To tell future perfect,more flock to Bharatiya Vidya Bhavan

to learn to predict future and to keep themselves involved in their hobby. Classes are held on weekends,3 pm to 6 pm on

Saturdays and 10 pm to 1 pm on Sundays.

Anil Kaushal,secretary of the astrology centre,says,

“People who come here have a craze for astrology. We have

students from Delhi,Jalandhar,Patiala,Himachal

Pradesh,Kharar,Mohali and other far-off places. The percentage of men and women studying here keeps varying as

after every six months of the course,enrolment increases.”

According to Kaushal,among those studying here are

around 20% university students.

While 35% housewives and working people are

among the students,40% retired people in their 70s are

among those who study here. The teachers who teach

palmistry,Lal Kitab,astrology,numerology,tarot cards

and Jyotish Praveen were students themselves at the same

centre. Paramjeet Singh,a numerology teacher who was an

astrology research student at the centre in 1995,says,“I

have been teaching here for 10 years and I have come

across a variety of people from different walks of life. Though

some people don’t believe in these old traditional things,

this is purely authenticated science wherein people could

predict their future and the reasons behind certain issues

in life. This is the reason many learned people also come

here to learn the mechanism of astrology and numerology.”

Monica Mehr,a Chandigarh-based businesswoman,

says,“Numerology helped me a lot while selecting the name

of my company and also in scanning the right honest staff.

I am finding my business flourishing due to my knowledge of

numerology.”Hemant Kumar,a Delhibased doctor,comes to

Chandigarh every Sunday to

attend classes. “I was always interested in Vastu Shastras

and there is no such wellknown institute in Delhi to learn numerology in detail,so I prefer coming to Chandigarh,”

he says. N R Sandil,78,a retired PCS officer,says,“I joined the course in January this year,and I am learning a lot about astrology.

There are around five more people of my age who are students here. There is a huge property dispute going on in

my family and I am sure astrology would help me a lot.”

“Women are more interested in palmistry and tarrot

card reading,because the courses are easier comparatively.

Secondly,women are more intuitive than men,”

adds Kaushal.