550 students awarded degrees
Our Correspondent

Ludhiana, March 29
As many as 550 students were awarded degrees at the convocation of the DD Jain Memorial College for Women here today. The convocation address was delivered by Dr S. S. Bari, chief guest. Dr Bari is Registrar, Panjab University, Chandigarh. In his address, he laid stress on having vision, knowledge and commitment in life.

Mr Narinder Kumar Jain, president, college managing committee, welcomed the chief guest and other guests. A report on the activities of the college was presented by Principal Dr (Ms) Prem Singla . Seven students were awarded the 'roll of honour'.

Mr Baldev Raj Jain, senior vice-president, Mr Shanti Sarup Jain, vice-president, Mr Surinder Kumar Jain, secretary, Mr Joginder Jain, Mr Ajit Jain, Mr Amritlal Jain, Mr Davinder Jain, Mr Arvind Jain, Mr Rajinder Jain, Mr Prem Kumar Jain were also present on the occasion. Mrs Prabhjot Kaur, Principal, Govt College for Women, Ludhiana, and many other distinguished guests were also present.

A vote of thanks was given by Dr Prem Singla. 

From Schools and Colleges 
Show of talent by students at ‘Reflexions’
Tribune Reporters

Ludhiana, March 29
The GGN Institute of Management and Technology ( GGNIMT)hosted Reflexions, an intra-college literary and professional activities extravaganza to motivate students to take part in extra-curricular activities.

The festival was inaugurated this morning by the co-ordinator, Mr Gunwant Singh Dua. Students of BBA, BCA, MBA, and MCA courses participated in the festival. Ms Amrita Gakhar, Principal, Tagore Public School, Ms Ratan Consultant, Mr Vikram Singh and Mr Amrinder Singh were the judges. The Director, Mr Kuldeep Singh, presided over the prize distribution ceremony and awarded cash prices worth Rs 10,000 to the winners.

The results of various contests are as follows: Debate: Navdeep Singh Bal, first; Sumit Sharma, second.

Declamation: Sumit Sharma, first; Manpreet Mokha, second.

Group Discussion: Rishab, first; Vishal Bawa, second.

Dumb Charades:Arjun and Jaskirat, first; Jaiinder and Shubam, second.

Picto: Jaiinder and Akaash, first; Jaskirat and Arjun, second.

Farewell party: The Post Graduate Department of Commerce of Guru Nanak Girls College organised a party to bid farewell to their outgoing students. The main attraction of the programme was the modelling by students of M.Com. Ms Sandeep was crowned Miss Farewell whereas Ms Harpreet and Manjot were declared first and second runners up. Ms Gursharan Kaur was adjudged Ms Elegant and Ms Jasdeep was awarded the title of Ms Beautiful Smile.

Elected: Dr Yograj , an eminent young Punjabi scholar and Head of Department of Kamla Lohtia SD College has been elected executive member of the Punjabi Sahit Academy. Dr Yograj has written two books on Literary Criticism and a number of research Papers. He is also a state awardee.

Date extended: The Punjab Government, through Secretary Higher Education, has extended the date of participation in refresher/orientation courses from December 31, 2000 to December 31, 2005. The letter (No. 10/74/

2001-Edu dated 28/03/06) states that ‘‘the Governor of Punjab is pleased to grant this extension in respect of eligible teachers of Universities/ Govt Colleges in the state for the purposes of promotion placement under career advancement scheme’’.

Prof. Jaipal Singh, president and Hardeep Singh, General Secretary, Govt College Teachers Association (GCTA), have congratulated the teachers for this victory and urged the state government to accept their other demands such as past service and feeder grade service benefit to all left out M. Phil/ P.hD holders, raising the retirement age to 62 years and creating posts of Professors and Readers in the colleges.

Contest: Inter house flower arrangement competition was held in MGM Public School here yesterday. The following are the results of competition :

Fresh Flowers : Hemkunt House, first; Jagannnath House, second; Ajmer House, third. Dry Flowers: Ajmer House, first; Hemkunt House, second; Jagannath House, third.

Annual day:
Samrala: Kindergarten High School celebrated its 10th annual cultural and prize distribution function here yesterday.

The chief guest at the function was Sant Jagjit Singh Loponke and the function was presided over by Mr Sukhwinder Singh Canada.

Cultural items were appreciated by the audience. "Main Aurat Han" showcased the condition of Indian women in society. The play, "Ranjit Nagara", was also well performed.

Jathedar Jasmail Singh distributed the prizes among students and the chairman of the School Society, Advocate Dayal Shahi, thanked parents as well as students. 

Books distributed among poor students
Our Correspondent

Ludhiana, March 29
The Lal Bahadur Shastri Social Forum organised a function at a primary school established under the Education Guarantee Scheme (EGS) of the Punjab Government at EWS Colony on the Chandigarh Road, here.President of the forum Sushil Malhotra and secretary-general Dr Shiv Kumar Gupta distributed books and slates free of cost among children of jhuggi dwellers.

Dr Gupta and Mr Malhotra stated that the forum was providing books and slates to 100 students free of cost . Two other schools established under the scheme at Tajpur Road and Fouji Mohalla here would be provided free books by the forum very soon. Two free sewing-training schools had also been established by the forum and more such centres were likely to be established in the industrial labour colony in Dugri.

The forum president appealed to NGOs to come forward to take up such social welfare projects and urged the state government to provide financial assistance for these projects. He further said the forum aimed to provide free education to children of poor sections of society.

Snippets
Sacrifices of martyrs remembered
Our Correspondent

Ludhiana, March 29
A function to mark the martyrdom of Baj Singh and his son Shahbaj Singh was observed at the Guru Angad Dev Educational and Welfare Council in the Guru Angad Dev Complex. They sacrificed their lives for the basic rights of mankind. Principal Charanjit Kaur narrated the details of cruelties inflicted on them.

Students of Bhai Baj Singh Public School presented a programme of songs and poems on the historical background .Mr Mehar Singh of London was presented the "maan patar" . Mr Iqbal Singh , president of the council, proposed a vote of thanks.

Birth anniversary: The Bhartiya Valmiki Dharam Samaj, Punjab Branch, celebrated the birth anniversary of Baba Jeewan Singh. They sang bhajans at a function held in Haibokalan here on Tuesday. The chief guest, Mr Jagdish singh Garcha, urged the youth to keep away from drugs and alcohol.

Sabha renamed: Dr Krishan Rai Sharma , president of the Bhagwan Parshuram Sabha, Punjab, said in a press note that the sabha had been dissolved due to some nefarious activities of some of its members . A new Brahmin sabha called the Ajar Amar Bhagwan Parshuram Sabha, Punjab, had been constituted instead. He said the office-bearers would be chosen by next week.

Kiddies' Paradise: Kiddies' Paradise held its annual function here on Wednesday on the school premises.The chief guest, Mr Darshan Singh , was accorded a warm welcome by the Director, Mr Randhir Singh . The children sang patriotic and Western songs and presented a play, "Raju". A fancy dress show was also organised.

CULTURE

World Theatre Day celebrated 
Asha Ahuja

Ludhiana, March 29
On the World Theatre Day celebrated world wide yesterday, Nirmal Jaura staged a play, ‘Wapsi’ ,under the direction of Kirti Kirpal at Guru Nanak Bhavan here. The play was true to life as it portrayed how the aim of all Punjabi youth was to go abroad by hook or by crook. It highlighted how young people feeling the grass is greener on the other side got exploited by unscrupulous travel agents holding false promises of a better life. But they ultimately returned to their country after great turmoil and losing all their money.

Meanwhile, the Rang Manch Sansthan, Ludhiana, celebrated the World Theatre Day at Punjabi Bhavan here yesterday. A number of theatre workers belonging to different groups took part in a lively discussion on the relevance of theatre in the media-dominated society today .

Dr S.N. Sewak, president of the sansthan, chaired the meeting. Initiating the discussion, he pointed out that the World Theatre Day was started on March 27, 1961, by the International Theatre Institute under the auspices of UNESCO. Since then, theatre workers all over the world meet on this day to renew their commitment to this art form.

Speaking on the occasion, Mr Trilochan Panesar called for organising regular theatrical performances for people who were sick of stereotyped TV programmes. Mr Kuldeepak Chirag asked theatre artistes to work with commitment in order to put up better shows on stage.

The members of the sansthan decided to organise a theatrical evening on May 6 at Punjabi Bhavan with plays by the Ludhiana Kala Manch and the Rang Manch Rangnagri .

They also lauded Harold Pinter, a well-known English dramatist and theatre director, for getting the Nobel Prize. 

SPORTS

India capable of winning World Cup, says Azad
Our Sports Reporter

Ludhiana, March 29
The present lot of cricketers are doing a fine job as the ‘Team India’ is going through the building-up stage and the boys are quite capable of winning the World Cup slated for next year.

These views were expressed by the Dronacharya awardee and the famous cricket coach, Mr Desh Prem Azad.

Azad was in the city today to attend a training-cim-coaching camp being organised by the former Punjab Ranji player, R.D Singh here at Punjab Agricultural University cricket ground. Later, while talking to mediapersons, Azad said going by the Indian cricketers’ recent performance, one could think that the Indian team was good enough to win the World Cup.

Azad who had produced legendary all rounder Kapil Dev and fast bowler, Yog Raj Singh was of the view that there was still some time left for the forthcoming World Cup and India had six more one-day internationals to play against the touring England team before proceeding to West Indies, so the players had a lot of time to get prepared for the World Cup.

About the master blaster, Sachin Tendulkar’s place in the Indian squad, Mr Azad said the master blaster would be out of action for at least three months following a shoulder surgery and everything would depend on how fast he recovered from the operation.

When asked about the young talent available in the state, Azad who is also the Vice-Chairman of the Selection Committee (seniors), said there was no dearth of talent and a number of boys had been knocking at the doors to don the national colours.

Azad praised local lad Gagandeep Singh Tur who toured Bangladesh with the Indian team last year. Gagan has been performing well for the last three consecutive years but could not get the national selectors’ nod, Azad rued.

The noted coach also named Karan Goel, another local player, who had made his presence felt during last season.

Azad remained at the ground for more than two hours and interacted with the campers. Mr Chaman Lal Malhotra, former captain of the Punjab Ranji team of which Azad was a member also present during the later’s visit to the PAU ground.