SNOW TO ICE! A week after Shimla experienced its heaviest snowfall in 99 years, a child enjoys ice cream on the Mall on Tuesday. — Photos by S Chandan

Back to the Raj
Bandstand at the Ridge will be back
The traditional look of the British-era bandstand on the Ridge, now housing the Tourism Department-owned Ashiana’ Restaurant, will be restored back to the typical hill architecture style.

vignettes
Turban to Himachali topee 
An important source of tracing the history of a person or apparel in Himachal is Pahari paintings. When I thought of writing this article on cap and turban, I glanced through the Devi Mahatmya Series (1550-1580) of paintings. I did not find a person wearing a cap in those. Then I frisked through the paintings of Devidas of Nurpur (1680-1720), Lahru and Mahesh of Chamba (1735-1770), Seu, Manaku and Nainsukh of Guler (1680-1778) and came to the conclusion that the headgear of the commoners in Himachal used to be turban.

The topee has a circumference of 23 to 25 inches, is 2.5 to 3 inches broad and has a coloured fold of 15 to 16 inches. Chief minister Virbhadra Singh is generally seen in a cap with a green fold while the leader of the Opposition, P.K. Dhumal, frequently wears one with a maroon fold. The political duel here is termed green cap vs red cap!

Holi Hai
The much-awaited Sujanpur Mela begins March 1
The stage is set for Sujanpur’s Holi Mela, a state-level event, which is as popular as Shivratri festival in Mandi, Chamba’s Minjar and Lave celebrations in Rampur. The four-day celebrations from March 1 to 4 will include pop concerts, wrestling contests, setting up of stalls and a star-studded play of colours on Holi day.

 A job well done
Initiative is rare in mundane government offices, but not for the likes of LR Sharma, a mechanical engineer, who in his own way, has proved the cynics wrong. His zeal to do something new and excel in his field has made him a role model for others.

 Clean up, says Prez
Giving his mission cleanliness mantra, the President Dr APJ Abdul Kalam during his interaction with Republic Day NSS contingent at the Rashtrapati Niwas after the Republic Day parade, asked the NSS volunteers across the country to make their homes, neighbourhoods, streets, villages and schools and college campuses clean as a service to the nation.

 Shah Canal: Punjab defaults
Delay by Punjab in paying its share of Rs 134.14 crore of the total amount of Rs 196. 05 crore for the completion of construction work of Shah Canal has resulted in the project hanging fire. The Shah canal will take water from Punjab territory to irrigate certain parts of the hill state adjacent to the boundary of Punjab.

SHAHI GOOF-UP: As Punjab is unable to pay its share, the completion of Shah Canal remains a distant dream. — Tribune photos

 Shimla Diary
Hunting for talent
Organising talent hunt shows has become a part of the marketing strategy with private companies. These shows, which attract young boys and girls, are no longer confined to big cities and companies but moving to towns to explore the smaller markets, thanks to the cut-throat competition. The ‘Queen of Hills’ also witnessed the grand finale of one such show Himachal Ki Awaj organised by Airtel, a leading mobile phone service provider, which attracted more than 300 contestants.

 RM suspended in HRTC scam
Mahinder Singh Rana, Regional Manager of the HRTC, has been suspended for allegedly siphoning off more than Rs 20 lakh from the account of the Himachal Road Transport Corporation, (HRTC). The scam came to light recently.

 Harsh Mahajan is ‘Himachal Kesri’
The Himachal Chief Minister, Mr Virbhadra Singh, last week conferred the Himachal Kesri Award 2007 on the Cabinet Minister for Housing, Animal Husbandry and Fisheries, Mr Harsh Mahajan, for exemplary and meritorious performance in the field of politics.

Towards a safer future
The state now has an authority to ensure, monitor norms in hydropower projects
The move to set up an authority to ensure the safety of dams constructed in hydroelectric projects and regulate the water flow has not come a day too soon.

 Divine get-together
Amid peppy tunes and drum beats, over 185 devtas out of 215, invited for the International Shivratri Mela-fair-festival from all over the district, have gathered in the temple town of Mandi to celebrate diving get together that will conclude here on February 23.