31-03-03

Exhibition of Kurtis: Diva Creations will present an exhibition at Trisha Gallery of ethnic and fusion wear in cottons with a minimalistic look for the summer. The exhibition will have a large range of short tops and kurtis in crushed cottons, south-cottons and gamthi prints with embellishments to suit the hot weather. Also featured will be trendy western T-Shirts, casuals and party tops and handcrafted designer bags. 2nd and 3rd April. Venue: Trisha Art Gallery, Behind Snappy, Jetalpur Road. Diva Creations is a Pune based clothing line started by Darshana Shah.

29-03-03

New Mumbai-Vadodara Flight: Indian Airlines will start a daily flight between Vadodara and Mumbai from 30th March. Operated by Airbus A320 aircraft, the flight will have business class and economy class. There will be convenient same-day connections to Bangalore, Chennai, Nagpur and New Delhi. Flight No. IC 689 will depart from Mumbai at 4.10 p.m. and will arrive at Vadodara at 5.05 p.m. The return flight No. IC 690 will depart from Vadodara at 5.45 p.m. and will arrive at Mumbai at 6.40 p.m. The executive class fare to Mumbai is Rs. 4,705, while the economy class fare is Rs. 3,225.

28-03-03

Advertising Club Elections: Nayan Parikh of Focus Publicity has been elected as the president of the Advertising Club of Baroda for 2003-04. Other posts: Laxmikant Bhatt of Lucky Group (vice-president); Chirag Shah of Ami Ads (Secretary); Mihir Shah of Admetrix (Joint Secretary); Kiran Shah of Shah Advertising (Treasurer); Arvlind Purohit of Adert, Jigar Shah of J.P. Publicity, Ashit Dalal of Pearl Publicity and Jayendra Pawar of Dhruv Publicity (Executive Members).

Festival Of Classical Music: March 29 and 30. Organised by Gujarat Government and Komal Nishad. At Music College. Open to all.

Trekking Camp: Manali. April 29 to May 10. Organised by WWF. For details contact WWF office at Indumati Mahal, J.N. Marg.

Paratha Festival: Hotel Revival. Till April 6.

26-03-03

Board Exams Begin: The Gujarat SSC and HSC examinations began all over the state on Tuesday, 25th March. While 654,493 students appeared for the SSC exams at 523 centres, 391,182 students took the HSC exams at 258 centres. In Vadodara out of 37,898 students enrolled for the SSC exams, only 510 remained absent. For the HSC exams, 3,466 students appeared in the general stream and 6901 appeared in the science stream.

Stamps Exhibition: Vigyan Parishad (Baroda Chapter) and MS University's Faculty of Science have organised an exhibition of postage stamps of Nobel Prize winners, plants and animals on March 29 and 30 at the Botany Department.

21-03-03

For LIC, Baroda's The Best: According to the Divisional Manager of Life Insurance Corporation of India (LIC), the Vadodara Division ranked first in the country in terms of policy growth – a massive 321 per cent increase over last year. The figures: 103,582 policies with the first premiums amounting to Rs. 315.8 million.

Festival Of Plays: The Gujarat Sangeet Natak Akademi (GSNA), Triveni and the Vadodara Municipal Corporation (VMC) are hosting the finals of a full-length play competition organised by GSNA at the Gandhinagar Gruh from March 23 to 26. On March 27 Triveni will present a new play, 'Tarpan'. Interested persons may contact Prof. Champaklal at MSU's Faculty of Performing Arts or Jawahar Parikh of Triveni at T V Ads for entrance passes.

Digital Illuminations: Art Underground, the city-based Digital Gallery and Workshop, has organised Digital llluminations, an Art Mart, at the Citibank premises, Race Course, from March 23 to 30.

19-03-03

Standard Chartered Opens Branch: Standard Chartered Bank opened its second Gujarat branch at Vadodara on 17th March. The bank will remain open 365 days a year.

Bio-Diesel Plant At Vadodara: Automobile maker Mahindra & Mahindra Ltd. has set up a 300 tonnes-per-annum bio-diesel manufacturing plant at Vadodara on a pilot basis. The company expects the project to be commercially viable within two years. Research indicates that blending bio-diesel with regular diesel reduces the emission of particulate matter and harmful gases like carbon dioxide, nitrogen dioxide and sulphur dioxide. It is mandatory for vehicle owners to blend bio-diesel with diesel in western countries, but not yet so in India. The company makes bio-diesel by using oil from the seeds of the Jatropha plant (commonly known as Rattan Jyot and scientifically called Jatropha Carcus). The company plans to acquire 750 hectares of wasteland in Gujarat to grow Jatropha.

14-03-03

Sayajirao Airport: The Harni airport in Vadodara may soon be re-named 'Shrimant Sir Sayajirao Gaekwad Airport'. The fact that this is one re-naming exercise that seems to have the approval of all Barodians is in itself a massive tribute to Sayajirao.

Media Laboratory: The Home Science Faculty of MS University has acquired equipment to start a media laboratory at the Department of Extension & Communication. The laboratory, which will be inaugurated on March 18, has been set up with help from its alumni association.

13-03-03

New Property Tax System From April: The Gujarat government has finally given its formal approval to the new property tax scheme based on carpet area. From April 2003 property tax will be calculated on the basis of carpet area, location, age, type of building, type of use and its user. Buildings will be classified into flats, bungalows, tenements, row houses, duplexes, etc. With this new system the Vadodara Municipal Corporation (VMC) is likely to generate revenue of Rs. 540 million from residential and commercial complexes.

Power Thefts In Gujarat: The transmission and distribution (T&D) losses, chiefly due to power theft, of Gujarat Electricity Board (GEB) have reached 28.8 % per month! Power theft and other factors such as malfunctioning equipment cost GEB Rs. 18,340 million in 2001-02 and Rs. 19,810 million in 2002-03. The most cases of power theft came to light in Surat. GEB proposes to save at least Rs. 800 million per month through a concerted crackdown on power thefts across the state. Incidentally, Gujarat ranks second in India in per capita power consumption.

12-03-03

Men Pass The Buck: The findings of a study conducted by Dr. Ashish Shah, consultant obstetrician and gynaecologist at the Jamnabai Hospital reveals not very surprisingly that it is women who take on the onus of family planning: there are 239 tubectomies for every vasectomy. The ratio between vasectomies and tubectomies jumped from mere 1:8.5 in 1981 to 1:239 in 2000. For the 20-year period of the study more than 50,000 cases from the hospital were statistically analysed regarding contraception methods like male barriers (condoms), oral contraceptive pills, intra-uterine devices, vasectomy and female sterilisation. The permanent methods of contraception are thrust on the women, while the men escape the scalpel for one reason or another.

School Wins Prize For Traffic Island: 'Ambe Circle', the traffic island developed by Ambe Vidyalaya at Amit Nagar in Karelibaug, was recently adjudged the best traffic Island in the city and awarded a rolling trophy. Among the participants in the competition were Alembic, Sarabhai, L&T and IPCL. The competition was organised by the Vadodara Agri-Horticulture Committee during its 32nd Fruits, Flowers and Vegetables Exhibition, in which private gardens, farmhouses and traffic islands were evaluated under different categories by experts.

Adnan Sami At Akota: Live programme on 17th March, 8 p.m. onwards at Akota Stadium. Tickets priced at Rs. 200 and Rs. 400.

11-03-03

Sayajirao Was Far Ahead Of His Time: As a tribute to Maharaja Sayajirao's substantial contribution towards the role of women in society, MS University's Department of Museology and the Maharaja Sayajirao Gaekwad Smarak Trust have pooled their considerable resources to put together a photo exhibition on women emancipation on the occasion of his 140th birth anniversary. The exhibition (March 11-19) is at the Exhibition Hall of the Faculty of Fine Arts. The exhibition showcases how education programmes for women were assiduously promoted under Gaekwad rule and how women were encouraged in sports. Sayajirao had set up a Ladies Training College in 1882 to train lady teachers. He also established the Maharani Chimanabai Women's School in 1923 and the Chimanabai Stree Uduyogalaya in 1914. Study rooms were specially provided to ladies in the Central Library. Interestingly, no 'parda-pratha' was observed in the courts of Maharaja Sayajirao or his predecessor Maharaja Pratapsinh.

Sayajirao Gaekwad's Birth Anniversary: Vadodara celebrates Maharaja Sayajirao Gaekwad's 140th birth anniversary on March 11, 2003 with a variety of programmes organised by the Maharaja Sayajirao Gaekwad Smarak Trust: a talk at 6. 30 p.m. on 'Good Governance' at Kirti Mandir; an exhibition on the life and times of the king at the MS University Arts Faculty Hall; a book fair at the Mandvi Library; a musical programme at Kirti Mandir on 12th March.

Railway Terminal At Bajwa: The railways are thinking along the lines of setting up a new terminus at Bajwa to take some load off the main Vadodara railway station. If approved by headquarters in Mumbai trains from the Ahmedabad area bound north or east via Godhra may halt at Bajwa and bypass the Vadodara station. Such trains (Sabarmati Express, Jammu-Tawi, Rajkot-Bhopal Express, Shanti Express, Okha-Gorakhpur Express, etc.) will then leave Bajwa and reach Godhra via Pillol and Samalaya. Some Memu trains can also be terminated at Bajwa. The Vadodara station handles 109 trains and roughly 30,000 people daily. Almost 4,000 platform tickets are sold everyday and the peak hours see crowds of 12,000 at the station and its four platforms. Bajwa already has three platforms and additional passenger amenities may call for an investment of Rs. 30 million. It is 11 km from the Vadodara station, 13 km from Mandvi and 8 km from Alkapuri. Interconnecting trains, buses and autorickshaws between Vadodara and Bajwa may be introduced.

Band Again At Bandstand: The Vadodara Municipal Corporation (VMC) proposes to reintroduce the playing by bands at the bandstand of the Sayajibaug – for some it is more popular as Kamatibaug. The practice had been discontinued 16 years ago.

Shefali Chauhan Exhibits In UK

Dear Baroda-Online,

I am presently in UK for a brief visit, and exhibiting my recent paintings at Haworth, West Yorkshire, UK. The exhibition started from 3rd March and will be on till 16th March (Haworth Fair Trade Fortnight). The paintings exhibited are my recent works on nature, the media used being waterproof ink on paper. I will also be giving demonstrations of various Indian art works. I have had a very good response till now. Please visit our site <www.ShefjanDesigns.com>

Shefali Janak Chauhan <shefjan@hotmail.com>

08-03-03

Sludge Hygenisation At Gajrawadi Plant: Most Barodians must be aware that the city's domestic sewage makes its way to the Gajrawadi sewage treatment plant. But did you know about the Bhabha Atomic Research Centre (BARC)'s Sludge Hygenisation Research Irradiator (SHRI) Project in the vicinity of the plant? In this project, a first for India, sewage is treated with gamma radiation to make it pathogen-free for use as eco-friendly organic manure. The project, a joint venture of the Gujarat Government, Vadodara Municipal Corporation and BARC, is the biggest one operational worldwide. The manufacture of irradiated sludge has begun and tests are currently being made on wheat crops in Machipura village in Sankheda taluka. Unlike chemical fertilisers, irradiated sludge does not reduce soil fertility and the quantity required is minimal. The Gajrawadi plant handles 22 million litres of sewage daily.

MSU Develops Natural Black Dye: An ongoing project at the Textile Chemistry Department of MS University's Faculty of Technology may make it possible to obtain natural eco-friendly black dye. The department has used several bio-products such as banyan, neem, tulsi, turmeric, babool, pipal, garmala and mahudo to make natural dyes of various colours and shades. Tests have shown that these natural dyes can be used in mills. Besides being eco-friendly, natural dyes do not harm the skin. Until recently, black was the only colour that could not be extracted using natural inputs. Black is one of the most popular colours in the fashion world and in great demand in international markets. The highest demand for black comes from the Middle East.

Paintings By Bhupen Khakhar: Exhibition at Sarjan Art Gallery, Vishwas Colony. Bhupen Khakhar displays his most recent watercolours painted recently at Sri Lanka. March 9 to 29. 12 noon to 8 p.m.

03-03-03

Hansa Mehta Library May Be Upgraded: The Hansa Mehta Library of MS University wants to convert its existing collection to machine-readable format and achieve ISO standards for library functions, services and operations. The library caters to a wide range of readers from undergraduates to research scholars and postgraduate teachers. It also has some rare volumes, including collections from the 19th century Baroda State records. The cost of the project is likely to be Rs. 20 million.

Awareness Exhibition: 'Nonsense – The Sense Within', a social awareness exhibition, is on till 5th March at MSU's Faculty of Fine Arts, daily 10 a.m. to 8 p.m. The exhibition features the project work of the faculty's third-year students.

Exhibition Of Paintings: By Rohit Zaveri. March 6 - 8, 11 a.m. to 7.30 p.m. at Exhibition Hall, Faculty of Fine Arts, MSU. Surat based Rohit (54) studied painting in the 1970s at MSU.

01-03-03

Shoes Barred In Exam Halls: In order to prevent foul play during the forthcoming Gujarat school board examinations, the Vadodara district collector has ordered school authorities to deal firmly with students or parents who break the rules. Among the stringent measures is a notification to 10th and 12th students asking them not to wear shoes and socks while appearing for the examinations, so as to prevent them from hiding copying material in their footwear. They may wear slippers instead. There are 174 centres for standard 10 and 74 for standard 12.

Baroda Gets DD Metro: Doordarshan Metro channel is available to Barodians from 1st March. Doordarshan Baroda will telecast the metro channel from 6.30 pm to midnight daily. The channel will be transmitted on channel 28 UHF band, and it can be received by using a dipole antenna. The range of the channel is within a 25-km radius of the TV Centre at Narmada Bhavan.

Award For Barun Chowdhury: Barun Chowdhury is this year's recipient of the Commonwealth Arts and Crafts Award. Sponsored by the Commonwealth Foundation, London, this award is for artists below 35, and allows them to travel to, work in and exhibit in the United Kingdom in 2003. Barun studied Painting from Calcutta University and came to Vadodara to do his post-graduation in Graphics at MS University's Faculty of Fine Arts. He has now settled in Vadodara and teaches art at Tejas Vidyalaya.

Exhibition Of Metal Sculptures: By Girish Bhatt, 2nd to 7th March 2003, 12 noon to 8 p.m., Sarjan Art Gallery, Hobby Centre, Alkapuri. Girish Bhatt, 72, did his diploma and post diploma in Sculpture in the 1950s from MS University's Faculty of Fine Arts. He retired as a Reader in the Sculpture Department in 1991.

28-02-03

Digital Images By Preyas Mehta: An exhibition of digital images titled 'Emerging Layers' by Preyas Mehta has been organised at Abhivyakti Sanskruti Sthal, Kedareshwar Mandir, Near Kirti Mandir. March 3 to 9, 10 a.m. to 8 p.m.

27-02-03

Section 144 Imposed: The Vadodara police commissioner has issued a notification imposing Section 144 of the CrPC banning assembly of four or more persons in the commissionerate area from the midnight of February 27 to March 13.

26-02-03

Grapes Grown Successfully In Vadodara: Madhubhai Patel, a farmer at Ranoli near Baroda, has successfully cultivated grapes and won a prize at the recent exhibition organised by Baroda Agri-Horticulture Committee. He is the first farmer in Vadodara district to successfully cultivate the fruit, normally a traditional activity of Maharashtra's Nasik-Pune belt. Grape cultivation requires a substantial initial investment of about Rs. 50,000 and a farmer can get a subsidy of Rs. 24,200 per hectare for the first crop. Grapes can be sold at Rs. 20 a Kg. Gujarat government's Horticultural Department is now collaborating with experts from Gujarat Agricultural University to provide the necessary technical expertise.

Alliance Francaise's Classes: Alliance Francaise will start French classes in Baroda from 3rd March. This is the third centre of Alliance Francaise in Gujarat. Besides language skills, the centre will also promote cultural activities.

24-02-03

Film On Transition From Home To Pre-School: The Early Childhood Development & Learning Resource Centre (ECD-LCR) of MS University's Department of Human Development & Family Studies will release a CD featuring a 15-minute film titled 'From Home to Pre-school'. The film was part of Sucheta Jasrai's PhD thesis on an educational programme for tackling the transition from home to pre-school and identifying the problems faced by parents, teachers and toddlers. The film recently received a national award at a national video film competition organized by the Consortium for Education & Communication (CEC) of the University Grants Commission.

21-02-03

City Firm Gets BARC License: India's Bhabha Atomic Research Centre (BARC) under the Board of Radiation and Isotope technology has given a license to Baroda based ABS Medicare Pvt. Ltd. to manufacture a product invented by two of its scientists working in BARC. The product is a sterile hydrogel surgical dressing invented at BARC, and it will therefore receive royalty for the transfer of technology. The hydrogel is used widely abroad as a dressing for burns, surgical wounds, bedsores and lacerations of the skin. The product is developed by cross linking hydrophilic polymers like polyvinyl alcohol (PVA) and sterilisation through gamma radiation.

Aquatic Exhibition: An aquatic exhibition has been organised at the Sayajibaug by the Gujarat Fisheries Department and the Aquarium Association from 20th to 28th February. Sayajibaug did indeed have an aquarium of its own, built by the Sayajirao Gaekwad, but it was closed down in 1962 due to the lack of technical staff and it has since then been used as a shelter for snakes. Depending on the public response to this exhibition the Vadodara Municipal Corporation (VMC) may decide on setting up a permanent aquarium.

'Reflections' At Sarjan: Sarjan Art Gallery has organised a major group show from February 21 to February 28 featuring some of India's eminent contemporary artists: Tota Vaikuntham, Suhas Roy, Shyamal Dutta Ray, Shanti Dave, F.N. Souza, Jeram Patel, Jyoti Bhatt, K.G. Subramanyan, Manu and Madhvi Parikh, Bhupen Khakhar, Jayshree Chakravarty, Jatin Das, Aparna Caur, Aelay Laxman, Rekha Rodwittiya, Suresh Jayaram and Shibu Natesan.

Hemendra Bhatt At Akruti: Art therapist and artist Hemendra Bhatt will exhibit his recent paintings – pencil crayons on paper and oils on canvas – at Akruti from February 22 to March 1. Hemendra Bhatt studied painting at MSU's Faculty of Fine Arts in 1974 and took up art therapy as a vocation.

Shrishti Exhibition: A five-day exhibition of landscapes and paintings by Pankaj Vekariya and Falguni Vekariya will be on at Shrishti Gallery, WelcomHotel, from 22nd to 26th February (10 a.m. to 9.00 p.m.).

19-02-03

Taj Acquires Tropicana In Vadodara: It seems that the Taj Group (Tata's Indian Hotels Company Ltd.) has finally acquired the Vadodara based Tropicana Hotel & Convention Centre. The property may be branded as a Taj Residency property and run by the Taj Group on a management franchise basis. Besides the 86-room Tropicana, the Taj has two other properties in Gujarat: the 91-room Taj Residency Ummed at Ahmedabad and the 29-room Gir Lodge at Sasan Gir in Junagadh. Established in 1903, the Taj Group has 50 hotels in 34 locations in India and 11 international properties in the Maldives, UK, Nepal, Sri Lanka, Africa and West Asia.

MSU 'Dresses Up' For UGC Grants: The MS University campus was generally taken to the cleaners in preparation for the inspection, from 19th to 21st February, by a team from India's University Grants Commission (UGC). The visiting team will assess the utilisation of funds granted to MSU in the last Five Year Plan (FYP) and also prepare a report to decide the amount to granted in this FYP. Planning ambitiously to overhaul its infrastructure and go in for increased computerisation, MSU has proposed a budget of around Rs. 500 million for this FYP. Only if wishes were horses!

Last Show Of 'Pappa Jane To': After being staged on and off for 40 years, the play 'Pappa Jane To' had its last show on 16th February at Gandhi Nagargruh, Baroda. It was first staged in 1964 and had a total run of 168 shows in the city. Only six of the original nine actors still survive – Suman Shah (75), Natu Patel (68), Mahesh Parikh (61), Nayan Modi (65), Vrunda Trivedi (65) and Chetna Trivedi (48). Certificates were given on the 16th to all the 120 actors and actresses who have acted in this play from time to time.

Course In Jain Studies At MSU: MS University has started a Jain Academy Education & Research Centre to teach courses in Jainism as well as undertake research in ancient literature. The Shree Kalidas Sakarchand Doshi Trust and the Jain Academy Education Research Centre have provided MSU with a grant of Rs. 1.1 million to start the course. Dr. L.M. Joshi, from MSU's department of Sanskrit. Pali and Prakrit, has been appointed co-ordinator of the programme. The first certificate course began on 11th February with over 25 students. The course fee is Rs. 330 and those who have passed HSC are eligible for admission. The medium of instruction is English, but a student may choose any language for examination purposes.

Satellite Imagery For City Planning: The Vadodara Municipal Corporation (VMC) will use satellite imagery and a powerful cartographic software called 'ArcFM' to study physical features and correspondingly create a 3-dimentional image of various grids and networks within the city. The pilot project will cover Ward 6 – roughly 20 Sq Km of the Sayajigunj and Akota areas. The project will utilise the services of the NRSA (National Remote Sensing Agency). A consultancy agency is helping to digitise VMC's vast service database and put it into a software called GIS (Geographic Information System).

Yoga & Naturopathy Workshop: Ambalal Sarabhai Foundation will organise a two-day workshop on Yoga and Naturopathy on February 22 and 23. It will be conducted by Dr. Srinivas Solapurkar. The programme will be conducted every Saturday and Sunday. For details please contact the foundation office (1st Floor, Bombay Shopping Centre, Race Course) between 9.00 a.m. and 5.00 p.m.

Diploma Course For Teachers: The Medical Care Centre Trust will conduct a one-year diploma course from June 2003 for training teachers for mentally challenged children at K.G. Patel Children Hospital. The diploma is recognised by the Government of India. The qualification needed is HSC or above. Interested persons may apply before April 30. For further information, please contact the co-ordinator, Medical Care Centre Trust, K.G. Patel Children Hospital, Jalaram Marg, Karelibaug, Baroda 390 018.

New Museum Director: The General Administration Department of the Gujarat government has appointed K. Soman as the Director of the Museum & Picture Gallery, Vadodara.

17-02-03

Memorabilia For Gaekwad Fete: An exhibition of rare photographs and other memorabilia depicting the emancipation of women in the old Baroda State has been planned by MS University's Department of Museology at the Faculty of Fine Arts from March 11 to commemorate the 140th birth anniversary of Maharaja Sayajirao Gaekwad. The Sayajirao Gaekwad Smarak Trust has appealed to the people of Vadodara to participate actively in the exhibition by lending any memorabilia that their ancestors may have passed on to them. Please contact Bansidhar Sharma, C-90 Sukrutinagar, Diwalipura, Old Padra Road, Baroda (phone: +91-265-2334630), or M. Gandhi, 9 Sargam Apartment, Piramitar Road, Dandia Bazaar (phone: +91-265-2427977).

Computerised Mapping Of Pipelines: Vadodara Municipal Corporation (VMC) has decided to carry out computerised mapping of underground lines in all the 26 municipal wards. The computerised mapping will cover all the details of underground pipeline networks and help the corporation identify leakage points quickly and precisely. The project cost will be Rs. 8 million.

03-02-03

Buddha Statue At EME Mandir: A statue of Lord Buddha will soon be installed at the EME Temple complex which houses the famous Dakshina Moorthy Temple. The statue has been sculpted by Devdatta M. Haldankar of Baroda Museum. The EME Temple, constructed in 1965 under the patronage of the founder Commandant of EME School A.F. Eugene, is the only one of its kind in India as it is made of aluminium and has symbols of five religions. The four entrance doors, made in semi-elliptical shape, represent Jain architecture. The prayer hall is dome-shaped and depicts Islam. The top of the dome represents Buddhism, a 70-foot tower depicts Christianity and the Kailash on top symbolises Hinduism. The temple complex houses about 106 sculptures, some dating back to the 7th century.

Theatre Personality Passes Away: The passing away of renowned theatre personality Yashwant Kelkar on January 11 was not extensively covered. He was the first National School of Drama student from Gujarat. Besides teaching drama at MS University's Faculty of Performing Arts, he was also a meticulous theatre technician. He had acted in over 125 plays and had directed 75 plays in Gujarati, Marathi and Hindi. He won the Gaurav Puraskar for his work in Gujarati theatre, the Gujarat Sangeet Natak Akademi award, and the Maharashtra State Literary Award for his Marathi book 'Natya Nirmiti'.

Lawyers' Study Circle: Baroda has its own lawyers' group; it's called the Lawyer's Saturday Club and has about 70 members. It began as a study circle of close friends in 1997 and blossomed into a 'club' in December 1998. Former Chief Justice of India M.N. Venkatachalliah was present at the first anniversary of the club. A typical club 'session' has some expert delivering a paper on a specific topic, followed by a lively discussion. Its website <www.lawyerssaturdayclub.com> is being inaugurated by former Supreme Court judge Justice G.T. Nanavati.

01-02-03

VCCI 2003 Expo: About 500 small and medium scale manufacturers from all over India will display their products at the VCCI 2003 Exhibition from February 6 to 10. The event has been organised by Vadodara Chamber of Commerce & Industry (VCCI). Separate visiting hours have been allotted for business visitors (10 a.m. to 3 p.m.) and the general public (3 p.m. to 8 p.m.).

31-01-03

Railway Exhibition: A train designed to depict 150 years of Indian Railways will halt at Vadodara on February 3 and 4. This 'Exhibition on Wheels' has 12 display coaches showcasing the history of railways in India, rail engines, rail coaches, passenger amenities, safety measures, freight services, railway electrification, signaling and telecommunications, rail tourism and suburban rail services. The train will parked be at the Goods Shed (which is near the parcel department). No entry fee will be charged from visitors.

Music Festival At MSU: MS University's Faculty of Performing Arts has organised a two-day music festival on 1st and 2nd February in the memory of Ustad Mawla Bakhsh, its founder principal, and Sufi Hazrat Inayat Khan, his grandson. Eminent musicians and academicians will present their compositions and lectures on the Sufi tradition in Gujarat.

Sports Tournaments: The All Baroda Carrom Tournament will be held at Sardar Vinay Mandir, Karelibaug, from February 7 to 10. The Open Baroda Badminton Tournament will be held at Bal Bhavan Society from February 6 to 9.

30-01-03

Major Fire At Kothi Building: A substantial portion of the 123-year-old District Collectorate Building, built by Maharaja Sayajirao Gaekwad and more popularly known as the Kothi Building, caught fire late on the night of January 28. As the structure is mostly wooden the fire spread rapidly, and it took 20 fire engines and 70 firemen six hours to control it. Severely damaged or destroyed were sensitive documents and archival records of the local crime branch, local intelligence branch, gram rakshak department, weights and measures section and the geology and mining department. Initial reports suggest that the fire may have been caused by an electrical short-circuit. There were no injuries, and the initial estimate of the damage is Rs. 1.3 million.

29-01-03

Sagar Film Academy 'Produces' First Batch: Sagar Film & TV Academy, Baroda, had started a three-month course in acting last year. Thirty-six students of the academy's first batch were awarded their diplomas on 27th January by Gujarat Governor Sundar Singh Bhandari. The course covered Stanislavski's theory of method acting, Brecht's theory of alienation and Bharat Muni's 5000-years-old natyashastra. Students were also taught voice culture, diction and speech, Hindi, dialogue delivery, yoga, dancing, stunts and horse riding. The institute is likely to start courses in direction, television production, photography, editing and computer graphics.

28-01-03

Express Highway Inaugurated: The first phase – covering the 43.4 km stretch between Ahmedabad and Nadiad – of the Ahmedabad-Vadodara Expressway was inaugurated by Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee on 28th January. The 49.9 km Nadiad-Vadodara section is included in the second phase and will be completed by December 2003. The first phase cost is Rs. 1,800 million, while the second phase is expected to cost Rs. 2,950 million.

27-01-03

Gujarat – The Most Connected State: Over 1500 towers, an 8,000-km optic fibre network and 3.5 million subscribers – all of this makes Gujarat today the most connected state in India. With the country's highest teledensity (5.75), the state may already have achieved the national teledensity target of 7; the country as a whole may do so by 2005. Unlike other states, where customers are concentrated in the metros and urban centers, Gujarat has a customer base spread across the length and breadth of the state. By November 2002 the state had over 750,000 cellular subscribers (there were only 400,000 subscribers till December 2001. While Bharat Sanchar Nigam Ltd. dominates the landscape of basic telephony with about 2.85 million connections, the cellular market is dominated by Hutch. Reliance Industries Ltd. is yet to begin its commercial operations.

25-01-03

Suburbs To Be Integrated Into City: The Vadodara Municipal Corporation (VMC) is considering major plans to integrate the city's suburbs by providing infrastructure and carrying out beautification drives. The corporation has drawn up Town Planning (TP) schemes for major suburban areas around Vadodara such as Atladra, Gotri, Gorwa, Harni, Sama, Sayajipura, Jambua, Kapurai, Kalali and Tarsali, areas that have been identified for their potential areas for urbanisation. The rate of growth of the city is 23 per cent each year, against the national Indian average of 24 per cent. Each TP scheme is being structured to accommodate a population of 30,000, on a basis of 220 persons per hectare. The selected areas will be provided with a sports complex within a five-km radius, a swimming pool within a three-km radius, and schools, leisure gardens, town centers, police stations, post offices, bus stops and shopping centers within a one-km radius. VMC has already developed five TP schemes for Atladra and two each for Gotri, Harni, Sama and Sayajipura.

Shortage Of Teachers At MSU Techo: About one-third of the teaching posts in the Faculty of Technology & Engineering at the MS University of Baroda are lying vacant. The faculty has 322 teaching posts, but its current strength is only 212 teachers. Of the 74 sanctioned posts of professors, 16 are vacant and 12 professors are expected to retire shortly. The present rules insist on a PhD for a professor's post, and it is difficult to get people who are doing research in technology or engineering. Besides, non-teaching jobs are more lucrative in engineering and engineers prefer not to opt for teaching as a vocation.

Census Of Migratory Birds: The Gujarat Forest Department will conduct for the first time a comprehensive census of migratory birds in the state. The enumeration will be done at 15 wetland locations in and around Vadodara and will be completed by February 2, World Wetlands Day. Non-Governmental agencies like the WWF and Animal Welfare Board will join hands with the Forest Department in this exercise.

Photo Show On Cultural Heritage: Archaeological Survey of India, Vadodara Circle, in collaboration with the Department Of Museology, MS University, will organise a photo exhibition titled 'Cultural Heritage – Significance & Our Responsibility' from 26th to 31st January at the Faculty of Fine Arts. The exhibition will highlight the monumental heritage of Gujarat and Daman & Diu and the major conservation works carried out at centrally protected monuments in the state, especially the monuments affected in the 2001 earthquake.

2-01-03

NRI Parents Association Meeting: According to Mr. Madhusudan B. Mehta (president of NRI Parents Association) the next meeting of the association will be on 25th January at 4.30 p.m. at Rangoli Restaurant, Fatehgunj, Vadodara. All members and those parents whose children are abroad are requested to attend the meeting. The two-hour meeting will be followed by tea and snacks (at Rs. 50 per person). For more information please contact vice president N.G. Jambhekar (+91-265-2391562).

Encyclopedia On Baroda Jail: P.A. Gohil, the deputy jailer of the Baroda Central Jail, has compiled an encyclopedia (published by the jail printing press) covering the big and small details about the jail. Among the facts:
It is the first central jail in Gujarat
It was set around 1881 by the British
The estimated the cost of the 60 acres of land occupied by the jail is Rs. 2,490 million
It now has 1,567 prisoners and 29 television sets
One 26-year-old inmate graduated in Sociology while serving a life term.

Indian Food Festival: Till February 2, at Terra Firma, Hotel Tropicana, 7.30 p.m. to 11.30 p.m.

Paintings On Glass: Sarjan Art Gallery will exhibit the works of Suraj Gohel, a talented artist who paints on glass. January 27 to February 1. The theme for his show is 'Flowers'.

Sandhya Khode At Shrishti: Sandhya Arvind Khode is showing her paintings in the Warli and Madhubani styles at the Shrishti Gallery. January 21 to 30.

23-01-03

Toy Train's Engine Returns To Palace: Ranjitsinh Gaekwad received a priceless gift on his fifth birthday some 60 years ago from his father Pratapsinh Gaekwad. The gift was a fully functional toy train, complete with a steam engine and three coaches. The young prince and his siblings used the train to travel from Laxmi Vilas Palace to the palace school, which incidentally is now the Fatehsinh Museum. Pratapsinh Gaekwad had the train specially made by a London based company, Royal Locomotives. The royal family gifted the entire train in 1958 to the Vadodara Municipal Corporation so that all the city's children could enjoy rides on it at Sayaji Garden. Bollywood history buffs may remember that it was on this train that Shammi Kapoor sang the memorable song 'chakke pe chakka, chakke pe gadi' in the film 'Brahmachari'. In 1993 the train's engine was declared unfit for further use and mothballed in a shed at the Sayaji Garden; the train still continues to run, but it is hauled now by a diesel engine. Ranjitsinh Gaekwad therefore wants his engine back so that he can spruce it up and display it at the Maharaja Fatehsinhrao Museum. Graciously, a grateful city has agreed to return the gift to its original recipient.

AIR Vadodara Preserves City's Musical Legacy: All-India Radio Vadodara has begun the task of preserving Baroda's musical legacy by converting the rare records in its archives into CDs. About 100 rare records have already been converted into CDs and others are being digitised. AIR has several records of classical music masters like Ustad Faiyaz Khan, Shiv Kumar Shukla, Anwar Hussain, Vilayat Hussain Khan and others who have performed in the city. It also has a collection of some rare stage plays by renowned theatre artists like C.C. Mehta, Markand Bhatt and Yashwant Kelkar, besides records of instrumental artists like Dharmiklal Pandya (Manbhatt) and Dawood Khan (Sarangi).

New Netaji Statue: When the Baroda mayor garlands a new statue of Netaji Subhash Chandra Bose at Wadi Wadi on his birth anniversary on 23rd January, art enthusiasts will be happy that the older statue, which was generally considered to be aesthetically unpleasant, will finally be replaced. The new statue has been sculpted in bronze by Ahmedabad based sculptor Jasuben Shilpi. Now several city artists and organisations are suggesting that two more statutes – that of Rana Pratap at Fatehgunj and of B.R. Ambedkar near the Gujarat Electricity Board office at Alkapuri – be replaced too.

2-01-03

Pavagadh Ropeway Accident: There was a major accident on Sunday, 19th January, which was caused by a snag in the ropeway that carries pilgrims and tourists to the top of the Pavagadh hills near Baroda. Seven persons died in the accident and 45 were injured.

The sequence of events:
11.00 a.m.: 56 trolleys of the ropeway were running when the system failed, with two trolleys crashing to the ground and three banging into pillars.
11.15 a.m.: Ropeway staff and locals begin rescue operations.
12.00 Noon: A Gujarat minister reaches the site to oversee rescue operations.
12.30 p.m.: Fire tenders from Baroda reach the site and join the rescue operations.
3.00 p.m.: Army helicopter makes sorties.
4.00 p.m.: Army team arrives from Baroda.
4.30 p.m.: Disaster management team reaches the site from Baroda.
7.15 p.m.: Rescue operations end with all the trapped passengers brought down to safety.

The ropeway, which began operations 14 years ago, runs from Machi in the middle of the hills to the Mahakali temple on the hilltop.

Music As Therapy: Research conducted at Baroda Medical College's departments of Medicine and Psychiatry suggests that music may help to cure some psychosomatic disorders. The research studied the therapeutic effects of specific ragas of Hindustani classical music on specific psychosomatic disorders. The study was conducted, among others, by Dr. Nivedita Mehta, who is a doctor of medicine and a singer with a diploma in classical music from MS University's Faculty of Performing Arts. She presented her research findings at the 55th annual national conference of the Indian Psychiatric Society in Hyderabad. The research dealt with four different ragas: for essential hypertension, Raga Ahir Bhairav played in the early morning; for bronchial asthma, Raga Darbari Kannada played late at night; for insomnia, Raga Puria played late in the evening; for depression, Raga Bhim Palasi played in the afternoon. The basis of the study is the ancient medicine system wherein a disease is linked to the three 'doshas' caused by the imbalance in 'vaat, pith and kapha' (the elements – air, water and fire). An imbalance of these three manifests itself as a disease. The hypothesis being scrutinised was that the playing of certain ragas at specific times sets right the imbalances, as music creates certain rhythms that affect the human mind and can harmonise the imbalances. The research was a controlled study conducted on 80 patients at the OPD level at the SSG Hospital. The patients were tested on the basis of physiological, psychological and clinical parameters before and after the study. The study lasted for 45 days, during which the patients were made to listen to cassettes for 30 minutes everyday.

SSC & HSC Exams: About 654,000 SSC students and 312,000 HSC students (from 6700 secondary schools and 4000 higher secondary schools) will appear for the Gujarat Secondary Education Board examinations which will be conducted from 25th March to 8th April.

Vadodara's Water Woes: Vadodara's population is expected to increase from the current 1.5 million to 3.5 million by 2025, and the demand for water will jump from the present 290 MLD (million litres per day) to about 600 MLD. Vadodara Municipal Corporation (VMC) now draws water from four French wells in Vasad, Poicha, Dodka and Raika, as well as from the Ajwa reservoir, 56 tube wells along Mahisagar and 22 tube wells at various locations within the city. The water infrastructure is designed for a capacity withdrawal of 270 MLD, but with the VMC drawing 290 MLD (about 64.3 million gallons a day) there is a lot of pressure on the existing tube wells and the Ajwa reservoir with the result that the water table is depleting fast at these locations.

MSU's Commerce Faculty May Be Split: New restructuring plans have recently been proposed for MS University of Baroda. If the plans are approved, the Faculty of Commerce, the largest faculty in the university with over 17,000 students, may be split into five mutually competing sections for the sake of administrative convenience.

21-01-03

Top 100 Schools: This year five educational institutions from Gujarat – Manav Kendra Gyan Mandir (Baroda), Bhartiya Vidya Bhavan’ V.M. Public School (Baroda), Rajkumar College (Rajkot), Sainik School (Balachadi) and Vallabh Ashram’s MGM Amin & VN Savani School (Valsad) – have made it to the list of the top 100 Indian residential schools. The list is published in the book ‘Guide To Good Schools of India’, written by Sandeep Dutt. The book was first published in 1999. The book also has an online version and can be accessed at www.goodschoolsofindia.com. The publishers, English Book Depot, are one of India’s leading bookstores. Sandeep Dutt is an alumnus of Doon School. Baroda’s Manav Kendra Gyan Mandir is also featured in the website www.boardingschools.com, a compilation of top residential schools of the world.

New VMC Commissioner: V.C. Patel, an IAS officer of the 1980 batch, is the new Vadodara Municipal Commissioner (VMC). He was earlier the Managing Director of Gujarat State Handloom Development Corporation. Arvind Agrawal, who held the post till now, has been shifted to Gandhinagar as the new Cottage Industries Commissioner.

Flower Arrangement Competition: Baroda Metropolitan Junior Chamber (BMJC) will organise an ‘Open Baroda Fresh Flower Arrangement Competition’ on Republic Day (January 26) at Hotel Express, Alkapuri, from 2 p.m. to 5 p.m. Those who wish to participate may contact Madan Mahida (91-265-2391747) or Sandhya Modi (91-265-2339075).

Exhibition-Cum-Sale: Gujarat State Khadi & Village Industries Board has organised a 10-day exhibition-cum-sale of Khadi and village industries products at the exhibition ground near Kirti Stambh from 21st 30th January.

Baroda Festival: The ‘Baroda Festival’ will be held from February 7 to 9 at M.C. High School, Salatwada. It is organised every year by the Way to Unity Trust, an NGO, to highlight the culture and tradition of the Maharashtrian community in the city.

13-01-03

3 New Flyovers Planned: The Vadodara Municipal Corporation (VMC) wants to build three new flyovers at an estimated cost of Rs. 440 million. VMC's General Board has passed the proposal, the money has been allocated, but clearance is awaited from the railway authorities. The 3 sites are:

• One at the Mumbai broad gauge railway crossing along the Makarpura GIDC Ring Road (25 metres wide, cost Rs. 140 million).
• One to connect Akota and Dandia Bazaar (700 metres long, 18 metres wide, cost Rs. 180 million).
• One to link Nizampura and Navayard D-Cabin area (cost Rs. 120 million).