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A panoramic peep into the history of Punjab
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Weekly roundup
GND Varsity professor gets Rs 78 lakh grant
Making efforts to bring people of India and Pakistan closer
Ex-services league seeks separate pay commission
Dharam Singh: an academic bridge between two universities
Couple blessed with baby after ‘advanced medical treatment’
Punjabi poetry book released
Residents panic as earthworm found in tap water
Tying nuptial knot the starry way
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A panoramic peep into the history of Punjab
Maharaja Ranjit Singh Panorama at Amritsar recreates beautifully the life and times of the legendary Maharaja
Maharaja Ranjit Singh’s name has been etched in golden letters in the annals of the Indian history. Known for his secular approach, the Maharaja played a pivotal role in spreading the Khalsa rule from Punjab province to Afghanistan, and liberation of many parts of northern India from Afghan rulers. The good news is that the Maharaja Ranjit Singh Panorama, in his summer palace, has recreated the life of the legendary Maharaja. Through rare pictures and mannequins, the panorama re-creates the glimpses of various battles (spread over 40 years) fought by Maharaja Ranjit Singh. Interestingly, this panorama is larger and technically superior to that at Kurukshetra. Second of its kind in the country, this panorama has been constructed by the National Council of Science Museums (NCSM), Kolkata, under the aegis of the Ministry of Cultural Affairs, Government of India, with a grant of Rs 5 crore. The panorama is spread over 20 kanals of land in the “protected area” of Ram Bagh, while the main structure extends over 2500 sq metres. The round-shaped building has an inner diametre of 39 metres. The paintings were prepared at the NCSM, Kolkata. These were first photographed and then digitally enlarged and mounted on a vinyl base. The paintings were created after consultations with historians, who stressed on the need to have the “most authentic” pictures of Maharaja Ranjit Singh. However, it was not easy to depict the life of the Maharaja, the battles he had fought against his enemies and the portrayal of Darbar-e-Khalsa in true perspective. Dr Radha Sharma, Head, Department of History, and the then-Chairperson, Maharaja Ranjit Singh Chair, Guru Nanak Dev University, and many historians were consulted for this purpose. The observations made by Dr Sharma to remove distortions in the paintings make an interesting reading: “Gorkhas have shorter stature as compared to the Sikhs. Gorkhas were using small khukris compared to the long swords by the Sikhs. Ranjit Singh’s army size should be bigger.” She was instrumental in depicting Darbar-e-Khalsa in its true fashion by quoting various historical pictures and references. The valuable suggestions made by the historian helped in depicting in original manner the famous “Battle of Hazro” fought to capture Attock. Interestingly, Prince Khark Singh was initially missing from the scene of the “Battle of Multan”. However, the historians like Dr Sharma suggested that the battle would be incomplete without his presence. The suggestions were accepted immediately. The marriage scene of Maharaja Ranjit Singh was also “corrected” by Dr Radha Sharma. Another diorama has been recreated from the famous painting of Schofft, a German painter, who depicted the Maharaja supervising the gold-plating of the Golden Temple. The secular image of the Maharaja was aptly projected in another painting showing him supervising the gold-plating of a temple after capturing the Kangra Fort. The main panorama hall has around 400-foot painting of overlapping digital images joined seamlessly by a digital process. It depicts six major battles won by Maharaja Ranjit Singh. The scenes depicting the birth, childhood and marriage of the Maharaja, and treaties made by him to spread the Sikh rule to Afghanistan are shown in the eight dioramas. These include the conquest of Lahore in 1799. After this victory he was formally acknowledged as the Maharaja of Punjab. He later took possession of Amritsar in 1802. Then there is the scene of the capture of Kangra in 1809 at the instance of Sansar Chand, the ruler of Kangra. Maharaja Ranjit Singh attacked and freed the Kangra Fort and the Gorkhas took to their heels. This scene is followed by the conquest of Multan, Kashmir and Peshawar (Battle of Naushera). The scene of Maharaja Ranjit Singh crossing the turbulent Attock River on horseback to infuse courage into his soldiers confronting Afghans is also eye-catching. Fakir Aziz-ud-Din, minister of the Afghan ruler Wazir Fateh Khan, had handed over the fort in exchange of a principality that had infuriated Wazir Fateh Khan. He attacked with a huge army and seized the fort. The forces under the Maharaja crossed the Attock, and this crossing was followed by an intense battle. The Afghan ruler was routed in the battle. The Attock Fort was assumed to be the “gateway of India”, and its capture meant the freedom of northern India from the clutches of the Afghan rulers. Then there is the depiction of the conquest of Kashmir in 1819 when the Sikh army defeated Afghan ruler Zabbar Khan. It also shows the capture of the Multan Fort, situated between Sutlej and Ravi, by Maharaja Ranjit Singh in 1818. The last battle of Peshawar depicts the soldiers using modern weapons. A diorama depicts the famous “Ropar Meeting”. The historic meeting between Maharaja Ranjit Singh and Lord William Bentinck, Governor General of India, took place on the bank of the Sutlej under a pipal tree on October 26, 1831. Ostensibly, the Governor General met the Maharaja to show to the world that he and the Maharaja were friendly. Various boundary issues were settled between Maharaja Ranjit Singh and the British. The scene depicts the Maharaja and the Governor General coming from different directions on the newly-constructed boat bridge. Then Maharaja Ranjit Singh crosses over to the elephant of Lord William Bentinck.
Another diorama is about the acquisition of Kohinoor from Shah Shuja. In yet another eye-catching scene, Maharaja Ranjit Singh has been shown crossing the turbulent Indus to reach the other side. Another diorama is about the modernisation of the army, and the European officials Allard and Ventura inspecting the modern cavalry and infantry. At the entrance to the main panorama, a visitor comes across the most-attractive Darbar-e-Khalsa (Court of Khalsa) of Ranjit Singh. The scene is the replica of a rare picture adorning the walls of the Lahore Fort. Similarly, the scenes of the famous battles fought by the Maharaja were based on historical portraits, and the facts were accessed from reliable primary sources. Special care seems to have been taken to depict the soldiers of the Maharaja’s army and their weapons. The dioramas depict the simplicity of the darbar of the legendary Maharaja as compared to the Mughal darbars where kings and nawabs were inaccessible to the masses. The touch-screen computer installed alongside the darbar helps visitors to identify the important Sikh generals and courtiers of the Maharaja. The light and sound system in the panorama brings the mannequins to life. The five touch-screen computers installed in the panorama give the information about the life and history of the Maharaja. The lighting system has been installed to corroborate with the seamlessly-attached digital image. For example, a scene of smoke and fire emanating from the walls of the Multan Fort after the attack of the Sikh army is presented vividly. In this battle, Akali Phula Singh had embraced martyrdom. The maintenance of this centrally air conditioned panorama hall needs expertise related to various fields. The foremost requirement is to keep the building dust free, lest it should harm the sensitive equipment installed, especially the computer systems. The foreground of the building has been developed as a garden. The construction of the building was meticulously planned so that not even a single tree was uprooted.
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The former Prime Minister, Mr Atal Behari Vajpayee, had laid the foundation stone on November 18, 2001, at New Amritsar to mark the bicentenary of the coronation of Maharaja Ranjit Singh. Though the improvement trust had earmarked at New Amritsar three acres of land for this purpose, yet the proposed site was shifted to the “protected area”, raising many eyebrows. The Punjab Government had de-notified part of the historic Ram Bagh, the summer capital of Maharaja Ranjit Singh, to pave the way for the construction of the panorama in the memory of the Maharaja. In the notification, the 20-kanal “protected” area has been rendered “unprotected”. Earlier, under the Punjab Ancient and Historical Monument and Archaeological Sites and Remains Act, 1964, section four, sub-section three, the entire Ram Bagh was declared a protected area (728 kanals, three marlas) in 1997. However, the heritage lovers say that the protected area of Ram Bagh should not have been disturbed. This amounts to the violation of the Ancient Monuments Archaeological Sites and Remains Act, 1958, which prohibits construction within a radius of 100m from the parametres of the protected sites. Meanwhile, the handing over of the panorama has been hanging fire. Moreover, the delay has also raised the fear of malfunctioning of electronic and costly equipments installed in the panorama. A caretaker, on the condition of anonymity, said the costly equipments could produce defects in the system due to their non-use. Further, the life-size murals had started wearing off, he added.
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Weekly roundup P. K. Jaiswar Mr S S Srivastava, district police chief, honoured three civilians Jyoti Bhatia, Colonel Ranbir and Sarabjit Singh who helped in nabbing some criminals, during a police-public meeting held in the Gawal Mandi area here. Speaking on the occasion, the SSP asked the people to help the police in eradicating the menace of drug addiction and controlling the crime in the Holy City. He said crimes could not be controlled without the active support and help of general public. He said more and more people should come forward to help them. Inauguration
The newly-opened Retail Assets and Small Enterprises Erected Cell (RASECC) and the renovated premises of the State Bank of Patiala, East Mohan Nagar Branch, was formally inaugurated on June 24 by Mr A K Jagannathan, General Manager. The RASECC will handle loan proposals of all the branches of Amritsar city for their speedy clearances. A customer meet was also organised on the occasion during with the customers of various branches of the bank interacted with the General Manager. Anti-Narcotics Day
The Health Department, in collaboration with Nehru Yuva Kendra, organised a seminar to mark the World Anti-Narcotics Day. The function was presided over by Mr Tejinder Singh Raja, coordinator, Nehru Yuva Kendar. Speaking on the occasion, Mr Raja said the people should not hate the drug addicts. In fact, they should be encouraged to join the main streamline after proper treatment. Civil Surgeon Dr S P S Sohal, in his message, said that the drug abuse had assumed alarming proportions and due to this various drastic diseases like T B, cancer, AIDS were spreading very fast. He said that majority of youth from Punjab were consuming one or other type of intoxicants, including charas, smack, cocaine and heroin. He said these persons were forced to do petty crimes to have their daily dose of drugs. He called upon various NGOs and people to come forward and save the society from the menace. NCW flayed
The BJP state vice-president, Ms Laxmi Kanta Chawla, has urged the National Commission for Women to take up the cases of atrocities against the common women rather than giving priority to the high profile cases highlighted in media like the one of Rakhi Sawant-Mika case. Ms Chawla, in a press statement, said that the NCW was more interested in probing the highly publicised and sensational case of Rakhi-Mika episode, which have hogged the limelight recently. She said that the commission should concentrate on the condition of destitute and poor women on streets. She urged the commission to check the obscenity of the item girls of the Bollywood, who through their provocative gestures “were polluting the Indian culture”. |
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GND Varsity professor gets Rs 78 lakh grant
The Indo-French Centre for the Promotion of Advanced Research (IFCPAR) has sanctioned a research grant of Rs 78 lakh to Professor Gurcharan Kaur, Head of Biotechnology Department, Guru Nanak Dev University. She would work on the research project ‘Juxtacrine and Paracrine control of Brain Plasticity’ in collaboration with French scientist, Dr Vincent Prevot.
Dr Gurcharan Kaur said that the outcome of the research project would be helpful in designing novel drugs and adjunctive neuro-protective therapies to enable pregnant women, infants and young children to be safely treated for diseases like epilepsy, diabetes and bipolar disorders and others. She said the research plan would provide new insights into the cell to cell signaling mechanism utilised by the neuroendocrine brain to control the initiation and progression of mammalian puberty and the combination of cellular and genomic approaches to be followed would lead to a much better understanding of human sexual precocity, delayed puberty of central origin, and hypothalamic amenorrhea. |
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Making efforts to bring people of India and Pakistan closer
Long before the introduction of confidence building measures (CBM) by India and Pakistan to establish people to people contact, Folklore Research Academy (FRA), Amritsar, a non government organisation, has been rooting for the cause for the past one decade. The FRA initiated the movement by installing a memorial of friendship near the zero line at Wagah border in 1996, a daring step considering the then prevailing stand off between the two neighbouring countries. The step was revolutionary keeping in view the long history of enmity between India and Pakistan which had resulted in the wars of 1965 and 1971, and the Kargil aggression. Mr Ramesh Yadav, President of the FRA, said that not only the people, but also leaders were not willing to join them, as the wave was against establishing contact with Pakistan and the members of the academy were looked at with suspicion. However, they were resolute to go ahead with their plan and to establish a long lasting friendship with Pakistan. Mr Harkishan Singh Surjit inaugurated the memorial in 1996. The same year, they initiated a friendship mela ‘Raja Porus’, the common hero of two Punjabs who valiantly fought against invading army of the Alexandra the great. Initially, there was a poor response from across the border. Gradually, writers, scholars and political leaders understood the motives and came forward to remove the darkness and enmity. The FRA, in association with Hind-Pak Dosti Manch, International Punjabi Cultural Society Shamchurasi and Punarjyot, has been organising a candle light vigil at the border every year during the midnight of August 14 and 15 with an aim at symbolically erasing the feelings of bitterness among the people and to send a message of peace and brotherhood across the border. Mr Manzoor Ahmad, Member National Assembly from Kesur (Pakistan), said that “Folklore Research Academy is playing an important role in the improvement of Indo-Pak relations. The team is working hard for the past ten years by organising cultural shows at Wagah border in order to create congenial relation between the two countries.” The vigil has taken the shape of a fair which has found favour among top leaders, artists and social activists of both the countries like Ms Asma Jahagir, Mr Abid Sher Ali (MNA) and Ms Madiha Gohar from Pakistan and Mr Raj Babbar, Ms Nandita Dass, Mr Jagmeet Brar and Mr Sukhdev Singh Dhindsa who had participated in this candle light vigil. Mr I.K. Gujral, former Prime Minister, commenting on the endeavour, said that “the Folklore Research Academy is making efforts to educate the public and particularly the youth regarding our rich heritage.” Mr Som Nath Chatterjee, Speaker, Lok Sabha, said that “Folklore research academy stands as a symbol of reconciliation between the people of India and Pakistan. The activities of academy, I am sure, will help in enriching our own culture and in promoting people to people contact and cooperation in our sub-continent.”
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Ex-services league seeks separate pay commission
Indian Ex-Services League Punjab and Chandigarh, led by Lieutenant Colonel (Retd) J S Mand as its vice-president, sought the setting up of separate pay commission for the defence personnel during a meeting of Defence Parliamentary Standing Committee held here recently. The meeting was chaired by Mr B S V Patil, MP. Lieut Col (Retd) J S Mand said that the terms and conditions of the services of civilian employees were different from that of the armed forces. Therefore, the pay commission for the two section should also be different. The league putting forward their demands sought the lateral induction of retired soldiers into state police and paramilitary forces. The vice-president of league said due to terms and conditions of the military service and to keep the army young, 70 per cent personnel retired between the age of 35-40 years and at the time of their retirement their wards were not fully settled. He said that in the interest of the nation and the retiring soldiers, the league recommended the lateral induction of retiring soldiers upto the age of 58-60 years in paramilitary forces, state police, private and public sectors which would also help the nation to enroll a well trained and disciplined force into the paramilitary forces. Taking up another issue, Colonel J S Mand also demanded that the old soldiers who fought the World War II for the proud of the country should be given Rs 2,000 as monthly pension till their death. He said all of them were above 75 years and were dependent on a meager pension of Rs 300 per month given by the ex-services league.
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Dharam Singh: an academic bridge between two universities
Dr Dharm Singh is the first professor of this part of Punjab who has been invited by the Punjab University, Lahore, to evaluate the research work of the candidates of Pakistan seeking recruitment as associate professor. He has also been asked to comment upon the suitability of the probable candidates — a rare honour given by the neighbouring country. He is proficient in English, Hindi, Punjabi and Urdu as well. He has been writing articles on Punjabi criticism for the last 25 years, many of them appear simultaneously in Gurmukhi as well as in ‘Shahmukhi script’ in Pakistan. His articles are published in Khoj - a biannual journal from Lahore. He has also published a book “Punjabi di Prawanit Khoj Parband”. He has also transliterated an approved thesis of Punjabi research, reproduced in Khoj by its editor Dr Shabaaz Malik. He is one of the examiners of the PHD thesis submitted to the University of Punjab, Lahore. He has evaluated one of the thesis’s “Tehqueq te Tanqeed” in 2005. Some of the published books to his credit are ‘Kavi Saundha’, ‘Sahit Avlokan’, ‘Madh-Kalin Punjabi Sahit’, ‘Masle Sheikh Farid Ke’, ‘Punjabi Khoj Da Itihas’, ‘Guru Granth Sahib – Sampadan Da Pichokkar’, which includes 11 research papers on different aspects of Guru Granth Sahib. He claimed that these research papers highlighted those aspects of the holy book, which were earlier lesser known to scholars even. For example, the reading of an article shows that one of the factors of compilation of Guru Granth Sahib was to give sanctity as well as essence of dignity to vernaculars of India because earlier priestly class (Brahmin) had reduced the religious rituals to Sanskrit only. Some of his research papers are published in Lehara and Waaris Sha (Multan), magazines of Pakistan. Dr Dharm Singh post graduated from Khalsa College, Amritsar. He is a postgraduate with distinction in M.A Punjabi standing second in the university. He even got the research scholarship from Guru Nanak Dev University and obtained the PHD in 1976. He has teaching and research experience since past 30 years. He has taken part in many programmes on the All India Radio since 1974 and also appeared in discussions on various Punjabi literary topics on the national broadcaster Doordarshan. He maintains a personal library which has 4,000 books and research journals, some of them are very rare like Gitanjali by Tagore published in Britain in 1914, he claimed.
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Couple blessed with baby after ‘advanced medical treatment’
A local private reproduction centre claimed to have helped born a baby through Testicular Sperm Extraction (TESE-ICSI), a high-tech assisted reproduction technology. Dr S.S. Chawla, Director, Satjot Human Reproduction and Research Centre, claimed that it was for the first time in the city that such a successful advance reproduction operation had taken place. A healthy baby girl was born to Mrs Sukhbir Kaur, wife of Mr Gurinder Singh. Dr Chawla said Mr Gurinder was unable to father biological child either through natural course or through conventional treatment due to severe male factor infertility. He said that the ICSI was the highest technological advancement available in the treatment of male infertility with deficient sperm. Dr Andre Van Steirteghem of Belgium is credited with developing the technique and he successfully employed the technique in 1992. So far over five lakh babies were born with the help of this technique across the world, he added. Under this technique, microinjection of a single sperm is performed on each egg recovered from women’s ovaries. Whereas natural course requires two crore/ml count to establish pregnancy. A five-member team of specialists operated to materialise this operation. |
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Punjabi poetry book released
Though, Malwinder is not so old to literary world, yet he has created his own place in such a short span of time. He is different from his contemporary writers and his recent book ‘Kaya-De-Harf’ gives a glimpse of his literary skills. He transforms the daily happenings and experiences of his life into poetic form to mock at various burning issues of society. As an example, the infamous kidney racket that rocked the Holy City in recent times finds a place in one of his poetries. ‘Kaya-De-Harf’ is the second book of Malwinder after ‘Gair Hazar Paira Di Katha’. Dr S P Singh, Vice-Chancellor, Guru Nanak Dev University, released the poetry book this week. Speaking on the occasion, he said that the literature was the reflection of the society and it should work to aware and provide a positive direction to it. He said Malwinder’s poetry had that element, which made it a good book to read. Professor Mohanjit, a renowned poet, in the preface of the book, says that Malwinder unfolds the simple incidents in such a way that he transcends from the past to present and sometimes to future, besides conveying the message clearly and amicably. Malwinder creates and used simple words and composed them magnificently and gracefully to produce the impact, Professor Mohanjit says, adding that the social and cultural values are disappearing from the society very fast and Malwinder is aware of this fact. He held the vested interests, politics and narrow-minded religions, responsible for this. Malwinder and his poems are attached to his earth and not to the some heavenly beings. ‘Bhalu’, ‘Je Maa Padi Hundi’, ‘Mitti Chou Ugia Tana’ and many other poems in the book ‘Kaya-De-Harf’ are perfect examples of this, Professor Mohanjit further adds. Small poems with deeper meanings create more impact and this character is very well present in the poetry for Malwinder who had also composed small poems. He also wrote about the thinking of new generations, about home and about relationships. Shiromani poet, Parminderjit, expressing his view about the book said Malwinder does not make heaps of imaginary things, nor he try to be more intellectual in his poetry. He is a poet of human relations, social concerns and various colours of life. |
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Residents panic as earthworm found in tap water
Residents of Ranjit Avenue C-block, one of the posh colonies of the city, are aghast at finding an earthworm in a house tap water being supplied by the municipal corporation. On June 22, Mr Gurmit Singh, a retired sales tax employee, found the worm from the tap water. He immediately shared this with the members of Ranjit Avenue C-block Welfare Association. Some of the members also complained about receiving dirty water for quite sometime. Mr Sukhwinder Singh, advisor to the association, said that they had been complaining about the poor quality of water through municipal corporation website for the past couple of months. He said that water pipes were ruptured at some points. Another problem being faced by the colony is of sewerage. Mr Amrik Singh, executive member of the association, said that sewerage pipes invariably remained blocked owing to improper disposable system. For the past two months, Nehru Shopping Complex at the Lawrence Road also has not received regular supply of water. If any time it received water it was not fit for human consumption. |
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Players return home after taking part in world event
Local four players and a coach returned here today after participating in the Muaythai World Championship, Muaythai Expo and first Muaythai Aerobic World Championship, a martial game of Thailand, held at Bangkok recently. The four players are Ganesh Bahadur, Amit Yadav, Amrit Pal Singh, Narinder Kumar and Shammi Rana, the coach of the team. About 700 players from 82 countries took part in the championship. Rana said that the General Association of International Sports Federation (GAIFS) recognised Muaythai as an international sport at its 40th general assembly held in South Korea on April 7. Shammi, former international taekwondo player, has been appointed North India Muaythai Incharge. He took to taekwondo after watching the game in early high school. Before that he had won gold medals at the All India Full Contact Karate Championship in 1995 and National Karate Championship in 1996. Thereafter, he switched over to taekwondo. Shammi was in the squad for the 13th Senior World Taekwondo Championship in Poland in 2003. In all, 47 countries participated in the championship and India stood seventh and qualified for the World championship held in Germany in 2005. Shammi feels saddened that “endeavours of sportspersons practising certain games are acknowledged, while other games have not been given due recognition.” |
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Tying nuptial knot the starry way
Entering into wedlock? Get ready for the traditional test. Recently, a high profile Bollywood marriage of Aishwarya Rai and Abhishek Bachchan was supposedly put off due to horoscope issues. Is horoscope matchmaking still relevant? Or it’s the old ghost that continues to haunt the younger generation. Jalandhar Plus asked Phagwara residents whether they consider horoscope matching an important criteria for a marriage. Some say there have been instances of marriages failing in spite of the horoscopes of the partners matching perfectly.
Self-styled priest Shanker Das says, “Things are changing. But it’s actually not archaic. People are concerned and they do come for consultation before tying a nuptial knot. It’s usually the parents who bring the children’s horoscopes.” Presence of ‘Manglik dosh’ is a cause of worry in a horoscope. Astrologers and horoscope readers say that it’s a sort of defect in the horoscope. Marriage of a ‘manglik’ could be solemnised with another ‘manglik’. “The observation can only be made after scrutinising the position of the planets,” he says. However, youths choose to disagree. They say nothing is foolproof. “Many marriages have turned disasters despite being a great match,” says bank employee Vijay Chugh. |
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Dr Dharam Singh, a professor in the School of Punjabi Studies, Guru Nanak Dev University, is rendering yeoman’s service to Punjabi language by bridging the gap between Gurmukhi of eastern Punjab and Shahmukhi of western Punjab (Pakistan).
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