Closer to Sydney after Spring & Summer

Prayash Biswakarma in Siliguri on Saturday. Picture by Kundan Yolmo RAJEEV RAVIDAS, TT, Kalimpong, Oct. 11: Prayash Biswakarma, a young violinist from the hill town, has won the Siliguri leg of the Global Youth Music competition, an achievement that takes him a step closer to the final meet in Sydney. The 11-year-old was adjudged the winner from among 22 participants from Siliguri, Kalimpong, Darjeeling and Gangtok at the event organised by the Lions International where he played Vivaldi’s Spring and Summer. Being the winner, Prayash will now get an opportunity to participate in the Calcutta leg of the competition. Ankita Saha from Siliguri bagged the second prize while Ankit Rai from Kalimpong secured the third place. “After the programme, one of the judges told me that I have the talent to make it to Sydney. He advised me to work very hard and said he would provide me with new pieces to practice,” said Prayash. The three-member panel of judges included violinist Balam Gurung, musician Anirban Das and singer Debopriyo Chakraborty. Prayash said most of the participants played popular Hindi songs and Indian classical pieces. “I played Vivaldi’s Spring in the first round and his Summer in the second and final round,” said the Class VI student of Dr Graham’s Homes. Prayash’s mentor is his father, Rudra Biswakarma, who teaches violin at Gandhi Ashram. Prayash is a former student of the school. He was offered admission to Dr. Graham’s Homes for his musical talent. Since his first performance at the age of three-and-a-half, Prayash has been playing in different parts of the country. Last year, he practiced with the Calcutta Chamber Orchestra. The winner of the Calcutta leg of the Global Youth Music meet will participate at the national level in Hyderabad. The victor from Hyderabad will compete with musicians from all over the world at the final in Sydney next year. Two Canadian missionaries felicitated TT, Darjeeling, 11 Oct: Father Edgar Peter Burns (in picture) and Father Gerald Van Welleghem, two Canadian missionaries who had left their homes to serve the people of the Darjeeling hills, were felicitated by the North Point College Alumni Association at Hayden Hall in Darjeeling on Sunday. Father Van said it was destiny that had brought him to Darjeeling, a place he calls his home. Father Burns thanked the people for their love and support. Both the missionaries have been serving the hills for over half a century. (Suman Tamang) Uttam Kumar Chhetri awarded by prestigious Bhaghirathi Samman Award. 2009 Snowline News, NewDelhi:(Kamall Pradhan): Bhaghirathi Samman 2009 is being hosted annually to felicitate individuals for their contribution towards education, cultural, social service. The said event has been organized by an esteemed social organization Bhagirathi Samajik Sanskritik Manch (regd). New Delhi. It was held on the premises of LTG Auditorium, New Delhi on 8th October, 2009, The event was attended by hordes of people from all walks of life. Jai Prakash Aggarwal (President of Delhi Pradesh Congress Commitee) embraced the occasion as a chief guest, accompanied by several other dignitaries and bureaucrats. Among them were; Chetan Chauhan - Ex. MP and Ex Cricketer, Haroon Yusuf - Minister of Food and Supplies Delhi, Jai Kishan Sharma - Leader of Opposition, Delhi Assembly, Rakesh Gaur- Director of welfare, Municipal Corporation Delhi, Anita Sharma- Ex President Municipal Corporation of Delhi. Shri. Uttam Kumar Chhetri, aged-52, a veteran social worker based in Delhi has been awarded Bhagirathi Samman 2009 with due recognition for his outstanding service to the society at large. He has immensely contributed towards the social cause of the Gorkhas both in Darjeeling, his native place and Delhi where he and his family make a living against all odds. He has been providing selfless service to the people working as an employee of Indian Red Cross Blood Bank, Delhi which is obvious from the repute he holds. He was born in a middle class family of Mullootar tea estate Darjeeling on 27 July 1957, son of Late. J.B Chhetri and Late Shyam Kumari Chhetri. Interestingly he had the passion and zeal towards Nepali language, literature and culture right from the heydays of his childhood, which had acted as a beacon for his in-depth knowledge regarding the same. His yeoman’s service towards the society at large and Gorkhas in particular is a saga of never ending journey, being a pride possessor - almost 40 years of experience and excellence in voluntary social work in Delhi. He had been also engaged with many Gorkha social organizations. A brief account of his work includes Ex- General secretary of Gorkha Dukkha Niwarak Sammelan (Delhi branch), Ex- Executive member of Maruni Sanskritik Manch Delhi, Ex-Founder President of Tarun Kala Sangam, Ex-Advisor of Bharatiya Gorkhali Ekta Manch, Ex - Central committee member of Akhil Bharatiya Nepali Bhasa Samitee and Bharatiya Nepali Parishad, And Secretary zone for member national council and National executive and Secretary zone for Bharatiya Gorkha Parisangh, Former member of award selection committee- Nepali Parishad Dehradun. He was bestowed with several accolades, to say –felicitated by Sikkim Sahitya Parishad with due recognition as National level language activist (2nd Feb 1993). And the similair recognition was conferred by Akhil Nepali Bhasa Samitee (3rd May 1993.) Also ‘Haamro Shikhar’ – a programme by Nepal 1 television showcasing eminent Nepali speaking personalities featured his work and contribution. . A multifaceted person and a well kwon figure In Delhi also has skills and traits mesmerizing the listeners through his poems. Many Gorkhas opined that selfless service and sincerity always pays but still there are many who have been unsung heroes ,which needs to be brought in to notice and attention to the public at large. CID to probe rhino death SNS, JALPAIGURI, 11 OCT: The principal chief conservator of forest, Mr Atanu Kumar Raha today said that the state forest department would ask CID to initiate a probe into the death of a one-horn rhino which had drowned in Torsha river near Falakata yesterday. A mystery over the death of the animal deepened with the receipt of the post mortem report. Initially it was thought that the animal, shot with tranquilizer, drowned in the river. But the autopsy report said that the animal had sustained bullet injury before being tranquilised. According to the forest officials, the male one-horn rhino strayed into the Chilapata forest from the Jaldapara wild life sanctuary a few days ago and was found roaming about at a village in Falakata. “The forest officials of the Chilapata range tried to drive the animal back into the Jaldapara forest day before yesterday but all our efforts were in vain. As the animal refused to move from its position, we decided to tranquilise it. The animal, which was in a drowsy state, lost its balance and slipped into the Torsha river and drowned there,” Mr Raha said “But the autopsy report confirmed that the animal had sustained bullet injury in the upper portion of its body. It is obvious that the poachers had shot the rhino. The injury mark was at least one week old and it seemed that the animal had somehow survived the bullet injury,” Mr Raha said. Alluding at the involvement of an international gang of poachers, Mr Raha said that a CID investigation might unearth the truth behind the death. “The bullet that had hit the rhino does not match with the bullet used by the forest guards. Those responsible for the incident must be booked,” he said. The state forest minister, Mr Ananta Roy said that his department had already initiated an inquiry to find out whether any forest official had been involved in the matter. “The chief wild life warden, Mr SB Mandal has been entrusted with the responsibility of supervising the post mortem process. We would take actions against those found guilty after we recieve the report,” he added. . According to a senior official, northern circle, Mr Manindra Biswas, the bullet recovered from the rhino's body was sent to the ballistic department in Kolkata. Another rhino carcass ~ that of a female ~ was found deep inside the forest a few hours after the body of the one-horn rhino was found. The post mortem report of the female rhino’s death is still awaited. Poach whiff in rhino death ANIRBAN CHOUDHURY, TT, Alipurduar, Oct. 11: Poachers, suspected to be from Assam, had shot the male rhino that died in Jaldapara yesterday, forest officials said today. A post-mortem has confirmed the presence of a bullet in the animal’s body. Principal chief conservator of forests Atanu Raha said over the phone from Calcutta: “A team of senior forest officials will visit Jaldapara. We will haul up officials if they are found responsible. It seems that a gang of poachers, probably from Assam, is active in the area.” A combing operation will begin tomorrow in Chilapata, Kodalbusti and Jaldapara Wildlife Sanctuary, 45km from here, the forester said. The male rhino had come out of the sanctuary on Thursday and had been roaming in the Chilapata area, 26km from here. Yesterday, it was tranquillised so that its wounds could be treated. But after regaining senses, the rhino fell into the Torsha and died after it was washed down 500m. The incident brings back memories of the mid-eighties when rampant poaching of rhinos for their horns had decimated the animal’s population in Jaldapara to 14. But the count had risen to 126 recently. Windows training workshop in Siliguri SNS, SILIGURI, 11 OCT: The four-day-long Microsoft organised online first-look Windows-7, Excel Server-2010 and Server-2008 R-2 training programmes for aspiring IT professionals in north Bengal concluded at the Indian Institute of Hardware Technology (IIHT) campus in Siliguri today. Over 100 hardware trainees took part in the training, which was held from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. everyday. Mr Malay Chakravorty, center director, IIHT, Siliguri said the main objective of the training was to acquaint budding IT professionals with various aspects of Windows - 7, Excel Server-2010 and Server-2008 R-2, including the security option, which has been incorporated into these software for the first-time. Ms Paromita Paul and Mr Subhajit Saha were the official supervisors, while Mr Prasenjit Mazumdar and Mr Anirban Chakravorty looked after the technical aspects of the training. IIHT was the only educational institution in the northeast licensed to provide the training and it presented every trainee with a free MS Press E-Book club membership pass. Elephant go on rampage in Dooars ANI, 11Oct, Jalpaiguri: A herd of elephants from the jungles of Baikunthapur strayed into a tea estate in West Bengal's Jalpaiguri district and destroyed shrubs at the tea gardens. On losing their way in the gardens, the elephants could not move out before dawn.The herd entered the Dumdim Tea Estate located in Dooars region from the nearby forest during the night. With the break of dawn, the workers came out and found the animals stranded in the middle of the garden area. Gradually as the news spread, a huge crowd gathered among whom many were armed with stones chips and other handy things to drive away the herd so as to avoid any further destruction. "These elephants come regularly and disturb us a lot," said Ratan Karki, a worker. When their endeavours failed to give any positive results, residents had to summon the forest officials from the Targhera Range of the Baikunthapur Wildlife-II Sanctuary. The forest officials came in and tried to drive away the animals from the tea garden to the forest habitat. The officials fired blank shots to frighten the pachyderms but their efforts too went in vain. "We have come here to drive these animals back to the forests, but residents are not supporting us. There is a problem of law and order and so we have informed the police," said Dulal Chandra Das, Targhera Range Forest officer, Baikunthapur Wildlife-II Sanctuary. Later, the herd on its own moved towards the forest region, bringing much relief to the forest rangers and the residents as well. Experts have repeatedly opined that massive deforestation, poaching and people encroaching upon forest corridors have forced the elephants to move out of their natural habitats in search of food and water. India has over 50 per cent of Asiatic elephants, considered to be among the most intelligent animals but its population has dwindled over the recent years.