City Scape 8212; Chandigarh

Like that onlySenior Congress leader Ghulam Nabi Azad was in the city last week to address Youth Congress workers at the Youth Orientatio...

Like that only
Senior Congress leader Ghulam Nabi Azad was in the city last week to address Youth Congress workers at the Youth Orientation Camp at Indira Holiday Home. When journalists grilled him on the subject of factionalism in the party units in Punjab, Haryana and UT, Azad thundered 8220;Congress stands united like a rock!8221; The journalists pressed on with questions about the recent parallel rallies conducted by Haryana Congress leaders. However, when asked about the factionalism and holding of rallies which clearly indicated factionalism within the party in Haryana, Azad had an answer for this too 8230; 8220;All this is part of Haryana culture. People are a little hot-headed. There is nothing to worry about,8221; he said.

Cavalier dad
Recently, Newsline reported a rise in the number of underage drivers in the city and pointed a finger at both permissive parents and indifferent police.

Not long after the story appeared, the reporter was present in a gathering when someone referred in passing to the story about the 8220;kid drivers8221;. This was enough to get another person present going on the subject 8230; but in what direction! 8220;You should see my son! He8217;s only seven but already he8217;s able to drive our car. If he had his own, he could drive to school by himself!8221;

Aiyo 8230;! Gonna shake shake shake!
On first impression, earthquakes appear to be wonderfully democratic, putting the fear o8217; God into everybody, but actually quakes pay more attention to the haves than the have-nots. A falling cement roof can do a lot more damage to the human head than a roof of straw or plastic sheets. While quite a few people spent a sleepless night last Monday, it was the frightened the bureaucrats of Punjab, Chandigarh and Haryana, whose nervousness sought an outlet in phone calls to the news room. They wanted to know the intensity of the quake, and whether any local buildings had fallen or people had been hurt 8230; but most of all they wanted to know 8220;is it likely to hit again?8221;

Across the border
Pakistani cricket fans boarded the return train with bulging suitcases and plenty of hand-baggage. Obviously, the little time they had left between watching the match and attending dinners was spent in shopping. And who wouldn8217;t shop, given the sweet deal offered by the Chandigarh Beopar Mandal. Members of this association, representing more than 50 markets in the city, offered the visitors goods on a no-loss no-profit basis. To this, add the Rs-500 gift coupons distributed to every visitor by the Punjab State Industrial and Export Corporation and it was honey on sugar. The coupons were redeemable from Sector 178217;s Phulkari Emporium 8212; the outlet for all kinds of Punjabi handicrafts. The visitors are said to have made a beeline for bed covers, shawls, suits and dupattas, phulkaris and baghs.

Many of the cricket fans from Pakistan were here on a sentimental journey, including the Lahore Daily Musawaat8217;s deputy editor, Shahid Rizvi, who was visiting India for the first time.

Though not born in India himself, Rizvi8217;s family hailed from Ambala City8217;s Kaziwara Mohalla before partition. 8220;When our train stopped for just a minute at Ambala, I managed to stand down on the platform 8212; I wanted my first step on Indian soil to be there at Ambala 8212; my family8217;s pre-partition hometown,8221; he said. But would he be able to take back water from his ancestral house? Yes! Even that was managed with the help of Haryana Chief Minister Bansi Lal. The CM directed the DPR, R. K. Khullar, to get Rizvi some water from his ancestral house and town.

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Pakistan is generally perceived as a highly conservative country, but that may not be entirely correct. For instance, according to visiting Pakistani fashion designer Jafar Jafri, 8220;fashion is now big business in Pakistan.8221;Conservatism in Pakistan seems to have been pushed to the background, with fashion being considered a thriving business there in these modern times. 8220;Fashion is being adopted in a big way there,8221; said Jafri who was among the fans who witnessed the India-Pakistan Cricket one-dayer at Mohali, and runs a 20-year-old fashion business that had a turnover of Rs Pak 1.5 crore last year. 8220;Salwar-kameez accounts for most of the garments we turn out but skirts and shorts also sell nowadays.8221;

With no objections from the clergy? 8220;Well,8221; said Jafri, 8220;the first time we put up the mannequins, there were some protests but these soon tapered off.8221;

Jafari took the addresses of some local models, whom he wanted to shoot at the picturesque Rock Garden.

The Pakistani guests were bubbling with enthusiasm 8212; and one of them, literally so. Zaheer Hussain Malik of Lahore spotted the Newsline reporter at the railway station and promptly buttonholed him on the subject of 8230; bubble gum!

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Malik turned out to be a world record holder in blowing bubbles and he had a photostat of a newspaper clipping on his achievement as well as a colour photograph of himself and the record-breaking bubble. 8220;Tell your readers about me!8221; Malik chirped. Right-o! Here he is 8230;

Tarbooz again
Within a matter of days, short-lived spring has fled and summer is here and building up. Any doubts? Just take a look at the piles of melon clicked by the Express photographer. The picture accompanies this week8217;s edition of Cityscape.