Chandigarh, December 27
Their little feet run to keep together, while they try to keep step with the music. Their hands waving in the air, they skip through the 2 minutes 30 seconds effortlessly, you observe. Their instructor, however, thinks otherwise, after all they are preparing to perform at the Republic Day parade in New Delhi on January 26 and everything has to be perfect. Just perfect!

Around 200 school children from Himachal Pradesh and Chandigarh will be performing “Sirmouri Natti” (folk dance from district Sirmour in Himachal Pradesh) on Rajpath as part of the Republic Day parade on January 26. “This is for the first time that school children would be performing Himachali dance,” informs Yashwinder Sharma, programme officer, North Zone Cultural centre.

These children aged between 10 and 16 years have been practising for the past two months for three hours every day and have another months practice to go. While a few children are from local schools, few have been picked up from the slum area, while the rest are from district Sirmour. Around 80 students from Himacahal have been putting up in the city for the past two months. “We have engaged a tutor for the students from Himachal Pradesh in the morning so that they don’t miss their studies,” informs Yashwinder Sharma.

The students too are happy and not cribbing about the hard practice. Eager to learn their choreographer Roma Mitra says they all have an inclination towards music and dance. “We had auditions and picked up only those students we knew were interested and could perform.”

And it’s not an easy task as we see the students synchronise their steps once again to the music, while two others pick up paraths and turn it on their finger.

Chandigarh, December 27
Panjab University has revamped its sophisticated instrumentation facilities. Two new sophisticated instruments have been installed recently in SAIF (Sophisticated Analytical Instrumentation Facility) of Panjab University. Also, new service charges for various facilities of SAIF will become applicable with effect from January 1, 2006, the details of which are available on PU website of RSIC/ SAIF.

A Transmission Electron Microscope (TEM), Hitachi 120 KV with CCD camera (costing Rs 90 lakh) has been installed in SAIF on the newly renovated premises. The new TEM has the resolution of 0.36 nm (point to point) with 40-120 kV operating voltage and can magnify object up to 6 lakh times in high resolution mode. It has electron diffraction, tungsten filament, low dose function, high contrast mode with ergodynamic look.

The specimen for the observation are required in the form of prepared grids as the specimen preparation facility is not available at the centre but guidance can be provided on request. The centre has already conducted two training programmes for one month duration each for research students in specimen preparation in life science. A workshop and some training programmes would be organised to mark the commissioning of this instrument.

A latest Bruker AV-II 400 MHz NMR spectrometer (costing Rs 1.26 crore) has been installed in SAIF which replaces the two decade old 300 MHz NMR spectrometer. The salient features of the instrument are: capability of handling a wider variety of nuclei, a high signal to noise ratio as well as high resolution due to the state-of-the art technology used in the electronics and the probe, ability to handle samples with lower concentration, auto sampler to handle upto 60 samples, the automation process in the software and hardware avoids the presence of operator at odd hours.

Chandigarh, December 27
Panjab University (PU) employees will have 21 holidays in 2006.

With two of these holidays falling on a Friday and another three on a Monday, university employees can look forward to at least five long weekends in the year.

The holidays falling on Friday include Good Friday on April 14, Baisakhi on the same day, birthday of Dr B.R. Ambedkar on the same day and martyrdom day of Guru Arjun Dev on June 16. The holidays falling on Monday include Guru Ravi Dass Jayanti on February 13, Mahatma Gandhi’s birthday on October 2, Dasehra on the same day and Christmas on December 25.

University employees can take leave to extend their weekends for holidays on a Thursday or a Tuesday. Holidays on Thursday include Guru Gobind Singh birthday on January 5, Republic Day on January 26 and Ram Navmi on April 6. The holidays on Tuesday include Mahavir Jayanti on April 11 and Independence Day on August 15.

The other holidays include Id-ul-Zuha on January 11 (Wednesday), Mahashivratri on February 26 (Sunday), Holi on March 15 (Wednesday), Janmashtami on August 16 (Wednesday) Maharishi Balmiki birthday on October 7 (Saturday), Divali on October 21 (Saturday), Id-ul-Fitr on October 25 (Wednesday) and of Guru Nanak Dev birthday on November 5 (Sunday).

Chandigarh, December 27
The District Consumer Disputes Redressal Forum-II has imposed penal costs of Rs 200 on the management of Fun Republic and the Deputy Commissioner, Chandigarh, for failing to reply in a complaint of overcharging and wrong categorisation of seats in the multiplex.

A Panchkula-based couple, Pankaj and Sangeeta Chandgothia, in their complaint before the forum alleged that they had gone to see a movie at Fun Republic on September 10. They were given two tickets for the silver category of seats. When they went inside the hall, they found that the “I” row for which they were issued the tickets was located after the median gap at a lower level along with the bronze category of seats.

The couple contended that the hall ‘xenon 1’ has eleven rows of seats in series from A to K. The first four rows from A to D were of gold-category seats followed by silver category seats. The gold and silver seats are differentiated by the colour of the upholstery, whereas the silver and bronze category seats are similar in colour.

Therefore, there has to be some other visible distinction between the two seat categories. After the “H” row of silver seats there was a wide gap, followed by another section of seats. It was contended that after the median gap, the third category of seats should start, much akin to the system of upper stall and lower stall in traditional movie halls.

The practise of charging higher rates for the weekend from Friday to Sunday as compared to other days in a week had also been challenged in the complaint.

The Deputy Commissioner, Chandigarh Administration, has also been made a respondent in the case, as it has failed to check the various violations being committed by the multiplex.

While imposing the costs, the forum has directed the multiplex and the DC to file a reply by January 19.

Chandigarh, December 27
“The commitment and endeavor of the Punjab Government for promotion and propagation of Punjabi and our rich cultural heritage has been largely endorsed by art-loving Punjabis all over the world,” asserted Mr Surinder Singla, Finance Minister, Punjab. The ongoing shooting spree of Bollywood films in Punjab these days and more to follow, is a testimony to our claim, added Mr Singla while speaking at Hotel North Park, Panchkula, during an interactive session with the cast and production unit of a Punjabi film “Mannat” already being shot in Punjab and also commenced in the city today.

Prominent TV serial makers, BAG Films, credited with 40 popular air shows including Pol Khol, Sansani, Red Alert, KumKum, Ru Ba Ru, Chalti Ka Naam Antakshri, to name a few, have stepped into feature film making with a Punjabi venture “Mannat” having realized the market potential of Punjabi cinema in its new avtar and expressive support from the government, reiterated Mr Singla. He urged all film production houses to make films based on folklore and legends of Punjab capturing the locales in the state.

Kulraj from the City Beautiful, with her aesthetic potential, has many offers in hand to be an accomplished star on the horizon of Bollywood.