Jalandhar, September 27
It is difficult to distinguish whether it’s a national highway or a fullfledged market. Yes for a commuter, who crosses Rama Mandi, the starting point on the Jalandhar-Hoshiarpur road, it proves to be a painstaking drive, thanks to the glaring encroachments on either side of the highway.

As one is about to start journey to Adampur or Hoshiarpur from the city, one is bound to get stuck up here for some time. Though the road is quite wide, it often remains jammed owing to numerous rows of fruit and vegetable sellers on either side of the road and motorists stopping en route bargaining with the vendors, caring two hoots for the inconvenience to the passers-by.

No one including the district administration, municipal corporation and traffic police seem to be paying a heed to check the area which has become quite accident prone. Even more astonishing is the fact that the municipal corporation has already earmarked a four-acre site just 0.5 km from Rama Mandi on the Dhilwan road for shifting the vegetable sellers there but no headway has been made in this regard for reasons best known to the authorities.

There are numerous vendors selling vegetables, fruits, plastic goods, kitchenware and other items all along. Since the wide roadsides have been completely occupied by these vendors, the area functions more like any fullfledged vegetable market.

The vendors have been getting buyers not just from the surrounding colonies but from areas all across the city. A huge number of buyers in the morning and evening add to the woes of the commuters. Buyers often park their cars wrongly along the edges of the road and walk down to purchase items of their need, leading to traffic snarls. Many buyers and vendors keep crossing the road on foot, which further aggravates the problem.

Another major problem in the area is encroachments by shopkeepers of the market there. Shopkeepers selling garments, hardware, sanitary ware, construction material and other items have been illegally occupying a wide area in front of their shops. This further pushes out the vegetable vendors toward the road and results in traffic congestion.

Anil Narula, a resident of the adjoining Dashmesh Nagar, said he had approached the district administration during a recent “sangat darshan” and taken up the matter. He said he was given an assurance but to no avail. Councillor Vimla Rani Dakoha, however, differs “If we send these vegetable sellers packing, how will they earn their living? I too want the mandi to be shifted out to an appropriate site but there have been some glitches.

MC commissioner C.S. Talwar was in Delhi today. Joint commissioner Rahul Gupta was not available.

Jalandhar, September 27
Parkash Singh Badal-led SAD-BJP alliance government has no plans to order closure of Reliance Fresh outlets as ordered by the BSP government led by Mayawati in Uttar Pradesh. Earlier, SAD acting president and MP Sukhbir Singh Badal had clarified that the state government would not take any action against Reliance Fresh outlets. Punjab Mandi Board chairman and Bharatiya Kisan Union (Lakhowal) president Ajmer Singh Lakhowal also stated that there were no plans of any possible closure of these outlets as everyone had a right to conduct business legally.

Talking to mediapersons at the new grain market here, Lakhowal said that a five-member delegation of farmer organisations from different states had met the Prime Minister on September 12 and demanded from him to increase the minimum support price.

He said the market fee was also being charged from the outlets as per rules for purchasing vegetables from the farmers. They had been granted the licence under section 10, he said. Random checking was also done to avoid evasion of market fee, he added.

Presently, the Reliance Fresh outlets are being run in Jalandhar, Amritsar and Ludhiana. During his visit to the city on Wednesday, Lakhowal also demanded from the union government to raise the minimum support price (MSP) for paddy from Rs 675 to Rs 916 per quintal.

Lakhowal said if the MSP was not raised accordingly, the farmer organisations would be left with no option but to begin an agitation in favour of their demands.

Inaugurating the procurement of paddy at the new grain market by government agencies, he said the date of procurement had been changed from October 1 to September 26 after his request to the CM.

He denied that advance procurement of paddy by government agencies would encourage farmers to sow it in advance in the future. Lakhowal said 1,548 procurement centres had been set up in the state. Of them 413 are located in Jalandhar division.

Lakhowal said the PM had also been requested on September 12 to provide loans to farmers at a lower interest rate of 4 per cent.

Answering a question, Lakhowal said a survey was being conducted to build roads in rural areas following which a special fund would be allocated for the purpose.

Like the famed magic stone are Lord Rama’s ways

And a gem for pure minds such as fair maid displays

The host of his virtues delights the whole earth

Giving goodness, salvation, true wealth, heavenly birth.

The stories of Rama on earth are unbounded

They know this who stand in this faith firmly grounded

In numberless forms has he been incarnated

In numberless forms is his story related.

(The Ramayana - Balkand, Chaupai, 32-33)

Each decaying society possesses an innate strength to rejuvenate itself. The state of decline, by itself, provides a stimulus to the forces that signal its end. Whether one regards these forces or, so to say, the catalytic agents of change, as cosmic in nature (an intervention of the Almighty in terrestrial matters to perform the task of purgation) or as the product of circumstances or a historical necessity, the fact remains that such transformation does occur in all societies at different times.

The Hindus do not regard Rama as merely a benevolent monarch who ruled over Ayodhya in the Treta Yuga or as a friend of gods who decapitated their enemy, Ravana, but as the personification of “Lord Vishnu”. He is for them the ideal, way and the ultimate goal. His life has inspired poets and politicians, philosophers and artists, kings and common men a like. The story of his wanderings and exploits has been told and retold in every Hindu home since time immemorial.

The earliest reference to Lord Rama’s life occurs in a Buddhist Jataka from which the sage Valmiki is said to have derived some of his material for the Ramayana. Some Western scholars like Sir Monier Williams and John Garret regard Lord Rama as the first great hero of the Kshatriya clan in the post-Vedic age. The simplicity of style of the epic, the absence of any reliable allusion to Buddhism as well as to the practices that prevailed in India as early as the 4th century BC, however, show that a great portion, if not the whole, of the Ramayana was current in India as early as the 5th century BC.

Some scholars identify Rama with the Egyption god Ra. Others draw points of similarity between the Ramayana and the “Iliad” of Homer. Arthur Lilie for example, argues in “Rama and Homer” that the Greek poet borrowed the material for his works from the Indian epics.

Reference to Lord Rama can be found in many ancient and medieval texts, The “Vana Parva” section of the Mahabharata describes him as a seasoned warrior prince; the “Ramatapaniyopanishad” (belonging to Atharvaveda) presents him as a supreme deity; the “Adhyatama Ramayana” portrays him as a saviour god.

Three main versions of Lord Rama’s life survive to this day: the north Indian, which is regarded as the most authentic; the Bengali which suffers from some interpolation; and the West Indian, which too has grown accretions around the original story. In its present form the Ramayana has about 24,000 stanzas which are spread out in seven books or “Kandas”. According to one scholar, the reference in the epic to the mingled hordes of Yavanas (Greeks) and Scythians suggests that it received accretions in the Graeco-Scythian period, and it may have acquired its final shape by about the year 250 CE.

It is sometimes argued that the Ramayana represents an ideal and not a form. In the words of Dr H.K. Chaturvedi, the epic stands more for precepts than for a ritualistic complex. Hence it allows great flexibility and catholicity not only in the treatment of the subject but also in its mannerism. For example, the story of Lord Rama, as found in the Chinese Dasharatha Jataka, portrays Sita as the sister of Rama and Lakshmana.

The Kamban Ramayana says that the demon king did not lift Sita physically (as it is mentioned in the Ramacharitmanas) but took her to Lanka by carrying the big chunk of the earth on which she was standing. Likewise, the old Javanese Ramayana ends with the reunion of Rama and Sita while that of Valmiki ends with Sita entering the bosom of the Mother earth.

These different versions have not in any way marred the real spirit of the epic, which has been as popular in India as in the countries of southeast Asia and even Europe. The story of Lord Rama has influenced Peruvian and Nepalese poetry, Cambodian sculpture, Indonesian architecture, Malaysian plays, Sinhalese novels and Laotian paintings and choreography.

One reason for the popularity of the epic is the immaculate character of its hero (others being its literary merit and ethical values). The legends about Lord Rama’s life have retained their purity.

The expression “Rama, Rama” is a form of salutation in some parts of India. The devotees repeat his name when they are faced with some problem. When some one dies, the people keep repeating “Ram Nam Satya Hai” (The Lord alone is eternal) as they move towards the crematorium. Mahatma Gandhi’s daily praver was “Raghupati Raghava Raja Rama Patit Pawana Sita Rama” (an invocation to the Lord). His last words were “Hey Ram”

Jalandhar, September 27
Taking a tough stand on the “Ram Setu” issue, All-India Anti-Terrorist Front president Maninderjit Singh Bitta has appealed to the people to protest against the remarks made by Tamil Nadu Chief Minister M. Karunanidhi against Lord Rama on the “Ram Setu” issue.

Comparing Karunanidhi with Ravana, Bitta called upon the people to burn his effigies on the occasion of Dasehra for his alleged derogatory remarks against Lord Rama.

Talking to mediapersons here on Wednesday, Bitta said he would be the first one to sacrifice his life if the government tried to demolish “Ram Setu”.

He said he would file a PIL in the Supreme Court to make stringent laws against the hijacking of religious issues by politicians so that they couldn’ot play with the sentiments of the people.

Bitta also demanded a White Paper on the “Ram Setu” controversy to find the role of politicians in religious sentiments of the people. Politicians should not politicise religious issues as this could lead to religious terrorism, he said, adding that the people must unite against the demolition of “Ram Setu” by keeping aside their political affiliations.

Bitta demanded an inquiry by a sitting Supreme Court judge, to be completed in a month, to fix responsibility for filing the controversial affidavit in the Supreme Court. Bitta said he would soon meet the Shankracharayas to request them to organise five sammelans at Delhi, Mumbai, Chennai, Lucknow and Chandigarh to mobilise people to protect “Ram Setu”.

Jalandhar, September 27
Students of BSc (airlines, tourism and hospitality management) from department of tourism of the Apeejay Institute of Management today celebrated World Tourism Day. An exhibition, “Feel the pulse of India”, was organised.

Various stalls depicting the rich and cultural heritage of various states of India were showcased. There were other stalls depicting adventure sports, dances, dresses, cuisine, hotels and airlines. Students also put up a lively show of music and dance performances. Stalls of handicrafts of various states were also put up.

Jalandhar, September 27
Kuldeep Manak stands in a league of his own when it comes to Punjabi folk music. Having ruled over the hearts of Punjabis for over four decades with the most haunting melodies sung by him called “kaliyan”, Manak has come out with his new album “Jogi” after a hiatus of seven years.

Fearlessness is his hallmark as he spells out his unhappiness at the din caused by a flood of music videos in the music market. “Today we cannot watch the pop music videos with our family,” says Manak.

“Singers fail to judge the song in its physical reality because their focus is on the beats and gyrations in their videos,” says Manak. The years left him bitter as you can feel the subtle anger that he spells in most straight words. Coming from the doyen whose performances listeners used to enjoy for hours at a stretch in live shows, the reality of the music world today is stark and clear.

Only responsibility of conserving the rich tradition of folk music if fulfilled by music houses and the media only can wipe away his disenchantment. “The present generation has failed to develop taste for real music which is guided by the richness of lyrics and not the music which is woven on the richness of words only,” says Manak. Emotions in lyrics like my song “Ma hundi hai ma o duniyawalon,” I wrote six months after my mother’s death and the words still linger in the minds of listners,” he says.

Can we have the taste of his outstanding style and yes comes the reply as his music is still untouched by what the new brigade demands. “Only music can connect you with the roots and impart the richness of tradition to the new generation,” feels Manak.

Happy in his skin with his original style of singing, Manak released his new album on the Big 92.7 FM on Wednesday. Promising a treat to his fans his only prayer is for melody of words to live on and on as he signs off.

Phagwara, September 27
The Police solved the mysteries of two blind murders committed several months back at nearby Bhabhiana village and arrested three killers, Parminder Singh alias, Phagga, Kuldip Singh, alias Gheetu, and Sukhjit Kaur of the same village.

Giving details of the murders, Phagwara DSP H.S.P. Khakh told newsmen on Thursday evening that Sukhjit Kaur, wife of late NRI Gurcharan Singh, had illicit relations with a villager Deputy Rai, which were being objected to by her brother-in-law Ajit Singh. This was not tolerated by Sukhjit whose husband was in UAE last year.

The DSP said her husband reportedly committed suicide in UAE when he came to know about the illicit relations between her wife and a villager. Khakh said Sukhjit hatched a conspiracy with her nephew Harpaul Singh, alias Raju, and made a deal of Rs 2 lakh with him to kill Ajit. Harpaul talked to two of his accomplices, Parminder Singh, alias Phagga, and Kuldip Singh, alias Gheetu, of the same village, who conspired with him and Sukhjit to execute the murder of Ajit Singh.

The DSP disclosed that the killers confessed that they strangulated Ajit Singh to death, while he was sleeping in his house on the night of September 21 last year. The DSP said, surprisingly, Sukhjit immediately informed her sister (wife of the deceased) Charanjit Kaur, who was at her parents’ house at the time, about the death of Ajit. Meanwhile, Sukhjit, with the connivance of accused villagers, arranged the cremation of her brother-in-law.

DSP Khakh said in another related incident the police arrested Phagga in connection with the murder of a woman Charano on the night of January 13, 2007, at Bhabhiana village. The accused was produced before the local judicial magistrate on Wednesday. On Thursday the magistrate sent him in police remand till September 29.

The DSP, while giving details of the murder, said the killer indulged in a violent clash with Devi Dass of the same village, on the night of January 13, during a cocktail party. Parminder attacked Devi Dass with sharp-edged weapons after the party. The attack was witnessed by the deceased woman near village Panchayat Ghar and the accused, Phagga assumed the injured Devi Dass as dead.

He later killed Charano. The police nabbed Phagga who was also an accomplice in the murder of Ajit Singh. With the arrest of Phagga, the police solved the mystery of the murder of Ajit Singh too. The fourth killer (in the murder of Ajit Singh) Harpaul Singh is still at large.