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Women celebrate Karva Chauth with enthusiasm
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Strengthen Act to curb domestic violence, say women organisations
Kathakali performance binds Doon in a spell
A kathakali dance being performed at the Convent of Jesus and Mary in Dehradun on Tuesday. A Tribune photograph
Bhotiyas embark on annual migration
A Bhotiya tribesman with his herd of goats and sheep in Pitthoragarh district.
IBM Daksh holds placement drive
Inter-BHEL Shooting Ball: Host Haridwar blank Hyderabad
Participating teams before the start of the Inter-BHEL Shooting Ball Tournament in Haridwar on Tuesday.
Tribune photo: Rameshwar Gaur
Dehradun champions of state soccer meet
The final match of the Uttarakhand Open State Invitational Football Competition in progress on Tuesday.
A Tribune photograph
Manav Bharati scrape past Army School
Jyotsna, Ujjawal clinch badminton trophies
Winners of the Uttarakhand Technical University Inter-College Badminton Tournament in Dehradun on Tuesday. A Tribune photograph
Tushar scripts Doiwala XI win
Shuttlers do well in east zone meet
ABVP convention on Oct 31
Police cricket meet begins
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Women celebrate Karva Chauth with enthusiasm
Dehradun, October 26 The occasion has great significance in the life of every married woman. The day is considered as pious for women when they can pray to Godess Gaura for the long and healthy lives of their husbands. Bangles, sarees, bindis, sindur and mehndi are considered sanctimonious to be offered to the Goddess as well as to be worn by the women observing fast. In Dehradun, the Stri Kalyan Sabha held a mass puja at Sai Mandhir, Inder Road, where women in large numbers participated. Alka Marwah, president of the sabha, coordinated the event and managed the rituals of the Gaura katha (story telling of Godess Gaura) herself. She even distributed prasad among the women observing fast and blessed them with prosperous married lives. One of the visiting women spoke about the significance of the day. She said: “It is believed that on this day, Maa Gaura will endow her blessings on fasting women, their husbands and families too. Women also believe that married woman who observe fast on the day of Karva Chauth earn long lives for their spouses while unmarried will meet their preferred soul mates”. However, on the day of Karva Chauth, women begin their day early in the morning before sunrise by having sargi (kind of mini refreshment). Sargi comprises seven appetising items, including sweets, paratha, fruits, tea and pheni, and then they continue with fasts for the rest of the day. “Sargi is given by mother-in-laws to their daughter-in-laws before observing the fast. We have to have sargi before sunrise. In the evening women dress themselves in the traditional sarees, jewellery and visit temples to seek blessings from Goddess Gaura (another name of Goddess Parvati) for the long lives of their husbands,” said an elated Sushma Vij, a homemaker. “The most important part of the occasion is the last phase of completion, which is of sighting moon in the night. Women prepare puja thaals and karvas themselves. They then perform the ritual of offering prayer to moon after which their husbands give them water to drink as a final touch in the fast completion,” asserted Sushma.
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Strengthen Act to curb domestic violence, say women organisations
Dehradun, October 26 Geeta Gairola, state Project Director, Mahila Samakhya, Uttarakhand, said there were several loopholes in it’s implementation and unless the government took steps to strengthen the PDVA, the women in the remote areas would not be able to get protection nor lodge their complaints. “It could have gone a long way, if a state-level committee had been constituted to keep a watch on the functioning of the cells,” said Gairola. Minister of Women Empowerment and Child Welfare Vijaya Barthwal said the panchayats failed to provide justice to the affected women so the Act was formulated. Now, we are facing problems in its implementation. “We have been receiving reports that the Protection Officers are not able to do justice to the cases as they have other duties to perform. But, we have shortage of manpower so additional responsibility was given to district-level officers. However, we are doing everything to strengthen the working,” she added. President of the Bar Council Razia Beig said the Act in itself was complete and a powerful tool but it was unable to provide relief. “The court procedure takes very long, tiring the petitioners. So much so the number of pending of cases is rising. I think one time settlement would be very helpful to women,” she stressed. She also made a suggestion wherein the Legal Service Authority could be asked to allocate separate budget for fighting these cases. “We could even use the services of junior lawyers for fighting these cases,” Beig said. On the other hand, Sushila Baluni, Chairman, State Women’s Commission, laid stress on the appointment of independent Protection Officers in each district instead of deploying officers on additional duties. Surprisingly, except for one Protection Officer from Haridawr, most of the Protection Officers did not attend the meeting. Women’s convention demands universal PDS
Almora: The fourth state-level convention of the All-India Democratic Women’s Association (AIDWA) concluded here today with delegates raising a demand for a universal Public Distribution System (PDS) across the country. Denouncing the government moves of dividing people into the Above Poverty Line (APL) and Below Poverty Line (BPL) categories, the delegates also criticised the moves of the Union government to introduce the food security in a mere 150-odd districts. The issues of the recent rain-related disasters and the ensuing politics over the distribution of relief came in for elaborated discussions at the two-day event. General secretary of AIDWA Sudha Sundararaman, while talking to mediapersons in an interaction after the meeting, said: “Why cannot the government use the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act (MNREGA) for rebuilding the roads and infrastructure lost in the rain-related incidents. We demand that the job cards under the scheme that have been got prepared after a great hardship be put to proper use”. Referring to the demand for introducing a universal PDS, she said: “Most of the women delegates, particularly from hill districts, have complained about the problems people are facing in Uttarakhand with regards to procurement of ration. We also want that the foodgrains should not be allowed to rot as hey have been till now and instead they should be distributed under the universal PDS, which should be on the lines of the system that had existed 15 years back”. The delegates also attacked the Union government for its dilly-dallying approach on the Women’s Reservation Bill. “No one has any idea when the Bill is going to be introduced in the Lok Sabha. The government is busy making plans about the forthcoming scheduled visit of American President Barack Obama, but is least bothered about the Women’s Reservation Bill,” said Sundararaman. The women delegates, while taking up the crimes against women for discussion, laid particular emphasis on combating the trend of honour killings. They denounced the recent instances of such killings in Dehradun and an alleged attempt at moral policing by right wing Hindu activists in Almora. The participants have demanded that special laws be made to save women from such attempts. President of the state unit of AIDWA Indu Nautiyal spoke at length about the lack of a proper administrative structure for ideal implementation of the Prevention of Domestic Violence Act in the state. “The Act is there, but there is no proper implementation. The reason is the absence of full-time Protection Officers. You cannot implement an important law by making use of a person employed under Integrated Child Development Scheme (ICDS) as the Protection Officer on a temporary basis. This is what has been happening here,” she pointed out. When asked about the instances of casteism that have been coming to light in the Kumaon region with respect to the implementation of the Mid-day Meal Scheme and Bhojan Matas being subjected to caste bias, both Nautiyal and Sundararaman said their organisation opposed such moves and sought that the government must intervene to stop such inhuman practices. The women delegates also demanded the strengthening of the Public Health Centres (PHCs) across the state along with the public education system. They said they would oppose the moves of the government to promote privatisation of these two sectors.
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Kathakali performance binds Doon in a spell
Dehradun, October 26 Essentially, it was the beauty of the dance form that allowed freedom to play heroes from epics that first attracted Padma Bhushan Kalamandalam Ramankutty Nair to join the Kerala Kalamandalam at the tender age of 13 years. Now in his 80s, the guru today gave a demonstration of the navrasas (nine different moods) extensively used in kathakali, followed by a performance, facilitated by the Society for the Promotion of Indian Classical Music and Culture among Youth (SPIC MACAY). “I was inspired by my mother who was artistically inclined. She encouraged me to join the Kerala Kalamandalam. “I have played the roles of Ravana, Duryodhana, Hanuman, Shishupala and others. My village Vellinezhi too is traditionally known for kathakali dancers, so it was dance and dance all the way for me,” said Ramankutty Nair. But life at the Kalamandalam was not all roses. It meant getting up at 3 am and learning lessons under the tutelage of Guru Vallathol Narayana Menon. “As kathakali involves rigorous dancing that can go for hours at a stretch, one has to be physically strong to take the strain. For this, we had to compulsorily give in to a painful foot massage and other exercises that make the legs strong,” he apprised.
Exceedingly visual, the performers make flamboyant use of costume, make-up and head gear. And if the eyes haunt you, the credit should go to the training given by the gurus. “Much goes into making the eyes flexible as these are the most expressive part of the artistes mask. These have to convey the right mood. One gains mobility of eyes with time and regular exercise of pupils,” said Nair. So much so, his flawless and jerkless movements have also been immortalised by famous filmmaker Adoor Gopalakrishnan in his documentary film. Purists to the core, kathakali performers have kept their 400-year-old art pure, fiercely rejecting modern elements. “Unlike North India, we are against modern elements creeping in our art form. Our epics guide us and have to be narrated as they were told in the ancient times. “Even the ingredients used in the make-up are our trade secrets. We would not like to reveal these. But mostly, coconut oil and rice powder are used,” stressed P Appukuttan, narrator and son of Ramankutty Nair. Later, Swugandikam of the Kerala Mandalam gave a scintillating performance of Kalyan Saugandikam at the Convent of Jesus and Mary School. Scintillating show at RIMC
A kathakali dance performance by Padma Bhushan Kalamandalam Ramankutty Nair was organised at the Thimmaya Auditorium of the Rashtriya Indian Military College (RIMC) here today. The programme, jointly organised by SPIC MACAY and RIMC, was enjoyed by all cadets. The artistes enacted various elements of kathakali in all its aesthetic beauty. The cadets saw the guruji and his troupe
explain and perform the major elements of the dance form i.e. bhava, larsya, mudra and abhinaya. Ramankutty Nair showed that the
entire alphabet had an equivalent representation in kathakali. He also portrayed the navrasas - the nine expressions used throughout art -
enacted by the usage of only the face. Nair also performed a scene from the
Mahabharata in which Bhima sets out to find a flower to please his wife
Panchaali. On the way, he meets his mighty brother Hanuman for the first time. The meeting of brothers, which saw a trial
of strength between them, was enacted with full make-up and ceremonial dress. At the end, the cadets asked a number of questions and guruji answered every one of them to satisfy the curiosity of the cadets. Col Pankaj Kumaria gave the vote of thanks and mentioned that it
was high time that we sat up and appreciated our own culture. He also mentioned that cultural activities like these were an integral part of the college curriculum and that there would be a conscious effort to organise more of these programmes in the future. The co-ordinator of SPIC MACAY, Dehradun Chapter, Rupi Mahendru was also present. The programme was coordinated by CS Vishwakarma and cadet Abhishek Dash.
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Bhotiyas embark on annual migration
Pitthoragarh, October 26 “The migration of persons from upper valleys to the lower ones before 1962 was not only an escape from the weather, but also an essential trade trip to the market. Traders used to sell a large part of their goods in Tibet,” said Dr Lalit Pant, a researcher on the Bhotiya economy. Dr Pant said it was the wisdom of the
ancestors of the Bhotiya people that linked their trade and prosperity to the movement forced by the weather. Residents of the 14 villages from the Darma valley and five villages from the Vyans valley migrate to lower valleys every year with their cattle despite the closure of India-Tibet trade some 50 years ago. “Even today, all families in the 14 migrating villages of the Darma valley have more than 5,000 goats and 200 yaks or mules on which they transport their goods from the road head near Tawaghat,” said KS Firmal, a resident of the Darma valley. Sunder Singh Bonal (75), a resident of the Darma valley and a veteran of India-Tibet trade who had gone to do business with Tibet before 1962, said, “Tibetans then were in dire need of barley, wheat and rice as Tibet was a non-fertile area and no cultivation was done in western Tibet during those days. “Traders used to earn good profit by transporting jaggery to Tibet,” said Bonal. Bonal said that Bhotiya traders used to sell their goods under a barter system and purchase salt, wool, borax, ‘Chirbe’ and rare Himalayan herbs which were in high demand in lower valleys. “The entire Kumaon region and western Nepal totally depended on Tibet for Tibetan salt. Tibetan wool was sold to Bhotiya craftsmen who converted it into winter wear and sold these at the fairs of Jauljivi, Thal, Bageswar during winter,” said Lal Singh Bonal, another old-time Tibetan trader from the Darma valley. Lal Singh remembers the days when he would reach Gyanima Mandi in western Tibet with jaggery and sugar candy and would purchase wool there. Residents of the lower valleys in Kumaon remain were dependent on Tibetan salt for centuries which they used to purchase in bulk for the whole year. “After reaching the lower valleys, the routine of the Bhotiya traders used to be very busy as they used to take Tibetan salt to every village and household from Dharchula to Jauljivi. “They would then bartered it with grains that the local farmers had just harvested,” said Sunder Singh Bonal. He added that after the closure of Tibetan trade, the residents of Darma had become poor despite government reservation in jobs. “That trade used to give us 10-times profit, but today, our youths are doing subsistence jobs that have no future,” said Sunder Singh Bonal. Nowadays, the Bhotiya trader neither
remains busy during winter collecting grains nor visits Tibet for four months from May, but only goes to upper valleys selectively to grow potatoes and other Himalayan herbs and during winter, migrates to lower valleys only to beat the chilling cold. “The new generation of Bhotiyas do no business activity that their ancestors used to do for centuries,” said Lal Singh Bonal.
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IBM Daksh holds placement drive
Dehradun, October 26 As many as 50 students from GRD Girls Degree College, 20 from Udayan-NGO, 10 to 15 from the GRD Institute of Management and Technology (MBA) participated in the event. The placement process started in the morning after the pre-placement talk was delivered by Suneet Kumar Hans, Campus Recruiter, IBM. He spoke in detail regarding the history of IBM Daksh, its structure, functions, expectations out of the new recruiters, the company strategy etc. The selection procedure included three rounds, the first being the interaction round conducted by Suneet Kumar Hans and Nishant Verma where candidates were asked to give a brief introduction about themselves. The second round included a personal interview by Anshuman Singh, Voice and Accent trainer, and in the last round candidates were judged on the basis of numerical ability, analytical and logical ability, semi-technical aptitude, technical aptitude, English grammar and sales aptitude. The entire event was managed and coordinated by Dr VK Chauhan, Dr OP Gupta, Director, GRD College, Dr Pankaj Kumar Shah, Head of the Department, MBA, Himani Aggarwal, lecturer, MBA Dept and many others.
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Inter-BHEL Shooting Ball: Host Haridwar blank Hyderabad
Haridwar, October 26 In the first match of the Pool B, last year’s title winners Bhopal showed their supremacy by defeating the Jhansi team emphatically. In the other matches the Delhi team registered win against Secunderabad, making it to the semifinals. As per the league standings, the tomorrow’s first semifinal will be played between Bhopal and Bangalore while in the second semifinal Haridwar will face Jhansi. Seven teams participating in the shooting tourney are Haridwar, Bhopal, Hyderabad, Jhansi, Secunderabad, Bangalore and Delhi. Sports Club in charge KS Bhadari, Sports Club chief Vimal Kumar, executives Surendra Kumar, NK Gupta, Shailendra Kumar, Rajeev Bhatnagar among others coordinated the whole event. Crowd’s favourites Haridwar was last year’s runners up with it nearly missing the trophy in the final match against a strong Bhopal side. The final will be played at 3pm there will be no entry fee at the stadium. Girls of Vidya Mandir Senior Secondary School, Sector-1, presented a cultural programme at the inauguration ceremony.
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Dehradun champions of state soccer meet
Pitthoragarh, October 26 “Both teams were equally strong and neither team could score any goal in the first half, but the Dehradun team with a sudden goal in the second half snatched the title from the Haldwani team,” said Vinod Singh Waldia, sports officer and organiser of the tournament. Uttarakhand Minister of Drinking Water and Parliamentary Affairs Prakash Pant gave away the trophy to the winner team and prizes to players. Yesterday, in the first semifinal Sports College, Dehradun, had defeated the Pitthoragarh team by 1-0 goal. In second semifinal, the Haldwani Sports Hostel team got better of the Tanakpur team 3-1. The score in the first half of the match was 2-1. The Haldwani team scored another goal to win the match 3-1. The open football competition was kicked off on October 23 by the Pitthoragarh SP. The competition was organised by the Directorate of Sports, Uttarakhand, in collaboration with the Uttarakhand Football Association and Pitthoragarh Sports Office.
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Manav Bharati scrape past Army School
Dehradun, October 26 Shaurya Deep (29th), Nitin (37th) and Raman (42nd) helped Manav Bharati win the match. While Amit (13th) and Sumit (47th) fought well for Army School, but their efforts went in vain. In the second knockout match, Kasiga School had a tough time beating Children’s Academy 1-0. The two sides fought fiercely to win the game but only a single goal came throughout the match. The first half went barren and in the second half a late goal effort by Prvez (52nd) of Kasiga made him the star. The lone goal of the match led Kasiga to a win and it managed to stay in the tournament. Meanwhile, North Point Children’s Academy is slated to meet Jaswant Modern School at 2 pm in tomorrow’s first match. In another knockout match, KV IMA will fight it out with SGRR Mission B team to decide who stays in the tournament.
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Jyotsna, Ujjawal clinch badminton trophies
Dehradun, October 26 In the girls’ singles final, Jyotsna Rawat of GBPEC beat Aditi Agarwal of DIT by 2-0. Jyotsna beat Aditi 21-13 in the first set and in the second set she defeated Aditi 21-10. Ujjawal Bahuguna of GRD surpassed Ashu Pandey of SCE 21-6, 21-14 to grab the winning title of boys’ singles. Earlier in the first semifinal, Bahuguna beat Karan 21-11, 21-9 to enter the final. Pandey had also defeated Aditya Rathi of GBPEC 21-10, 21-9 in the second semifinal to seal the final berth of the match.
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Tushar scripts Doiwala XI win
Dehradun, October 26 Batting first, Doiwala XI set a target of 111 runs in 19 overs. Tushar (34th) and Akhil (16th) were the principal scorers. Tushar was instrumental in laying the foundation of Doiwala’s innings and helping it setting a fighting total. Batting second, Graphic Era XI was bowled all out for 105 runs in 14 overs. Though Mandeep (33) and Anmol (23) scored well for their side, they couldn’t lead the team to a win. After their departure, the rest of the batsmen couldn’t do much before the tight line and length of Doiwala bowlers. The rest of the matches of the tournament will continue to be played tomorrow as well at the Matawala Bagh here.
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Shuttlers do well in east zone meet
Dehradun, October 26 The championship was organised by the Badminton Association of India. Other than the state team, Jharkhand, Uttar Pradesh, Bihar, Orissa and West Bengal took part in the competition. An eight-member team from the state comprising Prince, Deepak Bisht, Lokesh Negi, Mohit, Rohit Raturi, Rohit Ranaut, Ayush Morya and Mohit Tiwari had participated in this championship. Prince and Rohit Raturee hailed from Dehradun. Their coach Deepak Rawat said the competition was very competitive and it was for the first time that Uttar Pradesh was knocked out of the tournament even before entering the final. During the championship, West Bengal performed exceptionally well winning both in the junior and senior category finals. The Uttarakhand juniors team was beaten by West Bengal in the final while seniors defeated Jharkhand to get the third position.
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ABVP convention on Oct 31
Dehradun, October 26 All former and current student leaders will take part in the convention. This was stated by ABVP members at a press conference at their office here today. They also declared the names of the candidates who will contest in the Garhwal University Student Union elections. The following will contest for the respective posts: Manoj Pundir for president from Gopeshwar University; Adarsh for vice-president from Haridwar; SM Jain, Kaushal Bijalwad for general-secretary from Rishikesh University; Ashutosh Mamgai for joint-secretary from SGRR, Dehradun; and Lalit Pant for treasurer from Doiwala University.
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Police cricket meet begins
Pitthoragarh, October 26 “As many as 17 teams from almost every district of Uttarakhand and from the PAC, ITBP and IRB are taking part in the competition that will conclude on November 1. The chief guest of the final will be Ram Singh Meena, IG, Kumaon,” said Nilesh Anand Bahrane, SP, Pitthoragarh, who is also the organising secretary of the tournament.
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Octogenarian maestro explains nuances of this ancient dance form
Haridwar, October 26
Pitthoragarh, October 26
Dehradun, October 26
