Big Chai is a radio porgramme on BIG 92.7 FM, a music-driven radio channel owned by Adlabs Films of Anil Dhirubai Ambani Group. Today, my morning went off with a smile as I met “Muskan”, the RJ who spoke to me about Guru Nanak: His Life and Teachings, which, as you know, is that title of a book that I have written.

I spoke in a mixture of Hindi, Punjabi and English! It was fun to be on the show, and the RJ’s infectious spirit soon rubbed off on me, who had been dragged out of my bed early because of the show. I must thank Nikhil Mishra , Programming Head, Adlabs Films Ltd, for providing me with this opportunity. I have followed his achievements and success in the media with great interest and pride.

Muskaan is a post Graduate in English from Panjab University. She has studied Gandhi academically and is a Kathak dancer. A Shimla girl, she worked with AIR, FM Shimla, AIR Chandigarh & Doordarshan.

Big Chai was an unusual forum to discuss and talk about Guru Nanak Devi ji, but then the Guru’s message should reach as wide an audience as possible, and thus this attempt to reach out to the radio-listening people of Chandigarh.

I was invited by the Department of Fine Arts, Punjabi University, Patiala, to present a paper on Punjab Murals: A journalist’s perspective. I have been interested in the subject for a while and have had the privilege of documenting the murals of Pothi Mala at GuruHarsahi, in the Ferozepore district of Punjab.
The three day three-day symposium on “Punjab Murals – Themes, Context, Patronage and Techniques’ was inaugurated by Swarn Singh Boparai, Vice-Chancellor of the university on October 30. It has been organised under the guidance of the distinguished art historian, Prof B.N. Goswami, who is a Visiting Professor in the university.
Prominent artist and poet Imroz, the creator of the Rock Garden in Chandigarh, Nek Chand and Dr Kanwarjit Singh Kang, who has converted this PhD thesis on the subject into a book and a lifelong passion, were the prominent delegates who were welcomed by Saroj Rani, Head of the department.
Dr Goswami’s brilliant lecture-cum-slide presentation on the wall paintings of Punjab set the tone of the seminar, and as expected, it was a tough act to follow. Dr Mohinder Singh of the Bhai Vir Singh Sadan, Delhi, gave a presentation on the aesthetic aspects of the manuscripts of the Adi Granth.
I could literally feel my mother watching me over my shoulder as I spoke. She had been a Vice Chancellor of the university more than three decades ago and her portrait hung over my shoulder in the room that the seminar’s second session took place.
Since murals are more or less vanishing from Punjab because of decay, ignorance and lack of interest, I suggested that maybe we could consider a Virtual Museum of Murals of Punjab, where photographs of the murals could be put on the Internet and be accessible to all. This would work till an actual Museum of Murals of Punjab, as suggested by Dr Goswami, could come up.
The virtual museum would evoke interest and that would bring on the spotlight on this literally dying art.

In an earlier post, I had written about Capt. S Seshadri and Aradhika Sharma, the authors of Astronaut Sunita Williams: Achiever Extraordinaire, published by Rupa and Co, New Delhi. Capt. Seshadri and his lovely wife, Akhila, an accomplished teacher in her own right, were in Chandigarh recently as guests of Aradhika and her mother, Asha Sharma.
The Seshadri’s were on way to Faridkot, where the regiment in which the Captain served is billeted these days, and then on to Amritsar, where the Golden Temple was their destination.
It was a pleasure to meet them and spend time celebrating the success of the book, which has been a runaway bestseller, and has been translated into many languages, including Marathi, Gujarati, Kannada, Tamil, Telgu and Hindi.
Sesh recently presented a wheelchair to a 12-year-old boy named Manikandan, who lives in rural Tamil Nadu. Manikandan’s father, Guruswamy, received the wheelchair on his behalf.
Manikandan is the son of a farmer and is a Grade VII student. So far, his classmates have been taking turns carrying him from one classroom to another. Seshi also presented Manikandan a copy of the book. The royalty from the book, as well as other donations raised from friends, helped finance the wheelchair. I am told there is more to come.

Well done, Sesh.

Can a child be disciplined without using the rod? The answer is a resounding Yes! Now, the National Commission for Protection of Child Rights, New Delhi, has expanded the definition of corporal punishment to include verbal abuse, and even impositions like writing “I will not do ……” a hundred times etc.
Police can also be involved if the commission’s guidelines are violated. This is obviously being resented by teachers who say that the commission has gone too far. My article, printed in The Tribune’s Education page, reflects on this issue.

Every year a group of seekers—some of them students and some teachers—come from various corners of the world to learn more about Punjab, the land, its people, history, geography and culture.
Professor Gurinder Singh Mann has been running this course on Punjab studies for 11 years now. He has emerged as a mentor who runs what I humorously call an academic boot camp, where extensive exposure is given to international students who interact with top Indian experts. I have attended some lectures, and I have also had the privilege of meeting, interacting and lecturing these students. This year too, a set of bright young minds came to Chandigarh and took back with them information and exposure to all things Punjabi.
Please click here to read a news item about these students that was published in The Tribune today.

It felt great that my photographs were recognised in the “Chandigarh in April” contest. However, even greater then the feeling of being acknowledged is the pleasure of acknowledging achievers. What a memorable day July 9 became—celebrating the achievements of Dr Kiran Bedi, Arvind Mehan, Sunita Williams, Aradhika Sharma and Capt. S Seshadri.

Please click here to read more!

Four of my photographs were exhibited at an exhibition “Chandigarh in April” and “Rhapsody”, won a Consolation Prize in the contest held by the Department of Tourism, UT Administration, Chandigarh.

Please click here to read more and see the other pictures.

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Today, Sunday, March 11, 2007, was the day of the SantaBanta.com Women’s Car Rally and North Colours Vintage and Classic Car Rally. I have been involved with rallies for many years and this was a good time to catch up with friends who share that particular passion.

Please click here to read more and see more photographs

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I was invited by Marshal of the Indian Air Force, Arjan Singh DFC, to attend the Review of the Indian Air Force by President A.P.J. Abdul Kalam, at Chandigarh on March 7, 2007. What a memorable day it was. Please click here to see more photographs and a brief account of the event.

I lost my father a month ago. Giani Gurdit Singh ji passed away on January 17. He breathed his last at our family’s home in Chandigarh. I live with my parents and we met for breakfast, after which he wanted to rest. I said goodbye to him just before I left for office, but within an hour, he had passed away.

On behalf of our family, especially my mother, Sardarni Inderjit Kaur, my brother Ravinder Singh and myself, I would like to express our gratitude to our friends who shared our grief and reached out to us.

Giani ji did accomplish a lot in his life and it will be his family’s endeavour to carry on his legacy. He is so alive in our minds that it is still hard for us to believe that he is not with us physically.

I will be updating his website www.gianigurditsingh.com soon to share what has been written about him in various newspapers and other fora.