Jalandhar, November 27
Exactly two months after the sensational murder of Monti, son of a rehri vendor, the district police today achieved the first major breakthrough in the case by arresting one of the accused.

According to the police, the accused has been identified as Satwinder Chahal, a cable operator and resident of New Baldev Nagar in Maqsudan. He had gone underground ever since Monti was shot dead at the busy Jyoti Chowk

The accused was arrested by Maqsudan police after a tip-off. SHO Nirmal Singh, while talking to The Tribune said, “We received a secret information that Chahal was hiding at his sister-in-laws’ house here. A raid was conducted and the accused was arrested late last night.”

Chahal, along with his accomplices Kuldeep Singh and Sarabjit Singh, was booked under sections 302 and 43 of the IPC and Arms Act on the complaint of Purshotam, father of the deceased. Police said the efforts were on to nab the two absconding accused.

Notably, Monti was shot at point blank range on night of September 28. Profusely bleeding, the boy was rushed to the hospital but doctors were unable to save him.

The assailants had fled from the spot, leaving behind a car (PB-08AB-7979) and a double barrel gun.

During search of the vehicle, the police had recovered the RC, showing one Gurmeet Singh, resident of Kishanpura, as its owner.

However, as the police was unable to make any further headway in the case, Monti’s kin, fearing hushing up of things, had approached the local bodies minister Manoranjan Kalia to seek help.

Jalandhar, November 27
Backwaters, Banana chips, coconut trees, there’s more to Kerala than just that. Art has a way to transcend boundaries. Those who were a witness to the Kathakali recital at Red Cross Bhavan on Thursday would just know how.

The morning saw Jalandhar wake up to the sounds of Kerela as Kathakali exponent Margi Vijaya Kumar took to the stage dancing to the beats of the “chenda” and the “maddalam” accompanied with gongs and cymbals and vocal strains from down south. The Thiruvananthapuram-based artiste performed with his troupe at a concert arranged by SPIC MACAY.

Into Kathakali since he was 12, Vijaya has been trained by noted masters like late Padmashree Kalamandalam Nair, late Mankulam Vishnu Namboothiri, Thonakkal Peethambaran and Inchakattu Ramachandran Pillai.

A noted member of the Margi theatre, he performed the episode Putana Moksha - the salvation of Putana.

Deft at playing the nayika, Vijaya portrayed Putana - the demoness of Mahabharata, who on the orders of Kansa, tried to kill Krishna, herself paying the price for the deed with her life, in the end.

The beauty of the damsel which Putana disguised herself as, fascinated by the sights and sounds of the dancing peacocks at the Govardhana, the eagerness with which she proceeded to the house of Nand amidst the household activity and aroma of freshly-churned curd, the interplay of motherly affection and revulsion for little Krishna on her face and ultimately the horror and disarray which Putana found herself in as Krishna sucked the life out of her, were portrayed with a grace and pain which can only be denoted by an actor who takes the emotions of the character played by him as seriously as probably life itself.

Schoolchildren thoroughly enjoyed the performance by the artiste, especially as they were told the meaning of the act prior to the performance and their questions patiently answered by the artiste’s interpreter.

Talking to The Tribune, the artiste said the colour of paint and style used on the face of the Kathakali artiste says a lot about the kind of character he portrays.

Green paint is usually used to denote humble and righteous characters like Krishna, Arjuna, Bhima, etc.

The style of moustaches painted on the face of the nayak helps portraying him as an arrogant or humble hero as the situation demands.

Talking about his early years, Vijaya said he had a habit of practising for as many as eight hours a day.

Due to the amount of hard work that they have to put in for the dance, they also have some exercises determined for it, including eye-exercises.

Hand body massage is also a regular feature for the disciples of Kathakali, he said. They have to undergo special massages and training in exercises inspired from Kalarippayattu, the martial art of Kerela, to keep their bodies flexible and fit.

Talking about one of his finest moments as an artiste, he said performing for and winning appreciation from actor Shivaji Ganesan was one of high points of his life.

Vijaya, who is also the recipient of the Kerela Kalamandalam award (2005), continues to pass on the rich tradition of Kathakali to his disciples who are members of the 40-member troupe he works with.

Kapurthala, November 27
A farmer of Kartarpur Jagdish Singh was found murdered at Dupehi village falling under the Sadar police station here on Thursday.

According to the information, Jagdish Singh was doing contract farming on nearly 100-acre land at Dupehi village.

His body was first noticed by Balbir Singh, a Punjabi labourer engaged by him, in a room on the land.

After getting the information, the police reached the spot and sent the body to the local civil hospital for a post-mortem examination.

All the four migrant labourers were found missing. The police suspected their involvement in the murder. A case has been registered against them.

Jalandhar, November 27
Shriram Value, a leading IT and BPO services company, has chosen CT Group of Institutions as its active centre for placements.

The firm will recruit students of the group and arrange various activities related to human resource development on the campus.

Under this liaison, the company will hold job fairs, seminars and classes offering recruitment tips to students at regular interval.

Jalandhar, November 27
An exhibition of fine art photography by Vineet Khinda was inaugurated by Punjabi poet Surjeet Patar at Virsa Vihar here on Wednesday.

The six-day exhibition has been named “Amazing India”. Khinda, who is a paediatric dentist by profession, has been pursuing photography as an art form since long.

To him the camera has come to symbolise the means to discover and enjoy the splendour and beauty of life.

His effort is to explore the man, the environment, the surroundings and the culture. To him India is a pictorial goldmine.

Khinda says the medium of photography has turned a full circle now to be accepted finally and immutably as a form of fine art.

The images being produced over the last few decades have elevated photography to the realm of art, Khinda says.

Jalandhar, November 27
BSP state president Avtar Singh Karimpuri criticised the SAD for allotting the Jalandhar Lok Sabha ticket to singer Hans Raj Hans.

Addressing a rally at Desh Bhagat Yadgaar Hall here on Thursday, Karimpuri said the SAD had accepted its ideological defeat by fielding a singer as its candidate.

The rally was organised by Jalandhar BSP candidate for the coming Lok Sabha elections Surjit Singh to welcome Karimpuri after visiting Jalandhar for the first time after becoming a Rajya Sabha member.

Karimpuri reached at the venue a few hours late than the scheduled time. The gathering in the rally was also not much as had been expected.

Jalandhar, November 27
Three city boys have won the Jalandhar district tennis championship held at Burlton Park. The three-day-long open championship saw the tennis skills of around 150 players from all over Jalandhar.

Meet Thakur Ajay Singh (u-14), Kanwardeep Singh Kang (u-18) and Sukhdanish Singh Behl (u-18) who won the championships in their individual events. While Ajay and Kanwardeep were winners, Sukhdanish ended up with the runners-up prize.

Considering this as one of the best mind games, the trio maintained, “This is one game which virtually controls your patience. You need to read the mind of the opponent to dodge his moves.”

Sharing his experiences, Kanwardeep said, “Being an individual game you have to take the responsibility of your every win and loss. I am lucky enough to have coach like Nirmal Singh. Perhaps he is the only coach who is teaching tennis free of cost.”

When asked about the status of the game in the country, the boys quipped, “Over the past some years its status has improved a lot. Earlier there was less exposure and as a result the participation was less. But at present even girls are coming ahead in large numbers. However, the presentation of Punjab in the game is dismal”.

And when asked about their aim, the boys maintained, “Well it has to be the Olympics. We wish to play for the country in the London Olympics in 2012. The title of world champion inspires us to work even more harder and we are eagerly waiting for the day.”

It may be recalled that Ajay has also won the all-India talent series held at Punjab Agricultural University (PAU), Ludhiana, in May.

At present Kanwardeep is gearing up for the Delta national men’s championship to be held from December 1 to 6 at RK Khanna Stadium, New Delhi.

Jalandhar, November 27
The canteen stores department (CSD), Jalandhar cantonment, would organise a CSD-consumer awareness week from November 29.

CSD regional manager N. Chandershekhar said the awareness week would witness leading companies of India and abroad working with CSD like Bajaj, Usha, Hyundai, Philips, Milton, Sunflame, VIP, Samsung, Maruti, TATA, Ford and many more.

“All the ex-servicemen are invited to take part in he exhibition and get their consumer goods serviced,” he said.

He added Vajra Golden Lion Canteen, Vajra Station Canteen and other unit-run canteens (URC) would also be part of the week-long awareness drive.