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A bridge of discontent
This library has audio books
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A whiff of hope for Urdu
Desktops are passé, laptops in vogue
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A bridge of discontent
Haridwar, March 25 The teerth purohits of Haridwar have come out openly against the extension of the famous Har-Ki-Pauri area. The Teerth Purohit Mahabsabha and the Ganga Sabha are critical of the ongoing works, specially the construction of the Tova Nai bridge at Nai Ghat. The bridge that will join Malviyadeep Ghat with Subash Ghat is under attack by traditionalists who say its construction will disturb the centuryold Nai Ghat as well as purohits who have set up shops, called “Takhts” adjacent to the area where the bridge is coming up. The mela administration wants to build this bridge to join the ghats. But the purohits are opposed to the move as it would displace the shops owned by the purohits who provide religious services to those visiting the holy city. The Akhil Bharatiya Teerth Purohit Mahasabha president said they had sent a memorandum to the mela officer in this regard and would not let the aura of the place be disturbed. He alleged that with for lakhs of devouts visiting the area during the Kumbh and on special occasions, the new bridge, whose height had been increased and more steps added, would pose a problem for the visitors. “The priority of the administration is to evacuate pilgrims who have taken bath and performed rituals but with the height of the bridge increased and more steps, there will be more pressure,” said Ramesh Chandra Sharma, general secretary of dharamshala management. The base pillars of the bridge are coming up on the centuryold shops. Five shops have already been displaced and with the construction activity picking up, more such shops will be shifted. There are in all 39 such shops in the Nai Ghat area. These shops meant for pilgrims and tourists were given on rent to purohits so that the pilgrims when taking bath and performing rituals could deposit their clothes and belongings at these points, besides taking rest in summers or during the rains. Barring a few, most of these turned into commercial ventures, defeating the purpose of these “Takhts.” The rent for shops varies depending on the size of the shop area from as low as Rs 40-Rs 60 per month to Rs 400-Rs 500 per shop annually. Those shops have been converted into tea vends , plastic and utensil shops and dhabas. Despite repeated complaints, nothing has been done by the administration. Municipal bylaws clearly state that these “Takhts” are meant to provide religious services to pilgrims free of cost. But the scenario seems to have changed. A purohit, Manglesh Goswami, at Nai Ghat says the family has been keeping the record/names of people visiting the ciity for rituals since the past 250 years. “We demand space for our centuryold visitors’ data and also demand that those using these “Takhts” for commercial and other purpose be strictly dealt with by the police.” The budget for the bridge to be built by the irrigation department is Rs 58.63 lakh. Engineer DD Dalakoti says that the work was started after taking into confidence locals as well as sants with the aim to provide better facilities and better connectivity to pilgrims.The contractor carrying out the work at the site informed that the bridge would be of much help during the Kumbh Mela when lakhs of pilgrims would throng the area. Manoj Sharma, a social activist, said the police under whose jurisdiction the Har-Ki-Pauri fell, catered to VIP and bureaucrats alone. “The stalls of the purohits are being used by vendors for commercial purposes. Also, the common man is directed not to use the bridge whereas VIPs and their families are allowed at the bridge for viewing rituals. This speaks of the double standards of the administration,” said Manoj Sharma. The Purohit Mahasabha chief maintains they are not against the new ghats or other such construction. Only they don’t want the old ghats to be destroyed. “The mela administration should take into account the feelings of the people.” He said his organisation has also opposed replacing the old flooring with new marble tiles. The purohits have met mela officer Anand Vardhan and submitted a four-point agenda: no change in the Har-Ki-Pauri structure, keeping the height of Nai Sota at 5 metres, removal of marble tiles at Brahma Kund Ghat and shops for purohits displaced by the bridge.
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This library has audio books
Dehradun, March 25 An apex centre in the country, possessing 3,876 audio titles and 30,000 audio-cassettes in Hindi, English and Sanskrit, the library plans to go digital in the coming months. The audio books have been composed in Hindi, English and other regional languages. The books are used as reference material for students of Class IX upward up to the PhD level. “Besides the titles, the library boasts of three audio magazines- Chaynika in Hindi (374 issues have been released of this magazine), NIVH Spectrum, which is in English with 116 issues so far and children’s magazine Ankur with 76 titles. Basically, the audio material augments information and is an effective tool for memorising certain concepts that may demand constant attention and practice. “The material is sent to students free of cost on demand and to institutions all over the country. However, one has to be a member to access the titles,” said programme producer SK Jain, who started Ankur for children. “The concept for the library took shape in 1984, but it evolved as a separate unit in September 1990. As we went about creating audio titles, the problem of arranging these became a problem; we could not follow the pattern of other libraries. “It had to be different and convenient for the person and the user handling the titles. So, over a period of time we worked out an arrangement, a mixture of the popular Dewey decimal classification and the Colon classification system. “The arrangement is so handy that in cases the master and copies of titles get mixed up, these can be immediately segregated,” said John Gideon,sound recordist. The titles are usually produced on demand and the catalogue is provided to members so that they get a wider choice. “As the titles are produced on demand, we emphasise on the quality of recording. The members are very alert and give us their input. As of now, we have titles in nine languages.“As it is a passive form of learning, schoolchildren (visually impaired) till Class VIII are not encouraged to become members,” informed Anuradha Mohit, director, NIVH. The recordings are done at NIVH studios and services of top-notch narrators are taken. While narrating the contents, the speed is slow and clear. At the end of textbooks questions and answers are available in complete audio forms ,” said Shailender Tiwari, narrator artist programme.While recording books, specific emphasis is on voice modulation diction, pronunciation body postures. The institute also holds workshops and short-term courses for narrators so that they can hone their skills.
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A whiff of hope for Urdu
Dehradun, March 25 In order to revive and promote the language in the state, members of the National Urdu Forum are demanding that it be introduced as a school subject in all primary schools. Besides, they have called for the setting up of an Urdu academy. A proposal has been submitted to the government in this regard. Admirers of the language maintain that a language cannot be a monopoly of a community. Nor can it be associated with a religion. “It’s a beautiful language and an important part of our heritage. It will be a good thing if the government patronises it. For it’s survival and prosperity, it has to be made part of the education system,” said Dr Anwar Pasha Associate Professor, Jawaharlal Nehru University and member of the National Urdu Forum. “Hindi is derived from Sanskrit. But 80 per cent of the vocabulary of Hindi and Urdu is of Indian origin,” opined Dr Pasha. In Dehradun, it is only being taught in religious schools (madarsas) and Urdu lovers are dismayed at the lack of interest of the government to promote the laqnguage. “After Independence, the Urdu language began to lose ground as a medium of education while English and other regional languages in different states gained prominence. Urdu is not region-specific but belongs to the entire sub-continent,” said Dr Pasha. The National Council for Promotion of Urdu Language under the ministry of Human Resource Development has set up Urdu centres at Haldwani, Gadarpur, Kiccha, and Almora while two are proposed at Nainital and Dehradun. “These centres are attracting students from all communities. Several of our students have gained employment as along with Urdu, computer training in the form of vocational training is also being imparted to the students here,” said Sibte Nabi, secretary, Parivartan Vikas Sansthan, Gadarpur.
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Desktops are passé, laptops in vogue
Dehradun, March 25 “The sale of the Dell laptops has really gone high in 2-3 years as compared to the sale of desktops. Where students are going in for Dell ‘Inspirion’ series, which comes between Rs 30,000 to Rs. 45,000, business class prefers ‘Latitude’ which are technically more advanced and are priced between Rs. 50,000 and Rs. 60,000,” said Payal, an HR manager at Dell outlet. Laptops have become a necessary part of students’ life as the new teaching methods like power point presentation (PPT) has made it an important tool for better classroom presentations and projects. “We are collaborated with some of the colleges, where it is mandatory to use laptops. This portable gadget help students to study at any wi-fi zone in the college campus,” said Payal. “Laptops as compared to desktops are easy to manage and can be used while travelling,” said Shikha, a college student. Services like the onsite facilities in Dell or availability of service center has also made people more tech friendly. Brands like Acer and Compaq are doing good business as compared to high-end brands of Sony and HP. “In Uttarakhand, Acer and Compaq are doing a steady business. With the availability of online facilities and service centers has encouraged people to spend on laptops which are in vogue, as compared to desktops which are now mainly preferred for office or for game parlours,” said Mudit, owner Sundharma Infotech. However, for people who swear by style, and want something really in line with fashion, Sony’s VAIO (video audio intelligent organizer) collection is the best option. Being a premier brand, it is favourite of people who want sound quality with designer looks. “Sony laptops are pioneers in maintaining the style quotient as compared to other brands. It basically caters to upper middle class and the premier class. These laptops start from Rs. 40,000 and goes up to Rs. 1.5 lakhs,” said Sumit Behl, owner Behl Technologies. The latest model is a pocket PC, and is designed for people who travel a lot. It comes with upgraded processor, noise cancellation, ear phones and many other unique features,” said Sumit.
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Haridwar, March 25
Dehradun, March 25
