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Be Spoilt For Choice From Mind-blowing 200 Films In 4 Days

Sanjeev Kochhar
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Be Spoilt For Choice From Mind-blowing 200 Films In 4 Days

Two hundred film shows, all “good cinema”, packed in a short span of four days…that’s how mind-blowing the city’s first ever Chandigarh International Film Festival (CHIFF) promises to be. Helmed by four times national award winning filmmaker Umesh Kulkarni, also serving as the festival director, and steered by an impressive advisory committee comprising internationally renowned filmmakers and film and art professionals, the film festival will unfold at multiple venues in the city from August 23 to 26, 2018.

“To be held every year, the film festival is an effort to bring good cinema to the tri-state region comprising Punjab, Haryana and Himachal Pradesh with a long term aim to encourage talented film makers from the region to generate good regional cinema as also to create a fresh crop of audiences who would appreciate this kind of cinema,” said Kulkarni while announcing the film festival and releasing its logo alongside renowned film maker Anurag Kashyap, theatre personality Neelam Man Singh Chowdhry and film producer Gunbir Singh Sidhu in a city hotel on Monday.

Photos By : Life In Chandigarh

Like the prestigious annual film festivals hosted by cities around the world, CHIFF 2018 will have a comprehensive variety of sections. In the film programmes category, there will be sections like ‘Competition of Indian Films’, ‘International Competition of Short Films (SAARC Countries)’, ‘Punch’ (a competition section of 3-minute films), ‘Competition of Films From Tri-state Region of Punjab, Haryana and Himachal Pradesh’, ‘Panorama of Films from Tri-state Region of Punjab, Haryana and Himachal Pradesh’, ‘Window to World Cinema’, ‘Indian Panorama’, ‘Student Films’, ‘International and Indian Documentaries’,

‘Retrospective of Indian and International Master’ and ‘Children’s Films’.

3-day Workshops

Apart from film screenings, there will be workshops and competitions under the banner of Fiction Film Development Forum and Documentary Development Forum for filmmakers and designers to be conducted by masters in their respective fields.

Festival Poster Competition

Every film festival worth the name has a festival poster, for which the organisers have thrown open a public competition, inviting talented graphic designers, poster designers and artists to send in their entries in 24” X 36” size.

Reminiscing his 18 long years association with Umesh Kulkarni, “first as my student and later as my inspiration”, Anurag Kashyap, while paying rich encomiums to Kulkarni for changing the face of Marathi cinema, felt that time has come for talented film makers to shed the notion that whatever has to happen has to be in Mumbai. “This film festival will give a voice, platform and audience to young film makers from the region to showcase their originality right here.”

Film Festivals Help Hone Skills

Giving full credit to film festivals he attended in Americas, Europe and Asia for honing his skills as a film maker, Kulkarni said “I felt I got better with every passing film festival. This is what I want to bring to the table in CHIFF 2018, good films and good film makers. It is aimed at propelling artistic and creative engagement, exchange and dialogue amongst the people. It will also serve as a platform for the budding filmmakers to engage in conversation with Indian and international filmmakers. It is not enough to make good films, it is equally necessary to have a sizable audience. The annual festival will help nurture that audience, with people getting a feel of good cinema to be able to appreciate it.”

Kashyap, a member of the advisory committee of the festival, assured that the cinema being brought to the festival will not be something “over the top. It will definitely not alienate the audience, but keep them engaged.”

Nominal Registration Fee For Audiences

Both Kulkarni and Kashyap informed that the films to be included in the competitive section of the regional cinema will be by invitation and selected by a committee of experts. As in all film festivals, there will be an exemption from censorship and all film makers can be assured that the sanctity of their work will be protected. As in all film festivals, there will be a nominal registration fee for the audiences which will entitle them to watch any or all of the films on view.

Neelam Man Singh Chowdhry, who is also a member of the advisory committee, while appreciating the range on offer in the film festival, said “It’s a wonderful venture, and I am looking forward to August.”

Film producer Gunbir Singh Sidhu, as member of Regional Advisory Committee of the festival, opined that “CHIFF would be focusing on the evolvement of discerning audience in the city of Chandigarh and the tri-state region. For all the good and meaningful films, the festival is an indispensable component for artistic engagement and to portray the city’s cultural identity. It strives to contribute towards a unique cosmopolitan city.”

Besides Anurag Kashyap and Neelam Man Singh Chowdhry, the other member of the advisory committee for CHIFF 2018 are well known cinematographer Anil Mehta (of Lagaan fame), writer-director Anup Singh (The Song of Scorpions), art historian B N Goswamy, film critic Baradwaj Rangan, film editor and artistic director of  International Film Festival of Kerala Bina Paul Venugopal, veteran actor Naseeruddin Shah and film maker Ritu Sarin.

Other Members Of The Festival Team

Details of Festival

Film Programmes

Competition of Indian Films

Competition Section of Indian feature films is one of the major programmes of the festival. Nine films will be handpicked by the festival team from different parts of the country. 

International Competition of Short Films (SAARC countries) 

CHIFF is dedicating itself to be a vibrant platform for short films by bringing a selection of best short films made in the SAARC countries (India, Pakistan, Bangladesh, Sri Lanka, Bhutan, Nepal and Maldives) over the past couple of years. 

‘Punch’ – Competition Section of 3-minute films

CHIFF will have a competition section for films with duration of maximum 3 minutes directed by young talents from Punjab, Haryana and Himachal Pradesh.  The film could be in any language and form such as fiction, music video, documentary, experimental etc. The section is envisaged to bring forth diverse themes and forms in the region and to nourish contemporary visual culture among the upcoming filmmakers in the region. 

Competition of Films from Tri-state region of Punjab, Haryana and Himachal Pradesh 

Competition of feature films in Punjabi, Haryanvi and Himachali language produced over the last three years will be another section in the programme to nurture and promote films from the region. 

Panorama of Films from Tri-state region of Punjab, Haryana and Himachal Pradesh 

CHIFF will also showcase prominent films from the Tri-state region produced in different eras

Window to World Cinema   

The World Cinema section would bring films from across the world which stand apart for their content, style and form. It will be a cross section of contemporary world cinema. 

Indian Panorama 

Apart from the 9 Indian feature films in competition, the Indian Panorama section would showcase outstanding films from across India produced over the last two years.

Student Films

CHIFF will showcase a section of short films from film & media institutes across the country. The programme is to function as an effective platform for upcoming filmmakers. 

International and Indian Documentaries

Documentaries are indispensable part of this film festival. They make the audience aware about various global and local subjects that need their attention and concern. The section would include Indian and International documentaries from different eras. 

Retrospective of Indian and International Master

Retrospective film packages of CHIFF will introduce the audience to a master filmmaker and his/her body of works. Both retrospectives will be an insight into the filmmakers’ origins, craft and evolvement as a master. 

Children’s Films  

The future audience of any festival is the children and young adults of the community. A dedicated section for children will be one of the highlights of CHIFF. The organisers look forward to the active participation of educational institutions along with teachers and parents. 

Apart from the film screenings there will be workshops and competition for filmmakers and designers.

Fiction Film Development Forum

Make In India Has Quick & Easy Solutions

Sanjeev Kochhar
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Make In India Has Quick & Easy Solutions

While urban municipalities are still struggling to convince people to segregate dry and wet waste at source for its better management, here comes a tested indigenous technology which provides a solution to your waste management within the confines of your own homes. The compact and aesthetic waste to compost electronic machine does the work in four hours flat, leaving you with nothing but hugely less volume of high quality dry compost, which is certified to be odorless, methane gas free and eco-friendly. The machine makes little or no noise and consumes very less water and electricity. Although the current cost of the 2-kg capacity machine is on the higher side (Rs 42,000), with increased volume of sales, its manufacturers Pune-based Bhor Engineering, plan to bring it down drastically to the level of branded RO water filters.

The machines come in other sizes too, going right up to a ton (1,000 kg) capacity, which could prove revolutionary for management of ever increasing commercial, municipal, institutional and farm waste.

Photos By : Life In Chandigarh

Announcing an entry into North India, comprising Chandigarh tricity, Punjab, Himachal Pradesh and Jammu & Kashmir, in partnership with Mohali-based Renewic, Bhor Engineering Managing Director Arvind Rajput said, “In India, the technology is already in use with government organisations like Nasik Nagar Palika, Pune Municipal Corporation, Hyderabad Municipal Corporation and Maharashtra Vidhan Mandal, among others. The technology is the only one of its kind listed under GeM (Government e-Marketplace) scheme of Government of India and is helping give shape to PM Modi’s idea of Clean India under the banner of Swachh Bharat Abhiyan."  

Rajput said, Bhor Engineering, which has facilities spread over South Korea, India and Dubai also has a patented technology, the only one in the world, for converting waste into fertile water, which is ideal for irrigating lawns and farms, and could easily replace chemical fertilizers.

2,000 Machines Already Sold

“We have already sold close to 2,000 of the larger waste to compost machines during the last four years of our operations. Singapore has installed 69 of our machines right across the island country, replacing Chinese machines at some places. You’ll find our machines installed across Dubai, including the Dubai Mall and the World Trade Centre. We are in London and a host of other cities around the globe.

“In India, we have concentrated on serving the Army, Air Force and Navy, government organizations, large corporates, hospitals, five star hotels, religious places, educational institutions, etc. Buying and installing these machines qualifies for expenditure under mandatory CSR (corporate social responsibility) activities of large corporates. Infosys recently ordered 850 of the smaller machines for giving to its staff. Starbucks has also ordered 10-kg machines for its network of outlets.”

Massive Demand

The Bhor Engineering Managing Director asserted that the demand for the composting machines is set to leapfrog with RERA legislation making it mandatory for housing societies with more than 100 families to install composting machines within a two-year timeframe. In Mumbai, all the 81,000 housing societies in the Mumbai Metropolitan Region have to mandatorily install compost machines. Bangalore is also following suit, he added.

Rajput informed that to facilitate customers to buy the machines in installments, Bhor Engineering has a tie-up with ICICI Bank Credit Cards. Regarding disposal of any unwanted compost generated from the machines, he said very soon the company is going to come out with a scheme to pickup compost from places where it is not required and supply it on demand free of cost.   

Orders From The Region

Focusing on the demand for the compost machines in the region, Amanpreet Kaur Mangat, Managing Director of Mohali-based Renewic, and Parampreet Kaur, Director of the company, said they had already installed a 25-kg capacity compost machine in Gurdwara Singh Shaheedan in Sohana (Mohali) and were in advanced talks with the Golden Temple Amritsar management. The Mohali Municipal Corporation has also placed an order for the machines.

Neurointervention Can Reverse Damage Till 24 Hours

Sanjeev Kochhar
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Neurointervention Can Reverse Damage Till 24 Hours

Not too long ago stroke, also known as brain attack, was considered untreatable. With the development of a magic drug t-PA (tissue plasminogen activator) it became possible for a patient to survive the attack even after three hours, later improved to four and a half hours. Very recently, the medical fraternity has formally adopted a modality, whereby clots which obstruct the passage of oxygen and nutrients to the brain and neurons can be mechanically extracted within 24 hours, drastically curtailing chances of mortality, paralysis and permanent disability among people suffering from brain attack. Dr. Sandeep Sharma, Head, Department of Neurointervention and Interventional Radiology, Fortis Hospital, Mohali, on Thursday presented before media persons two recent patients who have recovered to near normal activity within weeks of undergoing this modality after suffering a stroke.

Senior citizen Gursharan Singh, a resident of Phase II, Mohali, had experienced a tingling sensation on the tips of his fingers, which was ignored. He later collapsed at work and was hospitalized with distortion of the mouth and hands. He underwent the mechanical modality called DIFFUSE 3 after it was found during advanced screening that he had an artery blocked by a clot. He was discharged within a week, and is today quite comfortable with minor traces of remaining distortion of the mouth and hands, for which he is undergoing physiotherapy. 

Photo By : Life In Chandigarh

Tushar, a marketing professional from Ambala in his early 30s, belongs to a family of doctors. He noticed weakness of the right side of his body when he woke up one day and was unable to move his limbs normally. The family panicked and it took them several hours to reach Fortis Hospital Mohali after approaching a local hospital and then being referred by Government Medical College & Hospital-32, Chandigarh.

Following investigations, a decision was taken to remove the clot, which was done around midnight. The patient was discharged in three days with advised follow-up over the next two months. Even with residual patches in the brain, he has no residual occupational or physical abnormality and is doing well. His risk factors like blood pressure, sedentary lifestyle, and lipid profile have been modified and he is leading an active life.

Dr. Sandeep Sharma informed that there is no defined age for occurrence of stroke. Childhood strokes are known to have happened, through the risk factors increase with advancing age.

He said sudden weakness or numbness on one side of the body, sudden confusion of the mind, speech difficulty, unsteady walk, loss of balance or coordination, dizziness, loss of consciousness… any or few of these could be symptoms of a stroke. If the stroke is hemorrhagic (bleeding in the brain), which is not very common, accounting for an estimated 15% of the stroke cases, then the patient reports severe head ache, while in the case of ischemic stroke (blockage of blood vessel in the brain), which is most common (85% occurrence), the condition is rather painless.

The major risk factors of stroke are hypertension, cardiac diseases, diabetes mellitus, hyperlipidemia (abnormally high levels of lipids like cholesterol), cigarette smoking and alcohol consumption.

Risk Factors

Risk factors for stroke are broadly classified into non-modifiable and modifiable risk factors. Non-modifiable risk factors include age (risk of stroke doubles for each decade after the age of 50 years), gender (men are at higher risk compared to women; the death rate due to stroke is higher among women), ethnicity (African-Americans, Asians and Hispanics are at greater risk and higher death rate compared to Caucasians) and heredity (cardiovascular disorders run among families).

Modifiable risk factors include hypertension, cardiac diseases, diabetes mellitus, hyperlipidemia, cigarette smoking, alcohol consumption, lifestyle factors (obesity, physical inactivity, diet and stress) and glucose intolerance.

 

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Prevention Of Stroke

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About 80% of the first time stroke cases can be prevented by making suitable lifestyle changes and management of potential risk factors. Early detection is the prime criterion for the successful management of stroke. Moderate exercise of up to 30 mins for 5 days/week reduces the risk of stroke. Patients must be advised to curb cigarette smoking and limit the consumption of alcohol as they directly increase the chances of developing stroke. Blood pressure and blood sugar levels must always be kept in check. Consumption of healthy fruits and vegetables and reducing the amount of fats and red meat in diet greatly improves the chances of stroke survival. Yoga and physiotherapy are advised to strengthen the lower extremities in stroke patients.

Stroke is the largest contributor for physical disability in elderly patients. Early rehabilitation is very important in stroke patients. The patient’s caregivers must take precautions in explaining the risk of the disease and suitable steps for managing the stroke to patients. Regular physician visits and clinical check-ups reduce the chance of occurrence of stroke and reduce the burden on patient’s caretakers.

 

Operation Clean Up Choes Gets Under Way In City

Sanjeev Kochhar
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Operation Clean Up Choes Gets Under Way In City

The occasion was World Environment Day, and though India is the host country this year, and the theme for 2018 is “Beat Plastic Pollution”, the Municipal Corporation Chandigarh (MCC) in conjunction with the Union Territory Administration has on this day embarked on a much delayed project to clean up the three natural water channels (‘choes’) which meander right across the city from North to South before entering and raising a big stink in adjoining Mohali. Considering the limited resources with the MCC, it will clean up the N-choe, which flows through the heart of the city, in a weeklong campaign, leaving the Patiala Ki Rao and the Sukhna Choe to the Administration.rn

The regular early morning walkers, joggers and yoga enthusiasts at the Shanti Kunj in Sector 16 were in for a surprise on Tuesday with scores of MC workers, supervisors and officers gathered with a host of digging and cutting implements and machines and garbage disposal vehicles. The work started in right earnest around 6:30 a.m. after Mayor Davesh Moudgil administered a cleanliness oath to the workers, many of them wearing rubber gloves and face masks.

Photos By: Life in Chandigarh

Whirring sound of shrub cutting machines and chain saws and clinking sound of spades hitting stone walls filled the air as the workforce lead by the Mayor himself, Deputy Mayor Vinod Aggarwal, a few other councillors, Commissioner K.K.Yadav and senior officers descended into the N-choe and got down to business, removing the heavy overgrowth of grass and shrubs and accumulated rubble and cleaning up the surroundings. The entire work of cleansing the 14 km stretch of the choe from Bougainvillea Garden in Sector 3 to UT boundary in Sector 53 has been divided into seven sections, each headed by a senior official of the engineering department of the MCC as nodal officer.

Municipal Commissioner K.K. Yadav, who recently joined the MC on deputation from Punjab, told Lifeinchandigarh.com at the venue that the work of each section, on its completion by June 11, will be assessed by an independent agency and the best performing sections will be suitably rewarded to encourage healthy competition.

Quoting a survey conducted by the MCC he said it had been observed that while most of the water being drained into the N-choe was from public storm water drains, some sanitary waste water, especially from Sector 17 was also finding its way into the choe. Violators were in the process of being identified and a proposal will be moved in the House to slap heavy penalties on offenders, he informed.

Yadav reiterated the MCC’s commitment to ensure that only clean water flowed in the choe and it did not raise a stink in the green belts through which it flowed in the city like Leisure Valley, Rose Garden, Shanti Kunj, Bamboo Valley, Fragrance Garden, Palm Garden and Spring Garden.

Highlights

In an apparent photo op, only a handful of workers wearing fluorescent jackets were provided face masks and rubber gloves. Others were presumed to be dustproof.

Before entering the N-choe many workers were heard warning their colleagues against the danger of snakes in the heavy overgrowth, bringing into sharp focus the non-availability of gumboots and other protective gear for them.

Open House At CII : GST, CBIC Brass Clear The Air

Sanjeev Kochhar
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Open House At CII : GST, CBIC Brass Clear The Air

Member of the Goods and Services Tax (GST) and Central Board of Indirect Taxes and Customs (CBIC) Mahender Singh has said that the world is keenly watching the progress of implementation of GST in India, by far the biggest indirect taxes reform in the country since Independence, which is vastly different both in terms of structure and scale than its versions being implemented in many other countries.

Addressing an Open House, one of many being held across the country to provide first hand information and address and solve problems being faced by state governments and businesses, at the CII Northern Region headquarters in Chandigarh on Saturday, he conceded that there were still issues and glitches in the GST system which are being attended to expeditiously, but affirmed that the E-Way Bill System was by and large functioning smoothly with more than six crore E-Way bills having already been generated.

Photo By : Life In Chandigarh

“While the entire GST and CBIC machinery is working day and night to integrate the informal sector in the formal mainstream and make the entire system seamless for all stakeholders, data analysis is also being strengthened to identify and penalize offenders wherever glaring mismatch is found in disclosures and actual compliance and in refund claims,” he asserted.

Congratulating the Chandigarh Zone states, especially Punjab, which had shown compliance to GST regime way above the national average, he hoped that Punjab, Himachal Pradesh, Jammu & Kashmir and Chandigarh will continue their good work and show the way to the rest of the country.

Earlier Ms. Manoranjan Virk, Chief Commissioner, Chandigarh Zone, CBIC, informed the gathering that Punjab was leading the country, recording coverage of 92 percent against the national average of 85 percent. Himachal Pradesh (86 percent) and Jammu & Kashmir (83 percent) were not far behind, she added.

Several of the concerns raised and clarifications sought on GST related to filling, technical glitches, GST rates, returns, etc at the Open House were satisfactorily addressed on the spot by a battery of top ranking GST and CBIC officials, including CBIC Director General (Audit) P K Jain, CBIC Additional Directors General (GST) Yogendra Garg and S K Rahman, GST Council Joint Secretary Shashank Priya and GSTN Senior Vice President Vashishtha Chaudhary. Other issues were either under active consideration at various levels of the GST structure or would be addressed quickly, the gathering was assured by the extremely responsive team.

Participating in the deliberations, Punjab Excise & Taxation Commissioner Vivek Partap Singh maintained that most of the systemic problems had been resolved at the state level and a few others cropping up from time to time were being tackled in a time bound manner. He informed that Rs 325 crore worth of VAT refunds had been released by the state government in the previous month, and following the resolving of some procedural issues, GST refunds will also start flowing seamlessly soon.

He appealed to businesses in Punjab to start trying out the till now optional E-Way Bill System put in place in Punjab before it becomes compulsory from June 1. It was already running successfully in the rest of the country, he added.

Himachal Pradesh Excise & Taxation Additional Commissioner Sanjay Bhardwaj said while the organized industry had completely jelled with the GST system, the challenge was to seamlessly integrate the informal sector in the formal tax structure at the earliest.

Intervening during the Open House, Mahender Singh informed the gathering that during a six months analysis of data startling facts had come to light in case of importers. It had been revealed that there was a mismatch to the extent of Rs 10,000 crore between Integrated Goods and Services Tax (IGST) actually paid and what was filed in the returns. In other cases Rs 29,000 crore worth of IGST had been paid by importers but had not reflected in their returns, pointing to the fact that those goods had been sold off elsewhere. Legal action has been initiated against such offenders, he added.

Agreeing with an observation that the GST helpline was not proving to be very effective as those manning it were perhaps not well versed with rules and nuances of the GST regime, GSTN Senior Vice President Vashishtha Chaudhary said businesses can instead visit the Self Help Portal, where they get multiple options of subjects while seeking clarifications and they get automatically generated replies to their queries. In case they still remain dissatisfied they can send a mail which is then got addressed by a team of officials.

IAF Officer Appeals To Conscience Of ‘Aae Mere Watan Ke Logo’

Sanjeev Kochhar
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IAF Officer Appeals To Conscience Of ‘Aae Mere Watan Ke Logo’

‘Aae mere watan ke logo, sirf apni asuvidha ki hi nahin, kuchh fauj ke liye bhi socho’ was the crux of the message commander of the Chandigarh Air Force Station Air Commodore S. Srinivasan sought to convey to the domestic and international air passengers ranting about the inconveniences they are having to face because of the temporary closure of the common runway, which the Indian Air Force shares with the Chandigarh International Airport, for urgent extension and strengthening to allow the bigger and heavier aircraft to operate.

Interacting with media persons at the Air Force Station on Wednesday in an effort to remove the misconceptions and misgivings being aired by various quarters in the Media, the Air Commodore explained that far more than the small inconveniences that commercial airline passengers are having to face due to the 19-day second complete shutdown of the runway, the air station being the biggest logistics air base of the country, the lifeline of troops deployed right across Jammu and Kashmir, from Srinagar to Karakoram to Ashai Chin, had been affected which has a direct bearing on our national security.

 Photos By : Life In Chandigarh

“The air base undertakes 29,000 tonnes of haulage of essential supplies and hardware annually to Jammu and Kashmir alone for which is has to operate 10-15 air sorties on a daily basis. Imagine the challenges being faced by the Indian Air Force having to relocate all its aircraft to alternatives bases in North India. So, please be assured that we will not take a day longer than necessary to complete the work, and this could likely be the last full shutdown required till the completion of the entire project. And, the benefits that are to accrue to the civil passengers and the military at the completion of the project are going to be monumental, considering that bigger and heavier military and civil aircraft will be able to operate from the runway round the clock,” Air Commodore Srinivasan informed.

Painting a rosy picture of the pace of work, he said despite the current unseasonal inclement weather, which had severely hampered the laying of bitumen layers on the runway, the deadline of completing the work by May 31 will be met. “Normal day operations of airlines can start forthwith, and from June 4 the watch hours will also be increased to allow flights to operate till 7 p.m. With the completion of second phase of the project by end of the year, and the runway being extended from the current 9,000 feet to 12,400, all types of aircraft will be able to operate from the runway. By February end 2019, with fitment of runway lights and other navigational aids, including the Cat II Instrument Landing System (ILS), unrestricted day and night operations would be possible,” he added.

The Air Commodore said thereafter other works like creation of safety lanes, provision of parking services and aero bridges will continue till completion of the entire project by August 2019, which will in real terms make the airport certified international, allowing aircraft short of the Airbus A380 and A350, but as large as Boeing 787 Dreamliner, Boeing 777, Airbus A320 and A330 to operate from here.

Defending IAF’s decision to install Cat II ILS, he said it was found sufficient for Chandigarh International Airport as it enabled landing at visibility of up to 350 metres. Statistical data collected over the last 10 years had shown that throughout the year there were just 10 days in the month of January (beginning) and four days each in December (last week) and February (first week) when the visibility fell below 350 metres, that too for a maximum of 3-4 hours a day. However, Airport Authority of India (AAI) is assessing feasibility of fitment of Cat III ILS which permits operations down to 100 metres visibility, but that would demand isolation of larger tracts of critical areas and thus involve procurement of additional land from Punjab and Chandigarh, he asserted.

People Will Express Their Anger Against Arrogant BJP Leadership

Sanjeev Kochhar
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People Will Express Their Anger Against Arrogant BJP Leadership

On first contact, you can sense the warmth in the man. Despite being in politics for four decades now, he has been able to preserve his mild mannerism and overtly friendly demeanour. Last weekend, when journalists received an invitation from him for a press conference, it was apparent that he would spit fire on the BJP for using and abusing him. On Monday, he did betray his deep sense of hurt at being ignored all these four years since the 2014 General Elections, when despite being denied an expected party ticket from Chandigarh, he put his might behind Kirron Kher to ensure her victory. But, despite repeated provocations from the Media, he refused to single out Kher, whom he continued to address as his “younger sister”, as he listed out the failures of the BJP on all fronts and disenchantment of the people with the “arrogant, indifferent and egoistic” party leadership.

Former Union minister and BJP leader Harmohan Dhawan, who heads the Chandigarh Jan Kalyan Manch and had recently raised a banner of revolt against the party alongwith Yashwant Sinha and Shatrughan Sinha, asserted that as on date he continued to be a member of the party, while at the same time hinting that his future political role would be announced after a meeting with the other two leaders in Chandigarh, scheduled for May 20.

Photo By : Life In Chandigarh

Accompanied by a host of his close associates, Dhawan maintained that people of the Chandigarh Lok Sabha constituency, who had reposed confidence in the BJP and its manifesto and given it a decisive mandate in the hope that many of their long standing issues would be resolved, were now feeling betrayed as none of the 60 promises in the party manifesto for Chandigarh had been fulfilled. In an odd case, where there had been a forward movement, it had either gone against the interests of the targeted beneficiaries or not benefitted them at all. He gave the example of conversion of lease hold properties to free hold, in which the conversion fee had been hiked 55 times, and raising the age limit for recruitment in government jobs to 37 years and not a single job being given.

The party had promised regularization of need based changes in Housing Board houses, but owners had instead been slapped an annual penalty on “violations”. Other promises like giving ownership rights to power of attorney holders, extension and regularization of houses outside the ‘lal dora’ in villages, housing scheme for UT employees, implementation of citizens charter, establishment of Chandigarh service selection board, metro rail project, reduction in collector rate, rehabilitation of slum dwellers, establishment of  Film City, single window system,  implementation of MSME Act, etc have also remained on paper, Dhawan pointed out.

Holding the entire BJP leadership responsible for the sorry state of affairs, he said the wrath of the people is sure to reflect in the next Lok Sabha elections.

As for his own self, he claimed that despite stiff opposition from his supporters he gave his unconditional and whole-hearted support to ensure party candidate Kher’s victory in the 2014 elections, but all these four years he had never been consulted on any issue concerning the constituency on otherwise. In fact, the party first surreptitiously removed Dharam Pal Gupta, and then him, from the core committee of the party. He and his supporters had to face one humiliation after the other, he lamented.

Reaffirming that he had never indulged in any kind of political ‘saudebaji’ during his 40 years political career, nor sought any favours for himself or any member of his family, Dhawan said all political decisions taken by him at different times in his career were guided solely by the people’s interest.

He admitted that after her election, Kher had asked him for bio-data of his wife Satinder, apparently in a bid to get her appointed as nominated councilor in the municipal corporation, but it did not happen. Disagreeing with a suggestion that it might have been done as part of a conspiracy to humiliate him, he, however, clearly signaled a parting of political ways with her.

Condemning the continuing efforts by the BJP to divide the society, he talked about the clear prospects of a non-BJP “maha gathhbandhan” taking shape in the country. If that be so, what about his prospects as a candidate from Chandigarh in the next General Elections? “Time will tell. I continue to live in the hearts of the people I have served,” was all he had to say to that.

Forgotten, Post Card Becomes Messenger Of Motherhood

Sanjeev Kochhar
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Forgotten, Post Card Becomes Messenger Of Motherhood

A lady held aloft a piece of thick yellow paper, and asked a gathering of mothers whether they recognised it. The confused women wondered what kind of a question was that. But as the lady turned it around in her hand, a postal stamp and a few lines became visible. Lo and behold, it was the good old postcard, long forgotten and virtually confined to history. In the course of the hour-long Mother’s Day gathering, one among many organised across the tricity, the post card was to become a messenger of motherhood.

In a thoughtful gesture, the organisers asked each one of the 50-odd invited ladies in the gathering to pour their hearts out for their children on a post card each provided to them, in the form of written text, or whichever form they could best express their love, and write the children’s address for the organisers to later post them to the respective children.

Photos By : Life In Chandigarh

The idea behind the exercise, the lady explained, was not only to spring a surprise for the children, but also impress upon them the need to express themselves in writing. “Children, these days are not writing enough, no wonder most of them do not have a good hand and are not able to memorise what they read. They will not only get a wonderful feeling on receiving the post cards, but will be encouraged to reciprocate in writing, and maybe get into the habit of expressing themselves in writing,” she added.

It was a perfect start to an evening full of an outpouring of motherhood straight from the heart. Chief Guest for the occasion, Princy Singla, Joint Commissioner of Income Tax, surprised the audience with a frank sharing of her experiences of motherhood. She had a very loving reciprocal relationship with her mother, she said, adding that her respect for mothers increased manifold after she had her first baby, three months premature, and remained confined with it in a single room on medical advice for several months till its weight increased from just 770 grams on birth to 2.5 kg.

“I became an even better daughter and daughter-in-law in the years that followed. The experience of motherhood is very painful, but at the same time divine. There is nothing above a mother in this world, neither money nor ambition or career,” Ms. Singla emphasised.

Stressing the need for having a relationship based on complete trust between a mother and her children, she said mothers need to learn to give their children space so that they become responsible and self dependant at an early age. “We as mothers need to become role models for our children since they pick up habits in their formative years from us,” she asserted.

Shabnam Sahi, a single mom, narrated her challenging journey from five years ago when she lost her husband to a heart attack and the world appeared to have collapsed around her. A housewife, till then, she said she picked up courage, and frankly explaining the position to her two children (her daughter was studying law and her son was in 6th standard), she went about rebuilding her life as a successful working woman while always feeling her husband’s reassuring presence besides her.

She said she had immense faith in the power of meditation, ‘bhakti’ and ‘pooja-paath’ and would like all mothers to inculcate these age old values among their children.

Sonia, nee Vandana, was quite vocal when she said she actually considered the mother as the man of the house, going about multi tasking all day long. “For me the status of a mother is even above God,” she asserted.

The Guest of Honour, Santosh Sharma, chairperson, Chandigarh Social Welfare Board, recounted her experiences of extreme resilience shown by single women during her
two decades-long social work in the slums. Some of them survived on just ‘roti’ and ‘pani’. She related one particular case of a woman, who bore seven girls to an abusive drunkard husband. The husband later died and she worked out of her skin to bring up the girls and got them married.    

The event, aimed at supporting 10 odd identified single moms through the Social Welfare Board, was hosted by Maya Hotel Group in association with GBP Group under their Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) initiative. Ms. Jasleen Kaur represented Maya Hotel Group and Ms. Anupama Gupta GBP Group at the charity event.

Be A Part Of 6th Century History & 121-Year Old Legacy

Sanjeev Kochhar
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Be A Part Of 6th Century History & 121-Year Old Legacy

It has unmatched settings of a 6th century fort and its 121-year old legacy, steeped in Indian culture and ethos and blended harmoniously with modernity, makes it one of the leading boys’ boarding schools of the country. The Scindia School, Fort, Gwalior is in Chandigarh for the first time scouting for boys with talent and aptitude, “who can be taken on a journey of self discovery and finding a leadership role for the betterment of society.”

The principal, and other members from the top management of the school, will hold an Open House with prospective students and their parents from Chandigarh, Punjab, Haryana and Himachal Pradesh at Hotel Taj from 5-7 p.m. on Saturday.

Photos By : Life In Chandigarh

Interacting with media persons regarding the school, founded by then Maharaja Madhav Rao Scindia I in 1897, the Principal, Dr. Madhav Deo Saraswat, an eminent educationist, said what sets the school apart from branded schools is the focus not only on equipping the boys to excel in academics, and use of technology, but equally using knowledge as a liberating experience for them to discover their interests, their talents and aptitudes, and learn to form their opinions and role in society.

“With an intake of just 550 students from Class VI to XII, and a teacher-student ratio of 1:9, the school, spread over 160 acres, provides a nurturing environment, where the mentor and the mentee live a shared life, as if in a ‘gurukul’, yet adapted to this millennium,” the school  principal explained.

“An important feature of this process is the school’s provision of rich choices, be they in courses of academics, in the range of House societies, in artistic, creative and intellectual activities, and in sports and adventure. Engagements with ecology and heritage become like breathing in and breathing out, as indeed engagements with the community, within the school, in rural areas, or through NGOs. The boys graduate from the school as leaders with understanding, intelligence, sensitivity and an inclusive attitude. For a Scindian, society comes before self,” Dr. Saraswat emphasised.

The school, which is being run by an educational society still steered by the erstwhile Scindia Royal family, with Jyotiraditya Scindia as Chairman of the Board of Governors, boasts of a host of illustrious alumni, including former External Affairs Minister K. Natwar Singh, former Deputy Chief of Army Staff Lt. Gen. Samer Pal Singh Dhillon (Retd.), legendry radio anchor Ameen Sayani of Radio Ceylon fame, actor Salman Khan, film director Anurag Kashyap and ex-Proctor & Gamble CMD Bharat V. Patel.

With cutting edge accreditations like Round Square International Conference, IBSC, BBC School Project and Trinity College London, The Scindia School, affiliated to CBSE, has a highly  advanced Science Centre, F.G. Pearce Library with a collection of 10,000+ books and an expansive Open Air Theatre, besides 14 full-fledged playing fields with facilities for indulging in an entire spectrum of sports activities, including hockey, football, cricket, athletics, basketball, tennis, squash, table tennis, horse riding, skating, archery, shooting and swimming.

Mitul Dikshit, chairman of Dikshant International and Dikshant Global schools, Zirakpur, and an alumnus of the school, was present at the media interaction alongwith Vice Principal (Pastoral Care) of the school Ms. Smita Chaturvedi and Dean Of Studies Dhirendra Sharma.  

The Scindia School (Boys’ Boarding)

Open House : 5-7 p.m., Saturday, May 12, The Taj, Chandigarh

Admission Offer : For Classes VI-IX (School Up to Class XII, CBSE Affiliated)

Approximate Fee : Rs 7 lakh annually (all inclusive payable in three instalments)

Scholarships On Merit-cum-Need Basis Available

Dikshant Students Make Own Telescopes To View Lunar Eclipse

Sanjeev Kochhar
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Dikshant Students Make Own Telescopes To View Lunar Eclipse

The students of Dikshant International and Dikshant Global School in Zirakpur are excited about witnessing the next celestial event, a Lunar eclipse on July 27, with telescopes developed by their own school mates. More than a score of students drawn from both schools have developed six Newtonian type telescopes, which are very popular among amateur telescope makers because of their simple design, during a seven-day workshop conducted by telescope expert Tushar Purohit from the Inter-University Centre for Astronomy and Astrophysics (IUCAA), Pune, an autonomous institution set up by the University Grants Commission (UGC) on the campus of Pune University.

First invented by the English scientist Sir Isaac Newton, after whom this type of telescope is named, the telescope uses a concave primary mirror and a flat diagonal secondary mirror.

Photos By : Life In Chandigarh

Presenting their work before media persons on Thursday the elated students proudly announced that the telescopes put together by them were capable of viewing Jupiter and Saturn and its rings. “We can see the Moon with its craters, too,” they added.

Tushar explained that initially the students were very unsure whether they will be able to make a telescope. But as they started liking the subject, and immersed themselves in the workshop, it was smooth sailing. The students, including five girls, worked in five teams in making the telescopes.

“Barring an external finder scope, focus tube and a tripod, the students have made every other part of the telescopes themselves, right from grinding a concave mirror, calculating curvature and focal length of mirrors, smoothening of the glass and polishing it using a pitch tool, to testing it, and then calculating the length of the PVC tube required, drilling it for the fittings and colouring its outer and inner surfaces,” Tushar asserted.

Mitul Dikshit, Chairman, Dikshant Schools, added that by organising such hands on activities under the supervision of experts, the school was providing opportunities for its students to explore their potential, and prepare themselves to excel in a highly competitive work environment which awaits them.

Longest Total Lunar Eclipse Of The Century

In the lunar eclipse on July 27, the Moon will pass through the centre of the Earth’s shadow. This will be the first central lunar eclipse since June 15, 2011 and will be the longest total lunar eclipse in the 21st century (approximately 103 minutes in total). After January, this will be the second total lunar eclipse in 2018.

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