Dehradun, February 25
A student of BA II of Meerut, Parvez was caught here for allegedly trying to steal a laptop from the Capri Trade Centre in the city today. He was caught with the help of close circuit television footage.

According to SP (city) Ajay Joshi, Parvez had stolen a laptop from the same shop a few days back and the close circuit television had captured his picture. Parvez was caught when he came again to the same shop and tried to steal a laptop.

Joshi said Parvez admitted that he had stolen two more laptops from Haridwar and sold them in Delhi. He said he was under financial crisis and had resorted to theft.

Dehradun, February 25
Uttarakhand Chief Minister Ramesh Pokhriyal Nishank has described the Union Railway Budget as most disappointing for the state of Uttarakhand.

In his reaction to the Union Railway Budget presented in the Lok Sabha today, Nishank said Uttarakhand needed extension of rail network keeping in view its strategic location in the country but the Railway Ministry today completely ignored the state and it had not given importance to the long-standing railway concerns of the region.

Nishank said he himself had sought budget arrangements for the surveys of the Tanakpur-Bageshwar, Dehradun-Kalsi, Rishikesh-Karanprayag and Bageshwar-Karanprayag railway tracks. He accused the Centre of resorting to making false assurances to the people of the state.

The Chief Minister even accused the Centre of adopting a partial attitude towards Uttarakhand. He said barring tri-weekly Haridwar-Ramnagar Express, there was not even a single new train for Uttarakhand in this Railway Budget.

Dehradun, February 25
A large number of people thronged the City Junction shopping mall, near ISBT, on its opening day today to have a glimpse of things available there, but had to return empty handed.

According to the operations executive of the mall, “The mall was officially opened for the VIPs, corporates and officials today and will be open to the public from 
tomorrow.”

“Though it was disheartening when the guard barred our entry into the mall, I am delighted that I got to see ‘Tanu weds Manu’ with my friends in the mall,” said student of Sai Nursing Institute Anshikha Rawat.

However, the shopping centre is still getting beautified and the shops in the mall will take a couple of weeks to open, its multiplex, Glitz Cinema screened its first show today.

“There are three auditoriums in the multiplex with a capacity of 800 people. We have better sound and visual system with 180-degree recliner seats for the comfort of the public. The screens of the auditorium are wider than the normal movie halls and refreshment services are provided on the seats itself,” said operation head, Glitz Cinema, Rajesh Singh.

“We are the branch of Network 18, with six multiplexes of our brand running all across the country. We believe in providing quality service to our customers. The Doonites are quite delighted to have this mall in the city and we want to live up to their expectations,” he said.

The officials of Ramky, the project-handling firm of the mall, said, “The mall is built around the concept of bringing top brands under one roof. Shoppers can buy garments for men and women, household items, electrical appliances and home accessories at the mall.”

“The opening of this mall in the city has proven the fact that Dehradun, too, has emerged as a major market for the big brands,” management student Rohit Negi.

Pithoragarh, February 25
Deposed Pithoragarh Zila Panchayat Chairperson Ranjana Devi has now been evicted from her residence forcefully and her belongings have been thrown out allegedly by acting Zila Panchayat chairman. “When I was feeding my kids yesterday, a team, led by Pithoragarh Tehsildar, broke the lock of my room and threw my belongings on the road,” alleged Ranjana.

According to acting Zila Panchayat chairman Virendra Vohra, the house has recently been handed over to the Pithoragarh Zila Panchayat. “We were suspecting the illegal occupation of the building. As it was not allotted to anyone, there was no need to issue a notice to her,” said Vohra.

“This new house was constructed by the Pithoragarh Zila Panchayat for the official use of the Chairperson. As there was no official residence for the Chairperson, I put my luggage inside it during my tenure as chairperson of the Zila Panchayat some times back,” said Ranjana. Neither did the officers nor the Zila Panchayat feel the need to inform me before the eviction. “I want to ask the Uttarakhand Government why I am being so badly harassed despite I am now out of their way and simply want to raise my kids,” asked Ranjana.

Meanwhile Ranjana today staged a dharna in front of the office of the Pithoragarh District Magistrate. She ended the dharna only after the District Magistrate assured her of holding an inquiry into the matter. “I have demanded from the administration protection for my two kids, as my luggage has been thrown out of my residence. These elements can even harm my kids,” said Ranjana, who later handed over a letter to the Pithoragarh police demanding protection for her family.

Dehradun, February 25
The elections to the Dehradun District Bar Association passed off peacefully here yesterday. Manmohan Kandwal (762 votes) has been elected president of the council for the second consecutive year while Anil Gandhi has been elected secretary.

Alok Ghildiyal (606 votes) has been elected vice-president, Kali Prasad Bhatt (337 votes) joint secretary, Satya Dogra (885 votes) librarian and Vishnu (900 votes) has been elected auditor of the council.

However, in the elections to the posts of working members Alpana Jadli, Rajeev Sharma, Virender Sehgal, Alpana Chauhan and Mohit Singh Negi have been elected.

There were 2,200 registered electorate in the association. Seventy advocates, including three election officers LB Gurung, Deepak Ahluwalia and Chittranjan Trivedi, were put on the election duty.

There were three kinds of ballot papers white, green and red for the elections. The white ballot papers were used for the elections to the posts of president, vice-president and secretary, the green ballot papers for joint secretary, auditor and librarian and the red ballot papers were meant for the elections to the posts of members of executive council.

Dehradun, February 25
An inter-school competition in philately and coin collection was held at the Sardar Bhagwan Singh Post Graduate Institute of Biomedical Sciences and Research here today.

The Philately Club of the institution also held a competition in collection of coins and medicinal plants. SP Singh, chairman of the institute, inaugurated the programme where a large number of stamps and coins were put on display. Eight schools participated in the competition.

Singh said, “The main aim of the exhibition was to inculcate philately as a hobby and also encourage coin collection among youngsters”.

Dehradun: Students of St Joseph’s Academy do know that their Sarin ma’am conducts gripping classes on Shakespeare and poetry, but not many would know that she has appeared on the cover page of many magazines in the years gone by. She has been on the cover of ‘Sarita’, an Indian fortnightly magazine, many years ago.

“I never posed for the shutterbugs with an intent to become a model. I am a daughter of ML Khullar, a renowned photographer. So, my brother and I have appeared on the covers of many Hindi magazines,” said a beaming Renu Sarin.

For 11 years, Renu Sarin has been teaching English at St Joseph’s Academy. She has completed over two decades in the profession as she had taught at Marshall School, Dehradun, earlier. “Masters in both English and Hindi help me understand and coordinate between various forms of literatures easily. I have a passion for teaching and, due to my teaching method, students find Shakespeare easy to understand,” asserted Sarin, who is an alumni of Convent of Jesus and Mary.

Sarin was a basketball player and a debater in her school days. Now, she is a writer with a keen interest in culinary art. She has great faith on Sai Baba and pays regular visits to the Sai Dham at Rajpur Road.

It is through her son’s initiative that she is able to keep in touch with a large number of former students. “My son created my account on a social networking site and I was overwhelmed at the response I got the very first day.

“Whenever my former students are in town, they make it a point to visit me. I realised their concern for me by their support during the painful days when I lost my husband last year,” said Renu.

On being asked what she would have been if she hadn’t become a teacher, she said, “I would have become a journalist or a writer as I have a passion for writing. I am also mulling over releasing a collection of my poetry,” Sarin replied without giving it a second thought.

Renu Sarin loves to read and travel during leisure hours. “I got many opportunities to travel across India and abroad due to the photography assignments of my father and brother.”

“Today, when the purity of language has gone for a toss among Generation Y, teaching sometimes becomes a difficult task. But I try and deal with them in a mature way rather than just by imposing rules and regulations on them,” said the teacher.

Name: Renu Sarin

School: St Joseph’s Academy

Teacher since: March 2000 at SJA

Birthday: October 7

Sun sign: Libra

Favourite colour: Blue

Dehradun, February 25
To register their protest against a lethargic attitude of the state government, the members of the Uttarakhand Pradesh Mahila Congress Committee would take out a rally on March 8. The announcement about the rally was made during a press conference held here today.

While addressing the media, Sarojini Kainthura said: “We would take out a rally on March 8, on the occasion of Women’s Day, against the atrocities on women committed by the state government”.

“The rally will commence from the Gandhi Park and after passing through the Clock Tower area it will culminate at the Gandhi Park,” she added.

Mussoorie, February 25
During peak of the British era, summer capital Shimla being considered excessively ceremonial, the fun and music loving British population headed towards Mussoorie.

Mussoorie became famous as the “pleasure capital of the Raj” and gained popularity as a biggest entertainment centre in North India. The town on weekends would buzz with various kinds of entertainment activities at hotels such as Savoy, Hakmans, and Imperial.

The creative fraternity from far and wide also made beeline for Mussoorie looking to make a name for themselves and additional revenue, in front of the jazz-loving audience that was tailor made for them.

The eminent author of the book “Mussoorie Medley: The Tales from Yesteryears,” Ganesh Saili is of the view that, 1920s also known as “roaring twenties”, a phrase used to describe the period’s social, artistic and cultural dynamism, led to the influx of hoards of musicians towards Mussoorie.

It was in this period that normalcy returned to politics, which was due in the wake of the World War 1, and the jazz music blossomed. The jazz bands became a regular feature, especially at the Savoy Hotel in Mussoorie till 1940’s, added Ganesh Saili.

Among these, Ike Isaacs was one of the jazz artists who left Calcutta (now Kolkota) for Mussoorie. Very little documented material is available on Ike Isaacs, but according to Eddie Fowler, who while constructing the website of jazz guitarist for Vernon Chester, Ike Isaacs was born in Rangoon, Burma, in 1919, forebears being of Baghdadi Jewish origins. They immigrated to London as young adults, where his son Mark was born.

The family then immigrated again to Australia when Mark was four. Ike was a chemistry graduate, who chose to pursue a career in music and started his own jazz group while in India. The family left Burma for India and Maharajah of Patiala employed Isaacs.

In 1942, Ike, along with another jazz guitarist Cedric, arrived in Calcutta from Burma. Ike in 1942, hearing the tales about the lively musical scene at Mussoorie, left Calcutta and began playing at a hotel The Savoy entertaining the high-class audience there.

The historians also believe that Ike could have made a decision to come to Mussoorie after hearing the tales from his employer Maharajah of Patiala.

Ike met many musicians in Mussoorie from across the country and interacted with them on a regular basis. Ike left Mussoorie for England after he was awarded the scholarship. Ike, described as a master technician, was the dominant guitarist in the English jazz until mid 1970s.

Eddie Fowler further affirms, “Ike was a stalwart member of the UK jazz guitarist scene and I knew of his jazz prowess. It was due to this that I included him on my pioneer’s page. He was a good musician and in great demand as a session group man.”

Ike is featured in the list of the great jazz guitarists. In the 1960s and 1970s, he played with Stephane Grappelli extensively and with Diz Disley's Hot Club of London. Isaacs also played with Digby Fairweather, Len Skeat (Bass) and Denny Wright in the group “Velvet” in the 1970s.

Isaacs moved to Australia in the 1980s, where he taught at the Sydney Guitar School. For the last 15 years of his life, Ike lived and taught in Sydney and became a much-loved member of the Sydney jazz community.

Ike, who played at Mussoorie, benefited from the jazz culture of the time and proved to the world that the jazz musicians from the subcontinent could be world class.

Many years later, Ike’s guitarist friend Cedric West aptly released an album titled “West meets East”. Ike Isaacs died January 11, 1996.

Spokesperson of the Mussoorie Hotel Association Sandeep Sahni also believes that Ike and his legacy should be preserved for the future generations. He also said no jazz band or clubs could flourish after Independence due to faulty government policies on entertainment. The lack of jazz clubs has left a deep void in the town.

Sandeep is of the view that jazz music, which was typified by a careful arrangement that followed the melody of the music with little or no improvisation and included violins and other string instruments, should be revived once again, so that the tourists can savour the taste of the glorious musical past, when the stalwarts like Ike Isaac mesmerised the audience with their music. 

Dehradun, February 25
The team of the Institute of Technology and Management (ITM) defeated the Uttarakhand Technical University (UTU) team by 84 runs in the Dehradun District Cricket League played on the OFD grounds here today.

The ITM team won the toss and elected to bat first. They amassed 194 runs (all out) in 29.5 overs. Openers Shahzad and Amit scored 41 runs each to give a solid start to their team. Piyush took three wickets for 39 runs.

In reply, the Uttarakhand Technical University team were all out for 110 runs in 22.1 overs. Amjad took four wickets for 30 runs for the ITM team.