Jalandhar, December 22
The year 2009 may well be recorded as the year of recession, coupled with inflation. With the prices of essential commodities at an all-time high, the common man describes 2009 as a difficult year.

While some lost their jobs, many saw unwelcome reductions in their monthly earnings and inflation made it worse.

Sukhwinder Singh and his wife Parminder Kaur, who have been living a decent life for the past nine years, now find it difficult to make ends meet. While Sukhwinder Singh, a carpenter, and his wife, a tailor, could together earn about Rs 13,000 a month, 2009 saw their monthly earnings drop to Rs 7,000.

“My husband met with an accident in March and was advised complete rest for six months which meant loss of the main bread-winner’s income. Costly treatment and price rise made the situation worse. We had two sons to feed and their school fees to be paid,” said Parminder.

“We used a part of our meagre savings to pay for the school fees. Ensuring them quality education was one thing we both were firm about. With the kitchen and education becoming the most important worries, other things took a backseat. We started cutting corners. We shifted to a with a lesser rent. We cancelled our cable connection and took to watching Doordarshan. We avoided social functions to spare unnecessary spending. The quality of life went down as my wife had to work round the clock to meet the financial needs. I felt miserable as I couldn’t do anything except see her suffer,” confided Sukwinder.

A major part of their meagre earnings was lost to medicines, food and shelter, the rest was spent on education, clothing and transport. “I think twice before buying vegetables and opt for the cheapest ones. Children innocently demand for stuffed paranthas in the morning and I find it difficult to explain to them that these are the delicacies we can no more afford on daily basis. My husband also needs nutritious food as he is still recuperating but shelling out Rs 750 a month on milk gets difficult,” said Parminder.

No matter who comes to power, nobody bothers to look their way. “We voted for Badal hoping that things would change for the better, but in vain. Once voted to power, these politicians forget all about their election promises and refuse to give a patient hearing to those whom they proclaim to represent,” concluded Singh.

Jalandhar, December 22
With Christmas and New Year round the corner, the market is full of verve. Gift shops are loaded with Christmas trees, Santa Clause, teddy bears and uniforms, cards, and other decorative materials. The shop-keepers, however, report a slump as compared to profits of last year.

“While there was hardly any rush till now, the last three days have seen a considerable increase in the number of customers. We were apprehensive about the sales as usually people used to start buying by the firstg week of December. But customers have started pouring in now,” said Avinash, owners of a popular gift shop in Rainak Bazar.

The market is upbeat with varieties of gifts available in all prices. While Christmas tree is priced between Rs 30 and Rs 5,000, depending upon its size, Santa Clause uniform is also available in all sizes and rates. “We have greeting cards with prices ranging from Rs 15 to Rs 500. Now-a-days people prefer big cards. We have had some customers who even demanded life-size Christmas trees. We don’t have that big ones, but get them on order. However, it’s true that this season, most of the people have opted for smaller trees and moderately-priced gifts,” said Gurinder Singh, owner of a gift shop in Model Town.

Cheap but better looking Chinese products are doing the rounds in the city with shop owners and customers both preferring them over their Indian counterparts. “Initially, customers hesitate a little, but eventually decide on them. The global economic crunch and inflation have further increased this tendency. People don’t like to spend heavily on decorative material as they prefer to buy new every season. However, while buying gifts for exchange they prefer quality products that can be relied upon,” added Avinash.

Phagwara, December 22
Taking serious notice of the news item published in The Tribune recently regarding death of two persons after having been bitten by stray dogs in Phagwara, SDM Amarjeet Paul has instructed the officials of the Animal Husbandry to launch a campaign for the sterilisation of stray dogs to protect people from this menace.

At an emergency meeting of the departments concerned, including the Nagar Council, the Health Department, besides Veterinary Surgeons, held here today, Paul asked the officials to launch an anti-stray dog campaign.

The SDM also instructed the officials to prepare a list of pet dogs and advise their owners to get their dogs vaccinated.

It may be mentioned here that two persons, a child and a woman, died within a week after having been bitten by stray dogs in here this month.

After six days of the death of a woman, Sonia, due to dog bite here on December 3, Ravi (13), son of labourer Dara Sarwan, died after bitten by a stray dog in the local Palahi Gate on December 9. Reports said the boy was bitten by a mad dog 15 days back and could not be cured despite long medical treatment.

It is estimated that more than 472 stray dogs were roaming in Phagwara, but the Nagar Council could not initiated any solid steps to control the increasing population of stray dogs.

Senior Medical Officer Dr Rajiv Gupta said he had written to the Nagar Council several times. Executive Officer Paramjit Singh said this evening that the NC had contacted the Animal Husbandry Department for early sterilisation of stray dogs to control their increasing population.

Jalandhar, December 22
In these times of rising prices of essential commodities, life has become a hard struggle for the aam aadmi. Despite the much-hyped poll promise of the Central government to address the issues of the common man, the last year witnessed loss of jobs and inflation in all spheres of life, adding countless woes to their already complicated lives.

“2009 was a bad year for us. I lost my wife. My son lost his job. Rates of oil, flour, pulses and vegetables sky-rocketed, forcing us to cut down on our other expenses,” summed up Shiv Kumar (56), who runs a dosa rehri here.

While his monthly income used to vary from Rs 10,000 to Rs 12,000, this year has seen a reduction of about Rs 2,000. He has to give Rs 1,500 as house rent, spend Rs 600 on medicines, Rs 3,000 on food and about Rs 300 on entertainment. “I have three daughters and all are married. We have to make regular visits to them and give gifts on every important occasion. Last month the youngest one’s sister-in-law got married and we had to share some of their monetary burden too,” added Shiv Kumar.

Every month around Rs 500 are invested on the education of his youngest son Ramesh (18) who is doing an ITI diploma. His other son Kishan Kumar (21) had done a course in hardware networking and accountancy. “He was employed on a monthly wage of Rs 3,500 but recently lost his job to the market slump. Now he helps me run the rehri,” he said. When asked about savings, he said: “If I could have saved enough money, I would have saved my wife. She died of kidney failure last January. I tried my best but couldn’t save her. She needed better treatment and complete rest,” he regretted.

He has been cutting corners to make both ends meet. He had bought a dish TV under one-year free subscription scheme in 2008. “We have put it on sale. Why spend Rs 125 when one can easily do without it?” he asked.

When questioned about his food habits, he said: “We usually take roti with tea for breakfast. On Sundays we prefer paranthas. Lunch comprises rice and sambar, the residue sambar and dosa batter is used at dinner,” he said.

He is lucky to get a ration card and avail the facility of cheap wheat, sugar and oil. But to get the things in time is a real hassle, he said.

He prefers visiting a private doctor for medical treatment as one visit to a government hospital eats up half a day which he cannot afford. Time is precious. When asked what would he do if his income suddenly doubles, he laughed and said: “Dreams don’t come true. I don’t ask God for doubling the earnings but if inflation could stop, life would become a little easier. This government is useless. Once voted to power politicians forget all their poll promise. I have no hopes,” he concluded.

Jalandhar, December 22
Officers and employees of the Life Insurance Corporation of India today observed a one-hour strike throughout the country for the acceptance of their long-pending demand of a wage revision.

Members of the Jalandhar divisional committee of the Northern Zone Insurance Employees Association held a rally in front of the local divisional office. Addressing the rally, divisional secretary Surjeet Ram said it was more than two and a half years since the wage revision in the LIC fell due. He said during the last negotiations the management had failed to come out with any meaningful offer.

Jalandhar, December 22
The year 2009 may be termed as a mixed one for the judicial system in Jalandhar. While a huge backlog of civil and criminal cases in the district courts continued to haunt the judiciary here, the setting up of an NRI court in December is considered as a positive step for the early disposal of cases related to non-resident Indians.

While the NRI court has been set up after a year of CM Parkash Singh Badal’s assurance in this regard, advocates think it should have been set up earlier.

District Bar Association President Balwinderjeet Singh Lucky says the NRI court should have been set up five years back when the East Punjab Urban Rent Restriction Act (EPURA) was amended in 2004. Sections 2 DD and 13 B were included in the EPURA in 2004, whereby NRIs have been given the right to get their rented property evicted within six months.

Nearly 400 cases have been referred to the NRI court. Apart from NRI cases, the judge is also handling cases related to railways and juveniles.

However, Lucky hails the establishment of two special courts, headed by Judical Magistrates Sangeeta and P.M. Sharma for early disposal of cases, especially bouncing of cheques and under the Negotiable Instrument Act. Over 30,000 cases filed under the NIA have been referred to these special courts.

Besides, the mediation and conciliation centre set up here in November last year is also playing an important role in minimising the huge backlog of cases. A former senior vice-president of the association Ashok Sharma says both the parties reach at an amicable solution to their petty disputes at this centre against which they cannot even make any appeal. This results in reduction in the pendency of cases.

However, the association president attributes the thousands of pending cases to the shortage of judges.

Hoping that more judges would be appointed next year, Lucky also demands that online system should be introduced in the district courts in 2010 which will not only save the time of the clients and advocates but also the judges will get more time to deal with the cases fixed for evidence and arguments.

Written statements and replications may be allowed to be filed through the internet facility, he says, adding that the cause list and next date of hearing of cases may also be put online.

Meanwhile, the acquittal of serial killer Darbara Singh in some cases is considered as a failure of the prosecution whereas the people curiously watch the ongoing proceedings of the case related with the sensational murders of former KMV principal Rita Bawa and three others.

Besides, lawyers here observed strike by boycotting the courts for some days in Jalandhar in September as part of their state-level agitation against the hike in court fees.

Jalandhar, December 22
47 Squadron of the Air Force Black Archers, as they are called, completed 50 years of service to the nation on December 18. The culmination of the year-long activities for the golden jubilee celebrations were planned from December 16 to 19. Cdre Commandant AVM A. Raha presided over the golden jubilee function which was attended by a large number of ex-Archers from across the country. The Black Archers were awarded the Standard by the President at Gwalior on November 10.

The squadron was formed on December 18, 1959, at Halwara under Sqn Ldr D.A. Lafontaine, who later rose to become Chief of the Air Staff. The squadron has performed in both the Indo-Pak conflicts of 1965 and 1971. It was also actively involved in the Kargil conflict as well as Operation Prakaram.

Jalandhar, December 22
His soulful voice, filled with nostalgia, was enough to make his old pals recall the golden days spent together in their alma mater. Accompanied by his friends and fans, the singer was virtually lost, gazing at the surroundings of his very own campus from where he began the journey of his classic ghazals.

Ghazal singer Jagjit Singh was at DAV College here to attend the alumni meet which saw the singer in a homely mood.

His eyes spoke of the change he felt on the campus after a gap of 30-odd years.

The singer came to the city via Ludhiana and was visibly astonished at the pace of development. “Long time….. the city has massively changed. I could not locate the busy Mai Hiran Gate…. and my favourite hang out Kesri dhaba in the interiors of the city where we used to enjoy tea with modest means. And sometimes when we had good money and mood to chill, Hotel Green was the ultimate destination,” he quipped.

Any special memories of the college? “Hmm, I can easily recall room 169 in Mehr Chand Hostel of the college where I had a lovely time. I would do riyaaz early in the morning, much to the annoyance of hostel mates,” he said in a lighter tone.

Jagjit Singh joined the college in 1959. A year after he composed a ghazal, “Rukh se parda hata de”, which became highly popular among the youth. Later when he came on to stage, the singer said, “This is the same stage where I sang this ghazal.”

Elated at singing from same old stage, he went on with some of the timeless ghazals, creating a magical aura. His ghazal “Vo kagaz ki kashti” reminded everyone of their innocent and carefree childhood. The singer mentioned the struggle period of AIR and Mumbai in the later years. “I shifted to Mumbai in 1965 from where began my professional career,” he said.

The singer released his first album “The Unforgettables” in 1976. Further talking about his first-ever stint as a music director in a film, he came out with the evergreen “Hothon se chu lo tum, mera geet amar kar do”.

He asked the audience to sing along, creating an ambience apt for ghazal lovers.

And before the audience could have asked for anything else, the ghazal maestro switched over to youthful Punjabi songs which saw the singer in a jovial mood.

His evergreen songs “Saun da mahina hai” and “Billo ne tere gore rang ne, saare pind ch puade paye” had the audience, especially the oldies, clapping along.

The singer, who enjoyed every bit of his visit, urged the college authorities to treat him as an old student and not as a guest when he visits the campus next time.

Earlier Sufi singer Hans Raj Hans, also a student of the same college, performed on the stage sharing some light moments with the audience. The singer, accompanied by Jagjit Singh and college Principal Dr V.K. Tewari, released a souvenir and took a round of a special photo exhibition depicting the 92-year-old journey of the college till date.

Man has always been inquisitive about the cause of his existence. It is this desire to pierce through the mystery of his origin that he is ever ready to transcend the realm of the mutable universe to seek satisfactory answers. Many attempts have been made by different scientists to fathom the intricacies of life. But now the swing of the pendulum has shifted his interest from the theory of existence to the theory of doom’s day i.e. “pralaya”.

Nowadays TV channels are being vociferous about the calendar of Maya civilisation in which some details about the upcoming upheavals in 2012 are given. Apart from this, many other ancient civilisations’ predictions about doom’s day are being highlighted these days. If we discard these prophecies as humbug only, even then we will not be able to nullify the conclusions based upon the assiduous research work of the scientists all over the world. The ongoing conference at Copenhagen is a clear sign of the danger that is ready to engulf us all.

Today we are facing a crisis which cannot be sidelined at all as this involves the life of our planet earth and her sentient and insentient beings. The problem of global warming and the emission of toxic gases need to be tackled immediately. It is quite unworthy on the part of developed countries to shirk responsibility when they are responsible for the maximum carbon emission. Nobody has any right to play with nature for petty commercial gains. How can man be so ungrateful regarding his duty for the beautiful planet earth which has nurtured us, sheltered us for eons?

The liability to restore the ecological balance is not solely the accountability of the governments. Individuals, too, must reconsider their orientation towards this most important issue, otherwise the situation will totally be out of control. It has become mandatory now to shed our negligence, selfish attitude and absurd logics. Our subsistence will be a thing of the past if we continue to negate this problem in order to satisfy our covetousness for material gains. Now or never - the decision is ours.

Jalandhar, December 22
Fun-loving Punjabis, particularly the younger lot, have got blown away by “Avtaar”- the world’s costliZest ever $400 thriller dished out by Titanic-famed director James Cameroon.

The two-hour-41-minute-long mind-boggling movie, which has made its debut show at Amritsar-based multiplex Cinepolis on December 18 and is also being exhibited at Sarb Multiplex here and its intricate plot has stirred the thoughts or altered the movie viewing experience of the people of Punjab who have seemingly started felling to luxurious comforts of costly multiplex.

The new-age multiplexes like Cinepolis and Sarb have enabled them to see multiple movies in a single day and even gone in for different languages, apart from offering better acoustics, clarity and hygienic atmosphere. For example, if Cinepolis can offer viewers as many as 20 shows a day, Sarb was currently showing eight shows of three different movies. “We feel that despite scope Punjab has been short-supplied with good quality screens. The most exciting thing is that the youngsters are giving very good response to multiplex experience in Punjab,” observed Cinepolis India’s head of exhibition Ashish Shukla.

“The highly innovative and awesome movie virtually shocked our senses. We had never ever thought that technology could do such wonders and that a director could be so creative and imaginative,” said Pavel Bawa, a college student, who came out from the multiplex along with his friends.

“I am a technology geek and have seen 3-D movies earlier also. But it was for the first time that I came out too impressed thinking that 3-D movies have a future now onwards. ‘Avtaar’ has raised a new bar for the 3-D movies,” said Rajiv Puri, a lecturer in IT.

For Monika, an NRI, who had come to watch the movie, “Avtaar” was the story of mother earth and of those monsters who have always been looking for ways to plunder its wealth for their vested interests.

"Avtaar" is the story of an injured Marine transformed into a giant blue alien avtaar and sent to a distant planet where he is embroiled in a fight between aliens and humans over natural resources and he managed to win the battle after a long fight with those who were hell bent to destroy natural resourses to enrich themselves.