People Diaries

It was an emotional moment for Rama Bhanot,the Managing Trustee of the Neerja Bhanot Pan Am Trust as she unveiled the book,Chandigarh and its Leading Personalities,at the Chandigarh Press Club.

An advertising professional,Aneesh Bhanot,pays tribute to his sister with a book about leading personalities of Chandigarh

It was an emotional moment for Rama Bhanot,the Managing Trustee of the Neerja Bhanot Pan Am Trust as she unveiled the book,Chandigarh and its Leading Personalities,at the Chandigarh Press Club. The 190-page book,authored by her son,Aneesh Bhanot,an advertising professional,is dedicated to her daughter,who was the senior Flight Purser on Pan Am flight 73 that was hijacked in September 1986 by four armed men at Karachi airport. The guiding principles behind this book are Neerjas acts of selflessness,bravery giving up her own life while saving others during the Pan Am World Airways plane hijack in September 1986, says Aneesh,as he flips through pages of the book carrying his sisters photos. Aneeshs sister was recognised internationally as the heroine of the hijack and is still the youngest recipient of the Ashoka Chakra,Indias highest civilian award for bravery.

In his tribute,he profiles over 75 leading personalities of the tricity in Volume 1 and as Rama Bhanot puts it,it had to be done,for it was a call from the heart. I felt there are so many people who have contributed to the growth of Chandigarh and made it the wonderful and unique city it is today. This book recognises their effort,zeal and worth, smiles Aneesh,who is also an editor and publisher of Sector News ,a fortnightly tabloid published from Chandigarh. Narrowing down on people wasnt an easy process so a three-member panel assisted him. The book profiles achievers from a cross-section of society,including political leaders,social activists,artists,architects,doctors,administrators,entrepreneurs,sportspersons and industrialists.

Starting with Le Corbusiers master plan of Chandigarh to the edict of the city,the book features personalities who have excelled in their professions like PGIs Dr Amod Gupta,thespian Kamal Tewari,actor Jaspal Bhatti,lawyer ML Sarin,entrepreneur Neena Singh among others. Volume II is in the works and it will profile an equal number of personalities. We have a nomination form which can be filled by anyone and so there will be another eclectic mix this time too, informs Aneesh. The book has full-page photographs of the people with a brief account of their life and work. I wanted it be more visual,so the text is not long and is written in a casual way,one that reintroduces these personalities. Of course,Ive been partial towards Neerja, he signs off.

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