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Student orators show class
Chandigarh, September 25 It was a clash of the best student orators in the country and they came from as far as Secunderabad, Bangalore, Kolkatta, Mumbai, Dehradun, Shimla, Lucknow and Patna with a determination to walk away with the trophy that would pronounce them as the best among the best. Divided into two categories on the basis of their classes, a total of 13 teams were selected after two rounds of debate conducted in their respective pools. Today, the participants sat in the school auditorium, calm and poised, awaiting their turn to put forth their view on the two topics of “Coalition government hampers national progress” and “Cooperation and not competition is the need of the hour”. Debating like very mature minds, they weighed the pros and cons as they spoke for and against the motions. Like Raunak Kapoor of Jamnabai Narsee School, Mumbai, staunchly supporting competition, concluded his argument by saying that “Bigger potatoes are on top because little ones are holding them up”. Akanksha Sharma of St Joseph’s Convent High School, Patna, maintained that the “reason the world is not at peace is competition”. Each one of the participants managed to effectively sway the audience to his line of thought. These students belonged to Classes IX and X. The arguments against the motion on “Coalition government hampers national progress” proved to be far more convincing than those made for it at the speakers debated the issue. “A sword without an edge, an arrow without a head, a government of numbers” is how the speakers chose to define a coalition government, maintaining that politics had been reduced to arithmetic and had little to do with the welfare of the masses at large. One participant chose to weave his arguments around the 13-day coalition government of former Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee which was toppled because of “an unhappy partner” while another chose to draw the attention of the audience to the fact that the GDP had fallen from 8 per cent at the time of the Narasimha Rao government to 6.5 per cent in the present set-up of a coalition government. Maueen Farooq from St George’s College, Mussoorie, provided some light moments amidst the heavy intellectual discussions. He compared coalition governments to lemonade, providing sweet and salty taste together in one glass, implying thereby that coalition government provided the best of ideologies to come together. His argument brought a lot of smiles on the faces of the audience. The winning teams were given cash awards to the tune of Rs 5000 each and a trophy and certificates. The first and second runner-up were given a cash prize of Rs 3000 and Rs 2000 each and certificates.
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Schools in residential areas face closure
Panchkula, September 25 The board will issue resumption notices to authorities of 15 such running in Housing Board colonies in Sectors 10, 11, 15 and 18, asking them why their residential premises be not resumed, as these were being used for commercial purpose. The Punjab and Haryana High Court had set April 30 as the last date for closure of such schools. Even as HUDA had forced the closure of such schools running in residential premises in various sectors, no action was initiated against the schools in Housing Board colonies. The Municipal Council, which was asked to initiate action for closure of these schools, had conducted a survey in April, but failed to take any action. MC officials said they had no record of the commercial use of houses and the Housing Board should act on its own. It is estimated that around 4,000 children study in these schools, but none of these has opted for an alternative site. Officials in Housing Board say they will ensure the closure of these schools by the end of this academic year. It may be mentioned that a number of these schools are being run in one-room houses, and two to three classes are run simultaneously in each room. The rules say that the size of a primary school site should be 0.5 acre, middle school 1.5 acre in rural and 1 acre in urban areas, high school and senior secondary school sites should be at least 2.5 acre in rural and two acre in urban areas. Sources in the Town and Country Planning Department say there are 51 nursery school sites, 50 primary school sites and 18 high school sites in Panchkula, Panchkula extension and in Mansa Devi Complex. While school sites in all developed areas have been allotted, some sites are available in Panchkula extension.
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Freshers’ party at Chitkara
Chandigarh, September 25 A number of special events were held at the party, including Mr & Ms CSH, Best Dancer, Mr Funky, Sporting Guy of the Evening, Smart Hunk, Jumping Jack, Miss Punctuality, Bhangra King, Dressed to Kill, Peach of the Evening and Apple Of Our Eye. In a well-fought contest in which all students participated by singing songs or dancing or presenting shayari, Nikhil and Kishwar emerged winners and were crowned Mr & Ms CSH, respectively, by Dr Ashok Chitkara and Dr (Mrs) Madhu Chitkara. The results are: Sporting Guy of the Evening — Rohan; Smart Hunk of the Evening — Jatin; Jumping Jack — Prabhjot; Ms Punctuality — Snehlata; Bhangra King — Jaswinder; Mr Funky — Amardeep; Best Dancer — Prabhsharan; Dressed to Kill — Kritika; Peach of the Evening — Sukhmukh.
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Divya is Miss Fresher
Mohali, September 25 Divya was chosen Miss Fresher while Abhishek was crowned Fresher. Rubal was chosen Ms Charming and Vishal Puri was crowned Mr Handsome. The college Principal, Dr I.P. Singh, shared his experiences with the students. Prof Avtar Singh encouraged students to excel in co-curricular activities in order to develop a balanced personality. The winners were honoured.The Dean, Cultural Affairs, Prof Gurpreet Kaur proposed a vote of thanks to all guests and the organisers of the event.
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Gaganpreet adjudged Mr ICAI
Mohali, September 25 Mr H.S. Pasricha, president of the institute, welcomed the freshers and wished them the best in life. Among the new comers, Gaganpreet was chosen as Mr ICAI while Bhumika was chosen as Ms ICAI. Sumiti was chosen as the best female dancer while Harinder was chosen as the best male dancer.
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Welcome party at Rayat college
Senior students of Rayat College of Law, Railmajra, near here, organised a party to welcome new comers in the college. The function titled “Flora Fiesta” included
bhangra, giddha, skits and dance performances.
Addressing the students, Mr Gurvinder Singh Bahra, vice-chairman, Rayat Educational and Research Trust , asked the juniors to follow the principles of the institute and create a healthy atmosphere. Later, in the evening, both seniors and juniors let their hair loose and danced to foot-tapping numbers. A special game was played with the juniors to break the ice between them and the seniors. Shahbaz and Manisha were declared Mr and Ms Fresher, respectively, from integrated law course. Similarly, Sarbjit Cheema and Jaswinder Kaur were crowned Mr and Ms Fresher, respectively, from the regular law class.
TNS
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Kala Sangam’s anniversary
Panchkula, September 25 Founder secretary Reeta Chopra lit a lamp. Col Inderjit Ahluwalia presented Ganesh Vandana. It was followed by Saraswati Vandana by Dr Betty Nangia. Dr Nangia later presented two Punjabi folk songs with consummate proficiency in melody and rhythm. Classical vocalist Aditya Sharma, however, spelt magic and brought alive spiritual fervor with the rendition of two bhajans. Prof Anita Sharma on harmonium and Debashish Dhar on tabla provided matching accompaniment. Students of Mukta Nagesh presented a fusion of Bharatnatyam and kathak while young danseuse Reema Lahiri depicted ‘Krishan Leela’ in her thrilling solo dance. Another scintillating performance came from Shireela who danced with six pitchers on her head. Apurva, Maneesh Gandhi, Pankhri Harita, Siloni Kolambi, Spandna, Ishita Mehul participated in classical dance items. Chitra presented ghazal “Sabh kuch mil gaya hai”, while Satinder Trikha and Achla Dingle doled out songs. Col Inderjit Ahluwalia welcomed the chief guest, Mr Tarun Bhandari, President of the Municipal Council, who honoured the artistes and donated Rs 5,100 to the
sangam.
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Doon School old boys mourn Das’ death
Chandigarh, September 25 An alumni of the Doon School, Das was a fine police officer who rose to the rank of the ADGP. He was a well-known mountaineer who undertook varied expeditions for which he received many laurels. Besides authoring books, he was currently the vice-president of the Mountaineering Society of India. His death in the mountains that he loved is a queer twist of fate. “He will be remembered as a fine man, good officer and a great mountaineer whose memories we will cherish. Our heart goes out to his wife and children who will have to bear this tragic and irreparable loss,” said a statement issued by Ravibir Singh and Gurpreet Singh on the behalf of the society here today. P.M. Das and two others of a state police expedition team were killed in an avalanche while scaling a peak in the Sikkim Himalayas, the police said today. Das, a 1978 batch IAS officer, was leading the eight-member expedition from Thangu to Dongchong at about 16,000 feet in the north district of Sikkim yesterday when the avalanche came down on their way, a press note issued by the Punjab Police said.
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Taming water colours for the canvas
Creative juices flowed in plenty on the campus of Art College that came alive with hectic art activity yesterday.
Assembling for a common cause, eminent painters from the region unleashed on the canvas vibrant patterns inspired by life and nature. They came visiting on the call of Chandigarh Lalit Kala Akademi which is hosting a series of art workshops to lend fresh perspectives to learners of art. The first workshop was about oil and acrylic paintings. The second, conducted today, explored the challenging realm of water colours and how to tame them for the canvas. Those who demonstrated their styles during the two-day workshop that concluded today included BS Rattan, SS Bhatti, Ram Kumar Sharma, Purnima Nanda, Anita Gupta, Sadhna Sangar, Nirmala Singh, Asha Ghai, Pramod Arya, Anand Shinde, Pankaj Saroj, Raja Jaikrishan, Shakti Singh and Satwant Sumail. Weaving wondrous patterns on the canvas, all seasoned artists offered valuable insights to 200 art students from various institutions of the region. They filled the vast spaces with colours, drew from one another's experiences and created a body of work that reflected the power of team work. While maintaining their signature styles, all artists tried to simplify their techniques to make them comprehensible for the learners who joined the creative process by painting themselves. Several students were caught in a reflective mood - trying to follow the impetuous water colours around on the canvas. Said Dr Bhatti, "I demonstrated six techniques that make water colours stand out. These include the wet on wet technique which serves well if the impact of the monsoon has to be captured. I also added architectural nuances to my water colours to give students an idea about how ink and water colours can complement each other." BS Rattan kept busy instructing a group of students in the college foyer gallery, while Raja Jaikrishan indulged himself in verdant green, yellow and black. He painted from the mind's eye. Many other artists dabbled in portrait art, like Shakti Singh and Som, a pass out of Benaras Hindu University who spilled saffron magic on the canvas. His work brought alive the ghats of Benaras and recreated the spiritual aura of the historic city. For many others like Nirmala Singh and Sadhna Sangar, flowers did the trick. Both the artists fashioned flowers in their own unique styles. While Sadhna Sangar seemed to capture fragrance more than the flower, Nirmala Singh painted fresh flowers in deep hues. Art College faculty members Anita Gupta, Purnima Nanda and Anand Shinde also contributed to the works that served as demonstration pieces for the students. They concentrated on folk motifs, landscapes and figurative works in water colours.
TNS
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Wooing Punjabis for Bridal Asia
Punjabis have become globally savvy. They are the perfect blend of tradition and trends and have great purchasing power. “Punjabis have shown an overwhelming response towards Bridal Asia and their enthusiasm has brought me here to brief them about the event,” said Ms Diivyaa Gurwaara, CEO Bridal Asia, who was in Ludhiana today to promote Bridal Asia-2005 to be held in Delhi from October 8-10.
She said the wedding industry had progressed very well in India in the past few years and Punjabis had made great efforts to make it a success. “Last year Bridal Asia had witnessed more than 3,500 Punjabi visitors. After Delhiites, Punjabis have become the second major customers in the event,” she said. Giving details about the event, 39- year-old Diivyaa said Bridal Asia would encompass several categories, including apparels and jewellery, watches and bags. “The event is organised in Delhi for its accessibility. People from Punjab, Hyderabad, Kolkata, and Chandigarh, besides a lot of NRIs from the UK, US and Dubai, come to see it,” she claimed. Asked whether people had great buying capacity, she said last year jewellery worth Rs 1 crore was sold. She said it was not only the upper strata of society that visited the event, but also middle class buyers. The event would witness creations of leading international designers like Shameel and Gul Ahmed, Nilofer Shahid, Soniya Battla, Saadia Mirza, Hina Waqar and Zaara Shahjahan from Pakistan and Aneela Haque from Bangladesh. The leading names from India who would be participating include Sabhyasachi, Bhairavi Jaikishan, Satya Paul, Shantany Goenka, Rocky S, Deepika Gehani and Pooja Arya, she added.
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