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Apahaj Ashram Inmates of the Apahaj Ashram in
Jalandhar. Tribune photo: Malkiat Singh
Area around bus stand cries for upkeep
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TV, theatre come together to tell the Sandal Bar tale
24,069 kids given polio drops in Phagwara
Young World
BJP protests against J&K, Central Governments
Shops ransacked, four injured
Bank opens Suvidha Kendra
NC budget hiked
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A home for the homeless
Aparna Banerji Tribune News Service
Jalandhar, January 25 It takes heartfelt empathy and dedication on the part of the staff, for these old age shelters to feel like a home. Though it still has a long way to go, the Apahaj Ashram in Jalandhar is an organisation which is at least trying to get there. The ashram houses 148 inmates, 80 of them senior citizens. There’s an interplay of hope and disappointment as The Tribune digs out the stories of some of the elderly inmates of the ashram. Harmesh Singh, an ex-serviceman of Maqsoodpur, draws pensions both from the Army and the Education Department. He has three sons - two in Italy and the USA and one back at his village. “I used to live with my daughter-in-law (wife of his eldest son, who stays abroad) and grandson. She used to teach things to my grandson out of greed for my pension money. But when nothing worked in their favour, they started mistreating me. I then lived with my son in Maqsoodpur. He drugged me with a laced tea and took my ATM card, withdrew a lot of money from my account. He was into the narcotics business and the police also often came asking about him. It was very embarrassing. He used to lock me up, but I ran from the house and shifted to the home of a young man, an acquaintance. His family was very good to me, but I didn’t want to burden him. I told him to arrange a house for me. We chose this place. It’s good here. He still comes to meet me.” None of Harmesh Singh’s sons ever came to meet him at the ashram. Hans Raj, a resident of Gandhi Camp in Jalandhar, has three sons and two daughters, but no home to go back to. “Oh you know problems creep up at homes. You can’t do anything. But I’m happy here.” Hans Raj wasn’t even called at the weddings of his grandchildren. He harbours no grudges and whenever he can, he tends to one of the special kids who lives across his ward at the other side of the ashram. Anil Datta, a local resident, has been living at the ashram for the past nine years. A heart and blood sugar patient, he is pleasantly upbeat about life. “With expenses on my medicines touching Rs 4,000 a month, it was impossible for my kids to bear them. I have no complaints. The ashram pays for all these expenses of mine. There’s an ambulance available round the clock, so I don’t have to spend worried nights. My kids come to meet me. I go to meet them too. Life’s good.” Nathi Ram Awasthi, an Uttarkashi resident and an astrologer by profession, was turned out by his family after a paralytic stroke. He stayed at the Manav Mandir in Saharanpur, then at Pingalwara in Jalandhar before ending up at the ashram. “It’s nice here. We have all things that we need and barring that we get Rs 100 as pocket money every month.” Awasthi is popular among inmates for his knowledge of Sanskrit shlokas, which he doles out at occasional functions at the ashram. Ironically, his wife still stays with their kids. Raj Rani, a local resident, who has four daughters, says she has been staying here for the last four years. “Yes we get all we want. Par etthe jeen thori aaye haan, maran aaye haan (we haven’t come to live here, but to die),” she says, disillusioned with life. Hari Narayan Sharma, who’s from Hardwar, is a reason for delight among the inmates. A pundit by profession, he came to the ashram seven years ago. He serves as a pujari at the three temples of the ashram and is one of the most active inmates. In very ward of the ashram there is a colour TV and an attached bathroom with a geyser. About 12 to 13 attendants take care of the inmates. The ashram has its own gaushala which ensures milk for the inmates. The inmates’ everyday needs, as they themselves say, are adequately taken care of by the ashram authorities.
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Area around bus stand cries for upkeep
Jalandhar, January 25 The entire boundary of the bus stand is covered with encroachments by vendors selling fruits, vegetables, eatables, shoes, garments and other stuff. If at all there is any space left, it is covered by auto-rickshaw drivers, rickshaw pullers and local bus operators. Then there is at least 15-feet wide area at the entrance of the bus stand, which remains littered with garbage dumped from all surrounding areas. For the same reason, plenty of stray animals keep on wandering around the area, creating problems for commuters. Ever since the construction has taken place, huge boulders and concrete slabs have been dumped all around the bus stand causing hurdles for the pedestrians. The green patches that got spoilt during the process have not been re-done. Tall wild grass has come up in such areas marring the façade. Further, the side of the road from where the buses enter has huge potholes and broken dividers, making it a bumpy ride for the motorists. The administration has also not bothered to remove an encroachment re-appearing near the ROB. About 18 months back, the district administration had to take the shelter of the court and deploy huge police force to remove a dargah, which had come in the way of one leg of the ROB. The remnants of the demolished structure, a diya and few other items have been kept back just below the ROB again probably to re-occupy the area. Parneet Singh Minhas, general manager, Punjab Roadways-II, said the vendors who had encroached upon our boundary had lost the case in the court. The area around the bus stand has now gone to the Municipal Corporation, which has already floated a tender for beautification and re-construction of the pavements, roads and dividers. “Now the ball is in the MC officials’ court,” he commented.
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TV, theatre come together to tell the Sandal Bar tale
Jalandhar, January 25 For the past few months, Jalandhar’s theatre scene has been especially grim, with almost no productions happening or being planned. In this barren scenario, the news of theatre group Yuva and eminent TV director-producer, joining hands for a theatre production, was like music to the ears. They collaborate for the play Sandal Bar - a story about the historic episode wherein the tribals of Sandal Bar (now in West Pakistan) were robbed of their lands by the British Government in the name of development - to be staged at the Desh Bhagat Yaadgar Hall tonight. Singh has always loved the area and stories about it - “Prof Puran Singh and Harjit Singh (Singh’s namesake) have talked about the area in their works. Sandal Bar has a rare poetry which discusses the beauty of buffaloes. Tucked between the Ravi and Chenab, the land is as beautiful as its insightful people. It’s sad they were treated so badly. The incident happened somewhere after the revolt of 1857. For years afterwards, no one from the area joined the British Government,” said Singh. The script for the play was penned down in 1996. “A column ‘Sandali Buha’ on the tribals of Sandal Bar made me write a script based on the incident. I wanted to make it into a film,” said Harjit Singh. An employee at Doordarshan Kendra, Jalandhar, at that time, he soon realised he did not have time for a movie production. “It was a very different subject. A movie on it, especially in the Punjabi film industry, did not seem possible soon.” Then on December 30, 2010, a phone call from Ankur Sharma, founder of Yuva, gave birth to an idea. “I was feeling low. I wanted to do the kind of work that I believed in. Ankur called in and said his group wanted to do some serious and different work for theatre in the city,” said Singh. Harjit Singh liked the idea and showed him some scripts. Both of them zeroed in on Sandal Bar. By December 31, they had started rehearsals. Talking about the experience of working with the group Yuva, Singh, who also directed the Harbhajan Mann-Neeru Bajwa starrer Heer Ranjha said, “Theatre is really different from electronic media. It’s live and like a tonic. The artistes here have no resources but they are hungry for art and are really involved.” Since the script had been visualised as a film earlier, almost the entire script was changed during the course of the play. Ankur Sharma, founder of Yuva, while speaking on the issue, said, “The whole move was owing to a search for change. We looked for a boost in theatre in the city. Harjit Singh, with his experience and expertise, seemed like a perfect choice.” “I told him about Yuva, our work and I’m glad we are working together.” “His experience, imagination and his unique perspective on things has been very helpful for the students. He sees things in a bigger panorama. The look in their eyes is now different,” Ankur adds. The play has a team of about 21 actors working for it out of which 15 are from Yuva. “The students were even apprehensive in the beginning since Yuva has never earlier collaborated with big names. But they are happy now, the production has done all of us a lot of good,” Ankur quips. The play might be a refreshing first but there’s still a long way to go for theatre in Jalandhar. The play got no sponsors. All the costs were borne by the group itself, says Ankur. |
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24,069 kids given polio drops in Phagwara
Phagwara, January 25 Dr Rajiv Gupta, senior medical officer, Phagwara, told mediapersons here yesterday that 10,502 children were given pulse polio drops on Sunday and Monday in Phagwara town, while SMO panchayat Dr Kailash Kapoor said total 13,567 children were given polio drops in rural localities in two days. The minister inspired all social and religious organisations to come forward to eradicate polio. He assured to construct a subway to Civil Hospital on the national highway during the six-laning work and installation of street lights on the hospital road soon. Principal Secretary Satish Chander, while talking to newsmen after the inaugural function, said 70,000 officials had been deputed across 15,338 booths to administer pulse polio vaccine to 40 lakh small kids in the state. He said special booths were set up to administer drops to children below the age of five years across the state. Chander added that the entire exercise was being personally supervised by senior officers of the department who had already been assigned different districts of the state. Pulse polio campaigns were also held in Phillaur and Nakodar.
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Republic Day celebrated in schools
Tribune News Service
Jalandhar, January 25 Aanchal Chawla and Jotprakash recited patriotic poems. Dheeraj Banati high lighted the importance of Republic Day and motivated all to honour the national flag. Intensive camp
Five students, accompanied by two teachers, of Cambridge International School, Phagwara, attended a five-day National School Intensive Camp, organised by SPIC MACAY, a society which promotes Indian classical music and art, at Delhi Public School, Patna. In all, there were 350 students from 70 schools all over the country who participated in the camp. The main aim of the camp was to promote Indian classical music and art among the young generation. The children attended workshops of renowned dancers, singers, artistes and yogacharyas, such as Pt Birju Maharaj (kathak), Pt L.Subramanium (violin), Shri Kushal Das (sitar) and Mishra brothers (vocal). Shabad gayan
Students of Guru Amar Dass Public School bagged several prizes in various inter-school competitions organised at Shaheed Baba Khushhal Singh Senior Secondary School, Lambra. In the shabad gayan competition, the team of Guru Amar Dass Public School stood first and won a cash prize of Rs 1,000. In the turban-tying competition, Tejinderpal Singh and Damanjit Singh of Class XI got the first and second prize, respectively, while Japneet Kaur of Class V stood second in the shudh ucharan Gurbani competition. Principal Harminderjit Kaur Chawla congratulated the winners. |
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BJP protests against J&K, Central Governments
Jalandhar, January 25 Addressing BJP workers, its district president Subash Sood said the move to foil BJP’s “Ekta Yatra” to hoist the Tricolour at Lal Chowk in Jammu and Kashmir would encourage militants there. Earlier, the BJP workers gathered at Company Bagh Chowk around noon and raised slogans against Omar Abdullah and Dr Manmohan Singh.
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Shops ransacked, four injured
Phagwara, January 25 All four injured, Nitin, Gulshan Kumar, Sukhjinder Singh and Ram Kumar Gupta, were admitted to the Civil Hospital here. Nitin was later referred to the DMC Hospital, Ludhiana, due to his critical condition. Old enmity is said to be the cause of attack. The SHO (City), Amrik Singh Chahal, said the police had registered a case under Sections 307 and 34 of the IPC against the assailants. |
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Bank opens Suvidha Kendra
Jalandhar, January 25 Managing Director of the bank Sarvjit Singh Samra said the bank was also planning to open two other such kendras at Daduwal and Shahpur villages.
— TNS |
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NC budget hiked
Phagwara, January 25 The decision was finalised in a special meeting of the Nagar Council. Development expenditure was also increased from
Rs 7.60 crore to Rs 10.64 crore. |
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Jalandhar, January 25
