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New bus stand to be opened on Oct 24
Jalandhar, October 16 This was revealed by the transport minister Master Mohan Lal after inspecting the complex ahead of its inauguration. He said a life size statue of the martyr would be installed there which would be one of the main attractions in the area. Commenting on the transport policy, Lal said it would be announced later this month and steps have been taken to ensure that the policy is both people and state friendly. “We are committed to provide quality and timely service to the people,” he reiterated. The terminus constructed at a cost of Rs 16 crore has been built on the build-operate-transfer (BoT) basis and will be reverted to the transport department after eight and a half years, he said. Taking a serious note of the structural and design changes effected by the contractors on their own, the minister said the latter would be penalized for changing the original design prepared during the previous Akali-BJP regime. Lal said, “I have been apprised of the encroachments by shopkeepers on the Garha road outside the bus stand leading to daily traffic snarls.” Since it is a public interest matter, the encroachments would be removed in phases. For the purpose a meeting of the shopkeepers has been fixed with the local municipal commissioner tomorrow, he added. Talking about the new transport scheme he said 250 new buses would be inducted in the transport department out of which 125 would be for Punjab Roadways and the remaining for Pepsu roadways. Out of these, both the wings would purchase 50 AC buses each, he added. To further strengthen the transport network in the state, 700 buses would be started with private partnership under the kilometer scheme, he said. Reacting to a query on the increasing number of accidents involving bus and truck drivers, he said a state level motor vehicle training school would be started at Kapurthala for which a 25-acre plot has been acquired, he added. The minister said since the government wants the school to be a state of the art center talks were underway with an Australian firm. Letters of interest have been received from two foreign firms and a decision would be taken soon. Besides driving, the center would also train students in the allied activities of this sector, he added.
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Now, letter threatens blasts in Phagwara
Phagwara, October 16 The letter, signed by ‘Tasalamrim, a Jeshe-Mohammad commander’, also warned of more blasts in Ludhiana and Jalandhar in the coming days. Phagwara DSP HPS Khakh said it seems to be a handiwork of some mischievous element. “Yet we’ll take
no chances. The teams have been put on high alert. Force has been deployed at sensitive places, including bus stand, railway station and main markets. We are also keeping a vigil on Ram Lilas and Bhagwati Jagrans being held all over the town,” said the officer. Khakh said such type of threatening letters have been received by Phagwara railway station superintendent and railway police in the past too. “This is the sixth such letter that authorities have received here,”
he added.
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Rise of the local wedding planner
Deepkamal Kaur Tribune News Service
Jalandhar, October 16 All one needs is to select a concept as per one’s taste and the company designers take care of the rest. Using flowers, lightings, props and the linen, the décor service providers create stunning designs making the event truly a memorable one. Starting from the entrance, alongside the passage leading to the main stage and the mandap, across the tables up to the food counters, the same concept is followed creating a perfect unison in the design. In fact, the same linen with the same contrasting colours is used to even cover the chairs so that nothing goes out of context. The various concepts include a spiral decorations, Mughal style and balloon decoration. Jasmeet, a décor service provider, explains, “The spiral design involves the use of huge length of the linens to cover the traditional Roman style pillars like a drape with tussles and coins hanging along the length. Such pillars are erected at the entrance, passage, stage of the shehnai walas, four corners of the mandap and the main stage.” “There are even longer lengths of the linen connecting each pillar on various sides to the central one in the lounge creating a mesh like a roof. Several bunches of fresh flowers of gerbera and orchids too are used atop each pillar. There are gel lamps that light up the whole passage. Such lamps are also placed on each table. There are colourful beam lights too rising from the base upwards. Huge pots with long dry sticks too are kept here and there,” Jasmeet adds. Ritu Sidhu, proprietor of Party Bells, says Mughal concept is also much in demand. The main emphasis is on creating the right kind of entrance, having fountains, some special structures and dim lights. She adds, “A height has to be created at the gates so that any one coming in has a feel of entering the fortress”. As marriage season has just begun, such concepts could be seen in most of the marriage palaces dotting the Jalandhar-Phagwara highway. Bath Castle, a marriage palace that opened last year, has several in-built decoration systems hardly requiring anything over it. There are permanent structures made in marble with fountains all along. A huge ship and a water pond too add to the ambience. Pillars with earthen lamps atop too are a regular feature along the passage. The entrance has a very huge gate imparting a fortress-kind of a look. “In fact anything done over it, makes it too much of a hodge-podge,” said general manager J.P.N. Razdan.
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Propitiating Goddess Durga
Navratras in Ashvina are sacred to Goddess Durga. The other three Navratras occur in the bright half of Magha, Chaitra and Ashadha, but are considered less important. All the four Navratras are meant to propitiate Shakti or the Divine Mother having a number of forms, both ferocious and benign, like Uma, Gauri, Bhagwati, Bhavani, Chandi, Chamunda, Tara, Kameshwari, Amba, Jagadamba, Tripurasundari and Durga.
There are ample references to the cult of Mother Goddess in the Devi Sukta of Rigveda, the Shri Sukta of Sama Veda, Durga Sukta, Nila Sukta, Sitopanishad, Saubhagya Upanishad, Bhavana Upanishad, Saraswati Upanishad, Kena Upanishad and the Puranas. In the Devi Mahatmya, Durga is described as the sole substratum of the world, the embodiment of all beings and the intelligence in the heart of all creatures. In her supreme aspect, she personifies Shakti which is neither male nor female nor neuter, but in her finite form she is seen as one who is effulgent “like the moon shining at the fringe of a cloud, who has three eyes and 18 arms”. The worship of Durga is as old as the Vedic period. The “Vagambhriniya Sukta” of the Rigveda (I.25.6) refers to the Mahashakti-tattva as the sum and substance of all existence. In the Taittiriya Upanishad she is mentioned as Vairochini; in the Kena Upanishad as the daughter of Himavat who imparted wisdom of the self to Indra and the gods; in the Ramayana as the spouse of Lord Shiva and; in the Mahabharata a hymn is addressed to her by Arjuna. According to the Markandeya Purana, Durga assumed 10 forms to crush her foes: as Durga she received the message of the giant demons, as Dashabhuja she annihilated the army of Shumbha, as Simhavahini she fought with Chanda and Munda, as Mahishasurmardini she killed Shumbha in the form of a buffalo, as Jagadadhatri she crushed another army of his enemies, as Kali she slew Raktabija, as Muktakeshi she defeated a gang of demons, as Tara she slew Shumbha “in his own proper shape”, as Chinnamastaka she killed Nishumbha, and as Jagadagauri she received applause from the gods for her awe-inspiring deeds. Durga is worshipped in 64 forms throughout India. She is regarded as energy in the sun, fragrance in flowers, beauty in nature, colour in rainbow, intelligence in the mind, potency in medicines, the intuitive power in sages, bhakti in devotees, sadhana in yogis and gayatri in the Vedas. She is prakriti, making possible the creation of the world along with a counterpart, the Purusha. Countless forms of creation stem from her holy feet. She has all the three powers at her command - iccha shakti, kriya shakti and jnana shakti. Some believe that he who propitiates her propitiates Shiva. During the Navratras, only three of her forms are worshipped - that of Mahakali for the annihilation of human vices such as lust and anger, that of Mahalakshmi for sattvic and rajasic gains and that of Mahasaraswati for knowing the true nature of the supreme soul. Much value is attached to the performance of holy practices such as fasting, vigils, kumari puja and continuous recitation of mystic syllables during the Navratras. Sometimes animals are sacrificed to please the deity in accordance with the Kalika Purana. In Bengal, the Navratras are celebrated with much gusto. The images of Durga are prepared, decorated, worshipped and finally immersed in running water on Dasehra day, which marks the culmination of Navratras. The modes and importance of Durga worship are mentioned in a number of secular and religious texts like the Yogini Tantra, the Skanda Purana, the Ramacharita of Sandhyakarnandi, the Desinamamala of Hemchandra and the Yasastilaka Champu of Somadeva Suri. Alberuni, who came to India during Sultan Mahmud’s time and lived in Punjab for several years, wrote about shakti worship in Tahkik-i-Hind. Rulers of Vijayanagar and the Vanchi royal family of Kerala observed it with great enthusiasm. Mughal rulers like Akbar, Jahangir and Shahjahan observed it with festivities on a grand scale. Haidar Ali Khan, the valiant Muslim ruler of Mysore, used to accompany the procession carrying the jhankis of Lord Rama, Lakshmana, Sita, Hanuman and others in palanquins on a caprisoned elephant. (The author is principal of Lyallpur Khalsa College,
Jalandhar)
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Digit has great importance in Indian mythology
The largest single digit 9 has a great importance in Indian mythology, religious ceremonies, historical events and above all in day to day life. The unique quality of this digit is that it makes every thing great which ever comes in
its contact.
For instance, if you replace any digit of a number at random by 9 it will become greater than itself. For example in number 45671, if you replace 5 by 9, the new number becomes 49671, greater than 45671. Besides, digit 9 is sacred too. Our religious functions reveal the sanctity of this digit. The Navratras being celebrated these days with great enthusiasm are nine. During Navratras Hindus worship Goddess Durga and her nine avatars, which are Shailputri, Bramcharini Chanderghanta, Kushmanda, Askand, Katayani, Kalratri, Mahagauri, Sidhidatri. Even in great epic “Ramayana,” there is a mention of nine types of Bhakti, known as “Navdha Bhakti.” Another epic “Shrimadh Bhagwat Geeta” has 18 chapters which again represents digit 9 (1+8 =9). Significance of digit 9 is not limited to India only, but also has its impact in other countries too. According to the Chinese calendar the 9th month (according to their lunar calendar) is a festival of nine deities. The festival is celebrated for prosperity and peace and was recently celebrated on October14 as per Georgian calendar. Digit 9 not only rules earth, but also governs whole universe. The universe has nine planets and every auspicious occasion starts with the worshipping of all nine planets known as “Navgrah Puja.” The religious string has 108 beads in it, which is a combination of 12 Zodiac signs with 9 Planets i.e. 12 x 9 = 108. The nine faced Rudraksh is personified as Bhairov which is very significant in the science of Astrology. Coming to history, the most powerful emperor Akbar had nine scholars (called Navratans) in his court and Tansen was the 9th gem. Even human life starts with digit 9 as everyone spends nine months in their mother’s womb. In mathematics the curious properties of digit 9 makes it interesting. Every body knows that it is the only digit which when multiplied by any number always produces itself. Example: 9x2=18, (1+8= 9); 9x3 =27, (2+7=9); 9x456=4104, (4+1+0+4=9). Now its time to solve some 9 digit riddles. Riddle (1): Take up any number formed with the digits between 1 and 9. Then reverse the order of digits and subtract the smaller from the greater. In the remainder if you sum up the digits the answer will always be 9 or multiple of 9. Example: let’s take number 64527. After reversing its digits, the number becomes 72546. Now subtracting old number from the new number, 72546 - 64527 =8019. Adding the digits of resultant again gives total nine (8+0+1+9=18, further 1+8=9). Riddle (2): Again assume a number. Calculate the sum of its digits. Subtract this sum from the original number. In the remainder the sum of the digits again will be 9. Example: if the assumed number is 51234567, sum of its digits would be (5+1+2+3+4+5+6+7 =33). Subtracting 33 from 51234567 the resultant is 51234534. Now the sum of these digits 5+1+2+3+4+5+3+4 =27 which further gives 2 +7=9 as total. (The writer is a retired head of the department, Maths, KMV, Jalandhar)
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Opulent veneration
It is impossible to escape the grandeur of the magnificent Shardiya Navratra. The craze and devotion of the ardent devotees of Goddess Durga have touched the pinnacle these days.
Aglow with profound passion for Devi Durga, people try to gratify their deity with great gaiety. The devotees thrust themselves into the
glimmer of this wonderful festival with great verve. This opulent veneration of Devi Durga is not confined within the limits of two or three states. This festival is celebrated with tremendous zeal and enthusiasm all over India. In Jalandhar people pay their obeisance at “Devi Talab Temple” i.e. Tripur Malini, which is among one of the 51 Shaktipeeths in India. People keep fasts to exalt and please the Goddess. They worship nine avatars of Devi Durga consecutively for
nine days. These are Shailputri, Brahamacharini, Chanderaghanta, Kushmanda, Skandamata, Kaatyayini, Kaalratri, Mahagori and Sidhidatri. The divine incantation of the mantras of ‘Durgasaptashati’ can be heard in every temple these days. People try to seek all sorts of blessings by appeasing Devi Durga. The goddess too, annihilates all the obstacles of her devotees and beatifies them with imperishable bliss. On the last day kanya pujan is performed which symbolises the power of ‘Shakti’ in every girl child. Navratras teach us to invoke the latent powers inherent in every human being. With the celestial grace of Devi Durga, devotees are able to transcend this immaterial world and touch the divine shore of spiritual realm of illimitable joy. Such is the magic of this Shardiya Navratra. Let us fill our souls to the brim with the nectar of Durga’s divine sheen. The writer is
lecturer in English at Ramgarhia College Phagwara
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Young World
Jalandhar, October 16 Felicitation ceremony
The Lyallpur Khalsa College organised a felicitation ceremony on Monday to honour its students securing top positions in the Guru Nanak Dev University examinatinos. The awardees were gifted encyclopaedias and dictionaries. Top positions
Students of PCM SD College for Women clinched the top positions in add on certificate course in cosmetology conducted by the Guru Nanak Dev University. Rajni Bhagat stood first by obtaining 181 out of 200, while Pallavi and Khushba stood second and third by securing 177 and 176 marks, respectively. Story enactment
The Giggles wing of Guru Amar Dass Public School organised a story enactment contest for KG classes. The students displayed their talent by performing various roles. Kirandeep of pre-KG, Ishmeen Kaur of junior KG and Gurleen Kaur of senior KG were adjudged as best actresses, while Arjundeep Singh of pre-KG, Jatin of junior KG and Sukhmandeep Singh of senior KG were declared as best actors in their respective categories. Annual function
Eklavya School organised its annual function on Friday. The function was anchored in FM style by Tarunveer Singh and Ishita. The event began with a Navratra dance followed by a medley of songs related to various Indian festivals. A drama on Harry Porter was also presented by the tiny tots. |
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NIT campus to go hi-tech
Jalandhar, October 16 Berlia said a computer centre and an IT Park would be completed by March 2008 at a cost of Rs 11 crore. “A campus wide network with fibre optics with 1,000 nodes would be operational by the end of this year,” she said. The chairperson said the board had already passed an approval for mega hostels with an occupancy of 1600 boys and 1200 girls, coming up at a cost of Rs 48 and 40 crore, respectively. She said a central library and an inter-disciplinary research centre costing Rs 15 crore each were being set up on
the campus. Besides, separate buildings for the electronics and communication department, electrical engineering and applied sciences are also on the anvil. Berlia said all this was being done to raise the enrolment to 5000 students, 400 faculty and 800 staff members in the next
five years.
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