EDUCATION

Kendra to hold annual convocation in Kolkata
Tribune News Service

Chandigarh, December 10
The Pracheen Kala Kendra, the premiere institution dedicated to the promotion of art and culture, will hold its 34th annual convocation in Kolkata on December 24.

Announcing the schedule of the conference in Chandigarh today, M.L. Koser, Registrar of the kendra, said the occasion would be seized not only to award degrees to deserving students, but also to honour people who had furthered the cause of art.

Primarily, the convocation will focus on the students of Visharad final (Bachelor of Music) and Bhaskar final (Master of Music), who have successfully completed their courses. Most of these students hail from the eastern region of the country comprising Assam, Bihar, Jharkhand, Tripura and West Bengal. They will all be awarded diplomas.

Koser said over two lakh students appeared in different examinations of the kendra in 2005-2006, which is an indication of the institution’s repute in the region.

As for the convocation, it will have two sessions after the inauguration ceremony which will be graced by eminent vocalist Pt Ajoy Chakrabarty. Joint Director, Information and Cultural Affairs, Government of West Bengal Manas Mukherjee will preside over the morning session, while Buddhadev Guha, a well-known writer-singer and Mr Amit Mukerjee, celebrated vocalist and Executive Director, ITC Sangeet Research Academy , Kolkata, will be the guests of honour.

The kendra has managed to rope in Pt Vijay Kichlu, renowned musicologist and former Executive Director, ITC Sangeet Research Academy, Kolkata and Pandit Buddhadev Das Gupta, celebrated sarod player to deliver the keynote address in the morning and the afternoon sessions, respectively.

Besides awarding diplomas of Visharad and Bhaskar to students, the kendra will also honour some eminent personalities. Among this year’s awardees are Juthika Roy, a well-known singer, Sumitra Sen, an eminent Rabindra Sangeet exponent and Nonika Singh, an art critic. They will be presented Rs 5001 each, a shawl, a citation and a scroll of honour.

The convocation, Mr Koser said, will be followed by a musical concert. Later, Koser announced the schedule of the Puri convocation, which will be held on January 7. This is being held to award degrees to successful students of Visharad final (Bachelor of Music) and Bhaskar final (Master of Music) of the 2004-2005 and 2005-2006 session.

On this occasion, the kendra will honour Guru Paschimeswar Jena, a renowned Odissi vocalist, Sri Nityananda Mishra, a celebrated dramatist-actor and Vandana Shukla, Senior Feature Writer (Art and Culture). Surjya Narayan Patro, Minister of Information Technology, Tourism and Culture, Government of Orissa, will preside over the convocation and Manorama Mohapatra, an eminent Oriya poet and writer, will deliver the keynote address.

NSS camp concludes
Tribune News Service

Chandigarh, December 10
The 10-day camp of The National Service Scheme of the Dev Samaj College of Education ended here today. The camp was held in Dadu Majra village, at Savera and at the Institute for the blind.

Dr Bains in his keynote address encouraged the students to take part in all the activities. The base camp was organised in Dadu Majra and students provided services at the Blind Institute, Sector 26, and Savera in Sector 43. In the Blind school the students were taught about personal hygiene and in the Savera camp the students were taught different skills.

In Dadu Majra, the students were divided into groups that made the people aware of personal hygiene, AIDS, benefits of small family and importance of education. On the occasion of worlds AIDS Day, a rally was organised and was flagged off by the principal. Students interacted with the disabled in the families and informed about the institutions and areas that could be of help to them.

During the camp, Dr Veena Gupta, a social worker, explained about healthy life and stressed on mental, social and spiritual health. A free vaccination camp was also organised by the college.

During the valedictory function held yesterday, the Principal, Dr Satinder Dhillon, thanked the guests for their visit. She also thanked children from Savera and Mother Teresa who presented a cultural function. She said we should all look forward towards the welfare of needy people.

Principal comes out against quota
Tribune News Service

Chandigarh, December 10
Mr I. William Gosain, Principal of St Xavier’s School, has urged the Administration to reconsider its decision of 15 per cent reservation in private and minority unaided schools.

Describing reservation as “illegal and unconstitutional”, he quoted a Supreme Court ruling in support of his argument.

“I request the Administration to apprise itself of the latest legal proceedings and enforce its responsibilities truly,” he said during a press conference here today.

“There is no provision for compensating the amount spent on 15 per cent reserved students. Ultimately, the parents of others students have to bear this burden,” he said.

Again referring to a Supreme Court judgement, he said private educational institutions had a personality of their own and in order to maintain their atmosphere and tradition, they had a right to choose and select students for admission.

CULTURE

Punjab Police revives dying art forms
Tribune News Service

Chandigarh, December 10
“Punjabi folk cultural traditions have given us something of eternal value to hold on to and the Punjab police is committed to preserving, promoting and propagating it”, maintained SS Virk, Director General, Punjab Police while speaking at the Plaza carnival function, here, yesterday.

He reiterated the resolve to revive the glory of the old folk art forms and musical instruments which are on the verge of extinction, and lauded the efforts of the carnival committee, the sponsors Airtel, Coca Cola, and the Tribune group of newspapers which was the media partner.

The captivating folk musical bonanza presented by the Punjab Police Cultural Troup, Patiala, got off to serene start with Karamraj Singh leading the artists in ‘saraswati vandana’ before Masat Ali enunciated divine utterances of Baba Farid. Senior police officers donning traditional ‘pagris’ introduced the folk artists which were new to the youngsters.

An immaculate rendition of Challa was done by Masat Ali and further augmented by Charno Devi in her song ‘kala shah kala’. Soulful vocal renditions by various artists revived the slumbering love legends of Punjab. The talents in the police personnel were apparent as they brought vitality and vigour to the show.

NRI writer’s book released
Our Correspondent

Chandigarh, December 10
‘Of late the Punjabi literature has acquired an appreciable level of felicity and elegance among the erudite Punjabi readers living in alien lands’, observed Dr Satinder Singh Noor, eminent litterateur and critic from Delhi. He also claimed that back home in India, the level of literary writings and critical appreciation, too, had improved over the years. He was speaking at a literary function organised by the Writers Club at the Uttam Complex here today in honour of the California-based acclaimed literary couple of Professor Harbhajan Singh and his wife, P. Bhanu. The Editor, Punjabi Tribune, Sidhu Damdami, and Dr Satinder Noor released a Hindi novel ‘Parbat Ki Beti’ written by P . Bhanu. Lauding her maiden venture, Sidhu Damdami said the visionary author had captured the sentiments and the temperament of a mountain girl influencing at different phases of her life in all its manifestations.

Earlier, the literary fraternity participated in an open discussion on a novel’ ‘Balde Siviyan de Seik’ by Prof Harbhajan Singh. His 11th book, a novel, veritably defines the psyche of Punjabis living abroad. Dr Rajinderpal Singh Brar presented an exhaustive paper on the book while a review paper by Dr Sarabjit Singh was read out in absentia by Dr Baljit Singh. Prominent participants included Dr Nirmal Dutt, Prem Gorkhi, Mohan Lal , Govardhan Gabbi and others, while the poet Sham Singh conducted the proceedings.