Jalandhar, May 13
They may be school-going but are ahead of professionals when it comes to hacking. These ethical hackers or “white hats” brothers are just teenagers and busy developing advanced security systems to counter attack on computer networks.

Jasdeep Singh and Manpreet Singh, students of Guru Amar Dass Public School, launched a website, www.hak9.com, on Saturday.

Giving details, they said the site aims at helping users update their securities and would give a tough time to “black hats” or those who work full time to have an access to others’ bank accounts, credit cards or e-mails.

Constructed keeping layman’s language in mind, the site offers security of accounts and computer details, gives connections to certain downloads and references for different situations. “But most of the users visit us for discussions and tips to boggle hackers. Answering queries and posting articles on related issues are other options available on our site,” said Jasdeep, adding that mobile phone users could also use the site for sending group messages by typing hak9dotcom and sending it to 567678.

Son of a chemist shop owner, Jasdeep said he mastered the skills through self-learning. “I have been surfing the net and using self-help kits to upgrade my skills. It is an ever-challenging task. The hackers keep on changing their modalities and we further need to be equipped to counter attack them,” he said. He added that social engineering by hoax phone calls for culling information on one’s data was a common tactic of hackers these days.

A student of class XII and aspirant of BTech, Jasdeep has many achievements to his credit. He won the first prize in hacking contests organised at DAVIET and Dr BR Ambedkar National Institute of Technology recently. “I competed with the college-level students in hacking contests which included password hacking, debugging and shutting down a server without using any tools or softwares,” he added.

Jalandhar, May 13
The cantonment board poll has brought some ray of hope for the Bhoor Mandi residents who have been living in extremely unhygienic conditions for the past many years.

The candidates contesting from ward number 4, in which the colony falls, are promising the best possible living conditions for the residents for whom overflowing drains and heaps of garbage have become part of existence.

In fact, the locality, which is one of the most unhygienic area of the cantonment, tops the agenda of most of the candidates, who are not shy away from making tall promises.

The colony is a picture of neglect. The sewage water can be seen flowing on the main road right at the entrance of the locality every morning.

The clogged drains take around two painstaking hours to clear, leaving residents with no other choice than to wade through it. The results are telling. Already, many residents are suffering from skin infections like scabies, athlete’s foot.

With the onset of summer, the cases of stomach infections are too on the rise, informed the staff of the dispensary. Add to it a large number of pigs and poultry animals in the locality, which has many slaughter houses. “Their faecal discharge carries many diseases,” the staff add.

Amit, a resident of Bhoor Mandi and a PAP employee said, “The elctions are being held after a gap of 11 years. The candidates have been coming to us, promising not only proper sewage but also a treatment plant at the site. Also, they have told us that they would ensure shifting of abbatoirs and meat shops to another area.”

A bunch of shopkeepers along the GT Road said, “Months before the assembly elections last year, the then MLA Gurkanwal Kaur had also inaugurated a sewage project here. But it has failed to take off. We hope the candidates keep their word and make this colony a better place to live.”

Jalandhar, May 13
It was a big day for this 42-year-old man who stepped out of the Jalandhar Central Jail after 16 years. The poor man had no one except a few social workers to receive him at the gates as he has only a son in the name of family.

Dev Saran, who was held in a murder case and was released on Monday, had been waiting for his 17-year-old son Kranti, who could not be informed about his father’s release. However, the son is expected to make it here tomorrow.

Talking to The Tribune, Saran said, “My wife and mother-in-law used to take care of Kranti in my absence. Both of them passed away when my son had not even entered his teens. It was through villagers that he came to know that I was lodged in a jail in Punjab.”

About three years ago, Kranti turned to Punjab to look for his father and came to know that Saran was in Jalandhar jail. The father-son meeting two years back was indeed a dramatic one, as Saran went to jail when his son was hardly a year old.

Narrating his first meeting with son in jail, Saran said, “I and Kranti were completely strangers as none of us had seen each other for past so many years. Besides, we didn’t have guts to ask each other.

When all the visitors met their kith and kin, I pronounced his name and Kranti nodded with tears in his eyes.” Since they had no introduction, they hardly knew how to begin and by the time they thought of beginning it was too late as the meeting time was over, recalled an upset father.

They again met after two months and Kranti told his father that he had started working as labourer and gave some money to him for daily expenses.

After spending crucial years of life behind the bars for the murder of a young boy who had eloped with a village girl, Dev Saran said he had come out as a transformed man. “I used to be a short-tempered person. But all these years, I have learnt to remain cool even in tough situations. I have done a course in the Art of Living and now plan to work with my teacher Vinay Sukhija in one of the ashrams”, he added.

He said jail life had been a learning experience for him. “I was a shopkeeper in Bihar and only knew some basic calculations. But while in jail, I have learnt Hindi as well as Punjabi on my own while seeing vernacular papers daily”, he added.

The jail employees wished him good luck for the rest of the life and praised him for his good behaviour throughout.

Jalandhar, May 13
Just imagine a land where conventional Punjabi sights and scenes await you, where traditional villages are brought alive with every single detail, ranging from the “mitti de bhande” to the street side magician. Details which had been pushed into the far corner of your memory but come flooding back as soon as you took a peek into the place in question. The place is called “Rangla Punjab”.

A name known for traditional Punjab brought alive is replete with vivid imagery of the “pind diyan galiyan” along with a “tadka” of pure Punjabi food to make you experience that perfect Punjabi treat to your senses.

The eating joint built on the Jalandhar-Phagwara highway is just the right spot to witness Punjabi lifestyle at its best.

With the customary Punjabi style, the restaurant is a place worth spending time. Apart from this, another USP of the place is the good collection of Punjabi artifacts where people get to know the rich Punjabi culture - whether it is the model of the traditional Punjabi village or the Punjabi clay models depicting rustic life, “Rangla Punjab” just makes the day for the true lovers of Punjabiat.

An entry ticket of Rs 25 (at noon) is charged if you are interested only in sightseeing at the food-point. And for lunch as a package it comes to Rs 90 per person. The entry at the dinner time is Rs 160 per person.

And when it comes to food, it is served in the most traditional style and once you pay an entry fee, you can have it till you have your fill with the tempting delicacies which attract people from far and wide. Even the utensils used for serving food are special. Keeping in mind the rustic background of the eating joint, the food is served in brass utensils as was traditionally done in the state.

As many as 250 customers can relish the mouth-watering dishes, including tempting foodstuff like “missi roti”, “makki di roti te sarson da saag”, “dal makhni” and the out of the world “kheer” served in the sweet dish category in the end.

Above all, the menu of the food served in the restaurant is changed daily. “It is a rare collection of Punjabi artifacts. The owner has made this place worth visiting. We simply love coming here with our families as the place is a mirror of the Punjabi culture”, says NRI Harnek Singh.

Adding charm to the place is a fabricated storeroom with the display of the rustic “peti” and a “trunk” used to store clothes. At one end is a typical “sunniara” (goldsmith) designing women ornaments.

The eating joint has also a foot-tapping professional troupe on Punjabi folk songs in ornate and colourful Punjabi dresses to keep music lovers on their toes.

Jalandhar, May 13
In a mishap at an unmanned level crossing, three persons of a family sustained serious injuries as a Tata Sumo vehicle collided with a Jalandhar-bound DMU train at Dhadde village here today.

The injured, Bhajan, his brother Kamaljeet and their sister Rajni of Lamba Pind in Jalandhar, have been admitted to the civil hospital.

They were going to pay obeisance at some religious place when their vehicle collided with the DMU train coming from Alawalpur at C9 unmanned crossing between Suchi Pind and Alwalpur railway stations.

According to the information, the collision took place as an empty drum from a tempo fell on the track right before the train proceeded towards crossing. — TNS

Jalandhar, May 13
Varinder (24), a Mumbai-based painter is in the city with a collection of her paintings displayed at the Satya Paul Art Gallery at Virsa Vihar here.

Spirituality, the hoards of emotions that women undergo in their lives and experiments with all kinds of media, are what her paintings largely comprise.

Though she is a successful commercial artiste too and has made illustrations for over 35 children’s books, she wants to stick to painting as her profession because it gives her mental satisfaction.

Talking about her initial days as a painter, she says, “My parents never understood the significance or meaning of the abstract media I used but I persisted and due to the grace of God now they take me a lot more seriously than they earlier did.”

Varinder, who has shared space with artistes like Gayatri Mehta, Vasudev Kamat and Vijay Rajpodharkar at painting exhibitions in Mumbai, is greatly inspired by concepts like spirituality, womanhood and abstract art.

For landscapes she banks on the rustic beauty of villages like Yeoor, Kokanipada, Detri and the likes portraying boats by the sea, a serene palm grove reflected in a pond or just a corner of a village house in subtle hues to drive the point home in the minds of art lovers.

Dropping a message for aspiring painters, she says, “Listen to what your heart wants to do and don’t yield to pressures like family, marriage and the like if you want to make it big.” — TNS

Jalandhar, May 13
With just four days to go for the cantonment board poll, the environment in the area has turned completely political. Ward 6, which is reserved for SC/ST candidates, has a strength of approximately 4,000 votes and includes areas like Mohallas 30, 31, 32, BI Bazaar, Nirman Vihar, KV 1, Residential quarters, Nalwa Road officers quarters, employees residential quarters, Ajeet Road residential quarters and Hardyal Road quarters.

Som Datt Nahar (60): Considering his social work as his lucky charm, this 60 plus is a known name in the ward. He had won the last poll with a good margin and is expecting to repeat the performance this time too.

Working as an accountant in a finance company, Nahar is seeking votes in the name of development works done during his previous tenure. He says, “Initially, the ward lacked many civic amenities but with the constant help from the board, pavements have been cemented followed by sewerage connections and a similar PCC flooring in other mohallas in 1998.” If given a chance he would continue with the same developmental work again, he promises.

Asha (45): Creating a history, Asha is the first woman candidate to contest from the ward. The lone woman contender is confident of her success and says her priority was to work for the welfare of women. “Problems like sanitation and sewerage are the core issues in the ward and the residents have been facing a lot of difficulties, especially pertaining to public toilets.” Her aim is to open some self-help groups for women and development if given a chance.

Des Raj (78): Des Raj was a popular name during the last poll. He said apart from the developmental works in the ward, his focus was on providing help to the residents. A retired employee from the telephone exchange, this candidate is also active in Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD) circles.

Ramesh Kumar (45): With an aim to provide the basic facilities at the doorsteps of the residents, Rajesh Kumar has been trying his best to woo the voters. Though he lost the previous poll, yet is sure about his victory this time. He has already served as pradhan of the Navyuvak Valmiki Sabha for nine consecutive years. “Though there are many problems in this part of the cantonment, however, upgrading the cantonment board hospital, bus stand and employment to the residents would be my priority”.

Raj Kumar (52): An excise contractor by profession, Raj Kumar is contesting the cantonment board elections for the second time. He says it has been years since the government started various schemes for the development of the SCs/STs but nothing has been done at the ground level.

“If elected, I would help the below poverty line women in particular by implementing the “Shagun” scheme, widow pension and old-age pension. Apart from this sanitation in the ward would be provided at every level”.

Jalandhar, May 13
One person was killed and another injured when a truck hit the motorcycle they were riding near the leather complex on the Jalandhar-Kapurthala road on Monday evening.

The deceased, Hari Singh (32), was a resident of Duburzi village of Kapurthala and was coming to Jalandhar on his motorcycle along with his friend Anil Kumar, police sources said. As soon as they reached near the leather complex, their motorcycle was hit by a truck from rear side and Hari singh fell in front of the wheels of the truck.

Pillion rider Anil Kumar was seriously injured in the accident and was rushed to a nearby private hospital, where his condition was stated to be critical, the police said.

A case of negligence driving has been registered against the truck driver who fled after the accident, the police said, adding that the body had been sent to the local civil hospital for a post-mortem examination. — PTI

The railway overbridge (ROB) project from Khalsa College to Narinder cinema needs to be reviewed. The traffic rush on this stretch will not ease unless the overbridge is extended up to BMC Chowk which witnesses the worst traffic chaos every day. Similarly, the elevated road built across Chaura Bazaar in Ludhiana should have been extended up to the Jalandhar bypass chowk instead of terminating it at Subzi Mandi. We at Jalandhar should not repeat the Ludhiana mistake and extend the overbridge up to BMC Chowk when the project is still at the initial stage.