vignettes
Officially, Boileaugunj is Tilak Nagar

Remember Kharag Singh ke kharakne se kharakti hain khirkiyan in Fanaa? No, Dr Kharag Singh is not a figment of Prasoon Joshi’s imagination. He used to practice in Boileaugunj till 1970s and still owns a building here!  It is perhaps the only bazaar in India that carries all the vowels of English alphabets in its name — BOILEAUGUNJ. Comprising about a fifty-odd shops now, it used to be the Gateway to Shimla till 1857 when the present Kalka-Shimla Cart Road was opened for ekkas and tongas and the traffic diverted.

Of human bondage
Vivek Mohan and Peter Ta -tung like to capture the day-to-day life of the hill people
The place is Shimla, that picturesque hill station, splattered with its usual share of tourists but the camera bypasse them to enter the shops of two individuals, each of them working hard to eke out a living, each having a family and compulsions, bot of them good, simple folks. 

Empower civic body to check pollution
Under the Panchayati Raj system, civic bodies should be provided with more power to initiate stern action against the erring industrial units, private hospitals and hotels, which often indulge in using water bodies to dispose off their waste.

Nature care
With the district already boasting of 164 ayurvedic health centres catering to the rural population, the region is all set to yield the benefits of Ayurvedic Panchkarma treatment soon.

Shimla Diary
No longer inhuman
Hand-pulled rickshaws may be banned on the Mall,but the pram service is fast becoming a lucrative business here
For more than a century the hand-pulled rickshaws rolled on the sealed areas like the Mall where vehicles were not allowed. They were taken off the road in the late 1960’s on the plea the practice of a man puling man was inhuman. Four decades later, a new mode, quite similar but smaller compared to the discarded of transport, has emerged, albeit for the children.

While the Centre is busy restoring Cambodian temple Angkor Wat, the historical temple at Masrur is dying a slow death

Temple of a lesser god?
While the centre is busy restoring Cambodian temple Angkor Wat, the historical temple at Masrur is dying a slow death
As the Indian government is busy restoring the Angkor Wat, nobody seems to be aware of the fact that a great temple built about 400 years before the Cambodian temple in the state is dying a slow death. India, Japan and France have joined hands to restore the Angkor Wat temple. However, there is no move to declare Masrur a world heritage site although it is undeniably a superb piece of art and architecture in the world. 

Rift threatens Muslim body
A dispute in the Anjuman Islamia, an organisation of the Muslims, came to the fore during its organisational elections of the district body held yesterday. Dildar Ali Shah was re-elected president of the Chamba District Anjuman Islamia in its election held at Shalimar ground, near Rajpura village, in Chamba district.

War Heroes
Hamirpur has a long tradition of sending its sons to serve in the Army

In Hamirpur, every other family has its own set of heroic stories to tell their next generations. The tradition of joining the Army goes on and the land continues to be called Veer Bhoomi. Even after retirement, the ex-servicemen keep up the good work in far-flung areas by opening new fronts against social issues. Villagers pose at the war memorial in Jangal.

Nature forgone, forgotten
Crass commercialisation on Kasauli road upsets ecological balance
With scores of palatial houses, flats and hotels coming up in virtually every nook and corner along the Dharampur-Kasauli road, the ecology of the area has emerged as a silent sufferer.

Saving trees through scriptures

The forest department at Hamirpur has started a unique awareness campaign to urge people to plant trees through couplets from our ancient scriptures. The department has not only popularised the efficacy of planting trees, but has also displayed some of these couplets at public places, after collecting them from the holy books. A quotation at the kids’ park in Hamirpur.

Never say die
He might have touched eighty but the zeal and spirit with which he waged the famous Chipko Movement is even stronger today as Sunderlal Bahuguna is more than willing to travel to any part of the country to save the environment and eco-system. Currently heading the Himalaya Neeti Abhiyaan, he is traversing across the country to lend support to the locals and help generate awareness about protecting environment and more specifically the Himalayas. 

Dharamsala boy brings laurels
Known as the land of brave soldiers, Himachal has once again produced a courageous army officer - Assistant Commandant Paritosh Pathak. This Dharamsala resident was awarded sword of honour by the Director General, Indian Costal Guard for his excellent and outstanding performance.                                 Tribune Photo