The Tribune, Chandigarh, India

CHANDIGARH

Liquor seized from woman: The police arrested a woman in Sector 29 on the charge of illegal possession of liquor here tonight. Krishna Devi of Sector 29 was arrested from her house following secret information.

Blood donation: As many as 11 teachers and 64 parents donated blood at a camp organised by Government Model Senior Secondary School, Sector 16, here yesterday. Mr Ashwani Kumar, DPI (schools), inaugurated the camp and appreciated the efforts of the school management for motivating the parents and the alumni in participating in this noble cause.

CHANDIMANDIR
Meeting: The annual general body meeting cum get-together of Georgian Association (North) was held at Shivalik Officer’s Institute, here on Sunday. More than 100 Georgians along with their families gathered from all over the North as well as abroad for this event. The meeting also elected its office-bearers. They are president — Lt-Col D.S. Grewal; Col. Amrik Singh and Col J.S. Suraj — vice-presidents; Mr Ashok Kalia — secretary; Mr Rajat Rialch and Mr Sanjay Sood — joint secretaries; and Lt — Col Rajan Kadyan — treasurer.

HARYANA

Ambala
Function: A function was organised at Senior Citizen Home, Ambala City, on the occasion of World Senior Citizen and Voluntary Blood Donation Day on Sunday. The Deputy Commissioner, Ambala, Mr O.P. Langiyan, while addressing senior citizens said there should be a mutual understanding between the two generations. He said the younger generation should pay regards to their elders and should learn from their experiences. The secretary, Red Cross Society, Ms Alka Ghai, the principal, MDSD Girls College, Ms Kiran Angra, and Dr Desh Bandhu, Principal, SD College, Ambala Cantt, were also present.

HIMACHAL PRADESH

BADDI
Snake bite: A migrant labourer died of snake bite at Sandouli, near here, on Sunday. Mukesh Kumar (22), who hailed from Bihar, was sleeping along with other labourers when he was bitten by the snake. He died on the way to the PGI.

Regional potpourri

Hoarding hard sell

Hoardings of Congress MP Kuldip Bishnoi were mounted in parts of Haryana to mark his birthday recently. — Photo by the writer

WHEN politicians take to anything, it has to be big even if it means transforming birthday cards to mega-sized flex hoardings on roadsides.

This happened when Congress MP from Bhiwani, Kuldeep Bishnoi, decided to let the world know that he was celebrating his birthday on September 22. Huge colourful hoardings suddenly appeared on important crossings and landmarks in Hisar, Bhiwani and Rohtak. Not satisfied with these, his supporters also erected similar hoardings all along the Hisar-Delhi stretch of National Highway 10.

Bishnoi’s face kept smiling at motorists on the highway for about a week till the authorities decided it would be embarrassing to keep these hoardings in place during Chief Minister Bhupinder Singh Hooda’s visit to Hisar.

So, the administration had the hoardings pulled down as quickly as these had come up. After all, Bishnoi, a son of former Chief Minister Bhajan Lal, is a bitter critic of Hooda.

These kind of hoardings were first noticed in New Delhi about three years ago when small-time political workers began erecting them with pictures of their political masters on every conceivable occasion and at every possible point. Over a period, flex printing became easier and cheaper and the trend caught on.

In Haryana, these were first noticed after the 2005 assembly poll when hoardings came up in Rohtak after Hooda became the Chief Minister.

Since then, the trend has caught on at an alarming speed, making Haryana’s roads and landmarks uglier as poorly designed and fluoroscent-coloured flex hoardings vie with each other to catch the attention of passersby.

— Raman Mohan

Green doctor

Dr N.S. Neki

Dr N.S. Neki, Professor of Medicine, Government Medical College, Guru Nanak Dev Hospital, Amritsar, has been chosen by the Geriatrics Society of India for the Bharatji Gulati Oration Award-2006, which will be presented at the International Conference on Geriatrics and Gerontology to be held at New Delhi on October 13-14. He has also been invited to deliver a guest lecture on male osteoporosis and present three scientific papers at a conference to be organised at Lahore by the IMSA from November 3.

An M.D. and holder of two diplomas (Diploma in Tropical Nutrition and Health and Diploma in family Health), Dr Neki has been awarded various national and international fellowships, and has 50 publications to his credit. Besides, he is the peer-reviewer of the index journal, Journal International Medical Sciences Academy (JIMSA). He is also the only doctor from Punjab to be made a member of the national advisory board of JIMSA, he claims.

He is also an environmentalist and has been cycling around to spread the message of greening since 1985. He has also planted many flowers and saplings in GND Hospital. Fond of music, he has played the harmonium in the sanctum sanctorum of the Golden Temple, Gurdwara Nankana Sahib (Pakistan) and Gurdwara Tilla Baba Farid, Faridkot. He has also donated blood 21 times and takes pride in treating patients in Pingalwara.

— Sanjay Bumbroo

Talented Teejanbai
THE residents of Hisar got an opportunity to experience some scintillating ‘Pandavani’ by Padma Bhushan Teejanbai, who was in the city recently in connection with a series of shows organised by SPICMACAY.
Teejanbai performed at Haryana Agricultural University and at Darshan Academy. During her stay at Hisar, the renowned artiste and soulful singer shared some memorable moments of her life, besides her views about folk-art and other things.
‘Pandavani’ is a folk art form of Chhattisgarh in which tales of the Pandavas are rendered in the form of verse.
Teejanbai, who comes from a humble background, had evinced a keen interest in the folklore in her childhood. Seeing the girl’s devotion, her maternal grandfather Brijlal Parthi used to read out the tales of Pandavas to her, besides teaching the finer points of the art. Being the eldest among her siblings, Teejanbai had to look after her younger brothers and sisters while her parents went to eke out a living as labourers. Such was her resolve that she went to learn the art form from her grandfather after her parents returned home late in the evening.
She started singing ‘Pandavani’ at the age of 13 despite her trying circumstances and wants to propagate the art form till the time she is alive. Her dedication towards the folk-art has won her international acclaim, apart from the prestigious Padma Bhushan.
Interestingly, Teejanbai, who never had a chance to go to school, has been conferred with honorary D.Lit degrees from two universities in recognition of her talent and outstanding contribution to her field. A firm believer in God, Teejanbai attributes all her success to her “Guru” and the Almighty.
She feels that education does not comprise merely bookish knowledge, and should also include sports and arts as basic ingredients. The government, media and society should contribute their mite to the propagation of various art forms to keep our rich cultural heritage intact, she asserts.
— Sunit Dhawan