni, ventured into the world of music at a tender age, first under the tutelage of his father and then by Sushil Kumar of the Patiala Gharana. His musical talent was later honed by Sham Sahota which resulted in his first hit song “Yu vanga na chhanka kudiye—” way back in early 90s.

He reigned the pop scene in the nineties with hit albums like “Hai Kudiye”, “Kaka Jam Peya”, “Bhanda Bhandariya”, “Mul Pyar Da” and “Kar Yaad Sohniye”. He also lent his voice to Punjabi films like “Zaildar”, “Putt Sardaran De” and “Dharam Jatt Da”.

Also known as a lyricist, Mohni has been penning down Punjabi songs for other singers as well. After his famous song “Kiton lab ke liyao”, Mohni has written another romantic song for his forthcoming album “Jind Tere Naam”. Directed by music director Balraj Singh, Mohni’s new album are based on qawaali, peppy dance numbers, sad and romantic songs.