New Multiplex: The new state-of-the-art Inox Multiplex is all set to open on November 1 at Natubhai Centre. Inox is already present in eight Indian cities, but this is the first to be launched in Gujarat. It will have a sprawling interior of over 60,000 sq. ft., four screens and, an entertainment parlour and shopping zones. It may also include McDonald’s and Barista. The multiplex will have two 250-seat theatres, one 300-seater hall and one 500-seater.

Baroda’s Ramlila: Unlike the 10-day Ramlilas patterned on the ‘Brajwasi Shaili’ performed in North India, where all the performers are male, the Ramlila at Baroda has a large cast of women and children, in addition to men. The Northern India Cultural Association (NICA) has been organising Ramlila every year on Dussehra at the Polo Ground for the last 22 years.

Direct Flights To New Jersey: Air India will operate three direct flights every week from Ahmedabad to New Jersey from December 2.

Medical Association Office-Bearers: The Indian Medical Association, Vadodara chapter, has elected Dr. Satish Pandya as this year’s president and Dr. Mukesh Trivedi as the secretary. The other office-bearers: Dr. V.K. Shah (vice-president); Dr. Vinod Mehta (honorary secretary): Dr. Divya Parikh (treasurer); Dr. Bakulesh Chauhan (scientific secretary); Dr. Hitesh Patel (sport secretary); Dr. Harshad Mehta (book bank secretary).

ABC Programme Needs Sponsors: An unspayed female dog adds up to 16 puppies in a year. If not neutered then one female, her mate and all of their puppies and their puppies’ puppies add up to 67,000 strays dogs in 6 years. VCARE is looking for sponsors for its ABC (Animal Birth Control) programme. You can sponsor one or as many dogs as you want at a cost of US $10 each and help make for a stray-less and healthy Baroda. For details about VCARE, please click here.

Lioness Dies At Kamatibaug Zoo: Salma, a lioness at the city zoo, died on 14th October. Salma was born in the zoo in 1987.

Exhibition At Surat: Baroda based ShefJan Designs (paintings, greeting cards, materials for interior design) have organised an exhibition of murals and paintings from 18th to 20th October at Heena Art Gallery, Parle Point Palace, Ghod Dod Road, Surat.

14-10-02

Deadline Extended: Organisers and garba lovers were elated when the 10 p.m. deadline was extended to midnight from 11th October. The deadline was extended after an application to the Indian Supreme Court. There was good news too for the loyal fans of the Fine Arts Faculty garba. The faculty’s students and alumni are performing garbas at some selected venues in the city, on invitation from the organisers.

Rahul Gajjar At Nazar: Rahul Gajjar’s exhibition of digital prints on watercolour paper and canvas will be on from October 16 to 19 at Nazar Art Gallery between 11 a.m. and 8 p.m. Works from this exhibition will travel to the 1st Festival de I’Image Numerique, an exhibition of digital art organised by Fuji Films and the City Council, Roanne, France, from November 16 to December 15, and later as a multimedia presentation at the Festival of Light, Scarborough, England, from December 21 to January 10. www.vadodara.com/co/rahulgajjar.htm

12-10-02

A Different Navratri: Due to the current sense of insecurity and a variety of restrictions, the major garba grounds are less crowded this year, and less noisy. While this is in marked contrast to earlier years, many garba enthusiasts and purists are not actually displeased. It may be that the real traditions of Navratri may now get a chance to re-surface from below the overbearing burden of the extraneous glamour and the ‘sponsored’ glitz. There is certainly more space available now for the children and the parents, two participating categories that had more or less been sidelined over the years. And the smaller, society-level garbas are being re-born. Navratri may yet shake itself free from the highjackers who had at times recycled it beyond recognition.

Environment Workshop For Children: The Gujarat office of the WorldWide Fund (WWF) for Nature will hold a workshop on the environment from November 11 to 16 for children (11 to 15 years). The workshop will touch upon a variety of topics such as wildlife, bird watching, plant identification and preservation, energy conservation, pollution, types of forests, national parks and sanctuaries, and organic farming. A field trip to Velavadar National Park will also be an attraction. Those interested can enroll before October 15 at WWF, Indumati Mahal, J.N. Marg (phone +91-265-436613).

Digital Canvases: Baroda graphic designer Jayesh Kansara is showing his digital canvases titled ‘The Supreme Power of Aum’ at the Kirti Mandir Hall from October 12 to 20, 8 a.m. to 8 p.m. Jayesh and his wife, both graduates from MSU’s Faculty of Fine Arts, run art classes for children and also train professionals in the applied arts.

Exhibition Of Furniture: A unique exhibition of furniture by architect Bankim Patel is on till October 21 (10 a.m. to 10 p.m.) at Saakar, Haribhakti Extension, opposite ABS Tower, Old Padra Road.

09-10-02

Garba Organisers File Petition: The organisers of BITA-INDU and United Aarkie garbas filed a special leave petition (SLP) in the Supreme Court on 8th October against the order of the Gujarat High Court wherein the state government has prohibited the use of loudspeakers after 10 p.m. The SLP was filed to seek a relaxation against an order passed in a writ petition in the Gujarat High Court.

Undisclosed Cable Connections: The Vadodara district administration has recently started a door-to-door survey to identify the exact number of cable connections in the city. It seems that the cable operators do not reveal all the cable connections that they service, thereby causing a revenue loss to the state. For every connection the entertainment department charges Rs. 6. Officially there are about 82,000 cable connections in Vadodara, a number which many believe is significantly lower than the actual number. The administration suspects that this number may be as high as 280,000.

Talwarkars In Baroda: The well known Talwarkars have now set up a fitness centre at Akota in Baroda, their 22nd in India. The formal inauguration is due on October 15. Membership costs Rs. 500 per month and offers special packages like weight loss, weight gain, body shaping and sculpting, besides facilities like sophisticated exercycles, step climbers, rowing machines and electronic treadmills. Five male trainers and three female trainers and dieticians, physiotherapists and doctors will assist in the personalised exercise programmes of members.

08-10-02

Navratri Starts Quietly: Decibel restrictions, security restrictions, revised timings and apprehension all round contributed to a quieter start to Navratri on 7th October. In any case, Barodian enthusiasm cannot be dampened so easily, and it is to be hoped that people will quickly learn to make the best of the revised schedules and restrictions.

Vipassana Courses: Vipassana Samiti has organised a 10-day Vipassana residential course from November 6. The samiti has also organised a three-hour course on November 6 for those who have already done the course. A one-day anapana course for children in the age group of 10 to 16 will also be organised on November 17. More information can be had from Manhar Shah on +91-265-434630.

07-10-02

Landmark Award In Sursagar Case: The Gujarat State Consumer Commission in Vadodara has awarded compensation of over Rs. 4 million in a landmark judgement. On August 11, 1993, 22 persons drowned in the Sursagar Lake when a boat carrying 38 people capsized. When the three parties involved (the Vadodara Municipal Corporation, the Ripple Aqua Sports Ltd. which was hired by the corporation for the boating activity and the Oriental Insurance Company which had insured Ripple for Rs. 2 million), did not bear the compensation, the relatives of 17 victims approached Jagrut Nagrik, a consumer protection organisation in Vadodara. According to the ruling given on 1st October, the compensation has to be paid along with interest of 10 per cent from the date of the tragedy. The total amount thus comes to over Rs. 9.4 million.

Jainism Course: MS University’s Jain Academy will start a three-month certificate course in Jainology from December 2002. The academy will begin with a batch of 60 students. The Shree Kalidas Sakarchand Doshi Trust and the Jain Academy Education Research Centre have provided a grant of Rs. 1.1 million to start the course. Dr. L.M. Joshi of MSU’s Department of Sanskrit, Pali and Prakrit has been appointed the main co-ordinator of the programme. Similar centres also exist in Mumbai University, Montsford University in UK, Saurashtra University and North Gujarat University.

Major Garba Venues:

05-10-02

State Will Abide By Supreme Court Judgement: The Gujarat Government on 4th October filed an affidavit in the Gujarat High Court stating that it will follow the rules regarding noise pollution and will also abide by the Indian Supreme Court judgement on noise pollution. This means that loudspeakers and public address systems will have to be shut off after 10.00 p.m., whether it is for Navratri or for any other public festival of any religion. Under the Supreme Court ruling of August 2000, noise pollution at night through the use of loudspeakers, which affected the rights of children, students and the elderly, was banned even if it was in the name of religion. Following the order, guidelines were formulated that banned the use of loudspeakers between 10.00 p.m. and 6.00 a.m.

Government’s Navratri Directives: The Gujarat government has issued fairly strict guidelines for Navratri garbas in order to take precautions against possible terrorist attacks. Hotels, lodges, dharamshalas and guest houses will have to maintain a complete profile of the guests checking in every day, including a record of the vehicles used by the guests – their registration number, make and colour. Garba organisers will have to make their own security arrangements for the safe conduct of the event, including fire brigade services at the venue and metal detectors to frisk participants. The police have been instructed to constitute ‘reserve and quick response teams’ for sudden attacks. Police chiefs are expected to co-ordinate with hospitals in their areas to provide emergency services. The police heads must ensure that all the pre-conditions are adhered to before permission is granted to club and large garba organisers.

Some guidelines for garba organisers:

• Doorframe metal detectors and hand-held metal detectors at entry points.
• Private security to screen people, including women security personnel to frisk women visitors.
• Parking area in open space slightly away from the garba venue.
• Parking area to be manned by private security guards.
• Keep a record of the persons to whom garba passes have been issued.
• Do not allow bags or other such articles inside the garba venue.
• Keep only known people as maintenance and technical staff and issue identity cards to them.
• Have security at the main electricity installation at the venue.

Fine Arts Garba Cancelled: Unable to comply with a variety of regulations dictated by the increased security consciousness in the state, the MS University Fine Arts Faculty has cancelled its garba this year.

01-10-02

High-Security Navratri: Navratri is almost around the corner but some garba organisers, troupes and participating people are quite apprehensive about security. Not all of the usual garba venues will be operational this year. Some of the major venues that may not hold the programme at all are Prakashnagar in Karelibaug, Adinath Society on VIP Road, Mahakali Garba near the airport, Suryanagar on Waghodia Road and Amarnathpuram at Lalbaug. The Baroda police establishment has asked the state government for five companies of the State Reserve Police (SRP), which is in addition to the CRPF, RAF, SRP and Home Guard forces already in the city. All major garba grounds may have armed policemen on guard and closed-circuit television monitoring to keep track of those entering the grounds.