The Tribune, Chandigarh, India - Chandigarh Stories

Concept of development needs to be redefined: expert
Tribune News Service

Mohali, January 2
"Globalisation is the ideological justification of western capital economies to encourage among the Third World countries. Globalisation is not a spontaneous or natural force, it is a result of efforts of the capital economies to ensure that the rest of the world toes their line," said Dr S.L. Sharma, former Head of the Department of Sociology, Panjab University, and currently course director, Institute of Correctional Administration, Chandigarh Administration.

Dr Sharma was speaking at a seminar on 'Wither Society' organised by the Adara tarak, Mohali, here today. Mr Sharma pointed out that every society undergoes changes with time and it was common for the older generation to think that the newer generation was worse than their times. "This judgmental generational point of view does not help. Instead of trying to say that things are constantly moving towards the worst, it is more important first to identify the changes that are coming in society and the causes of these changes. Once the changes are identified we need that these are for the better or worse before we find solutions," he said.

"For example: technology has always brought about changes in society but one needs to identify if these changes have improved life or made it worse. Globalisation too has to be seen in this context," he added pointing out that the forces of globalisation and information revolution cannot be stopped even if we want.

Stating that the entire concept of development needed to be redefined, Dr Sharma said the paradigm that economic prosperity was the harbinger of all development is questionable. "If this were true then the richer one became, the happier he should have been. But we know this is false," he said.

Dr Sharma suggested that nations have to ensure some self-reliance amidst the forces of globalisation. "If China can do it so can we. We have to assert our self-reliance. We are a knowledge society and that is our strongest point," he said adding that at the group level, citizens should work towards strengthening civic values in order to build a civic society.

Eminent educationist, Dr T.R. Sharma also spoke on the occasion. He told the audience that all was not well in society and one should first change oneself for the better and society would change on its own.

A large number of persons from the participants interacted with the speakers after the lectures and put across their points of view. Mr Santokh Singh Dhir said education and health should not be given to private hands but should remain the responsibility of the government.

Mr Shashi Rattan said change in society is possible only if we change ourselves first. Dr Darshan Singh said there was a need to identify those traditional values that should be strengthened in society which would stop it from disintegrating.

Mr Tarbinder Singh said the older generations needed to do more and justify their pensions. Mr Rajiv Godara said the problems of rural society were different from urban society. Mr Karnail Singh, president of the society, proposed a vote of thanks and Mr Ranjivan Singh, general secretary of the society, conducted the seminar.

Cultural festival concludes
Tribune News Service

Mohali, January 2
A two-day cultural festival organised in the memory of Dr M.S. Randhawa ended at Phase VIII parade ground today. Organised by the Punjabi Cultural and Welfare Society, Mohali, the festival ended with performances of a host of Punjabi pop and folk singers.

The main attraction of today’s show was actor singer Harbhajan Mann and his brother Gursevak Mann. Performances by budding singer Daljit Gharuan were also appreciated.

The society also honoured important personalities of the township, including Mr Devinder Singh Garcha, a hockey Olympian, Gursevak Mann, Balwinder Singh Saifdipur, a social worker, and Manmohan Singh Daon, a literary figure.

Serious themes in comic moulds
Tribune News Service

Chandigarh, January 2
S.C. Bhattacharya has yet again managed to say meaningful things with his cartoons. Famous for his art all over the country, the cartoonist loves to exhibit his works. It is, however, for the first time that he has managed sponsorship for his show. No wonder, one finds in his comic ensemble a large number of works dedicated to the State Bank of India, the official sponsor of the cartoon exhibition which opened at Punjab Kala Bhavan today.

The works draw from almost everything in our surroundings. From dowry and unemployment to demonstration effect and extensive consumption, the exhibition features serious stuff in comic moulds.

Though not very refined in his strokes, the artist manages to arrest viewers’ attention with his unique portrayals and captions. His works mocking at the trend of over consumption fuelled by easy loans are particularly hilarious.

The conflict of students also forms a significant part of Bhattacharya’s canvas. The work featuring a child dragging his books is particularly interesting for its caption which reads —BA/MA or MBA. What to do? Equally impressive are other works like the one that features the artist’s interpretation of peace in the world.

This work also has a special commendation from President of India A.P.J. Abdul Kalam.

The exhibition will be open for a week at Punjab Kala Bhavan, Sector 16.

Paying the bill — a dating dilemma
Swarleen Kaur

The candlelight dinner was over. It was time for the pair to depart. The girl says good-bye softly and leaves for her home in a car with a smile on her lips. But the boy is sad while parting. He will probably miss her more. But do not be mistaken. His heart is heavy not because he is parting from his beloved but because his pocket has become lighter. For the next date he will have to seek the help of his friends again and collect the money.

Cementing a tie with a dinner or a lunch is something very routine. But if you are a student and receive a limited pocket money from elders than you are in a real dilemma. A lot goes behind the scene to make the date a fruitful one. Keeping your date on a ‘merry go round’ becomes a tough task. For girls the date implies an additional burden of buying the latest accessories, including purse and shoes. After all they too do not want to lag behind in pleasing their beau. Who says that the girls do not make efforts to win over their friends?

As ambitious as men, they desire to reach the ‘moon’. They are tempted to try the latest. Be it luxury cars, mobile sets or Belgium chocolates. They don’t feel hard- pressed for money. But when it comes to paying the bill at a restaurant, they go blank. Why? “ Because they always expect the man to pay the bill”, answer came from the most of the young guys. At an age when having a girl friend means a lot, many boys find it difficult to keep it going.

Recalling his college days Hitesh, now a mechanical engineer in Mohali, said,” Initially I and my friends used to spend quite a sum from our meagre pocket money to entertain our girl friends. But after a year we realised that we were bothering ourselves too much. Immediately after the date we would have no money left to pay for laundry bills. Then we devised a plan’. Now they generally don’t invite them for a lunch or a dinner. They just finish off with a cup of coffee or snacks at economical places.

While Sahil, another college student, have another option, “I know my girlfriend used to search her purse for a long time and always used to say ‘Let me pay the bill’. But in the end I used to pay the bill. Now as soon as she says let me pay the bill I just let her to do the honour”.

A Government College for Girls, Sector 11, graduate, Sushma Sethi, says that, “Gone are the days when only men used to pay bill or used to bring gifts for their women admirer. Now girls do not lag behind in opening their purse to pay the food bill. More so because boys have become clever. They spend money only during the initial courting days. After sometime they stop doing so. They very rightly expect girls to chip in”.

Social awareness through street plays
S.D. Sharma

Theatre, the most powerful medium to convey a message to people, was effectively used by volunteers of NSS unit of Punjab Engineering College in their endeavour to create awareness about prevailing social evils.

The otherwise sleepy Janata Colony near Nayagaon witnessed unusual hustle and bustle today as 200 spirited NSS student volunteers, including girls, took out a march in the narrow lanes of the colony raising slogans like “Bapu chod tho sharaab, mujh ko laa do ek kitaab,” and “Sharab ganja zehar hai, jeevan per kehar hai”. These slogans acquired a different relevance today as children, youngsters and women from the colony were directly involved as keen participants. They assisted the volunteers to bring residents to witness the nukkad nataks.

The NSS coordinators Prof M.L. Gupta and Satinder Singh disclosed that the NSS unit of Punjab Engineering College had been engaged in generating awareness about social evils for the past 20 years.

Formation of self help groups in colony to encourage self reliance, loans for productive purposes under the unit’s Micro Financing Scheme and to empower women to earn by making pickles, baskets, pillow covers, knitting and other projects offered from time to time at the college premises. Expressing their gratitude beneficiaries like Rajpati, Kamla, Malti Pushpa told the Chandigarh Tribune about the footing provided to their families from pickle making. Gayatri, another beneficiary, in earning her earned livelihood by stitching clothes. Out of six NSS youth ambassadors in India four, including Gumtaj Randhawa, Nikita Thakur, Manu Prabhakar and Mohinder Rajput, belong to this unit, says a proud Dr M.L. Gupta.

The street plays generated a lot of interest in the colony residents as they braved the chill to enjoy the five short plays which were aimed to generating awareness about social evils prevalent in the society.

Structured to highlight the curse and cure of alcoholism, the first play depicted the life of an alcoholic driver who loses his life.

Weaved in the dialect ‘Gutka Zarda’ depicted how the habit ruined the life of a student. ‘Tuktuk’, highlighted the ill effects of free sex, evil of illiteracy and how fake sadhus exploit the innocent youth for drug abuse were also highlighted.

While two “sutradhars” as Ustad (Sameer Sharma) and Jamura (Ankur) enlivened the show by providing a vital link between various presentations. The performers used film songs to keep the interest of the audience alive.

Changing lives through spiritualism

National Director of Bhaktivedanta College of Education, H.G. Shyam Hari Prabhu arrived in city today from Vrindaban to conduct a three-day-long seminar on “Transformation of hearts” at Hare Krishna Dham, Sector 36-B. The seminar will conclude on January 4.

He had completed his mechanical engineering in 2001 but preferred to start practising bhakti-yoga by joining ISKCON. He has been conducting seminars on “Art of Mind Control”, “Discover Yourself”, “Your Best Friend”, “Essence of Srimad Bhagwadgita” etc across the country.

Talking to The Tribune, he said we should cultivate human values by adopting the path of spiritualism. One can attain real peace in life by controlling senses which are the root cause of all evils-lust, passion, ego, anger etc.”

Replying to a question he said the simplest and most practical way to achieve the goal was the service of Lord Krishna. “We must survive one way or the other. We have to only change our consciousness from within to towards the Lord. This gives us peace and prosperity,” he said. TNS

Speech and drama workshop for teenagers

The British Library today organised a speech and drama workshop designed for the age group 10-14. This is for the first time that the Library has held a workshop of this kind for its teenaged members. The workshop, held in the morning and afternoon sessions, received a huge response.

Conducted by the resource person Ms Suprita Gill, a qualified teacher in speech and drama from Magic Moments, Institute of Creative Learning, United Kingdom, the workshop covered a number of fun activities like the ice-breaker games, breathing and relaxation exercises. Other exercises and games that formed a part of the session were mini dramas, music and movement classes, a personal booklet expressing feelings and emotions, poetry, voice modulation with emphasis on pitch, pace, power, pause, inflection and tone and much more…

After this unique workshop, the library also plans to launch its new section on ‘Teenage Collection’ on January 7. Meanwhile the Library also announced the reopening of membership from January 9. TNS