27/01/2010 Industrialists meet Manmohan

Industrialists and representatives of the trade and industry associations have urged the government to end the cross-subsidy for electrical power by 2012 since it was causing almost 20 per cent higher cost of power. A delegation of industrialists met the PM in Delhi recently in this regard. Giving details about the meeting, SP Oswal, chairman of the Vardhman Group, claimed that the PM concurred with their view that the cross-subsidy was pointless as subsidy being given to the agriculture sector did not get reflected as a cost factor while fixing the minimum support prices (MSP) for various crops and thus resulted in fixation of a lower MSP.

Industrialists also raised the issue that women should be allowed to work in all three shifts. At present, the women were allowed to work from 6 am to 10 pm only in the industry, barring a few sectors like information technology and aviation.

“The PM has assured us to look into the issue of allowing women workers to work round the clock like male workers. He has asked us to send a concept note on the issue for consideration by the government,” he said.

The delegation also urged the PM to consider a special package for Punjab on similar lines as was being given to states like Himachal, Uttarakhand and J and K.

26/01/2010 Schools celebrate R-Day in India

Children of Everest Play-Way and Nursery Wing of Everest Public Senior Secondary School, Moti Nagar, celebrated the Republic Day here today with great fervour. Tiny tots came beautifully dressed. Asha Sharma, principal, informed the students about the importance of the day.
Rajinder Sharma, president, Association of the Punjab School Education Board Affiliated Schools, Punjab, presided over the function. A mesmerising programme of songs, dances and skits was presented. A march past was also held. Students also raised slogans of ‘Jai Hind’.
BCM: At BCM School, Dugri, various activities were organised by students to mark the Republic Day celebrations. The students were infused with a feeling of patriotism and love for the nation.
The little soldiers of KG section marched with great enthusiasm and saluted the National Flag. Tiny tots danced to the beats of patriotic songs, “Mere desh ki dharti”, “Suno gaur se duniya walo”, etc with great zest and zeal.
Students from the senior section remembered the martyrs and narrated stories about the lives of the great freedom fighters. The students sang patriotic songs like “Ae mere pyare vatan”, “Tiranga jhum-jhum lehray” etc. Dr Vandna Shahi, principal, encouraged the students to participate in such activities.
GNI: Students of GN International Senior Secondary Public School, Model Town, celebrated the Republic Day with great fervour and gaiety. The spirit of patriotism engulfed the campus. The pre-primary wing was decorated with balloons of tricolour and small flags adorned the whole building. Harjot of Nursery Blue sang “Nanha munna rahi hoon” while Mannanpreet sang “Ae watan ae watan humko teri kasam”.
An inter-section patriotic song competition for Classes I and II was held while students of LKG and UKG showed their creative skills by making the National Flag and reciting poems.
The senior section organised an inter-house flower arrangement competition on themes of communal harmony, rhythm, peace and ‘save environment’.
GMT: The week-long celebrations at GMT Public School included competitions like colouring, essay writing, poster making, face painting, solo song and fancy dress. Kids dressed as Pandit Jawaharlal Nehru, Mahatma Gandhi, Indira Gandhi, Bhagat Singh, Rani Laxmi Bai, impressed all. School directors Kashmir Singh Thind, Jasbir Singh Thind and principal Amarjeet Kaur Dhaliwal wished the students.
Kids’ Zone: The campus of Kids’ Zone Play Way School was decorated with colourful buntings, National Flag, tricoloured balloons. Students came dressed as national leaders and sang patriotic songs.
Jain Public: Jain Public School Senior Secondary School celebrated the Republic Day in its nursery wing in which tiny tots participated with great zeal. They came dressed as freedom fighters like Bhagat Singh, Mahatma Gandhi etc.
Debate: A debate competition was held at Mehta Gurukul Public School, Doraha. The overall trophy was won by Tagore International School, Sahnewal, and the first prize was won by Mehta Gurukul School. The competition was organised by Sahodya East Khanna School.

25/01/2010 introduce new police system hailed (Ludhiana)

The Punjab government’s decision to introduce the police commissionerate system in three cities, namely, Ludhiana, Jalandhar and Amritsar, has been welcomed by residents who hope it will help in bringing down the rising crime graph in the state’s industrial hub. It is also felt vehicular traffic and crowd control will become easier to manage.

The Tribune has been campaigning for introducing the system in Ludhiana in particular in view of its haphazard growth and the phenomenal rise in the population. The city’s complexion has completely changed with the influx of a huge number of migrant workers from other states, who are now the backbone of its industrial economy. Besides, about a million Muslims reside here with madrasas having mushroomed all over the city.

The clashes between the police and migrant labourers on December 3 and 4 has left unpleasant memories and efforts are still being made to create a
harmonious atmosphere in the city.

With a population of about four million Ludhiana has been hamstrung by inadequate deployment of police personnel and needs at least 10,000 policemen as against the present strength of only 2,500.

The introduction of the commissionerate system will vest more magisterial powers with the police like declaring a crowd unlawful and take preventive action under Sections 107 &151 (apprehension of breach of peace). At present an executive magistrate has to accompany the police force to deal with a crowd indulging in unlawful activities.

The police commissioner will be assisted by three to four deputy commissioners who will be of the rank of SSP. The commissioner of police will have at least DCP (headquarters), DCP (crime) and DCP (traffic), and there can also be a DCP (special branch).

Welcoming the government’s move, DR Bhatti, who retired as DGP from the Punjab police, congratulated Deputy Chief Minister Sukhbir Singh Badal for his “far sighted decision”. He was of the view that this system would help in improving policing as well as curbing activities of “antisocial elements”.

Senior Punjab police officials now serving the state have also hailed the decision and feel introduction of the new system would bring the police “closer” to the public. They were unanimous in saying “the success of the system would depend on the leader of the police force in the commissionerate”.

It may be mentioned here that the proposal for the appointment of police commissioners was first mooted in 1990 when Julio Ribeiro was heading the police force fighting militancy in Punjab. KPS Gill even appointed SS Sani as the first commissioner of police in Ludhiana in 1992 but the decision could not be implemented in full. The IAS lobby has been opposing the commissionerate system tooth and nail.

24/01/2010 Tiger Woods ' return to competition

While U.S. media report that the scandal-hit Tiger Woods is getting treatment for sex addiction, the golfing world continues to speculate on when the game's leading player will return to competition.

Woods has been in hiding since tawdry revelations about his double life led to him admitting last month he had cheated on his wife, and he has given no timetable for his comeback.

The world number one, the greatest player of his generation and arguably of all time, said he would be taking an indefinite break from golf to try to repair the damage he had done to his private life.

After becoming engulfed in a media frenzy following a bizarre early morning car crash that took place outside his Florida home on Nov. 27, the American's squeaky-clean image was torn asunder by allegations of extra-marital affairs.

Only Woods can know when he will be ready to face the golfing public and the media following his stunning fall from grace, with sponsors and organisers having to count the days before his return.

Although the 14-times major winner usually plays his first event on the U.S. PGA Tour at Torrey Pines in late January, that now seems highly unlikely.

Many pundits have predicted Woods will return to the circuit for the Mar. 11-14 WGC-CA Championship in Miami in Florida while others are banking on him delaying his comeback until the U.S. Masters in April.

Augusta National, permanent home of the Masters, would provide him with the most tightly screened media contingent on Tour, and golf fans are well aware that winning majors has been the driving force in his career.

Players at this week's Bob Hope Classic in La Quinta, California, are eager to welcome back the world's most marketable athlete, although they expressed mixed views over the amount of news coverage generated by the Woods scandal.

"The focus needs to quit being on where Tiger is and when he's coming back and (switch) to who is here and who is playing well," defending champion Pat Perez told reporters.

23/01/2010 Death of Amar Singh chamkila

Having arrived to perform in Mesumpur, Punjab, both Chamkila and Amarjot were gunned down as they exited their vehicle on March 8, 1988. A gang of motorcyclists fired several rounds fatally wounding the couple and other members of the entourage.

No arrests were ever made with connection to the shooting and the case was never solved. The reason for the murder is the subject of speculation and is shrouded in mystery.

22/01/2010 PUNJABI SINGER Amar Singh Chamkila

Amar Singh Chamkila(July 21, 1961 - March 8, 1988) was a high-profile Punjabi singer, songwriter, and musician. He is widely touted the most influential icon in the history of Punjabi music.

Early life
'''Amar Singh Chamkila''' was born as '''Dunni Ram''' on July 21, 1961 in the village of Dugri near Ludhiana, Punjab, India. The youngest child of Kartar Kaur and Hari Singh, he was educated at Gujar Khan Primary School in Dugri. His aspirations of becoming an electrician were unfulfilled and he found work at a Ludhiana cloth mill. Surinder Shinda has said that in 1979, he saw Chamkila for the first time and he was on an old cycle with chapatti in a tea towel. Shinda says that later on he heard him sing in his raw talent and had finally found the protege that he had been looking for.

With a natural aptitude for music, he learned to play the harmonium and dholki and won himself the opportunity to play alongside Punjabi folk artists such as , Mohammad Saddiq and Surinder Shinda. He wrote several songs for Shinda and accompanied him as a member of his entourage before deciding to pursue a solo career. It is rumoured that Chamkila was happy enough writing songs, but he wasn't earning enough money to look after his family, so had to start singing.

He was married and subsequently divorced. He had two daughters.

21/01/2010 Manmohan Waris

Waris is married to Pritpal Kaur Heer. They have two children; a boy named Amar Heer (after the name of Waris' mentor, Dhadi Amar Singh Shounki), and a girl named Saiya. He learned the regional classical music from Jaswant Bhanvra Ji, along with his brothers

Manmohan Waris is one of the top Punjabi singers in the world. He has been around for almost 16 years now. Since he released his first album "Gairan Naal Peenghan Jhootdeye' in 1993, he has never looked back. Punjabis around the world love him and he feels the pressure of not letting them down. His humbleness and sincerity has won many hearts. His voice is considered one of the sweetest around and his songs attest to his passion for clean and literary lyrics. So far Waris has released 20 albums.

He was born into a farming family in the Village of Halluwal, Punjab. He had a great interest in music since an early age. He started his formal music training at the age of 11. Everything he learned from his Guru, he taught his younger brothers. So all three brothers got seriously involved in music at a very early age.

He got his music degree from Punjab University. But the most influential music Guru he had was Shree Jaswant Singh Bhanwra. Unlike many other Punjabi singers who also learned music from Shree Jaswant Singh Bhnawra, the Guru did not teach him so called "Lok-Gaayiki", he insisted on teaching him the real music he knew himself. He saw a great singer in Manmohan and he wanted him to shine

20/01/2010 Babbu Mann “Ucchiyaan Imaratan”

Babbu Mann comes into a new get up with “Ucchiyaan Imaratan” with deep lyrics with power of simple punjabi music. The songs gives a hidden message and reflects on some of the dreams and problems os a common man and warns him on to those.

The video of the songs has been shot in a studio and the album was released by point zero entertainers. The song was loved by the youngsters as well as middle age people. Although this was again a comeback of Babbu Mann in a different getup after he took chance in hindi music a year back.

The fans abroad who love punjab really loved this song specially in USA, Canada and UK and this song can be heard in most of the get together parties. Due to the fact that song presents an indirect message for the dreamers, the song has been quite a hit in the get together vocal singers abroad. The NRi community has been whispering and appreciating about the song and its lyric

19/01/2010 BAPS Swaminarayan Akshardham

BAPS Swaminarayan Akshardham is a 100-acre Hindu temple complex in New Delhi, India. It aims to showcase Hinduism's ancient art, culture and spiritual heritage.

Since its opening in November 2005, Swaminarayan Akshardham has become a popular landmark of India's cultural and religious landscape, attracting more than five million visitors a year. It featured in the 2009 edition of the Guinness World Records book for being the largest Hindu temple in the world.

18/01/2010 RSS only wants to be Arjuna’s charitor

There are lot of people who have misunderstood RSS, mostly because of media representations and also because RSS rarely bothers to explain itself clearly to outsiders. Most basic mis-understanding is what does RSS want to be?I have experienced RSS from closely based on my interaction with the senior leaders. I believe RSS wants to be only a chariator like Krishna and not a warrior like Arjuna. RSS wishes Hindu Society to be the Arjuna of the Mahabharat. It feels that Hindu Society has the necessary abilities to counter anything that stands in its path, but it has been floundered and confused just like Arjuna. Another metaphor is of Hanumna, who has forgotten his strengths and needs to be reminded of it again.

I think RSS can be best described metaphorically through the Krishna and Arjuna idea. Just like Krishna had the power to fight itself, similar to RSS, but Krishna only chose to guide Arjuna. Similarly, RSS wishes to guide the Hindu Society rather than fight its battle. It believes that whole society has to stand on its feet and be strong like Pandavas to fight the necessary evils prevailing all around us. This evil has manifested in society in different forms, whether it is casteism, pseudo-secularism or Christian conversion.

17/01/2010 Technique in fast bowling

The first thing a fast bowler needs to do is to grip the ball correctly. The basic fast bowling grip to achieve maximum speed is to hold the ball with the seam upright and to place the index and middle fingers close together at the top of the seam with the thumb gripping the ball at the bottom of the seam. The image to the right shows the correct grip. The first two fingers and the thumb should hold the ball forward of the rest of the hand, and the other two fingers should be tucked into the palm. Other grips are possible, and result in different balls - see swing and seam bowling below. The bowler will usually hold his other hand over the hand gripping the ball until the latest possible moment so that the batsman cannot see what type of grip he is employing and prepare accordingly.

16/01/2010 About Yuvraj Singh Indian Cricketer

Yuvraj is a cricketer from India, and the son of former Indian fast bowler and Punjabi movie star Yograj Singh.He is the current vice captain of the ODI team. At the 2007 World Twenty20 he hit six sixes in an over against England's Stuart Broad - a feat only performed three times previously in any form of senior cricket, and never previously in an international match between two Test cricket nations.

15/01/2010

Avatar is an excellent sci-fi thriller deserving of the same excited following the Star Wars films have had. Like those earlier films, it has depth as well as surface action and visual extravagance: a modern-day cautionary tale involving exploitation by an advanced "civilization" and a historical level in which Native Americans win for a change. Everyone should see it, sci-fi fan or not.

And if Avatar pleases your films palate, by all means don't miss the other great sci-fi success of 2009, District 9, on DVD or in reduced price houses. The hand-held camera gives it the immediacy of a news broadcast in action, and the story line is accompanied, too, by the depth of a moraility play.

14/01/2010

If the buzz has to be believed in not just Punjab but also in overseas centers such as UK and Canada then Jimmy Shergill is all set to deliver yet another super duper hit in the form of his Punjabi film Munde UK De. The Punjabi film is all set for a release in Punjab and many overseas centers on May 8th. Jimmy has just recently delivered a huge hit with his Punjabi film Tera Mera Ki Rishta. His Tera Mera Ki Rishta continues to do well with business of over 1.75 crore in India and 2.25 crore from overseas since its release.

Sources claim, Munde UK De is carrying very good reports and is expected to do very well as the director Manmohan Singh has a string of Punjabi blockbusters behind him. The box office record of Manmohan Singh for Punjabi films is similar to what Shahrukh Khan has in the overseas market in that six out of the ten highest grossing Punjabi films ever have been directed by Manmohan Singh.

Munde UK De might topple TMKR and make Jimmy the most bankable name in Punjabi cinema. On Bollywood front to he has got a interesting mix of big budget projects, the most important one being Karan Johar directed My Name Is Khan in which he plays Shah Rukh Khan’s brother.

12/01/2010

Two young Punjabi-British men visit their homeland, Punjab: Roop Singh (Jimmy Shergill), comes to see his grandfather, Gurdit Singh (Arun Bali) and Roop's touristy pal DJ (Gurpreet Ghuggi) comes to see how Punjab is like. Roop meets Reet Brar (Neeru Bajwa), a university classmate of his cousin Deepi's, and falls for her, and DJ falls for brainy, Kulwant Kaur (Akshita Vasudeva), another classmate. DJ, trying to videotape locals in the town square, and learn more about his homeland, has to avoid a cranky old woman, Atro, who drives a tractor. Roop agrees to let his aunt be his matchmaker and set up an arranged marriage for himself and Reet, but the modern-thinking Reet wants no part of what she considers outmoded provincialism. Her father (Deep Dhillon) angrily sets up an arranged marriage for her with Jagjot Gill (singer Amrinder Gill, in his first film). Reet, however, reconsiders and realizes she loves Roop after all, and Kulwant falls for DJ too. Reet tells Jagjot, that she loves Roop a lot, so to help the lovers Jagjot says hes not ready to get married. After this incident no boy will marry Reet so, Reet's father and her ne'er-do-well brother, Jaile (Binnu Dhillon), devise a plan to figure out if he Roop really loves Reet: Her father will give his consent if Roop can find a British bride for Jaile, which will prove that Roop is ready to do anything for Reet. DJ calls in an old girlfriend from UK, party girl, Candy (Khushboo), who flies in to help, they plan a scheme which will scare Jaile away. Candy acts like a traditional, punjabi girl, and wins Jaile's heart, so they fix, Roop and Reet's and Jaile and Candy's engagement for the same day. Candy tells Kulwant that DJ was in many relationships with many different girls, since she still loves DJ, after hearing that Kulwant is heart-broken, and leaves DJ. Then the day before the engagement Candy reveals how modern girls really are, by bringing him to a pub. On the engagement day Jaile runs away, Candy tells DJ, that if he doesn't sit in Jaile's spot, she will reveal the truth, so to help out his friend, DJ and Candy get engaged and so do Roop and Reet.

11/01/2010

The greatest legend of all times Shammi Kapoor has been admitted to the Breach Candy Hospital with a chest infection and one of the many fans visiting him was old friend Amitabh Bachchan. Amitabh made it a point to visit Kapoor, 78, Sunday itself, a day after he had been hospitalised.


“The evening started with a visit to Breach Candy Hospital where the great Shammi Kapoor has been admitted with a chest infection,” Amitabh wrote on his blog bigb.bigadda.com

“Seeing him confined to a bed has been disturbing, but his spirit and his will has been one that requires no words to express his nonchalant reserved demeanour. Shammi Kapoor, who sang and danced his way into our hearts from the snows of Kashmir to the endless soirees he held at his apartment in town. Sad to see him like this, but how wonderful to find his spirits alive and his humour intact,” he added.

Amitabh said he was nostalgic during the visit and recalled the times when he had to spend time in the same hospital. “Entering Breach Candy is always full of the (memories of) many difficult episodes we as a family went through. My illness in 1982 and 1983 and 1984 and the many visits of my father and my mother and the very special manner in which they took care of all of us,” he wrote.

10/01/2010

Actress Neha Dhupia is now tired of the ‘sexy’ tag, which she believes has worked against her. The former Miss India, who started her Bollywood journey with bold roles in Qayamat and Julie, feels that despite having done some very serious roles, she has not been taken seriously in the industry because of her ‘sexy’ image. “I sincerely believe that the term ‘sexy’ is always used against me,” Dhupia told PTI.


The actress had to work hard to get over the Julie nickname that she earned for herself after a dare bare portrayal of a prostitute in the namesake film in 2004. “No one seems to realise that I can do a lot more. Why don’t people remember Mithya, Singh Is Kinng, Dasvidaniya or a Maharathi?” she questions.

“I strongly believe that my biggest flaw is that I am sexy. Just because of that, it is always safely presumed that I would be busy out there seducing people on screen,” she says.

“What makes you think that I am a seductress? May be I am a victim myself in that party. Yes, in the film’s context, I do flirt and have a drink with others around. But then may be ‘I am a poor-little-vulnerable-I-don’t-know-what-to-do’ Neha than being a sexy seductress Neha,” she jokes.

9/01/2010

Love birds Saif Ali Khan and Kareena Kapoor are always in the media glare regarding the speculation on when are they tying the knot. Ever since the two went public with their affair Saifeena have been hounded by the paparazzi on their plans regarding marriage. Apparently, fanning the rumors of an early wedding, Saif’s mom Sharmila Tagore speaking to the media said, “I don’t have any objection to their marriage and they will soon wed.”




Sending media into frenzy, this affirmation, came from Sharmila on the occasion of the Censor Board of Film Certification meeting which was held at Jodhpur, India. Although, the couple has said time-and-again that they don’t have any intention of getting married soon, as their career is much more important than the marriage. However, Sharmila Tagore’s statement clearly indicates that something is surely brewing between the lovey-dovey couple and they might have changed their mind and decided to tie the knot.



Currently, Saif and Kareena are doing great professionally and have big projects in their kitty; therefore marriage is still a long shot, but mother-in-law Sharmila seems to believe otherwise

9/01/2010

It was a known fact to everyone that Fardeen Khan has been a perfect beta to his father. Now, he is playing the perfect jamai to his in-laws.




Last week he went abroad with wife Natasha, to celebrate pa-in-law’s birthday. While things on the family front seem to be settling down, Fardeen has sworn to invest most of his time in his career now.



He wants to do everything he can to augment his career, and he’s started with knocking some flab off his face. A good start, indeed.

8/1/2010 Kurbaan

We all know the last wish of the great actor Feroz Khan. Lets hear it from Fardeen himself. “My father’s last wish was a remake of ‘Qurbani’. And, now after his death, this project is very close to my heart. I want to give it the best possible opportunity as it is a part of Hindi film history,” he told reporters here.




Produced and directed by Feroz Khan, ‘Qurbani’ which starred Vinod Khanna, Zeenat Aman, besides Feroze Khan was a runaway box office hit. Its songs were a rage and sold the highest number of records and tapes when it was released.



“The least one needs to do is to equal it. I want to give the remake a lot of time. If I can’t make it better, I would like equal it at least,” he said about the remake currently in the pre-production stage.



The remake, where Fardeen is cast alongside Ishita Sharma, also has Sushmita Sen and Shahrukh Khan in pivotal roles. The 35-year-old actor, known for his unique style statements and love for animals, is also ready to open a new production company and even try his hand at direction. Source

7/01/2010

Its back to the television again. The handsome hunk Salman Khan will soon be marking his presence on Zee TV’s ‘Dance India Dance’, a reality show on dance. He is the first celebrity to be invited on the show so far.




Our reliable source from the sets informs, “As nowadays Salman is busy promoting his movie Veer and thus, will be getting his audience acquainted with his upcoming release through DID on national television channel Zee TV.



“The shooting process for the same is scheduled for next week. This episode is expected to be aired on Jan 22. The whole team ofc are looking forward to welcome Salman,” signs off the source. Source

6/01/2010

We all know that Akshay Kumar is the Khiladi but lets see how smart a khildi he is. Recently at the Film Producers Guild Apsara Awards function in Mumbai, the Khiladi played his game and smartly made a dig at Shah Rukh when he was invited to present the award of Lifetime Achievement to the Bachchan senior.

Aksahy said, “Sir(Mr. Bachchan) is a legend and he still inspires other actors and makers to make remake of his films and act in them”. Shahrukh was present at the event where he performed and also walked with the best actor trophy for ‘Rab Ne Bana Di Jodi’ as reported earlier.

Obviously, Akshay was referring to Don sequel Don 2. According to sources it was the remake of ‘Don’ by Farhan Akhtar that sowed the first seeds of difference between SRK and Amitabh Bachchan who previously where on very good terms.

The prankster Akshay who is known for his mischievous behaviors in sets with his co-stars knows very well that he single-handedly can’t tackle the Khans as they are three of them, so he smartly takes the cover of Bachchan make him his dhall (read shield) and go Scot free as any reaction by SRK will be taken as an attack on Big B and Akshay can laugh at his attempt of adding more fuel to the fire.

13/01/2010

It may sound unbelievable but thats the fact. The occasion must be very special, for it has convinced none other than Aamir Khan to perform in it! Cine Artistes Association has planned a concert with the motive of improving the standard and generating funds for the junior artistes of Bollywood. And if sources are to be believed, superstar Aamir Khan will be seen on the stage performing for the audience after 10 long years.






On January 15, the Bollywood superstar, currently riding a wave of success with ‘3 Idiots’, will record his part for a concert that is being put up by the Cine & Television Artistes Association. Aamir reportedly agreed to do this concert because it is for a cause.



According to Johny Lever, the President of the Cine Artistes Association, “Our association has completed 50 years. I have personally requested Shah Rukh Khan, Salman Khan, Saif Ali Khan, Akshay Kumar, Aamir Khan, Hrithik Roshan and several other Bollywood biggies to perform for us. We need funds to rehabilitate and provide resources to junior artistes who are finding it hard to make ends meet.” More