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Embarrassment ruled PU convocation
Chandigarh, February 14 She was due to receive two gold medals and two cash prizes for her academic brilliance in B Com III (honours). On stage she was not handed over any medals at all. Moreover, the certificate she was given had the name of some other candidate. She was later made to go once again on stage to get her “real” prizes. Her name was not announced this time. There were about 10 more students who went up the stage and received their prizes without any announcement towards the end of the function. Their names were either not called or they were given the wrong prizes. Harpreet Saini from Khalsa College, Dasuya, was supposed to get a prize for declamation. She was instead handed over a copy of M Phil degree. “I am just a student of BA,” she said. An error in the printing of names was overlooked because it involved the name of an eminent personality who was conferred the degree of D Litt(honoris causa). The spelling of Sardara Singh Johl, Vice-Chairman of the Punjab State Planning Board, had been misspelt as Sarada in the official list supplied to the media.
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Scholars of perseverance
Chandigarh, February 14 In a wheelchair for the past six months, he is a proud recipient of D. Litt in Arts which he received today at 54th annual convocation, Panjab
University, Chandigarh. His is a story which speaks of persistence and faith in fruits of hard work. Hailing from small Kaul village of Kaithal, he carefully chalked out a path which finally took him towards fulfilling his scholarly aims. But Mr Ram Sharma had to strive for 17 long years to get D.Litt in Arts after completing his research work in 1988. As per the stringent rules of the university, a scholar must get his research work published before submitting it for evaluation. After finishing his research work, he waited patiently and his dream work titled
'Brahmi Script Development in North-Western India and Central Asia" was finally published in 2002. It is a scholarly work of immense historical importance. But to get the degree he had to wait for another three years. His encyclopedic and painstakingly undertaken research work on Brahmi script is available now in a book form in two volumes. It traces the evolution of Brahmi Alphabet in all its three stages — early
Brahmi, middle brahmi and late brahmi. He has also been awarded with PhD by the University of Punjab for his thesis "Studies on Aitareya
Brahmma" in 1973. He also secured a gold medal for getting a first class first in MA (Sanskrit) and got MOL (Master of Oriental Learning) in Sanskrit. He knows five languages viz Hindi, Sanskrit, Urdu, Punjabi and English and has mainly worked in the field of Epigraphy. "I am very satisfied and this work signals an end to my studies," was all he could say today as he was not feeling well. Mr Harbans Lal, 70-year-old, has been conferred the degree of doctor of philosophy. He has been conferred the degree in Sanskrit. Interestingly, he never studied the subject during his career as a school teacher in Punjab. Mr Lal worked on 'concept of body in Indian philosophy with special reference to sankhya and yoga'. Born in 1935, he began his teaching career in a Primary School in
Ferozepore. He was later a middle school teacher in the same district for 22 years. "I did MA (Sanskrit) when I was 55 years old. I saw great strength of the value system in the Indian traditions. I borrowed from different studies in Hinduism, Jainism and other religions. I have dwelled on material available in different texts for personality development, spiritual evolution and social involvement." "I am not an expert in Sanskrit so I have composed my text in English. My work has just started. I plan to continue my perusal of the subject in a greater detail," he added.
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UK teachers visit school
Chandigarh, February 14 The teachers, 13 in number, were thrilled to see activities like beading, origami and card-making by tiny tots. They enjoyed the nursery rhyme session. The students presented their projects on various themes related to science and social studies. A yoga performance performed by the students bowled them over. The teachers exchanged their views about teaching strategies of various levels. This is the first visit of the team which arrived in India for a week and will be visiting different states. This programme is organised by the Heritage, Patiala, and sponsored by the League for Exchange of Commonwealth Teachers, London.
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Vijay Gupta takes over as PEC Director
Chandigarh, February 14 He said he was not aware of the controversies surrounding the college. Projecting a positive attitude, he said some fruitful changes would take place in the college. Enjoying every moment of his first day in the college, he said “I don’t believe in sitting and passing orders for everyone.” He said the college building and the campus were good, but were little unkempt. He appreciated the friendly attitude of the college staff and students. Talking about the staff on
contract, he said the present contract system was not very good. Selection of teachers on contractual basis should be fair.
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Bhutan delegates meet VC
Chandigarh, February 14 Mr Thinley explored the possibility of sending students from Bhutan for pursuing higher education in Panjab University. He was accompanied by Ms Kezang Doma, Registrar, Royal University of Bhutan, Mr Karma Wangehuk, Joint Director, Games and Sports Division; Mr Rinzin Namgyel, Joint Director, Teacher Development Division, and Ms Nim Dem, Director, Department of Adult and Higher Education. The Vice-Chancellor, suggested that either students from Bhutan could come through the Indian Council for Cultural Relations or there could be a memorandum of understanding between the two countries.
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Congress leader gets judicial remand
Chandigarh, February 14 Meanwhile, Mr R.K. Mehta, Judicial Magistrate (First Class), today remanded the accused in judicial custody till February 28. The bail application of the accused was dismissed in view of the serious allegations of cheating and ongoing investigations into the case. According to sources, at least 40 complaints of cheating involving several lakhs have been filed against the accused. The complaints have been filed by residents from far-off places, including New Delhi, Ludhiana, Patiala and Hoshiarpur. A majority of the cases related to persons who had paid money for going abroad. Besides, several cheque-bounce cases against her have also come to light. The Congress leader and her son, residents of Kendriya Vihar in Sector 48, were arrested by the Sector 31 police station on February 11 following the complaint of two local residents, who had alleged that they were duped to the tune of Rs 4.20 lakh on the pretext of sending them abroad.
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Property dealer in the dock
Panchkula, February 14 Acting on a complaint filed by Sector 14 resident, Mr Satish Kumar, the court issued directions for investigating the complaint under Section 202 of the CrPC. The complainant had alleged that he had approached the property dealer, Mr S.P. Aggarwal, in order to buy land. The dealer sold him a plot owned by Mr Satnam Singh. He alleged that they finalised the sale deed of the plot for Rs 4. 5 lakh. The property dealer and Mr Satnam Singh told him that it was a corner plot and he paid Rs 1.5 lakh as advance. However, he later found that it was neither a corner plot and was part of the defence land near the Chandigarh Airport. They also refused to refund his money.
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Assault case against cops
to be probed
Panchkula, February 14 Acting on a complaint filed by a Sector 10 resident, Mr Rajesh Kumar, the court has asked the DSP to investigate the charges against constables Ramesh Kumar and Brahmanand. The complainant has alleged that in November 30 last year, he was picked up by the two while he was sitting on the roadside in the Sector 10 market. He alleged that he was taken to the Sector 10 police post, where he was beaten up and kept in illegal confinement. Later, he was let off, but when he went to the local General Hospital, the hospital authorities informed the police. The policemen who came to investigate informed Ramesh Kumar and Brahmanand, who again came to the hospital and threatened him with dire consequences. The police then framed him in a false case, following which he filed a complaint in court, requesting that the police employees be summoned and punished. The court has today asked the DSP (City) to submit an inquiry report by April 11.
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Poetics of love change with SMS lore
Gone are the days when the famed couplet of the ultimate in love by Jigar Moradabadi — Yeh ishq nahin aasan bas itna samajh leeje, Ik aag ka dariya hai aur doob ke jaana hai—could set young hearts aflame. There is no longer talk of rivers of fire with poets like Mirza Ghalib, Jigar Moradabadi, Faiz Ahmed Faiz and even the living latter-day favourite like Bashir Badr, who provided the poetics of love throughout the 20th century, having become passe. Pulp poetry, popular present-day film songs and jokes, including, PJs, make for love lore being keyed in at high speed via SMS by the mobile brigade of 2005.
The messages beeped by a large number of city youth and adolescents doing the rounds of love and life show that the flavour of love has graduated from the old Indian tradition of sexual tragedies to one of sexual comedies in the new vigour of high-tech globalised romance. The great masters of poetry may be outdated but sher-o-shairi in Hindustani continues to be a favourite with the young ones courtesy the Roman script. The mood, of course, has altered radically. If the old-school lovers would bring Ghalib to their aid to say — Dil-e-nadaan tujhe hua kya hai, the brazen lads of the day have no time to be loony-moony and they threaten their sweethearts with practical monkey-business Tere dar pe sanam hazaar baar aayenge, Ghanti bajayenge aur bhaag jaayenge. Inspired by the traffic of SMS messages, a local publisher has even brought out a book called the “World’s Very Best SMS Jokes”. While parents and teachers alike are crying out against “SMS addiction”, this publication enthusiast, perhaps with an eye on the market, says “I do not know why people are making so much noise against SMS messaging. In fact, it is making young people write again and be creative.” A typical example of this new manifestation of desi creativity is: “Love is a secret ambition, finding true love is a life-time mission, Take my advice, follow the Indian tradition and marry your dad’s ugly decision.” Going by the mood of the times a popular Bashir Badr couplet talking about the exchange of love-letters concealed in books would have to be rewritten thus: Ab padhai-likhyai ka mausam kahan, Mobile pe SMS aane jaane lage. The only romantic hero that is common to the generations of the past generations and the present one is none other than the protagonist of Sarat Chandra’s novel—“Devdas”. This Devdas travelled to cinema and kept wearing new faces with the changing times. P.C. Barua had played Devdas in the first celluloid version of the novel in Bengali. For a Hindi remake he took K.L. Saigal to play the role. Bimal Roy chose Dilip Kumar to play Devdas in his version of the classic. For the youth today, this tragic hero is Shahrukh Khan, courtesy filmmaker Sanjay Leela Banasali, and can well be given a comic twist. A popular message begging for an SMS from the loved one says— Devdas ke babu ne kaha ghar chhod do, Ma ne kaha Paro chhod do, Tumse kisne kaha SMS karna chhod do. And so the love lore moves on with the times. It would be outdated to moan for spring with the melancholy of a Faiz by saying— Chale bhi aao ki gulshan ka karobar chale. The young today feel it is right there and one just has to have the dare to go and seize it.
TNS Jammed SMS spoils fun
Valentine’s Day is not only big business for gift shops, but also means a lucrative opportunity for private telecom operators. However, with this comes the chronic problem of choked networks, inundated with love messages. Consequently, some SMS delivered after quite a delay while others fail to make it to loved ones. This Valentine’s was no exception as love overflowed and telecom operators could do little to keep the “traffic” going. Mr Mandeep Singh of Airtel said while there was no intra-network problem as far as the delivery of messages was concerned, inter-network problems could have encountered failed message delivery reports. “Our network has a utilisation of only 60 per cent of the total capacity for the delivery of messages. Nobody thinks twice about the cost involved when SMSing for Valentine’s and we bank on this growing interest on such days for good business,” he maintained. Similar congestion was experienced by subscribers of Spice Telecom. On most occasions, the message, despite being successfully sent, was not received.
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Colours of metropolitan glitter and gloom
The 'Oil on Canvass'— an exhibition of paintings by reputed artist Somenath Maity from
Kolkata was opened today at the Art Folio, the Centre for Arts, Sector 9, Chandigarh.
The very sight of the paintings attracts the viewer with its magical brilliance of colour application, which have been judiciously used besides its rare distinctive themes. A close analysis of works on display, be it in the oil or water colour, reveals the artist's in-depth observation and an overview of the sparkle of the vast metropolitan areas and the calm hilly life. His works illustrate the natural luminescence and the darkness of a city's glitter through 'structures' and an immaculate scheme of colours breathing life into its forms and content. The direct frame of references for these
paintings, on display till February 26, appears to have come to Maiti from the big, bustling metropolis with its structures, seething mass of humanity, its labyrinth of streets, the lanes and nooks, the hidden stairways and secret by-lanes. The city with its multitude of human faces is at once seductive and deceptive. Maiti feels that the man-made glitter is not real but cannot help being mesmerized and is caught in its whirl, as the fact stands incorporated in the untitled paintings. Since all the works are in the 'abstract art' form and radiate their unique character, the artist is at
his best with his virtuosity in presenting the multifaceted creations, looking pretty mysterious at the first instance. The atmospheric phenomena affecting the life from dusk to dawn in one of the art pieces on canvass in oil is a divine experience. Born in West Bengal, Somenath Maiti at 44 is an accomplished artist of stature, if the abundant success of his solo shows at the Stuttgart (West Germany), Stockholm, Greenwich and Ipswich art galleries of UK and Henley festival between 1983 to date is to go by. Back home, he has participated in over 100 group shows and individual exhibitions besides conducting over 20 art workshops mostly in the foreign city centers. He has studied the Fine Arts at the College of Visual Arts under the able guidance of Shuvuprasanna of
Kolkata. The exhibits will be on display between 11.00 am to 7.00 pm at the Art Folio till February 26 except Sunday.
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