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GND varsity’s no to lecture session
Drawing inspiration from story writer Manto
State-of-the-art bus stand, shabby roads
Amritsar Heritage Festival from Feb 17
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School for ragpickers’ kids gets new address
Classical music fest from Feb 12
Young World
Student Visa: Matthew Collins cautions Punjabis against fake agents
‘Need to create knowledge-based Punjabi text’
Unique ID card scheme starts
SGPC honours CMCH surgeon
Food Inspector held for graft
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GND varsity’s no to lecture session
Amritsar, February 11 While a delegation representing Manpreet, which met Vice-Chancellor AS Brar for seeking permission, termed the denial a political bias and an unprofessional working environment of such a leading university, the VC maintained that the university could not be allowed to be used as a platform to discuss any political agenda. Manpreet wanted to hold a lecture session on “Punjab financial crisis: Effects of corruption and money laundering on public finances”. “Unfortunately, the university refused the proposal that could have been an excellent platform to discuss such relevant issues and inviting participation from students and the faculty,” said Amanpreet Singh Chhina, an associate of Manpreet. However, the VC said there were many places in Amritsar where political functions or lectures could be conducted .“No political face can be allowed to use the university’s dais, be it anybody”, he said.
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Drawing inspiration from story writer Manto
Amritsar, February 11 Among these bunch of writers, Shiromani Kavi awardee Parminderjit stands out. He has dedicated his new play to one time great storyteller of the Indian subcontinent. His play, to be staged soon, is named “Andar Bahar Manto”. Narrative of the play is based upon the thought, literature and personality of the storywriter. For the purpose, Parminderjit has taken the characters from the banned books of Manto. These characters with their dialogues bring out the personality of the ace Urdu storyteller. Characters from Manto’s famous books ‘Khol Do’, ‘Jail Hai’, ‘1919 Di Ik Raat’, ‘Gurmukh Singh Di Vasiyat’, ‘Bu’ and ‘Toba Tek Singh’ are there in the play. Character of Safiyah, wife of Manto, is also portrayed. In the play, narrative dialogues are not in plenty. Most of the scenes appear in the form of situation. Manto’s personality and his position in the literary circle are brought out with dialogues exchanged between these characters. The play is spaced across 17 scenes. According to Parminderjit, the play is an attempt to familiarise the present generation with the towering literary figure of the mid 20th century. “It is natural to revisit the personality of a local who left an indelible mark on the literary scene of the subcontinent,” he adds. “He showed mirror to the people of his times,” he remarks. Life of Manto
Before the Partition, family of Saadat Hasan Manto was based at Vakila Wali Galin in the Katra Jai Mal Singh area of Amritsar. Of Kashmiri background, his ancestors had settled down here in the past. He initiated his literary career translating works of literary giants, like Victor Hugo, Oscar Wilde, Chekov and Gorky. Their influence made him search his own surroundings. Subsequently, his writings increasingly portrayed human psychology. He is best known for his short stories, ‘Bu’ (bad odour), ‘Khol Do’ (open it), ‘Thanda Gosht’ (cold meat), and his magnum opus, Toba Tek Singh. Besides, he was also a film and radio scriptwriter. He also worked as a journalist for Urdu papers. In all, he published 22 collections of short stories, a novel, five collections of radio plays, three collections of essays, two collections of personal sketches. He died at Lahore in 1955. |
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State-of-the-art bus stand, shabby roads
Amritsar, February 11 Located between the GT Road and Ring Road around the walled city, all four roads around the bus stand offer a gloomy look. Spread on an area of about eight and a half acres, the state-of-the-art bus stand stands contrarily apart from the outside roads, which are in shabby condition. The sophisticated bus stand with a basement area of more than 4,000 sq mt was built of international standard some years back. Built and being maintained by a private concern, the district administration failed to provide a clean and congestion-free environment to visitors, pilgrims and shopkeepers. Besides presenting an ugly look, abominable stench emanates from the toilets, which discourage the visitors to utilise the service. Plying of auto-rickshaws and rickshaws on the roads make the area chaotic and accident-prone. A shopkeeper near the bus stand, Nirmal Singh says, “Traffic chaos occurs every day.” In case of emergency, the authorities will certainly have a Herculean task to carry out their operations. He recalled that traffic bottlenecks had delayed the security inspections following a hoax bomb call on March 8, 2006 at the bus stand. He opined that the government must designate a place for an auto and rickshaw stand close to the bus stand. Even as the there are about 9,342 officially registered rickshaws in the city, over 25,000 autos are operational in the city. Parking by fruit, juices and vegetable vendors further deteriorate the traffic situation. Mangat Ram, a resident of the area, said the vendors throw garbage on the roadside that make the area unhygienic. MC Commissioner DPS Kharbanda said the traffic scenario would improve once the elevated road is ready. |
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Amritsar Heritage Festival from Feb 17
Amritsar, February 11 The festival would see heritage procession from historic Ram Bagh on February 18. The same day, other events would include kite competition, classical dance, folk songs from Majha, kavi darbar, nukkad natak ‘Jive Kinve Lokai’, Jago and would conclude with performances by Lakhwinder Wadali and Babli
Brar. The next day, there would be a heritage walk from Kotwali, play ‘Shikhar Dupahre Raat’, kite contests, folk songs of Punjab, bhangra, trilingual kavi darbar and rendering of Sufi songs. The concluding day would see performances by famous Punjabi singers Hans Raj Hans, Gurmit Bawa, seminar on Kahani Darbar, ghazals, special programme by comedian Bhagwant Maan and Jashn-e-Kala, which would see painting, portraits and clay modelling preparations. Book, painting and art and craft stalls would be set up. Deputy Commissioner K.S. Pannu said the state government had released Rs 20 lakh for the event. Kewal Dhaliwal, president, Virsa Vihar Society, organiser of the heritage festival, said though the government grant was decreasing every year, the society would manage to organise the annual festival. He recalled that in 2009, the grant was Rs 27 lakh and in 2010, it was Rs 22.15 lakh. He informed that the festival this year was dedicated to Nobel Laureate Guru Rabindra Nath Tagore and ace Urdu poet Faiz Ahmad Faiz. |
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School for ragpickers’ kids gets new address
Amritsar, February 11 It is to note that more than a decade ago this school was conceptualised by Sardara Singh, who along with some like-minded people started it under a temporary bamboo shed. The adverse weather conditions could not deter the determination of its students as well as staff, but their repeated pleas for some concrete shed were never heard, until The Tribune highlighted their plight. The district administration got them allotted two rooms in a building of the CSO, the possession of which has been handed over to Sardara Singh. While inspecting finishing touches being given to his dream project, Sardara Singh, said the initiative of the district administration had strengthened his will to work for the cause of the destitute children. “I am relieved that now my students would sit comfortably, otherwise it was painful to see them shivering in cold or braving the heat of scorching sun. I am thankful to the administration from the core of my heart,” said Sardara Singh. While reviving old memories, Sardara Singh said they were the same children whose parents use to throw stones at him. “But it took them some time to realise that I just wanted to help them in shaping their future. Now the same parents come to me to enquire how well their children are doing with the studies. It is my victory and highest of any award,” he said. With the initial strength of 10 children in 1996, the school today is having over 175 children taught by a small group of teachers. The school holds classes from nursery to class X and has been affiliated to the Punjab School Education Board.
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Classical music fest from Feb 12
Amritsar: Swar Sangam, an organisation for promotion of Indian culture and music, would hold two-day 21st Classical Music Festival from February 12. General secretary, Swar Sangam, Rakesh Sharma, said this edition of the festival would be dedicated to Bharat Ratna late Pandit Bhimsen Joshi. Pandit Rajinder Prasanna (flute), Rishab Prasanna (flute), Manjusa Kulkarni (vocal), Alankar Singh (vocal), Lokesh Anand (shehnai), Padam Shri Mehmood Dhol Puri (harmonium), Pandit Kale Ram (tabla) and Shree Jai Dev (tabla) would perform at the festival. — TNS |
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Young World
Amritsar, February 11 Annual function The BBK DAV College for Women participated in the Annual Youth Festival RHYTHMZ’11 OF RIMT-Management Campus, Mandi Gobindgarh. As many as 73 colleges participated in various events and the college students bagged many positions. Arshdeep of BA-III and Harpreet of BA-I won second prize in Rangoli. Shikha of BA-III and Devika of BA-III won second prize in flower arrangement. Shubaldeep of BA-II won third prize in Mehandi. Geetan of M.Com-II and Amanjyoti of BA-III won first prize in debate. Geetan also won second prize in extempore. Geetu won second prize in solo song. Arshdeep Kaur, Amanjyoti Kaur, Jasmeet Kaur, Alisha Dua and Geetan won second prize in western group dance. Placements Global IT giant Wipro Technologies selected six students of BBK DAV College for Women, Amritsar. It had invited graduate students of BCA, BSc and IT streams for a placement drive at GND University, Amritsar. Students have been selected for the job of Associate Software Programmer. Jobs in media The cultural association of Khalsa College, Amritsar, in collaboration with Balaji Telefilms, organised a seminar on “Employment Opportunities in Media and Entertainment World”. Principal Daljit Singh said that the college has always encouraged talent in the field of cultural activities. The result is evident from the number of students who have got good jobs in films and several channels of Television. Abhishek Aggarwal, Regional Director of Balaji Telefilms informed the audience that film and entertainment world offers multiple types of jobs and it is an over expanding area. It is the only field that has remained unaffected by economic crisis, he said. The talented students of the College were interviewed with a view to hunt for good artists and offer worthy jobs. Later, the team visited BBK DAV College too. Semester results Ritika Joshi with 80.22 per cent marks stood first in MSc Chemistry 1st semester exam conducted by GND University. Anmolpreet Kaur with 74.4 per cent marks and Sikha Saini with 73.5 per cent marks stood second and third, respectively, in the university. NAC test The NASSCOM Assessment of Competence (NAC) test was conducted in SR Government College for Women, Amritsar. The students were tested for fluency in English and written skills through an online test. The test is aimed at creating a robust and continuous pipeline of talent. Coordinator for NAC test Daljit Kaur said 411 students were registered for the test from five government colleges (S.R. Government College For Women, Amritsar, SGAD Government College, Tarn Taran, Government College, Ajnala, Government College, Sathiala, and Government College, Patti).
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Student Visa: Matthew Collins cautions Punjabis against fake agents
Amritsar, February 11 “It is in our knowledge that several agents in Punjab have been fleecing the parents by taking something between Rs 50,000 and Rs 2.5 lakh as file processing charges on non-refundable basis in lieu of getting their wards admitted to any university or institution in the UK. I want to convey the parents that no agent has been authorised to collect any cash from the students. Only the certified agents who possess British Council certificates have been authorised to send the children abroad on study basis and their (agent’s) remuneration part is looked after by the university concerned only”, he said. Terming it as a fraud practice, Collins, who is director of Fulham and Chelsea College, emphasised that such fake agents submit wrong documents and if the visas of their clients get rejected, they conveniently do away with already deposited fee. “They play smart. Before submitting the students’ documents, they made them sign certain papers that contain the risk clause in which it is mentioned that the deposited amount can’t be claimed if the visa gets rejected,” he said. Mathew told that the aspirants should log on to the UK Border Agency (UKBA) list to know several institutions recognised by the UK Government for graduate level and master degree level courses. “This list gets on updated and all applicants should ensure that the institutions they are applying to should be on the tier 4 Sponsor Register list. The students should check that their chosen institutions have not been suspended or withdrawn from the list. If the chosen institution is not on the list, the embassy will not be able to grant you a student visa,” he emphasised. Mathew said numerous cases had come to light where the students were found working in different locations and getting no study time. “The students, who were supposed to be working in the health or social care sector, were found working as cleaners in pizza chains or hairdressing saloons,” he said. Giving details on the opportunities in the UK for students, Mathew said, “There is a wide scope in the field of hospitality, business management, marketing, nursing, travel and tourism, banking and finance for Class XII passouts,” he said.
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‘Need to create knowledge-based Punjabi text’
Amritsar, February 11 Prof Jaswinder Singh, critic and storywriter from Punjabi University, Patiala, delivered the keynote address on the occasion. He highlighted the need to create knowledge-based Punjabi text. He also described in detail the contemporary linguistic recruitments of the Punjabi society. “There is a need for dissemination of high quality literary works in Indian and foreign languages. He said for the purpose computer technology could be used especially for documentation translations and transliteration,” he said. Prof Brar in his presidential remarks emphasised that intellectuals especially teachers should raise their voice against the discrimination of Punjabi language. “The Punjabi writers should play a conscious role in this regard and the mother tongue should be spoken with proud,” he said. Meanwhile, a novel “Nirvana”, written by Dr Manmohan Singh, IPS, Counsellor, Indian High Commission in Afghanistan was released by Prof Jaswinder Singh on the occasion.
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Unique ID card scheme starts
Tarn Taran, February 11 In this scheme, the residents will be given a unique multi-purpose identification card to be used for taking job, getting LPG facility, availing health facilities, opening of bank account, etc. The Food And Civil Supplies Department organised the seminar in which sarpanches, panches, members of block samitis, zila parishad, besides other public representatives of Patti subdivision participated. The subdivision is represented by Adesh Partap Singh Kairon, Punjab Minister for Food And Civil Supplies. Munish Narula, District Food Controller (DFC), while addressing the seminar said the making of the UID cards would start from February 15 and finished by September 15. In this 12-digit card, besides information regarding the identification of the person’s fingerprints, photo of his/her eyes too would be there. Camps would be held in villages for the purpose and in each village the team would remain for 10 days. Gurdip Singh, Chairman, Market Committee, Patti, Iqbal Singh Maini, Vice-Chairman, Market Committee, Naushehra Pannuan, Lakhbir Singh Pannu, Vice-Chiarman, local zila parishad, and Khushwinder Singh Bhatia, member, SGPC, attended the seminar.
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SGPC honours CMCH surgeon
Amritsar, February 11 The SGPC bestowed him with the saropa (robe of honour) and a replica of the Golden Temple. Dr Bedi is credited with being a world leader and pioneer in beating heart surgery and first in using the radial artery in treatment of vascular disease of the leg in the world. He has been earlier bestowed with the “Punjab Parman Patra” for his services. He recently hosted “International master class on venous disease - 2011”. Renowned surgeons, including Prof Jean-Francois Uhl (France), Dr Ted King (USA), Dr Mark Malouf (Australia) and Dr Benigini (France) were invited to give their expertise so that the latest techniques could be used to help people of this region. Dr Bedi took the visiting team to pay obeisance at the Golden Temple. |
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Food Inspector held for graft
Amritsar, February 11 According to information, as per guidelines Jagjit Singh, a government depot holder, was to deposit his stock registers after every three months to the department and get a new ones released for continuation of the supply. He approached the Food Inspector of the area, Himmat Singh, for depositing the old stock registers of November, 2010, to January 31, 2011, and getting new ones issued. However, Himmat Singh demanded Rs 2,500 bribe for every monthly supply of the material, besides issuing new registers for the same.
Jagjit expressed his inability to give the bribe. Himmat Singh, however, remained adamant on his demand and turned down his repeated requests. Later the matter was settled at Rs 2,000. Meanwhile, Jagjit approached the Vigilance Bureau, which laid a trap and nabbed Himmat Singh taking bribe. Vigilance officials recovered the bribe money in the presence of government witnesses, including Balwinder Singh, SDO, and Interdev Handa, Assistant Engineer, Water Supply and Sanitation Department. |
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For the first time in its four-year history, the Amritsar Heritage Festival would kick off from a village on February 17. Mahilawala village would hold a play on folk songs and vocal instruments.
Amritsar, February 11
