Jalandhar, July 10
Hundreds of anganwadi workers and helpers from Jalandhar and Kapurthala held a protest in the city demanding an increment in their salaries.The members of anganwadi employees union converged at Desh Bhagat Yadgar Hall where they burnt the effigy of Prime Minister Dr Manmohan Singh amidst loud sloganeering against the government.

The members said the workers were being paid a meager amount of Rs 1,400 while the helpers were forced to work for just Rs 700 per month.

The members said they had received repeated assurances from the government officials that they would be paid minimum wages of Rs 3,000 and Rs 2,000, respectively, but nothing concrete has been done so far. Krishna Devi, secretary of the union, said the employees were finding it difficult to make their ends meet. They warned that the members would have to resort to hard measures and intensify stir in case their demands are not fulfilled at the earliest.

Jalandhar, July 10
Students from Hans Raj Mahila Maha Vidyalaya have done city proud by attaining top ranks in Guru Nanak Dev University in 10 different courses, the results of which were recently declared.

Mehak Hundal has topped B.Com-I (professional) with 533 marks out of 650. In arts stream, while Pooja Papneja topped BA-I with 660 marks out of 800, Shivani walked away with the top honours in BA-II with 653 marks out of 800 and Divya Anand stood first in BA-III bagging 1,939 marks out of 2,400.

In science streams, Gurkanwal was declared first in BSc (non-medical)-I with 663 marks out of a total of 800. Vibhuti Walis topped BSc-III (medical) with 1,857 marks out of 2,400.

Annie Arorar is first in BSc (computer science)-III with 1,905 marks out of 2,400. Shveta Kapoor claimed top position in BSc-II with 658 marks out of 800 and Indu Barwal secured the second spot with 648 out of 800 marks. While Sangeeta topped BSc-II (economics) with 651 marks out of 800, Ridhi Arora stood first in BSc-II (biotechnology).

Students from PCM SD College for Women have achieved top ranks in B.Com stream. Neeru Mittal is first in Guru Nanak Dev University in B.Com-III with 1,552 marks out of 2,050. Priyanka and Neha Kakkar have shared the third rank in B.Com (professional)-I scoring 531 marks out of 650.

Rupali is first in BSc (computer science)-II with 648 marks. Geetanjali, a student of the college, has bagged top rank in BSc (economics)-I by attaining 639 marks. Nitika, also from the same college, has got third rank in BSc (economics)-III with 1,797 marks out of 2,400.

Jalandhar July 10
“My Guru has been my sole source of inspiration and I attribute everything I have done to him.” These are the words of lawyer-turned-scholar S.N. Chopra, who has translated the Bhagwat Gita in English and Hindi from Sanskrit.

On as to how he thought of taking up the task of translating a holy book like the ‘Bhagwat Gita’ in two languages, Chopra says, “I have been a disciple of late Swami Lokeshanand and wanted to pay my tributes to him in a novel way. I thought the best tribute would be to translate the Gita. The idea was to make people understand the meaning and application of this great book in life. Humanity would be devoid of almost all of pains and sorrows if people adhered to what has been said in our great holy books, particularly. In the ‘Bhagwat Gita’, Going through these scriptures is the easiest way to find eternal bliss,” says Chopra.

Referring to his journey from a ‘dry’ subject like law to spirituality, Chopra said everything happened spontaneously. “I had no pre-conceived designs in my mind. All I knew vaguely was that I wanted to do something worthwhile. However, I could not pick up the thread till the thought of translation of the ‘Gita’ struck my mind all of a sudden. I still wonder how I got drifted slowly from law to process of penning down the ‘Gita’ in English and Hindi,” said Chopra.

He said anybody interested in reading ‘Gita’ in its simplest form in English and Hindi could contact him and he would provide the book to him or her free of cost. “I have spent over Rs 2.5 lakh on the project, but I want to see people reading the holy book. So I have decided not to charge anything from anyone. I have already recovered my costs as I have attained a high degree of peace when   was passing through the process of translating the holy book,” observed Chopra. 

Jalandhar, July 10
The local Jatadhari Shiv Sevak Sangh sent 60 pilgrims on a 10-day Amarnath yatra. The bus carrying yatris was flagged off by sangh chairperson Uma Rani Ma yesterday.

The sangh has been sending yatris to the Amarnath cave shrine for the past five years. It makes arrangements for the food, refreshments and medicines for the yatris. — TNS