Cn & heard

Unfettered mendicancy

BEGGARS are a common site at the Panjab University campus. While students are irked,the authorities do not appear to be interested in tackling the growing menace. “Beggars wont allow you to sit in the chemistry canteen or Student Centre until you offer them alms. Students are being hounded by beggars. Wonder what the University officials are doing about it?,” questioned a student.

Censorship

THE portrayal of Panjab University in a not so positive light in a Punjabi film raised the hackles of councillor Saurabh Joshi – in whose ward the varsity falls. Joshi,while raising the issue in the meeting of the Municipal Corporation general house,demanded that the film Sikander be banned as it showed images of student leaders consuming drugs which,he claimed,would be a bad influence on those who watch the film. He further went on to say that the Arts,Culture and Sports committee of the MC should also approve the kind of programmes that can be shown at the Sector 17 plaza.

Ridi-cooled

THERE was a discernible sense of uneasiness at a FICCI conference last week after a farmer ridiculed a private company,reportedly a pioneer in water management,at the event. While the Fatehgarh Sahib farmer minced no words in finding faults with the quality of the serviced rendered by the company,seated amongst the audience was a senior representative of the concerned firm. Not scheduled to speak,the representative signalled to one of the organisers and offered to rebut the the charges levelled by the farmer,who was rather eloquent. Holding back his anguish,the representative kept his rebuttal elaborate yet gentle. Having given his side of the story,the representative then caught hold of the farmer during a lunch break to cool him down. His contention: the farmer could have personally expressed his grievance than publicly voicing it.

Oops !

THIS blooper may have caused a storm in the virtual world. At a CII workshop last week,a keynote speaker addressed a Professor as a ‘rascal’; and no,it was not deliberate. The concerned professor was A U Digraskar and the poor keynote speaker embarrassed himself by twice addressing the professor as ‘Dig rascal’ before others on the dias quickly corrected him. Thankfully,the Professor had left by then. And worse,the speech was supposed to be a thanksgiving note to Professor Digraskar.

Long journey

LAUNCHED barely a week ago,the eco cab drivers are disappointed with the initial response to the ‘unique’ pollution-free transport. While some opine that it will take time to stir interest in the city,others feel that the number of eco cabs,launched,is too less to cause an impact. A total of five eco cabs were launched on June 25 by a Punjab-based NGO. There have been a couple of practical difficulties as well. Drivers say that though the cab is light,the peddles are stiff,thus making them difficult to ride. As of now,the eco cabs have been confined to ferrying tourists from Sukhna Lake to the Rock garden.

Practice what you preach

IT IS usually not easy to practice what you preach; lower court judges recently learned this the hard way. At a function they had to wait for a senior judge who was to address them. He finally landed some 45 minutes late. The topic of discussion: the senior judge spoke strongly about the significance of punctuality. Alas! The irony of lower court judges having to wait to listen to the positives of punctuality.

Eyesore

CEMENTED dustbins are a cause of trouble for retired Colonel Pritam Bhullar,a resident of Sector 2. Perturbed over the construction of dustbins in front of his house,Bhullar said,“Garbage bins have been constructed without giving an iota of thought to the civic sense and basic amenities. My house now looks ugly from outside all because of these garbage bins. Also ,the area stinks most often”. He rues that repeated complaints have fallen on deaf ears. Another grouse is that the garbage spills out on to the roads presenting a not so pretty picture.

In Corbusier’s memory

THE FORMER principal of Chandigarh College of Architecture Dr Rajnish Wattas delivered a lecture at the Museum of Modern Architecture,New York recently. The museum is holding an exhibition about the works of Le Corbusier to mark his 125th birth anniversary. The lecture was on the theme “Chandigarh: Corbusier’s Garden City”. It focused on how Chandigarh was planned from its inception to actual realisation. It highlighted the aspect of conceiving the new city amidst nature and landscape.