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Using Rama’s stage for a green cause
Durga Puja begins sans Bengali tourists
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Doon School
ex-teacher who taught Rajiv, Rahul passes away
His faith doesn’t define his job, passion
Students showcase talent in science expo
Govt to set up computer centres for poor
International Disaster Reduction Day observed
Self goal costs Dehra XI match
Super 8s Cricket
SGRR Race Course eves clinch kho-kho trophy
Golden day for Praveen, Radha, Shweta
Somya scripts Welham Girls’ School win
Ghummakkad Narain
Right to Education Act discussed
Tiny tots enthral audience
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Using Rama’s stage for a green cause
Dehradun, October 13
Sumantha, a naturalist who runs an organisation named ‘Mahseer Conservancy’, is credited with carrying out excellent projects for the conservation of biodiversity resources in the surroundings of the Jim Corbett National Park and providing valuable exposure to travellers in his cottages. These days, during Ramlila shows, he goes from place to place in Udham Singh Nagar and Nainital showing a 20-minute film on vulture conservation by renowned animal lover Mike Pandey and powerpoint programmes on biodiversity and environment conservation. Ghosh is engrossed in mahseer, a fish species, and vulture conservation, marketing of handicrafts made of lantana by villagers and organic farming and oak forestry in a big way with the involvement of local communities since 2005. Besides, he also has four home stay huts in Dhikuli. While giving a demonstration on the projects, he said that mahseer might not be an endangered species, but it certainly had symbolism in Uttarakhand. “Mahseer had been an angler’s dream for ages, but anglers need to enjoy the experience of catching and releasing the mahseer back into the water without having any thought of relishing them. “Not only this, we also need to spread awareness regarding hazardous practices of bombing and poisoning of mahseer. This is detrimental to the health of the eco-system,” he said. Vulture conservation is another project close to his heart. He said, “In Uttarakhand, we have the maximum variety - nine kinds of vultures, but we have been unknowingly killing them by inducing the deadly painkiller - Diclo-Fenac - in animals which are consumed by vultures when they feed on their carcasses. “The government may have banned this cheap medicine, but villagers continue to use it. It can be replaced with its alternative Neloxicam.” He added, “I am in constant touch with the Bombay Natural History Society and the England-based Royal Society for Protection of Birds in carrying out their projects of colony monitoring and awareness programmes to save these magnificent scavengers”. Ghosh is also helping villagers in reducing their dependency for livelihood on forests and substituting it with better use of lantana, a widely available plant in the forest, in making handicrafts. “Villagers are trained by HESCO, a government organisation, in gaining expertise in making handicrafts from lantana. I work out marketing modalities by taking the villagers to fairs/festivals where they sell their handicrafts and also get optimum exposure. “This skill has reduced their reliance on forests for survival, empowered them through sustainable livelihood, improved their outlook towards the environment by making good use of natural lantana which grows in abundance in the area,” he added. Ghosh is also working in promoting organic farming in the region. He said, “I am running a project ‘Dana Pani Organic Forestry Plan’ in which I am supported by the villagers who have settled in the 44 hectares owned by renowned environmentalist Steve in the area. “Under this project, villagers are taught to grow organic vegetables. Tourists are also taken through this kind of farming which has no dearth of buyers as the region is replete with hotels and restaurants.” He welcomed the participation of volunteers for these projects. Ghosh also shed light on some of the persisting problems, which according to him, had been the unavailability of local trained staff, adequate financial support, excessive paperwork when it came to interacting with the government sector and lack of clear guidelines in projects.
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Durga Puja begins sans Bengali tourists
Nainital, October 13 The Durga Puja
in Nainital is a major event in the autumn months as a large number of tourists, mainly
from Bengal, participate in it with fervour. The recent rain-related disasters in the region coupled with the failure of the government to
get main roads opened has hit both tourism as well as participation in the puja this year. However, local residents participated in the inauguration of the puja with enthusiasm. The day began with the ‘kalash yatra’ and ‘shasthi puja’. Shasthi or the sixth day of the Navratras is the day that the idol of Goddess Durga is placed at its designated place in the Nayna Devi temple. Thereafter, the celebrations continue till the 10th day or the Vijayadashmi. The daily aarti is a major attraction of the festival. On Vijaydashmi, the idol of Durga is taken around the town before it is immersed in the Naini Lake near the Pashan Devi temple. In the absence of tourists, this year’s puja is expected to be a low-key affair with mainly locals participating in it. However, those related with the tourist trade are optimistic and are expecting a rush over the next three days. Normally, Durga Puja attracts a large number of tourists who then go on to visit places like Almora, Ranikhet and Kausani. But with the Haldwani-Nainital road yet to be opened and the Almora road being washed off, the inflow of tourists has been very little till now. “As compared to last year, we have not had even 5 per cent of the tourists in
October. We are running into losses as recurring costs have to be borne whether there are tourists or not,” said Amarjeet Sonkar, who runs a restaurant on Nainital’s Mall Road. Nainital has been without any major tourist inflow for more than two months now.
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Doon School ex-teacher who taught Rajiv, Rahul passes away
Dehradun, October 13 Vohra joined the school in 1961 after obtaining a master’s degree in mathematics from DAV (PG) College, and devotedly taught mathematics to two generations of Doon School students. If mathematics was the subject he taught with much fervour, cricket was even greater passion with him. “Vohra was one of the best mathematics teachers and paid particular attention to weaker students with whom he had built a special rapport,” recalls Dr SD Singh, Vohra’s one-time colleague. Among his students were former Prime Minister Rajiv Gandhi and briefly Congress General Secretary Rahul Gandhi. Vohra was also House Master of Jaipur House of the school for nearly 11 years and took great pains and personal interest in his students. The school activities, curricular and extra-curricular, had overwhelmed his entire life, so much so that he never thought about marriage and remained a bachelor. Cricket and adventure sport such as hiking, trekking and cycling took much of his time during school breaks. Vohra had led groups of students on all these ventures. He was equally interested in inculcating amongst his wards spirit of social service and the gospel of “dirty hands” and helped set up the community welfare centres in villages. As a cricketer, he commanded great respect not only among the cricket administration in Uttar Pradesh, but also among the cricketers in the state. He played Ranji Trophy for Uttar Pradesh. He was also for sometime in the UP Selection Committee for junior cricket team in the state. He held great promise as a cricketer and could perhaps have played for the country, but for his full-time preoccupation with the school and its activities which always remained his first priority. Vohra was cricket captain of the DAV College team. Later, he was also a prominent and respected member of the Dehradun Club and was the Returning Officer of all the Club elections for the past 30 years or so. That showed the respect that the club members had him for his integrity.
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His faith doesn’t define his job, passion
Nainital, October 13 For the past 25 years, the man has been responsible for doing the make-up of all characters at the Tallital Ramlila stage. He is so deft that he can convert any person into a character from the Ramayana within three to four minutes. One cannot differentiate whether he is looking at a mythological character in real life or just another person who was standing nearby just a few minutes back. “I took to being involved with the staging of the mythological epic because I wanted to do something which was unique. The characters of the Ramayana exist in our day-to-day life. “They convey a lot in social terms. We can learn a lot from them and then, it is for us to decide whether we can become someone like Rama, Lakshmana or Vibheshana. “Ramlila is not just theatre. It has a very deep meaning and message for everyone,” Ahmed said while talking to The Tribune. Interestingly, the form of astrology that he practices to earn his living is purely the one sought by Hindus. “Despite being a Muslim, my family never objected to my getting deeply involved in the Ramlila. In fact, they have always encouraged me. My firm belief is that since 80 per cent of the population in this country is Hindu, I must do something that helps me becoming one with them in a brotherly manner,” he said. Interestingly, Ahmed’s getting involved with the Ramlila coincided with the Ram Mandir movement started by Hindutva forces. At a time when communal polarisation was taking place over the Ram temple issue across the country, Ahmed had stuck passionately to his involvement in making up characters of the Ramlila. “Those were times when even the Ramlila was staged under police protection. It was a temporary phase that blew over. It was purely a politically motivated set of events as the majority of the people were not and are still not involved in the developments related to that issue,” he said while remembering those times. The thing that bothers him is the waning popularity of the Ramlilas. He believes that the burden of extra tuitions, cyber activities and television prevents children and adults from coming to see the Ramlila. “It has so much to teach everyone in terms of values, ethics and a way of life. People must come and see this staging that is held once every year,” said Ahmed. On being asked how more audience can be attracted to the Ramlilas, he said, “It needs to be properly advertised and linked to present-day issues. For example, the government can promote its social welfare schemes and what it has to offer to the poor along with the staging of the Ramlila. Loans can be disbursed by banks at places where Ramlilas are being staged and banks can even launch deposit drives at such venues.” Ahmed is of the firm belief that the presentation of the Ramlila must not be changed. Referring to Kumaoni Ramlila he said, “We still have males playing the roles of female characters. The presentation is based on classical ragas. It is a rich cultural event that must be preserved in its original form”.
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Students showcase talent in science expo
Haridwar, October 13 The exhibition, which is held annually on divisional basis, is seeing participants from several government-run schools in Bahadrabad block. The talent of the students can easily be gauged by the models, charts and themes they have come up with in the exhibition despite limited resources at their disposal and not much support from their parents who mostly are dependent on agriculture. So, a major chunk of these science projects and models made by these schoolchildren have agricultural theme focusing on farming, agriculture, water supply, irrigation and hydroelectricity. The innovative projects are quite interesting reflecting the immense potential of the students who are the future of the country. Judges comprising science teachers and scientists appreciated the talent of the schoolchildren mostly coming from remote areas. One of the judges noted wildlife scientist Dr Ritesh Joshi, while checking the projects, said themes like nature, wildlife, agriculture, environment conservation itself reflected the thinking and vision of these children. "While one model shows the way to lessen misusage of irrigation water, on the other hand other one of the models tries to promote usage of bio-gas in villages so that trees can be saved. Besides showing how to make houses and embankments on the Ganga embankment areas to prevent from flood and earthquake, several models were showcased in the exhibition," said Dr Joshi. Block Education Officers also lauded the efforts of the schoolchildren stating that the best ones would be given prizes as well as participation in the district science exhibition competition.
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Govt to set up computer centres for poor
Nainital, October 13 This was stated by state Education Minister Gobind Singh Bisht while inaugurating two academic blocks on the DSB Campus premises of Kumaon University here yesterday morning. He said the centres would be known as Chief Minister’s Career Counselling Centres. The proposed computer centres to be opened in the districts will be operated under the public private partnership (PPP) mode. Bisht said the government would provide 20 per cent discount to the poor students enrolling in these centres. In addition to this, the students would be provided with an insurance cover with a premium of 90 paise only. Speaking at the function, Bisht said: “There is a need to converge and properly connect the primary, secondary and the higher education setups throughout the state”. His department is in the process of updating the educational avenues available to the students on its website. He further stated the government was chalking out a plan to deal with educational institutions running illegally in the state. Such institutions are offering degrees that are not valid and are fleecing the students. The minister said the government could not allow such institutions to function in the state if the state was to be converted into a genuine education hub.
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International Disaster Reduction Day observed
Dehradun, October 13 Chief guest Piyush Rautela, Executive Director, Disaster Mitigation and Management Centre, declared second Wednesday in October as the International Disaster Reduction Day. Prerna Prasad from Kendriya Vidhyalaya, Naina Raturi and Shailja were awarded first, second and third positions, respectively. Bhupendra Rawat from Vivekanand School and Pankaj Rawat from Kendriya Vidhayalaya were awarded consolation prizes.
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Self goal costs Dehra XI match
Dehradun, October 13 Tenzing (20th minute) of Sarvodaya drew the first blood. Gaurav (45th) scored the equaliser in the second half to bring respite to Dehra XI. However, the respite turned into disappointment in minutes when Sanjay of Dehra scored a self-goal in the 48th minute in an attempt to defend his own goal. The goal made the scored 2-1 in Sarvoaya’s side, which proved the turning point of the match. Dehra players made desperate attempts to score a goal later but proved futile and had to lose the match. Another match of the day was a one-sided affair as Gypsy thrashed Doon Challenger 4-0. Mahender (12th) and Yaspal (45th, 50th and 67th) were the scorers for the wining team. Doon Challenger bit dust in front of a mighty rival.
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Super 8s Cricket
Dehradun, October 13 Host The Heritage School will lock horns with Hilton School in the first semifinal while The Asian School will battle it out with Guru Nanak Academy in the second semifinal. Both matches will be played The three semifinalists of the competition had already been decided while the fourth one was decided today via ‘Bowl Out’ which was played among The Aryan School, Guru Nanak Academy and St Thomas College. In this keenly contested event, Guru Nanak Academy won to seal the place of the fourth semifinalist.
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SGRR Race Course eves clinch kho-kho trophy
Dehradun, October 13 The two sides had a tough match. The players performed exceptionally well to put up a good game in front of the spectators. Ankita, Shruti and Shilpi of the winning team played a major role in the win. All contributed valuable two-three points to ensure the victory of their team. Meanwhile, chief guest RS Negi, President of Education Mission, presided over the function. The winning and the runners-up teams were given away prizes by the chief guest. Basketball matches of the boys’ section will start tomorrow at 9 am.
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Golden day for Praveen, Radha, Shweta
Dehradun, October 13 In the 800m senior girls event, Praveen of MKP Inter College got the first place. In the long jump event, Radha of City Area-2 and Sangeeta Tomar of Mussoorie stood first and second, respectively. Shweta Thakur and Shivani, both of Shaspur, stood first and second in the shot put event. In juniors shot put, Karishma of Mussoorie bagged the first place. Savita of Shaspur was got second place. In the juniors 800m, Sobha Rana of Mussoorie secured first place and Sita of the same place had to satisfy herself as the runner-up. In the juniors 600m, Mamta Bhatt of City Area-2 got the top position and in shot put, Mussoorie emerged champions. Sarita of Shaspur and Simran of City Area-2 settled for first and second place, respectively, in 400m race in the primary category. Meanwhile, in the folk song competition, Rishikesh got the first position and Vivekanand Academy High School stood second.
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Somya scripts Welham Girls’ School win
Dehradun, October 13 In the second match of girls’ section, St Thomas’ College defeated Hill Grange School 10-4 while in the third and fourth matches Scholar’s Home defeated Unison World School and Hilton’s School defeated Convent of Jesus and Mary, respectively. Meanwhile, in the first match of quarterfinals in the boys’ section, Doon International School defeated Pestle Weed College 49-23. While in rest of the basketball matches Hilton’s School defeated Raja Ram Mohan Roy Academy 16-23, Welham Boys’ defeated SGC 18-29 and Summer Valley School defeated Carman School (Dalanwala) 20-18 points.
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Ghummakkad Narain
Dehradun, October 13 Addressing a press conference, Principal, The Heritage School, B Gill said, “Dr Kalam has given his consent to attend the valedictory function of the festival. A musical performance of Dr Kalam’s poetry by Mohit Chauhan will be the highlight of the closing ceremony”. Giving details of the festival, Gill said it had proved to be a success with the children as students from Welham, St Thomas, Cambrian Hall and Summer Valley School, among others, had expressed their willingness to attend the closing ceremony. The presence of the Prime Minister’s daughter Daman Singh, Jairshree Mehta and literary experts from Australia and New Zealand had brought the much-needed spotlight on the festival. Coordinator, The Heritage School, Vijay Wangnoo said the two-month-long event had a series of activities from a wide range of writers, illustrators and performers from both India and abroad. The festival, a NIVESH and Himalayan Hub for Art, Culture and Heritage (HHACH) initiative, was organised under the UNESCO and was launched on July 30 by Governor Margaret Alva.
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Right to Education Act discussed
Dehradun, October 13 Saujanya Jaolkar, Director (Education) and Manisha Panwar, Principal Secretary, were among the speakers who discussed all points mentioned in the Act and gave due answers to the questions raised by the gathering at the programme. Also present at the occasion were Dr Indu Singh, Principal, MKP Girls PG College, Pooja Khanna from Delhi Public School, Dev Lahiri, Principal Welham Boys, and other eminent guests from prominent educational institutes of Dehradun.
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Tiny tots enthral audience
Mussoorie, October 13 The children from the prep school sang nursery rhymes and danced to the tune of Bollywood numbers. They recited poems “Cobbler, Cobbler” in English as well as in Hindi specially transcribed by school Principal Jaya Karnwal. The children also recited the famous poem “Jack and Jill went up the hill…”. The Principal said apart from the numbers and rhymes, the school was committed to inculcate true values among the students in the prep school.
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Dehradun, October 13
Nainital, October 13
Astrologer Sayeeb Ahmed’s clientele is mainly Hindu and his passion involves making up Ramlila artistes
Haridwar, October 13
Dehradun, October 13
Dehradun, October 13
Dehradun, October 13
Dehradun, October 13
Dehradun, October 13
Dehradun, October 13
Mussoorie, October 13
