Next year on, PAU to give 3 new awards
Our Correspondent

Ludhiana, March 5
Punjab Agricultural University has recently received a corpus of Rs 20 lakh from the Chief Minister for giving prizes to three progressive farmers every year. Prizes worth Rs 25,000 each would be distributed next year onwards.

Dr Kirpal Singh Aulakh, Vice-Chancellor, said this during the prize distribution function for the crop competition held in the open-air theatre on the concluding day of the kisan mela here today. He said one prize each in the fields of dairy, fruit growing and diversified pattern of agriculture would be given to farmers who show outstanding performance.

Dr Amrik Singh Sandhu, Director, Extension Education, stressed on the steps required to check lowering of the water table. He said the level was going down at an alarming rate of 42 cm per annum. He urged farmers to adopt modern practices such as drip irrigation. Warning against the hazards of burning the stubble after harvesting paddy, he suggested it be used as fodder. He asked farmers to keep in touch with krishi vigyan kendras and Agriculture Department offices set up in various districts for the latest information.

The winners of the crop competition who were honoured today were Mr Harbans Singh of Gumti Kalan in Bathinda for potato, Mr Nanak Singh of Mian Puri in Ropar for carrot, Mr Dalbir Singh of Loombriwala in Ferozepore for turmeric, Mr Amrik Singh Dalla of Jalandhar for tomato, Mr Manjit Singh Sangrur for peas, Mr Gurmeet Singh Sohi of Ropar for cabbage, Mr Jaspal Singh Lehri of Bathinda for cauliflower, Mr Manmohan Singh Sandhu of Mansa for garlic, Mr Ranjit Singh of Kapurthala for chilly, Mr Sukhpal Singh of Bathinda for sugar beet, Mr Devmitar Ahuja of Ferozepore for guava, Mr Paramjit Singh of Patiala for papaya, Mr Sukhpal Singh of Sangrur for lemon, Mr Rubash Jakhar of Ferozepore for kinnow, Mr Ramandeep Singh of Hoshiarpur for gladiolus, Mr Jagdeep Singh of Ropar for rose and Mr Kamaljeet Singh of Bathinda for chrysanthemum.

Histrionics is his forte
Asha Ahuja

Ludhiana, March 5
Crescendo, a cultural programme held at GNIMT College here recently, saw Jaswant Singh, a sought after guest artiste of GCB College, entertain students by imitating news readers like Raman Kumar and actors and winning accolades for his performance.

Jaswant Singh has multifaceted talent. He is not only a great mimic, but also scores high on histrionics. He has won several awards in histrionics at university-level youth festivals. He won the first prize in histrionics at one such festival in 2003. He has won College Colours and has been awarded the Roll of Honour for his talent.

He writes the script himself and ensures that it is humorous. He believes in clean humour and avoids vulgar or double meaning words. He is self-trained and has learnt the nuances of speech.

He says that he has always been shy but wanted to be an entertainer. His desire to entertain people helped him overcome his shyness and stage fright.

He began with watching actors perform and then listened to the audio recording of their dialogues. He can now mimic any actor with ease and reproduce all the intonations, pauses, and inflections of the actor concerned to perfection. He also likes to sketch actors in various poses.

He has appeared on stage with Chacha Raunki Ram and performed on television. He is impressed with Gurpreet Ghuggi and thinks that he is the best anchor on Punjabi television. He desires to anchor a show on Ghuggi’s pattern and intersperse his act with comic repartees.

From Colleges
Seminar on education for peace held
Tribune Reporters

Ludhiana, March 5
The Malwa Central College of Education for Women, Civil Lines, Ludhiana, organised a seminar on “Education for peace — our main priority.” The seminar was sponsored by the National Assessment and Accreditation Council (NAAC), Bangalore. Prof Ramesh Kapoor, Dean, College Development Council, Panjab University, Chandigarh, inaugurated the seminar.

Dr N.S.Mavi, Head, Department of Education, Kurukshetra University, presented a theme paper on “Instructional paradigms for imparting education for peace.” Dr Romesh Verma and Dr S.K.Bawa, from Punjabi University, Patiala, presented theme papers.

Farewell party: BA II students of Guru Nanak Khalsa College for Women, Gujarkhan Campus, Model Town, gave a farewell party to the outgoing students of BA III. Students presented individual and group dances and choreography. Beautiful damsels attired in glittering sarees sashayed down the ramp to bag the title of Miss Farewell. Rupinder Kaur won the title of Miss Farewell, whereas Aman and Simran were declared first and second runners-up, respectively. Satinder Kaur was adjudged Miss Elegant, Sakshi Miss Graceful, Gurleen Miss Personality and Gagandeep Miss Best Smile.

Anahad-2004: Anahad-2004, annual cultural extravaganza of the Ludhiana College of Engineering and Technology, was organised here on Thursday. Various cultural events like gidha, skits, songs and bhangra were held.

The function was presided over by Mr Mohinder Singh Kaypee, Minister for Technical Education and Industrial Training, Punjab. Dr J.S.Sohal, Principal of the college, presented the annual report of the college.

Mr V.K.Gupta, Chairman of the college, proposed a vote of thanks.

Elected: Dr Simran Preet Sidhu, head of the Department of English, Guru Nanak Girls College, Ludhiana, has been unanimously elected secretary/treasurer of the Indian Association of American Studies, at its annual congress held at Punjabi University, Patiala, recently. 

From Schools
Holi celebrated

Ludhiana: Kids of Love Dale Montessori School, Sarabha Nagar, celebrated Holi here on Friday. The children were provided organic, harmless colours ensuring that they did not cause any damage to their skin. They played with water guns and danced on various songs. Tiny tots of Shastri Memorial School and Pearl Nursery School also celebrated Holi. OC

BPEO retires

Mandi Gobindgarh: The retirement function of Ms Pushpa Kaura, Block Primary Education Officer (BPEO), Sirhind-2, was held at the local Guru Ravidas Dharamshala. Mr Dev Singh, District Education Officer (Elementary), Fatehgarh Sahib, honoured Ms Kaura for her outstanding services. OC

BVM to provide transport
Tribune News Service

Ludhiana, March 5
Bharatiya Vidya Mandir, a local school, has decided to arrange transport from its campus to Shamrock School for the students from the next examination scheduled for March 9.

Reacting to a report published in these columns yesterday, a spokesman of the school claimed that only one student had come to the school, for whom a vehicle was arranged. He said parents had held a meeting with the BVM managing Committee president, Mr Manmohan Bamba, after which the school decided to arrange the transport.