Himachal confidential: Better days

Like its name,which means Sab se Upar,Sirmaur was right in the spotlight recently when the government carried out a bureaucratic reshuffle. The strangest decision on the DC transfer list was the return of Padam Singh Chauhan as Deputy Commissioner of Sirmaur. Chauhan had just been shifted out of the district. The question on everyone’s lips – why the sudden change of heart? Perhaps the government had made a mistake and decided to bring back a ‘popular’ DC. Well,no! Apparently a BJP leader from the area convinced Chief Minister Prem Kumar Dhumal that the party could sweep Sirmaur and win all five Assembly seats if a favoured man is at the helm. Only recently had the BJP won Renuka Assembly seat in a bye-election amidst swirling accusations of poll violations and free flow of cash and liquor. Now,will the BJP gain from the decision or cause embarrassment? “one never knows,” says a local Congress leader.

Spiritual Spiti

Spirituality,mysticism and nature make a compelling combination and when it’s about Spiti — a mountainous cold desert that has mesmerised even noted travel writers like G C Bruce — one can’t think of anything else. To bring Spiti close to the eyes of hundreds of citizens and tourists,Him Chatterjee — a celebrated artist and son of legendary painter and thinker Sanat Chhaterjee — displayed his work at Shimla’s Gaiety Theatre. Him’s first solo exhibition depicted the spirit of Buddhism and the magic of Spiti through 65 rare pieces of art. There is,however,more in store for Shimla as another another painting exhibition – ‘Himalayan Glimpses’ by Kotgarh born artist Deepa Bhalaik — is next on the list.

Sudden love

The Himachal Pradesh Lokhit Party (HPLA) — a breakaway group of the BJP — has steadfastly maintained that it has no affection for either the BJP or the Congress. The party proposes to contest all 68 constituencies in the Assembly polls scheduled for the year-end. Amidst such talk,however,party spokesman Mohinder Sofat — who has become a graft crusader of sorts by bringing out alleged scams against Health Minister Rajeev Bindal — claims to be an ardent admirer of Union Minister Virbhadra Singh. “To me,he (Singh) is the only Congress leader playing the role of Opposition,the rest are members of Prem Kumar Dhumal’s loyal opposition,” Sofat says. As always in politics,the sudden love for Virbhadra has begun raising eyebrows.