Amritsar, May 1
Cast of the forthcoming Punjabi movie “Munde UK De”, along with its director Manmohan Singh, held a promotional programme of the movie at the DAV Public School here yesterday.

Students cheered along as popular Punjabi singer Amarinder Gill sang numbers from the film. Famous comedian Gurpreet Ghuggi left the students in splits as they had a great time listening to his jokes and anecdotes. However, Ghuggi convincingly brought home the point that Punjabi must be given its respectful place as the mother tongue by each Punjabi.

He said Punjabi cinema, which had enjoyed a glorious past but had seen hard times in the recent past, was on its way to be revived again.

Noted actor Deep Dhillon encouraged students to excel in their chosen fields to attain new heights.

Neera Sharma, principal of the school, extended a floral welcome to the film crew . Television actress-turned-Punjabi film heroine Neeru Bajwa also joined the actors as they sat among the students. Director of film Manmohan Singh said Punjab was a pool of talent and he exhorted students to not only become literate but to devote time for pursing their talents. — TNS

Amritsar, May 1
Cinematographer of famous Bollywood flicks and director of Punjabi movies Manmohan Singh advocated setting up of a film institute with all creative and technical branches of film-making in north India in general and Punjab in particular.

He was talking to Amritsar Plus while promoting his forthcoming Punjabi movie “Munde UK De”.

Commenting on the presentation of Punjabis and Punjabi culture in Bollywood as inappropriate, he said it forced him to don the hat of a director after having been photographer for over three decades. However, he was all praise for Yash Chopra for highlighting Punjab, its culture and people correctly in his movies.

The arrival of Manmohan Singh in Punjabi cinema will be heralded as an epoch making event as the quality of Punabi movies improved considerably. Hailing from Sirsa, he worked in the making of movies like “Darr”, “Dilwale Dulhaniya Le Jayenge”, “Dil To Pagal Hai”, and “Mohabbatein”.

He directed his first film in 1994, named “Pehla Pehla Pyar”. His first movie was in Hindi, but he is well known for his Punjabi family movies.

His first directorial Punjabi movie was “Jee Aayan Nu” in 2003. Subsequently, he gave one Punjabi flick annually like “Asa Nu Maan Watna Da”, “Yaaran Naal Baharaan”, “Dil Apna Punjabi”, “Mitti Waajan Maardi” and “Mera Pind”.

As a cinematographer his first film was “Ghashiram Kotwal” in 1976. His other famous movies as a photographer are “Fasle”, “Chandni”, “Lamhe”, “Darr”, “Dilwale Dulhaniya Le Jayenge”, “Maachis” and “Mohabbatein”.

Amritsar, May 1
When your dreams are sincere and resolve is strong, other factors, however detrimental they might seem to your success in the beginning, are almost reduced to a naught.

Deep Dhillon, a known character actor, is a living example of this. Belonging to a farmer family of Patti town, he carved out a special place for himself in Bollywood, thus bringing to the fore his determination and confidence in himself.

Sharing his feelings with the Amritsar Plus while promoting his forthcoming Punjabi movie “Munde UK De”, the burly actor with a sonorous voice said he initially bagged a lot of roles in plays based on historic subjects. He performed the role of Jairath in “Mahabharata”.

Deep successfully shrugged off hiccups of being born and brought up in a remote town of Punjab. He took the challenging decision to choose acting as his vocation at a comparatively young age.

After formative years of acting, his skills in the art were chiseled during his roles in countless serials on Doordarshan Jalandhar in the late 70s and early 80s.

His role in “Supne Te Parchave”, the Punjabi improvisation of Charles Dicken’s David Copperfield, relayed by DD Jalandhar, was highly appreciated by viewers.

It was a workshop for artistes in Mumbai that brought him face to face with artistes like Naseeruddin Shah. The exposure brought him the opportunity to shift to Mumbai.

Some of his famous movies are “Mr India”, “Karishma Kudrat Ka”, “Ghayal” and “Maine Pyar Kiya”. His prominent TV serials are “Kanoon”, “Rani Jhansi”, “Maharana Pratap” and “Mein Dilli Hun”.

Deep is overwhelmed at the recent revival of Punjabi cinema which is witnessing an upward swing after decades of inactivity. Besides terrorism, he held copying of Pakistani movies responsible for the decline of Punjabi cinema. “The audience, fed on quality Hindi movies, refused to buy Punjabi movies which were thronged by characters which resorted to shouting and yelling than acting.” 

Amritsar, May 1
The Shiromani Gurdwara Prabandhak Committee (SGPC) operationalised touch screen for educating devotees about Sikh history, ‘Maryada’ and management of historic gurdwaras under its control.

SGPC President Avtar Singh inaugurated the touch screen at Sri Guru Arjan Dev Niwas in Golden Temple complex here recently.

He said entire working of the committee was transparent and aimed at making it more conveniently presentable to devotees visiting the Sikh shrines all over the world. He said entire working of its departments was being computerised and soon it would be connected with Internet.

He said the screen would provide all required information regarding administration would be available at a place. He said initially information would be available in Punjab and English.

The SGPC President informed that more touch screens would be installed at information centre, Central Sikh museum and various ‘Sarais’. He said a mobile website has been created which would facilitate uploading of Kirtan, Hukamnamas (edicts) and schedule of Ragi Jathas on mobiles with internet connectivity.

He elaborated that devotees could also receive information regarding history of the Golden Temple, location of historic places in circumambulation, historic sites in Golden Temple complex like Gurdwara Baba Atal Rai, Gurdwara Mata Kaulan, Guru Ram Das Langar Hall, Central Sikh museum, information centre, Gurdwara Sri Diwan Hall Manji Sahib, Sri Guru Ram Das Library, Sikh Reference Library, SGPC office in Teja Singh Samundri hall, free bus service and for parking of vehicles.

In the photo gallery of touch screen, devotees could look at pictures of Golden Temple from different angles.

Amritsar, May 1
Darshani Deori, an old and historic site in the vicinity of the Golden Temple, is waiting for immediate renovation and upgradation by the Shromani Gurdwara Prabandhak Committee. This is the historic gate which Sikh Gurus, including Guru Ram Das, Guru Arjan Dev and Guru Hargobind, used while visiting Harmandar Sahib.

The board, put up on behalf of the manager, Darbar Sahib, reads, “The Sikh Gurus used to bow their heads from this historic gate before entering Harmandar Sahib.”

There was no construction between Guru Ke Mehal and the Golden Temple during the Guru period.

However, with the passage of time, Darshani Deori was surrounded by a number of residential and commercial buildings. Mai Sewa Bazaar where Darshani Deori is situated, has come up as a hub of commercial activities due to the mushrooming of shops, especially after the partition of the country.

Darshani Deori is decorated with frescos, meenakari and holy shabads written on the main arch which need immediate renovation by experts. Even though the SGPC looks after it, it is slowly losing its sheen.

The board installed near the historic gate mentions the brief history of the historic site.

Initially, Darshani Deori was surrounded by historic sites, including Guru Ke Mehal and Tobha Bhai Salo. A gurdwara is also situated on the roof of Darshani Deori from where devotees can have a glimpse of the Golden Temple.

Amritsar, May 1
Delhi Public School, Jammu, won the overall position, while DPS Amritsar and DPS Bathinda, jointly bagged the runners-up trophy in the annual inter-DPS quiz competition-2009 held on the premises of DPS.

Nine schools of DPS competed, including DPS Yamuna Nagar, DPS Amritsar, DPS Jhakri, DPS Bathinda, DPS Pinjore, DPS Jammu, DPS Chandigarh, DPS Karnal and DPS Rajori.

Two students each of the teams from Punjab, Chandigarh, Haryana and Jammu and Kashmir vied in the contest. Young quizmasters upstaged one another with their knowledge about the country.

Amritsar, May 1
Former Chief Minister Capt Amarinder Singh yesterday urged voters to vote for Om Parkash Soni, the Congress candidate from Amritsar, if they wanted to see Dr Manmohan Singh as Prime Minster for another term of five years.

Addressing a party rally in the walled city, Capt Amarinder Singh described Soni as the “son of the soil”. He said voters should not vote for BJP MP Navjot Singh Sidhu, who remains in Mumbai for shooting most of the time.

The former Chief Minister also raised eyebrows on the BJP forgetting former Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee during the electioneering. He said it was shocking that the pictures of Vajpayee, who had earned name for the country during his stint as PM all over the world, were missing from the election campaign. He said voters should be aware of the “black deeds” of L.K. Advani, Prime Ministerial candidate of the BJP, who was responsible for the demolition of the Babri Masjid, Godhra riots and the attack on Christians. Meanwhile, youth wing of the Shiromani Akali Dal (Amritsar) led by its President Balwinder Singh Kala, joined the Congress in the presence of Capt Amarinder Singh.

Amritsar, May 1
The Amritsar Vikas Manch today sought holding of political rallies only at selected and notified open spaces outside the city instead of organising them at almost every chowk thus disrupting traffic during peak hours of day and causing inconvenience to people and school kids especially when the temperature in the district is soaring day by day.

In a missive to Chief Election Commissioner Naveen Chawla, manch patron Mohan Singh stated that the historic city since Independence has always been at the centrestage of politics, regardless of political party or coalition at the helm of affairs in Punjab.

He said political parties of all hues choose to obstruct road traffic for rallying purposes. They select busy crossings and road arbitrarily and without any prior notice or permission from competent authority for holding rallies without taking into consideration the inconvenience or hardship which thousands of busy commuters, senior citizens or returning school kids have to endure for long hours in the scorching north Indian summer.

The police was seen only paving the way for such avoidable and frequent dislocation of traffic and not unexpectedly, such rallies and cavalcades leave a trail of damage to city roads and public property besides vehicular pollution due to dislocation of traffic, he added.

The manch leader suggested that the district administration should be directed to spell out some open spaces for holding protests or rallies, outside the city and away from roads for example at Ranjit Avenue Block A or adjoining areas around New Amritsar Bypass.

Rallies are very important and they should be properly organised but not inflicted on hapless motorists or school kids, who are taken as captive audience.

He requested the Chief Election Commissioner to direct the district administrations to maintain normal day-to-day life of citizens and permit rallies by political parties only at select and notified open spaces or marriage resorts. 

Amritsar, May 1
Congress candidate for the Amritsar Lok Sabha seat O.P. Soni complained to the election observer against his opponent SAD-BJP candidate Navjot Singh Sidhu, Mayor Shwet Malik and a private cable operator running local news channels across the state for violating the model code of conduct.

Soni in his complaint filed through his counsel Pardeep Kumar Saini alleged that these persons were misusing official machinery to influence the voters in favour of Sidhu.

The complainant alleged that Mayor Shwet Malik was getting the roads constructed under the garb of the order that the work was sanctioned prior to the imposition of the model code of conduct, and demanded a thorough probe into this.

He alleged that a private cable operator running local news channels relayed programmes of the BJP and the SAD only, while the Congress was being denied even a fraction of time at all.

The Congress candidate stated that Sidhu instead of confining himself to the agenda of his political party was levelling personal allegations against him.

Meanwhile, Soni also served a separate legal notice on Sidhu alleging that he was using unparliamentary language against him. He also stated that Sidhu made baseless and serious allegations against him for encouraging youths towards intoxicants.

Serving the 48-hour notice, his counsel Rajinder Nayyar stated that failing in stopping “slanderous campaign” against his client, a defamation suit seeking compensation of Rs 4 crore would be filed against Sidhu.

Amritsar, May 1
The Bakshish International Charitable Society launched by former Army man and spiritual preacher Baba Daljit Singh is doing a yeoman’s service for 
the humanity.

The society is dedicated to the welfare of the downtrodden and poor.

So far, the society had opened charitable hospitals where free treatment was provided, besides free operations of intraocular lens implantation to poor 
aged persons.

Daljit Singh established the society in 1998. The aim of the society was to run homes for senior citizens and the sick, besides opening orphanages, charitable hospitals and run schools, colleges and higher education institutes and making it easily available to the poor sections of society.

The society has opened three charitable hospitals at Lopoke, Basarke Gillan and Dhodhiwind and a dispensary at Dhodiwind village. It runs meditation and service centres, Bakshish Dham at Dhodhiwind, Preet Nagar, Diyal Bharang, Lumbriwal (Ferozepur), Jalandhar, and Chutala in Hoshiarpur.

The society has recently organised medical camps for the handicapped and disabled, besides distributing tricycles, wheel chairs, crutches and transplantation of organs, all free of charge.

It had organised and funded eye check-up camps as well. Dr Parampal Singh Bhullar, joint secretary of rural medical services of the society, said Baba Daljit gave the credit to sangat and all these humanitarian services were rendered and possible due to their cooperation. He said more such medical camps would be organised in the future.

Amritsar, May 1
Inadequate arrangements marred the celebration of World Dance Day organised in the Virsa Vihar auditorium by the Virsa Vihar Society here yesterday.

As soon as chief guest Jasmeet Nayyar, Principal of the SR Government College for Girls, inaugurated the function by lighting a lamp, the lights went off. One of the organisers claimed that a man had been deputed for bringing a generator set so that the function could be started but no generator arrived for about one and a half hours.

The audience, which included students and staff of various schools and colleges and their parents, could be seen moving out of the auditorium to purchase water bottles and snacks from a nearby canteen as the organisers had failed to make any arrangements to set up a small canteen keeping in view the hot weather conditions.

One of the parents on the condition of anonymity said the organisers should have made arrangement for a generator beforehand so that children did not have to face any problem, besides providing drinking water at the auditorium.

The programme started only after the electricity came at about 7 pm. The students presented kathak, Rajasthani dance, giddha and some dance items of the northeast.

The chief guest gave away certificates to the participating students. Punjabi writer Atamjit, Principal DAV School Principal Neera Sharma, and eminent theatre personalities of the region were present.

Amritsar, May 1
Even as numerous succulent fruits have arrived in the market during summers but people prefer to consume watermelon for its medicinal and thirst-quenching properties.

They say “tarbooj” is “Ramban” in summer season as it protects from severe heat, besides helps fight diseases. It is favourite among children, young and old.

According to doctors, watermelon is the best food for the human body in summer days as it makes the blood cool. During months of May, June and July when the day temperature is around 45 to 49 degree Celsius and human body needs more water and watermelon caters to the need, besides providing full energy. Watermelon is a good source of vitamin A and C, besides being fat free and having very low sodium contents.

In the Rambagh area, shopkeeper Ram Kaling said these days watermelons were being sold in the market at Rs 8 to 10 per kg keeping in view its demand.

He said if the heat wave continues the people will buy the fruit in large quantities and if there is rain he would suffer loss.