HIllside view
Small seeds grow into big trees…
Queues give us many clues about a city’s state of mind and public culture. Mumbai queues at bus stops are the very picture of discipline, a sense of order. Delhi’s queue-jumping gives you goose pimples— people muscle their way up nonchalantly; or slyly slip into vantage positions. Kolkata? Dadalog don’t believe in such petty systems!

shimla Diary
Sweet victory
A history of sorts was created when the first-ever case was heard in Himachal by the Court of the Commissioner for Persons with Disability, though the post has been in existence for long.

Branding Dhabas  Next week tourists to the hill state can look for a certified dhaba to have a taste of the “restaurant culture” in the hitherto non-descript wayside eating joints. The state Tourism Department has launched a scheme to certify and grade the dhabas situated along the national and state highways on the basis of facilities provided by them. MAKEOVER MENU: The Tourism Department in Himachal is planning a new look for the dhabas. — Photo by Chaman Sharma

Tapping youth power

Surging ahead on path of economic development, the hill state is yet to tap its youth power by providing them employment. The special economic package extended by the Centre to the state till 2010 may have increased the inflow of capital and thereby creating more job opportunities for the youth but the state government is still struggling to implement its legislation for providing 70 per cent jobs to more than 7.78 lakh unemployed youth into industry and hydro projects in the state.

CHALLENGE AHEAD: Participants at a seminar on ‘Enhancing employbilityof Himachali youth’ at Mandi.

The human face of a cop The popular image of police is one of a baton-wielding person in a Khakhi uniform invoking public ire. But now it is in for a major makeover, thanks to community policing scheme launched by the Himachal police. Aimed at boosting police-public relations, a network of prominent citizens set up by the Mandi police in each locality will help the police to adopt a more human face. KHAKI POWER: The police holds an interactive session on community policing

Bowled over with beauty The picturesque cricket stadium of Dharamshala is getting ready to host its second Indo-Pak match, reports Vibhor Mohan If Dharamsala is being touted as the sports capital of Himachal Pradesh, it’s primarily due to the coming up of a stadium, which puts the sleepy town on the cricket map by playing host to a practice match between India and Pakistan last year. SPELLBOUND: The picturesque cricket stadium has becom a tourist attraction. — Photo by writer

Once is not enough Peter Van Ham’s romance with the Himalayas has resulted in many creative projects and after successful travelogues in print, now it is time for a documentary, says Roshni Johar In 1993, Peter Van Ham a 33-year old German travel writer from Frankfurt stepped into hospitality-trained Shimlaite Mohit Sharma’s Great Himalayan Travels, desiring to visit Himachal’s mysterious tribal zone.  Mohit equipped him with a jeep, two tents, sleeping bags, a driver and a cook while his wife Seema provided kitchen supplies/ first aid.

BONDING WITH MYSTERY: German writer Peter Van Ham has penned down his travel experiences in Himachal Pradesh