CARRYING EVIL: An effigy of Ravana being carried on the eve of Dussehra in Amritsar on Saturday. — PTI	AIR BORNE: Crowd enjoys Ramlila in Bathinda on Friday. — Tribune photo by Kulbir Beera

Bringing kathak back to spirituality
Kapurthala, October 20
Sufi kathak is the passion that has made Manjari Chaturvedi not only break many rules of kathak, but bring it back to its spiritual simplicity. Here for the 6th Baba Jassa Singh Kapurthala Heritage Festival, Manjari says her 13 years revelling in the masti and madness of Sufi mysticism has given birth to a whole new dance form of Sufi kathak. She danced to Rajasthani musicians singing Punjabi Sufi renditions at the festival.
Manjari Chaturvedi performs Sufi kathak at the 6th Baba Jassa Singh Kapurthala Heritage Festival in Kapurthala on Friday. — Photo by S.S. Chopra

Punjabi films go big budget
Chandigarh, October 20
Punjabi films have gone big budget. For the first time in the history of the Punjabi cinema, Bollywood big stars like Om Puri, Gulshan Grover, Bhumika Chawla, Asrani and Farida Jalal have come together on one platform with singer-actor Gurdas Maan for “Yaariyan” releasing on November 23.
PERFECT SHOT: Gulshan Grover, Om Puri and Gurdas Maan in a joyous mood in Chandigarh on Saturday. — Tribune photo by Manoj Mahajan

SGPC team finds container with Birs
Amritsar, October 20
A two-member team of the SGPC, sent to Mumbai by committee president Avtar Singh to conduct an on-the-spot inquiry into the Bir consignment, today found a container with Birs at the Mumbai port.

Car hits train; sugar mill GM among 3 dead
Sangrur, October 20
Three persons were killed on the spot at 7.30 pm today when their car hit a train on an unmanned Railway crossing near Gurdaspura village 4 km from here. The train was on its way to Jakhal from Dhuri while the occupants of the car were returning to Phagwara after visiting a sugar mill in Haryana.

BBMB gives cash prizes
Chandigarh, October 20
U.C. Misra, chairman of the BBMB, today gave away cash prizes to officers and employees for doing maximum use of Hindi in official work during 2006-07 along with prizes for Hindi competitions organised during the “Hindi pakhwara” at the board secretariat function here.

Two books released
Sangrur, October 20
Local MP Sukhdev Singh Dhindsa today released the first international Punjabi music information and publicity book, “Punjabi Suran” volume VIII, authored by Yadwinder Sidhu, at a function here. Deputy commissioner V.K. Ohri released another book “Sanghar Ton Sangrur” (a history of Jind state), authored by local resident Rajiv Jindal, at a function here last evening. — TNS

COURTS

HC rejects plea of Beant killer’s ‘wife’ 
Chandigarh, October 20
Nearly 18 months after Amanpreet Kaur of Kapurthala district was booked for sedition and other offences following allegations of marriage with alleged co-conspirator in Beant Singh assassination case Paramjit Singh Behora, the Punjab and Haryana High Court has turned down her plea for permission to attend final year nursing course classes.

AGRICULTURE

BKU condemns Centre for ban
Moga, October 20
The Bhartiya Kisan Union (BKU) flayed the Congress-led UPA government at the Centre for banning the export of non-basmati rice in its meeting held here today.

CRIME

Two scribes held on extortion charges
Nabha, October 20
The city police arrested two scribes of different news channels on the charges of extortion and blackmailing here today.

Labourer’s Death
Two power officials booked for negligence
Kharar, October 20
The Kharar police has booked a junior engineer (JE), a sub-divisional officer (SDO) and a private contractor for causing the death of a migrant labour due to negligence while working on a sewer project.

4 booked for beating up nephew
Kharar, October 20
A family dispute turned violent when four members of a family, including three women, allegedly beat up their nephew yesterday.

EDUCATION

CM for job-oriented education
Hoshiarpur, October 20
To overcome the problem of unemployment, the Punjab government will set up training centres to impart technical and professional education to the youth. This was stated by Chief Minister Parkash Singh Badal while inaugurating the Gursewa Institute of Nursing at Garhshankar, about 40 km from here, at Panam village today.

Students to stage dharnas on Oct 25
Sangrur, October 20
In protest against the hike in school fees, the Punjab Students Union will stage dharnas on October 25 in front of the offices of DEOs throughout the state. President of the union Gurmukh Singh Mann said here today that the hike in the fees would adversely hit poor students. Mann said when the union talked to the DPI and the chairman of the Punjab School Education Board, regarding the issue, they could not give any satisfactory reply. — TNS

PTU admission process to go online
Kharar, October 20
The Punjab Technical University (PTU) has decided to introduce the concept of e-governance.

BUSINESS

Brick industry to pay lump sum VAT 
Chandigarh, October 20
The Punjab Government today decided to allow brick industry in the state to pay lump sum VAT on Haryana pattern.