Ecstasy & agony
On International Day Against Drug Abuse and Illicit Trafficking, we look around for the highs and lows in the party scene
Jasmine Singh

You end up in all-together a different world. You are there, yet not there. You give two hoots about what the rest of the world is thinking about you. You laugh, cry, sing and dance… a state of extreme trance, which you can’t describe.” Minal (name changed) is regular party hopper, who lives by the motto—life is one big party, so go on and have fun. And fun, sure she has. The kinds, which might make one sit up and notice her. Not that she dances like Shakira or she has two left feet. There is something uncanny about her. In fact, about most youngsters who like Minal carry ‘weirdness’ in their movement. 

“You know it man. They have tripped,” says a city-based Deejay. Tripped? “I mean, they are high on drugs,” he says. Drugs? “Ya. I can tell you which drugs, how, where, when and how, if only you promise anonymity.” On the International Day Against Drug Abuse and Illicit Trafficking, it would it be a suitable promise. We give it to him….

“It is a hushed up thing and people don’t go talking about it, but, yes people do take things (illegal of course), which gives them a kick. Unlike other metropolitan cities where it is a common, the ratio in the tricity is less,” says the deejay. “Don’t give me that ‘unbelievable’ look. It is true. I don’t mean that drugs are served at parties. Youngsters have it before hitting the floor.”

Club drugs, as they are called by party poppers, is another dimension to the fun, which we are aware of but wouldn’t want to accept openly.

Says Ayush Joshi from Delhi, a regular at various parties. “Rave parties are a common thing in places like Mumbai and Goa. In Chandigarh, it is a once in a blue moon phenomenon. I am pretty sure that you don’t get drugs at parties. Youngsters source them from places like Manali, Mumbai and Goa. They have it before they hit the party scene.” It reminds us of a scene from the latest flick Fashion, which had Priyanka Chopra getting high on drugs at a party. Even then we ask, what good are the drugs? “They are no good,” says Priyanshu from Ludhiana. “They give an instant kick and allows users to dance for extended periods. It takes them to a trance, a state-of semi numbness. Basically, it these drugs like XTC, marijuana, cocaine, liquid ecstasy, hash, petrol fumes, Special K give a temporary high.”

And, once the affect is gone, be ready to face the after affects. These party drugs can cause more problems than you can comprehend. Long-lasting damage to the brain cells, drowsiness, nausea, loss of reflexes, impaired breathing, amnesia and potentially fatal respiratory problems.

Offers Ayush, “The worst part about these party drugs is their easy availability. You don’t have to scout for them, just got to be well connected in the party circuit. There are a good number of drug peddlers who show up at parties. Something, which is taken for fun can have disastrous consequences.”

jasmine@tribunemail.com

Gods’ day out

If you wished to visit Puri and be part of the famous Rath Yatra, don’t lose heart. The Utkal Sanskrutik Sangh, Chandigarh, brings a slice of the festivity to the city.

The Sangh, in the pattern of the Puri’s rath yatra, has organised a nine-day festival, which started from Sri Jagannath Temple in Sector 31. A decorated chariot carrying Lord Jagannath, Lord Balbhadra, Goddess Subhadra and Lord Sudarshan will go through various sectors before returning to the temple, which is known as Bahuda Yatra.

We are told that the underlying principle of the yatra is Lord by traveling across drives home the point that he is the god of the masses.

The sangh, which has been organising rath yatra in the city since 1995, has around 600 members. Its cultural wing, which is called Odissi Cultural Centre organises various activities from time to time.

The yatra will conclude on July 2. —TNS

Hello TUNEZ
Unchained melody

The other songs, Hainiya, More piya and Billo with Sunidhi Chauhan, Aankhon se khwab rooth kar with Rekha Bhardwaj and Rangeelo rut with Sunidhi Chauhan are also accomplished. But the two remixes of Billo are an ear sore.

Rustic tones

Majajane (Times Music): Those from outside Punjab who think they know Punjabi music have only scratched the surface. The songs, which get a nationwide release are the refined, polished kind. Beyond them lies a vast variety of grassroots music, which is raw and rural. Such songs are heard all the time in the interior but rarely in the cities of even Punjab.

This album, by DJ Phoenix, is of the latter variety and would be familiar only to those who frequent rural fairs. These have been presented with hardly any embellishments, except that since DJ Phoenix has had western exposure, he adds up a bit of hip-hop to some of them. What is remarkable is that Times Music has given it an all-India release.

The title song has been penned by Tochi Bullapuria and sung by Bee2 and Miss Pooja. Another rocking song is Gabru jattan da sung by Major and written by Pirti Silow wala. Both these also have remix versions. —ASC

Critical velocity
As a literary critic and author, Amarjit Kang is making Punjabi literature popular in Haryana
S.D. Sharma

Literary criticism is a creative art and those poets or writers who are endowed with the gift of analysis and constructive critical wisdom are acclaimed as literary critics in respective realm of literature. Credited with 24 books and over 100 published papers on critical appraisal of socio-cultural, spiritual and historical subjects, Amarjit Singh Kanng is hailed as a pioneer proponent of Punjabi language and literature in Haryana.

As many as 40 students have secured Doctoral degrees under his guidance of Kaang, the founder chairperson of the Department of Punjabi and senior-most professor in Kurukshetra University. Rightfully honored with Bhai Santoksh Singh Award, the highest in Haryana, and state awards, Kaang is also in the advisory panel of the National Sahitya Akademi, Birla Foundation Awards panel, and advisor to the National Book Trust for full terms. He has won another accolade with his appointment as director, Academy Staff College, a venture of the UGC at Kurukshetra.

Backed by a strong family literary legacy of acclaimed writer Giani Gurcharan Singh and brother Kulbir Singh Kaang of Amritsar, who together had authored over 120 books, Amarjit scored a gold medal in his masters in Punjabi literature from the GNDU, Amritsar with a record of marks still unbroken since 1979. He repeated the fete with another gold medal in M. Phil. His research and analytical literary works "Madh Kali Sahit" on mediaeval literature from 800 to 1850 AD, "Madh Kali Vivek, "Kissa Sansar" "Waris Kav Parvachan", "Kissa Paripekh" are the real treatises tracing the successive cultural renaissance in the region. The wisdom and valour of Sikh gurus, mysticism of Sufi saints, Nath Jogis, epic poets and social patriarchs from all religions finds true reflection in Kaang's 24 literary ventures.

Exclaiming his own admiration for divine utterances of great gurus, saints in the holy Guru Granth Sahib, Gita and Quran, Kaang claims these celestial treatises as panacea of all human problems. "There is no substitute for academics, knowledge and commitment to achieve higher goals of life," claims Kaang.

Come, join

The Chandigarh Lalit Kala Akademi is inviting entries in painting, sculpture, graphics, photography, drawing and multi-media for participation in its annual art exhibition to be held in September this year. Artists from the tricity are eligible for participation in this exhibition.

Those who wish to participate but not compete can enter in the 'not for competition' section. A jury consisting of eminent personalities from the field of art will be responsible for deciding the awards and also the art works for display. To enhance the quality of the exhibition there will also be an invitee section in which renowned and senior artists, to be recommended by the jury, will be invited to display their creations. The invited artists' works will not be for competition and will not be subjected to any selection process.

There will be five awards of Rs 15,000 each for the professional category and five awards of Rs 10,000 each for student category. The entry forms are available free of cost at the Akademi office in State Library-34, Ravinder Sharma, Government College of Art-10, and Bheem Malhotra, Chandigarh College of Architecture-12.

The entries can be submitted between July 13 and 17 2009 during the office hours at the Alkademi office. — TNS 

Side Lanes
Surviving recession
Joyshri Lobo

Finally, it has dawned on me that jewellry and a matki of hidden cash is a good thing. I looked down on gold and mummyjis who waxed loud and eloquent on the amount of tolas they gave their daughters at their marriage. The hisaab and permutations made me laugh and when the bride came bedecked and bowed with the weight of her jewels for all the world and its mothers to calculate and gasp with envy, I felt pity and compassion. It seemed that the wedding day was the toughest, not the most pleasant in a lifetime. It also made me chuckle when mummyji took me to see the tin trunk, under lock, key and heavy steel chain, nestled under the bed, with sedimentary layers of dowry for an infant girl. Diligently, mummyji would use those extra paisas that daddyji brought, to buy heavy saris, bartans, jewellry and bed linen. All of the afore-mentioned activities seemed futile when it was obvious that a good education was the answer towards creating an independent, modern daughter who could earn her own living when required.

There were also the grandmothers who hid extra rupees in potlis, which were then stuffed into earthen matkis and buried deep in the garden. Wild horses could not drag the secret from them.

My mother, with all the earthiness of her ancestors and the brains of a true Brahmin, put her faith in safe FDs, real estate and blue chip companies. Her pragmatism is infallible, common sense unique.

We too had faith in the 'goorment' and when our youngest arrived five years before his father retired, we distributed our cash between Dhanvidya, Dhanlaxmi, UTI, IDBI Deep Discount Bonds and Indira Vikas Patra. These were government approved and sponsored investments, where honest people put their cash if they did not want to face the ignominy of income tax raids. The government looked on benignly and promised the moon to those who stashed their extra cash in these, and like good girls and boys, we obeyed. All were considered as safe as could be. Somewhere in the not so distance past, India fell prey to its own recession. The world considered it a hiccup but retired types like us picked up the sops offered by the governmental financiers and started licking our wounds. You do not sue the government whatever the provocation. We were given back whatever we invested and told that the beta would not get those golden returns that had been promised when he turned 21. "We are sorry!" they said. "We regret that we cannot fulfill our commitments." Someone, somewhere had miscalculated.

Today the world has curled into a foetal stance to avoid being hurt. India and China have survived. The educated, independent daughters are not getting the kind of jobs they want. Those who have gold are selling it. Even those heavy saris boast a price tag. Land is bringing in huge profits. I would like to believe that dowry, jewellry, black money and land have kept this country afloat. What made me poke fun at the far-sighted mummyjis? They are obviously having the last laugh. Would the world not have survived better if it had hidden forbidden money and gold in some matki buried deep under the mango tree? I wish I had.

Comic relief
Gurpreet Ghuggi is back doing what he does the best - make people laugh, but this time along with his wife!
Jigyasa Kapoor Chimra

Laughter is the best medicine. We've heard this adage thousand and one times, but what better than laughing your heart out when someone works hard to tickle your funny bone. Presenting the better half of comic side, Star One's Hans Baliye has our very own Gurpreet Ghuggi and his wife Kuljeet Kaur as participants.

In conversation with the comedy king, we talk about nothing else but laughter.

Post Laughter Challenge, this is his second stand-up comedy show, we ask how is the experience different from the first one? He says, "This is far more difficult as we have our partners with us. And for me, my wife has never faced a camera, what to talk of national television! She was terrified in the first place, but over the time she's learnt the game of laughter and now she is doing much better than I expected."

So, who's the boss when it comes to scripting the performance? "It's the humble me." And he has a reason for being the boss. "I am older in profession, so its as simple as it is, old is gold."

Ask him if he again playing on the Punjabi humour, pat comes the reply, "We Punjabis are definitely high on laughter, and our performance sure has a Punjabi flavour, but this time my comedy is not alone related to Punjab and Punjabis, its general."

Well, it was for his wife that Ghuggi decided to take up this show. He says, "I take up television shows only when they are interesting and the concept of the show was such that I couldn't have said no. Other than that, I always wanted my wife to face the camera and this show gave me the chance to fulfill my dream."

With his hand full, we would see Ghuggi bhaji next on the silver screen. "I have three Bollywood movies in the pipeline. I'm working in Naughty at 40 with Govinda, Sadiyaan and a movie titled Kabse Sambhale Rakha Hai Dil."

jigyasachimra@tribunemail.com 

Koffee break
Neil in New York

Animated allure

Animation, specialisation, professional courses, multi-media, gaming, web-designing…Cut. Come to the point. Ants, animation training school, make public their arrival in Chandigarh and intentions in the north.

"We began in 2003 in Bangalore, gradually grew into five to six centers to currently nine over there. Apart from this we have thirty-seven centers across the country," Jyotiska Maitra, regional head, Ants, begins the briefs.

To sum it up, they are contemplating coming up with twenty-five more, all across India. Expansion. The buzzword? In times of recession? "I don't think recession would affect animation because it's closely related to entertainment. People would in any case want to be entertained," he says. Meanwhile, before the heavy-duty business jargon takes over, "We are a franchisee based model, currently there are 6000 students on board across the country, also want to go international etc etc," we cut. What about the image of animation institutes? In a country where education means the conventional rigid university degree, what do they have to say? There's an acknowledgement, "Yes, there is a huge barrier, people would rather do nothing in a university than do a professional course that gives them placement." Food for thought! —TNS