Jalandhar, February 19
Call it lack of civic sense or dereliction on the part of the municipal authorities, the area around the statue of freedom fighter Gopal Singh Qaumi (1897-1975) in Rainak Bazaar here has been virtually converted into a garbage dump.

Instead of showing respect to the freedom fighter, who remained behind bars for 13 years during the freedom struggle, shopkeepers, vendors and passersby have preferred to use the area behind his statue as a garbage dump.

That’s not all. Even the organisers of a Basant mela used the pedestal of the statue for pasting a pamphlet that too on the side where Qaumi’s achievements have been engraved.

This has happened despite the fact that the statue has been covered with high iron grills on all sides to ensure cleanliness. Since the area around the statue at the road bifurcation point has been 
occupied by vendors, it often remains congested and filthy.

Talking to The Tribune, Maninder Singh Qaumi, grandson of the freedom fighter, pointed out that when he passed through the site recently, he felt very disheartened to see the statue’s upkeep.

He said, “I was shocked to see the poor maintenance of the statue. It was set up just three years back and that too on the recommendation of then President of India Dr A.P.J. Abdul Kalam.”

Agreeing to Maninder was his father Joginder S. Qaumi, a retired IAS officer and son of the freedom fighter. Joginder said, “My father participated in various struggle movements like Simon Commission boycott, Quit India Movement, Guru Ka Bagh morcha and was also sent to confinement in many jails. Giving such a respect to him is really sad.” He was even part of the 64-day hunger strike along with Shaheed-e-Azam Bhagat Singh in Mianwali jail.

Qaumi’s daughter-in-law Sarabjit said, “The order to install the statue was given when Giani Zail Singh was the President of India. There was even a proposal to name the Government Arts and Sports College after him, but the idea had not been implemented till date.”

Meanwhile, MC councillor Kuldeep S. Oberoi claimed the area was cleaned daily and he himself supervised it sometimes. He pointed out that the area started getting dirty after the shops were opened. However, he maintained that he too felt bad for such a disgrace to the statue and has been trying to educate the people.

Jalandhar, February 19
Jatinder Pal Singh is a doctor by profession but a painter by heart. A well-known laparoscopic surgeon at Dr Shangara Singh Hospital on Link Road here, Dr Jatinder Pal Singh often manages to spare time for his childhood passion for painting.

Talking to The Tribune, Dr Jatinder said he restarted making oil paintings in 2002 after a gap of seventeen years following completion of his MBBS and MS from DMC, Ludhiana.

Dr Jatinder has made over 50 oil paintings so far.

Most of his paintings are of Gurus and religious places. Besides, he has also made portraits of his wife Gurpreet Kaur, a gynaecologist, their sons 
Jantaj (11) and Anhad (10).

His love for painting started during his childhood when he was a student of Junior Model Higher Secondary School in eighties. However, he could not continue making paintings from 1985 to 2002 during his MBBS and MS and his initial years of practice.

He started preparing calendars with his paintings of different Gurus from 2003.

The calendar had a painting of Guru Gobind Singh in 2003, that of the Golden Temple in 2004, Guru Teg Bahadur in 2005, Guru Amar Dass in 2006, another painting of Guru Gobind Singh in 2007 and this year the calendar contained a painting of Guru Hargobind Singh, he said.

He is also the president of the Jalandhar Surgical Forum, joint secretary of the Central Rotary and cultural secretary of the IMA, Jalandhar.

Despite his engagements, he manages to spare time during nights and on Sundays for making paintings, he adds.

Kapurthala, February 19
Deputy commissioner J.M. Balamurugan has given his nod to set up 545 rural health and sanitation committees in the district under the national rural health mission. In a press note, an official spokesman said here today that the DC had also given approval for appointing 526 ASHA workers in the district.

Earlier in a meeting, Balamurugan got detailed information from SMOs about the setting up of the committees and the appointment of ASHA workers. Each committee would be provided Rs 10,000 as grant. — TNS

Jalandhar, February 19
For those who love to experiment variety food, city based Vrindavan, a South Indian eating joint, is surely a great option. A name synonymous with the best of South Indian delicacies, people come here from far-flung places to enjoy mouth-watering south Indian dishes like dosa, idli, vada, sambar, uttapam and many more and that too at very reasonable prices.

What makes the cuisine of Vrindavan differ from other eating joints is its unique recipe and the exclusive range of south Indian “masalas” used in them. Unlike other local hotels and dhabas, Vrindavan boasts of thoroughly trained South Indian cooks and management staff.

Perhaps this is one reason why this 29-year-old eating joint is still ruling the hearts of the Jalandharis. Talk about South Indian dishes and people mention Vrindavan as the most preferred choice.

At present there are around eight South Indian cooks working in the outlet.

Owner Ravindran Naidu says, “The cooks work for seven to eight months and then go back to Chennai. Then the other group of cooks comes from Chennai and Mysore and this way the work keeps going on.”

At Vrindavan one can easily get the most sought-after dishes, including masala dosa, rawa masala, rawa dosa, masala uthapam, idly, vada, palak dosa, paper dosa, Mysore paneer, upumav and much more. Naidu says, “I started Vrindavan in 1978 with an aim to provide the best South Indian dishes to city residents. It has been a steady business right from day one and then there has been no looking back. Now I am well accustomed to some of the families who visit the place frequently.”

Baljinder Kaur and Tarsem Singh, a UK-based NRI couple, put in, “We are here after a break of 11 years and it is real fun enjoying the sumptuous masala dosa. Though we do get South Indian dishes at various hotels abroad as well but Vrindavan differs in its quality and service.”

Ask him why the place is named Vrindavan and he maintains, “There is no particular reason behind this but Vrindavan Gardens is a famous place in Mysore and, therefore, I opted for this name. Moreover, even the North Indians are quite accustomed to this name as it relates to a religious place.”

Chennai resident Ravindran came to Jalandhar in 1968 and started working with Hotel Skylark. After putting some 10 years of service he thought of starting his own enterprise. “Apart from Indian Coffee House, there was not even a single eating joint in the city which provided good South Indian dishes so I thought of starting an eating joint specialising in South Indian food for the city residents. My idea worked well and since then Vrindavan became a household name for South Indian delicacies,” 
said Ravindran.