Gurdaspur Diary: Taqdir a matter of choice not chance for this teacher-singer
She is a versatile actress who listens to nobody, except her own heartbeat. Ms Taqdir loves exciting Sunday afternoons more than dull Monday mornings. That, in essence, captures her character and persona. Ever since her childhood days, she was destined to become an artist. That she ended up becoming a teacher means destiny follows no predictable pattern. She considers it an art to act on the lyrics and lines of top Indian singers, including Lata Mangeshkar. And to top it, she has recorded each and every song she has acted in, just in case people doubt her calibre. Like it is for others, she too believes that ‘taqdeer’ (fate) is not a matter of chance, it is a matter of choice. It is not a thing to wait for but a thing to be achieved. Her husband, Dr Varinder Mohan, is a psychiatrist in a government hospital. She has acted in 300 songs where the lyrics belong to top singers. Multi-talented she is without doubt and this is what sets her apart from the crowd. Her husband doubles up as her cameraman. The duo has recorded songs in locales near the city. All they need is some greenery and with it some peace and they have the perfect environment. Acting on the lyrics of songs sung by Lata Mangeshkar, Shamshad Begum, Suraiya, Asha Bhonsle, Mohammad Rafi, Kishore Kumar, Mukesh and Manna Dey comes naturally to her, as naturally as fish take to water. Punjabi singers of yore like Surinder Kaur and Parkash Kaur, too, have motivated her. Taqdir considers Satinder Sartaj as the doyen of them all. It is but natural that she speaks eloquently about him, his voice and his works.
She is a professor of computer science at the GNDU Regional Campus in Gurdaspur. She has done her PhD from the National Institute of Technology (NIT). Like good artisans and artists do, she too likes to collect artifacts including old utensils and old instruments, even if that means she has to order them from online shopping marts. Tumbi, guitar, Gaggar, Madani —- all traditional Punjab folk musical instruments —- are her natural allies. Ms Taqdir’s rendition of songs of top singers has earned her applause from all and sundry. She never rushes into anything. She knows everything will settle into a groove when the time is right. She firmly believes that you will never get what is not destined for you, what is not in your ‘taqdir.’ If God has written something will be yours, it will be. The time might be different, the journey may be different. Nevertheless, it will be yours. She gives credit to her husband for making her what she is. “He is the spark in my life that has triggered a hundred songs. Without him, I am nothing, absolutely nothing,” she quips. She is an ardent believer in self-improvement and strives to imbibe good values in youngsters. Taqdir believes that human values portray an ideal culture that the standards society would like to embrace and live up to. Women like her are a rarity, particularly in a backward district like Gurdaspur. The city salutes the artist in her. Here’s wishing her all the best for her future endeavours.
It’s Tarksheel society vs pastors
If one devalues rationality, the word tends to fall apart. This is what some Christian organisations are trying to do in Gurdaspur, particularly in the rural areas where the literacy rate is abysmally low. Some Christian leaders, addressing themselves as pastors, priests and apostles, claim to have a solution to all ailments that plague the human race. Recently, a so-called pastor beat up a man to death after he claimed he was “exorcising the ghost in him”. The Tarksheel Society, a rationalist organisation which believes in logic and common sense, is countering these pastors.
The society took strict cognisance of beating a man to death on the pretext of exorcising the ghost that had entered his body and spirit. This organisation has a massive following. A team comprising Rajinder Bhadaur, Rajesh Akalia, Sumit Amritsar, Ajit Pardesi, Sandeep Dhariwal and Gurpreet Singh are busy touring rural areas telling people to follow logic and rationality. They claim these pastors are violating many laws of the Punjab government, including the Drugs and Magic Remedies (Preventive) Objectionable Advertisements Act and the Punjab Medical Registration Act. All in all, the Tarksheel people are rendering yeoman’s service to society.
(Contributed by Ravi Dhaliwal)
