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Munching joints on the Campus
Randeep Singh Mahal
Which is the best place to hangout between classes? Well, all the eating joints in the campus, because these are the happening
places where all the gup-shup is done, rumours are created and student meetings are held. With students back to their good
old rendezvous, the University bears a fresh and a lively look. Though the students and the teachers are happy, happiest are
the campus shopkeepers with brisk business time at the various eating joints.
“Bachhe hai to business hai aur raunak bhi hai”, says the owner of India coffee house. “Samose
aur paneer pakore ka koi muqabla nahi hai”, says Sarthak from the B.Tech. Department. “My favorite is
maggi”, says Deep. “Shudh doodh jaisi to baat hi koi nahi”, says Bhanu Partap Singh Rana from
the Law Department. Different people from different departments have their respective favourite joints, depending upon the
strategic location of the place. Sounds confusing, doesn’t it? Well, the crowd of Arts Block 1and 2 prefer the coffee
house because it’s quite near. The crowd from Arts Block 3, 4, 5 and 6 prefer Bhagwandass Canteen because it’s
the nearest. The Science departments on the same ground prefer the Gol Market.
But every place has its own speciality. The coffee house is the preferred choice for the South Indian stuff. Gol Market
is preferred for juices and confectionary items. The Verka Booth is preferred for all milk items and ice creams. The Bhagwandass
canteen is preferred for samosas and paneer pakoras. The new addition to the campus, the Nescafe Booth was long due, and is
doing well too. Soup, maggi noodles, tea, coffee, shakes and other iced-stuff are available there. Patties and other confectionary
stuff are available at Roshan’s in the famous Gol Market. Kuku’s juice shop is a favoured location too,
the fruit chaat being really famous. Dahi, lassi, milk-badam, pinni, pizza and ice-creams are available at the Verka Booth.
Now we have all these places, but are the students satisfied with them or is further improvement required? For a start,
cleanliness is nowhere. The coffee house and Bhagwandass Canteen do certainly require a lot of sprucing up, compared to the
Gol Market area. The Gol Market area needs better seating arrangements. The prices are quite reasonable and the students are
satisfied on this front. For snacks, all these places are good, but what about a real Indian meal with a varied choice? Our
University requires such a place--neat, clean, economical with variety Indian stuff and complete with a proper seating arrangement.
There is a dhaba in the Gol Market, but it is far from satisfactory. The servers or waiters at the various joints, especially
Bhagwandass Canteen need better etiquettes.
So what do the students think about this? “We have a lot of choice, but better quality is required”,
says Manjot of B.Tech. Department. “Safai aur smile chahiye”, says Tanu of M.Tech. Department. “Bhai
saanu ta geri laun da raah chahida”, says Gill and Waraich from the Law Department. Anyway, here’s hoping
that we see a further improvement in the eating joints because good and hygienic food makes healthy students and healthy students
bring good results and that’s what we all want.
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Geri (en) route to Gol Market
By Vivek Gupta
The famous Gol Market, the most hunting place for loafing around in the Punjabi University always remains agog with girls
and boys, it being the favourite freaking out place for them. During geri route of the Campus, this place always awaits you
with good crowd and a romantic ambience.
The place gratifies almost all the needs of the students and residents of the university as there are bank facilities,
a grocery store, a stationary shop, a Punjabi dhaba, a juice corner, a medicine shop, a cosmetics shop, a tailor shop and
a film studio etc. The Verka Booth and the newly-opened Nescafe shop attracts more students as it provides qualitaty food
and a nice sitting place to them.
“It is a good place for some nice time pass and a person can unwind all his tension after spending whole day
in the department” said Kulbir Kaur of BPT-II. Anshul of Economics department said “We go to the Gol Market
to see the crowd. It also fulfils our daily basic needs,” she adds.
Akhil of M.Tech. department said “I come to this market only when I need some tonic for my eyes. Pankaj Singla
of MCA department, a fresher in the campus, said “I like the place not only because of beauty around there but it
also provides very relaxed and cool ambience. I like to sit under the shade of tree and read some material.”
Bhupinder Singh, owner of the Verka milk booth, running his shop for the last two decades, said “This place
is the heart of the campus, and the sweet fragrance from every direction makes everybody fresh and healthy with the milk.”
The Gol Market thus as understood by its name is endless as far as joy, fun and merry-making is concerned.
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Romancing with the word origins
Gurmeet Mann
The first two letters of the Greek alphabet, alpha and beta, were joined together to form our word alphabet. In ancient
Phoenicia, some 3,000 years ago, the letter A was called aleph and meant “ox”. It was represented as V,
seemingly for the horns of an ox, and had a slanted bar across it, but the Greeks later turned it upside down, which is the
way we know it now. The ox, of course, served the ancient Phoenicians for food and work and shoes and clothing. A herd of
cattle meant wealth to them. This could have been the reason that the ox, aleph, or A, stands as our first letter.
Let us now share something” romantic” behind origin of some words of speaking and writing.
Address
When a speaker makes an address, he gives thought to the “direction” of his points. When a person
addresses a letter, he is “directing” it to a certain party and place. We received this word address through
the French term addresser, originally from the Latin ad, “to”, and directus, “straight”
or “right”, signifying “right to the point”
Album
The word album that identifies the bound book in which you paste pictures is a Latin term that meant the tablet on which
public notices were displayed in ancient Rome. It derived originally from albus, which meant both “white”
and “blank”, a page, that is, that hadn’t been written on and so as unsullied.
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Another bang by the computer master
By Jasdeep
After tasting success of developing a software, designed by Dr Gurpreet Singh Lehal of Punjabi University, carrying
capacity of translation from English into Punjabi, the University’s Department of Computer Science and Engineering
(DCSE) is again ready to create ripples in the world of both computer and literature across the borders. Quite enthusiastic
about his achievement, Dr Lehal revealed that with this software, we can bring the two cultures, which were teared apart in
1947, into proximity.
Punjabi used in North-West Punjab is similar to the one spoken in Eastern Punjab but the way Punjabi is written in
these areas is absolutely different. With the help of this software, we can translate Gurmukhi to Shahmukhi and vice-versa,
making it possible to share the literary works available on both the sides.
According to Dr Lehal, the software will be released on the occasion of World Punjabi Meet, scheduled to be held
from December 1 this year at Punjabi University.
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Lets play to The Gallery!
By Raghav Orhi
There are so many simple yet interesting things in our lives which go un-noticed. For instance, we may complement a damsel
for her gorgeous face but we may miss an important feature which is the main ingredient of her attraction. Our very own gracious
Punjabi University has one such graceful feature.
Welcome to The Ramp of Punjabi University. Ramp? Great Scott!! I am sure your jaw must have dropped a mile, but take my
word for that, its true. The Ramp of Punjabi University remains busy usually during day time with a sprightly and spunky group
of young students. This ramp has two arms stretching from Coffee House, paving its way through the Arts Block and ending up
finally just short of Library. Yes folks! you guessed it right, it’s our very own Corridor. You may be wondering
how we can refer a simple corridor as a ramp! Well the difference lies in the treatment.
It is a unique ramp unlike the typical one where you find only hunks and beautiful models. Over here, you will not only
find young but even old models (senior teachers) who intentionally or unintentionally display their catwalk.
It is the usual port of call for all the students who are in search of a good face to look at. One can easily hear the
sound of smart chaps clattering their feet around the corridor eyeing beautiful girls. Their demand is not much; all they
want is a tiny smile by a beautiful girl. This welcome mat of the University is always full of high jinks activity throughout
the day, ranging from passing smiles to commenting or complementing attractive faces. If you find a guy walking alone down
the corridor don’t get the misconception that he is a spurned lover, he may be a serious student.
Clad in smart dresses, eyes shrouded with hopes, wearing those silk lens, the smart chaps of Punjabi University treat
this relief road as a ramp to impress a damsel. Unlike professional models, our University models do not walk in tandem, they
are more active and agile to complement a beauty. However, as every Friday is not a Good Friday, likewise Sunday at the University
unfortunately proves to be a ‘mourn-day’ for bachelors and a blessing in disguise for couples who make
the most out of this silence.
So come and try your fortune on this ramp, who knows you may start alone but at the end of the day you may find a perfect
date for yourself.
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Free trade zone will facilitate win-win situation for India & Pak: Dr Gill
By Preetinder Singh
“Amritsar and Lahore will emerge as hub of economic activity, if the borders between the two countries are opened
to facilitate free trade.” Dr Sucha Singh Gill, a noted economist, made these remarks while talking on the issue
of Pakistani Punjab Chief Minister’s proposed visit to Punjabi University, for participating in the World Punjabi
Conference.
Campus Times had a detailed interaction with Dr Gill about the possibilities of free trade zone between India and Pakistan.
Q. How is it going to benefit if free trade zone becomes a reality ?
Ans. Friendship always benefits. The free trade zone will be mutually beneficial for both the countries, especially
for the Eastern and Western Punjab. Free zone will give rise to a lot of economic activity between Lahore and Amritsar. Businesses
will flourish along the highways and tourism industry will get a big boost.
Q. What will be its special impact on the our Punjab ?
Ans. You see, in Lahore the price of wheat is double the price here. We have surplus wheat rottening in the godowns
which could be easily transported to Lahore via road. Presently, it is being lifted to Karachi through Bombay making it a
costly and a time-consuming affair. If borders get opened, we can even expand our trade horizons with Central Asian Countries
as they donot grow enough vegetables. This will immensely benefit the Punjabi farmer.
Q. Whether free trade would have some negative impact too ?
Ans. There is a fear among a segment of Pakistani businessmen that they can not compete with more advanced Indian
industries. But to help them a mutual fund can be created, which can be spent to modernize their sick industries.
Q. Has regional grouping become the need of the hour ?
Ans. This is the era of grouping. Around the world a number of groups like NAM, European Union, NATO are emerging,
based on political, economical and social requirements. We cannot stand alone. For instance, both the countries are sole exporters
of basmati rice, but we get much less price because of the negative competition. If we start marketing together, both will
be placed in a win-win situation.
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Departments On The Move
A Farewell Function ‘ADIEU 2004’ was organized by the Biotechnology Society (PUBS) to bid farewell
to the outgoing batch of M.Sc. (Microbial and Food Technology) and M.Sc. (Biotechnology) students in the Students’
Home on August 27 last. The outgoing students shared their feeling of joy at the successful completion of their course.
The department mourned the death of its former student, Ms Sandeep Kaur of 2001-2003 batch who left for her heavenly
abode on August 18. A condolence meeting was held to enliven the memory of a bright and promising student who was equally
excellent in academics as well as in extra-curricular activities.
The department also shared its grief with two of its students—Ms Parwinder Kaur Chahal and Ms Amita Aggarwal—who
lost their fathers during the session. The department assured them all help at all times.
“Aagaaz 2004”, a party to welcome the Ist year students of M.Sc. (Biotechnology) and M.Sc. (Microbial
& Food Technology) was organized by the department on September 10 at the Students’ Home. The freshers were
advised to be regular, punctual and hard-working. They were also told to handle the expensive instruments with care and to
strive hard to imbibe the maximum during their two years stay in the department. They in turn, exhibited their talent and
presented a cultural fiesta of Punjabi folk songs and dances.
Dr S.S. Tiwana, Professor and Head, Department of Public Administration, participated in an international seminar on “Judicial
Administration”, organized jointly by the International Political Science Association and the Department of Public
Administration, University of Rajasthan, at Jaipur. He presented a research paper, “Criminal Justice Administration
in India” and also chaired a technical session.
Dr Rajbans Singh Gill, Lecturer in the department, also presented a research paper “Ombudsman : An Indian Experience,”
during the seminar.
Dr. G.S. Sandhu, Professor & Head Department of Philosophy, contributed a Research Paper on “Creating Peace
in Environment of Religious Violence—A Sikh Perspective” in the Parliament of World Religions, held at
Barcelona (Spain) from July 7 to 13 last.
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Recoginition of Sociology for raising cultural consciousness urged
By Gaganpreet Kaur
A joint meeting of teachers of Sociology, working in colleges, affiliated to Punjabi University was held in the Department
of Sociology and Social Anthropology on August 18 to discuss issues ranging from syllabi, teaching materials and teacher-student
ratio in colleges to career options available to Sociology students. It was first interaction of its kind between the university
and the college teachers.
Talking to this reporter, Dr Bhupinder Singh, Professor and HoD, said the main problem in colleges was mammoth classes,
which appear more like student rallies. With authorities unable or unwilling to recruit more than one teacher in the subject,
the quality of teaching suffers a great deal. As a result, the students tend to rely on cheap help books. The college teachers
felt that the syllabi too need a fresh look. Presently, they are so framed that the students can ignore half of the syllabus
and still manage to get through and even score good marks, Dr Singh added.
It was felt that despite the popularity of the subject at the undergraduate level, the University Department has
been failing to collect sufficient number of students. The present session, however, has a strength of 25 students, he said.
Another negative aspect, Dr Singh felt was poor quality of students joining the department. The discussion also focused
upon employment prospects for Sociology students after post-graduation. It was felt that there was a great need to highlight
the relevance of sociology in diverse areas of social and economic life and impress upon the government and institutions to
recognize the practical utility of the discipline in raising the level of social, economic and cultural consciousness.
The Sociology Department earned the unique distinction with two of its teachers visiting foreign Universities to present
their research papers. Dr Varinder Pal Singh visited Winnipeg (Canada) to attend the annual conference of Canadian Political
Science Association and presented a paper on “Sikh Militancy In Punjab.” Dr H.S. Bhatti presented a paper
on “Folk Religion In Punjab” at the University of California (Santa Barbara).
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