The spring season represents the springing back to life of Nature and the people after the harsh cold months. Keeping up with this spirit, a spring festival was held at the sprawling Yavnika town park, Sector 5, Panchkula. The festival had three years after the Covid pandemic which made it all the more special.

Going by the overwhelming response of the general public, Haryana Assembly Speaker Gian Chand Gupta, the chief guest on the concluding day of the festival, announced, “In view of the growing popularity of the Spring Festival, it should be organised at least for three days, beginning next year, so that more people can participate in the festival. I am ready to provide financial assistance for the purpose from the Local Area Development Fund”.

People were seen enjoying to the full amidst a  range of multi-hued flower arrangements, which included floral jewellery, vegetable carving, laser show, puppet show and magic show.

Planned on a larger scale than the previous years, around 1500 schools from the Tricity other educational institutions and organizations participated in the gala event.

The two-day grandiose event was packed with a flurry of cultural and creative activities, including hasya ras sammelan, mehndi competition, fancy dress competition, solo and couple dance, mono-acting, best-out-of-the- waste, pot-painting, et al. The event witnessed scintillating folk dances performed by school children dressed in traditional costumes.

Artistes from various states, including Haryana, Punjab, Rajasthan, Chandigarh UT, kept the audience enthralled by their lively presentations. Prominent among them were been jogis and nagada artistes from Haryana, kachi ghodi from Rajasthan and nachaar (a typical folk dance) party from Punjab, who presented the folk colours of the respective states.

Music lovers had a fair share of entertainment packed with cultural and stage performances in the open air theatre in the evening where acclaimed artistes regaled the audience with their haunting renditions. The special show of this segment was the engaging rendition by Mahavir Guddu and the ITBP band performances.

Theme fairs and festivals, besides being the warp-n-woof of our lives, are harbingers of joy and happiness among the people who, more often than not remain busy for a better part of the year. “These lighter moments teach us, especially the younger generation, about our rich and diverse cultural heritage,” the Haryana Speaker  said.

Sanjeev Kaushal, Chief Secretary, government of Haryana, who inaugurated the two-day flower fiesta in the presence of the Tricity’s who’s who from the administration, polity and other spectra said that with the return of the festival after years, a sense of déjà vu was visible on the faces of festival freaks who thronged the venue in great numbers to be a part of this annual feature.

Fresh Flower Arrangement:  Vandana (Pkl) 1st, and Sangeeta (Pkl) 2^nd position

Dry Flower Arrangement: Dr Manda Verma (Dhakoli-Pb) 1st and Vandana (Pkl) 2^nd position

Mixed Flower Arrangement: Sangeeta Saini (Pkl) 1st and Vandana Bhardwaj of Chandigarh2^nd position

Rangoli competition (Sr Category):  Roshni, Aknsha, Ambika, Krititka of Blue Bird H/S, Pkl, got the first slot, and 2^nd slot was claimed by Ridhi, Ishita, Charvi,  Jaimeet (British Sch, Pkl).

Best Maintained Garden in a School: The Gurukul, Panchkula, received the award 19th time in a row

She turned 18 last month (February 12), and this teen queen already has the coveted National Women’s (Singles) Badminton Championship tag under the belt. Anupama Upadhyaya, the svelte and suave girl next door, the lone shuttler representing Haryana, has skyrocketed to the centrestage of national badminton scene by clinching gold at the 84th Senior National Badminton Championship.

While we haven’t gone beyond Saina Nehwal and PV Sindhu in women’s badminton, Anupama is on the horizon of following the same path. Panchkula grabbed national headlines as Anupama Upadhyaya joined the big badminton league. She became the first-ever youngster from the district to make it to the final of the Senior National Badminton Championship held in Pune. She is a former world junior top-ranking shuttler from the state.

Anupama became the national champion and romped home with a gold medal she clinched at the 84th Senior National Badminton Championship by defeating her formidable rival and Gujarat National Games champion Aakarshi Kashyap from Chhattisgarh. Aakarshi was a part of the national women’s contingent that won the gold medal in the 2019 South Asian Games. Anupama defeated her in a cliff-hanger match by 20-22, 21-18, 24-22 in 18 minutes, securing the top slot. Earlier, she overcame a tough challenge from 5th seeded Shriyanshi Valishetty of Gopichand Academy by scoring 21-10, 16-21, 21-19 coming out victorious in the quarterfinals at the national chamionship.

Talking to CityWoofer, Almora-born Anupama says, “A fair share of the credit for this spectacular victory goes to my parents and my coach, Rohit sir, whose tireless efforts and hard work spanning over two and half years has helped me achieve this position. I learnt the finer nuances of the game under his astute supervision at Tau Devi Lal Sports Complex, Panchkula. The Panchkula memories will always remain precious deep down in my heart”.

On Anupama’s resounding victory, her coach Rohit Mandhan says, “I am delighted to know about Anupama’s outstanding achievement in the annals of history of badminton. She is a conscientious player who has proved her mettle by winning a gold through sheer hard work and dedication. She is sure to make a mark at the international level.”

Anupama with her mother

Anupama is currently undergoing a rigorous training at Prakash Padukone Badminton Academy, Bangalore, to improve her national and international rankings, which at present stands at 60th (international) and 4^th (national) position. She is going whole hog to perform better when it comes to the international level competitions.

She has trained with DK Sen, Indain shuttler Lakshshya Sen’s father, then moved to Bangalore and then the Padukone Academy. She moved to Panchkula to represent Haryana at the national level where her coach Rohit Mandhan gives training at theTau Devi Lal Sports Complex, Sector3, Panchkula and also because she can give her open school boards from here.

Earlier achievements

Last year, Anupama won her first-ever senior ranking tournament at Visakhapatnam.

After winning the 2022 Polish Open and later the Poland Challenge (Arlamow), she breezed into the semi-finals of the Syed Modi India International Super 300 series. Anupama has come a long way. She won the Infosys Foundation International Challenge Tournament, besides playing in the quarterfinals of the Orleans Open, a super 100 series tournament held in Orleans (France).

Upcoming tournaments

The golden girl Anupama, who hails from Almora (Uttarakhand), is all poised to play in the Thailand Challenge (March 7 to 12), and the Vietnam Challenge (March 21 to 27). She will also play in the Spain Masters 300 Super Series (March 28 to April 2), followed by the Orleans Masters 300 Super Series from April 4 to 9.

2023 has been declared as the International Year of Millets by the UN General Assembly. Millets have always been part of an Indian traditional home but with the coming of easily accessible, over-the-counter processed foods, they took a backseat over the years.

With awareness of nutritional values of millets like ragi, jowar, bajra being created on different fora, the Chandigarh Millet Mission took it a step further by holding a workshop at Senior Citizen Home, Sector 15, Chandigarh.

The event was attended by about 40 residents of Senior Citizen Home, Sector 15 & Sector 43, and the staff. A live cooking session was conducted by the chefs from CIHM (Chandigarh Institute of Hotel Management) .  Millet recipes were demonstrated to the participants.

Millet-based games were organised by the Chandigarh PGI team, out of which the snake and ladder game was the most entertaining. Games had been beautifully designed so that one can easily learn about different millets and their health benefits while playing.

The event was hosted by the Department of Social Welfare, Women & Child Development, Chandigarh Administration in liaison with Food Safety Department, Chandigarh, PGIMER Chandigarh, Chandigarh Institute of Hotel Management and Elderline Chandigarh.

ALSO READ: Millet Ram Babu: Getting Back Millets on the Plate

The objective was to sensitise the beneficiaries to adopt the habit of inclusion of millets in their daily diet. During the workshop, experts from PGIMER, FSSAI, and CIHM conducted interactive and knowledgeable sessions on the nutritional and environmental benefits of millets.

Chandigarh Millets Mission was launched on 12 November 2022 by Nitika Pawar, Secretary Social Welfare, Women & Child Development, Chandigarh Administration. Under this campaign series of activities are being organized such as demonstration of millet recipes, distribution of IEC material, promotion through social media handles, recipes video on the youtube page, online and offline awareness sessions, e-goshties, etc.

Chandigarh is fast becoming a cycle-friendlv city with the UT administration going whole hog to encourage cycling and walking. Green corridors are being worked on keeping in mind the 2031 masterplan for Chandigarh.

The city already boasts of a professionally equipped multi-brand premium cycle store, cycleworx.in, the only one of its kind in north India with stores in Gurugram and Delhi as well, which also has the facility of cycle servicing, workshop for wear and tear, cycles on rent plus a Cyclist Cafe, which is the best add-on to the entire package.

“Apart from the multiple services we provide, the ambience of the store along with the café is what sets us apart, We have tandem bikes ( bicycles driven by more than one person). We regularly hold cycling adventures to Shimla, Rohtang Pass, Kashmir through our club,” says owner Vikrant Sharma.

Speaking to CityWoofer, on how the idea of a complete cycle store come about, he says, “In 2015, I suffered an injury, I was bed-ridden there was no work-out, no physical activity and after I recuperated , I started going hiking, I participated in four full marathons and that is how the journey started.”

“We have trained certified professionals, components, spares, everything and anything to do with premium cycles. We also offer a mobile service station and ride support vehicles for cycling expeditions,” he says.

Kinds of cycles available

All types of cycles are available– road bikes for racing, hybrid bikes for city commuting and MTB are the mountain bikes. The range of price of cycles varies from Rs 6,000 to Rs 10 lakh.

Rentals

The rentals vary anywhere between Rs 500 to Rs 2500 for 24 hours.

Cyclist cafe

“Our USP is also our cyclist café which keeps comfort of cycle enthusiasts in mind who come from as far as Himachal, Pathankot, Delhi, Bangalore, Hyderabad, to get their cycles repaired or serviced,” says Sharma, adding “ we also offer packages for local customers like normal cycle rental for Rs 400 which includes coffee plus one hour free cycle ride , tandem rental for 1 hour is Rs 850 which includes coffee and sandwich for 2”.

The café boasts of high quality roasted beans, professional coffee machines exported from Italy and at a lesser rate with better quality as compared to high-end brands. There are vegan, naturally sweetened smoothies, with the recently-added peanut butter shakes, and scrambled egg sandwich without oil, among the other healthy options on the menu. Some of the highlights of the menu are Affogato, vanilla cappuccino , hazelnut cappuccino , Irish cappuccino , Americano, cae mocha, cafe latte, brownies, hot combos, cold combos, mealboxes with reasonable prices.

Services Offered

Authorised dealers of premium cycle brands like United, Marin, Polygon, KHS, Hero etc. Also, we are authorised dealer of Shimano, SRAM which are making components used for cycle repair.

Accessories and apparels, wearables and sensors, Oakley sunglasses

End to end servicing — annual/half yearly/quarterly AMC subscription packages

Servicing types: standard, premium, advanced, of all kind of cycles

Service on Wheels, free pickup and drop

Facility of exchange, upgrade, repair

New cycles

Cycles on rent

Bike Fit – adjusting saddle height, height of handle  according to weight, height, etc.

Address:  SCO 204, Sector 7C , Chandigarh. Mob: 9041166400

G-5, Vardhman plaza, Sec 10, central market, Opp. Dwarka sports complex, Dwarka, Delhi. Mob: 8800195677, 8882357173

Shop 101, Sec 48, Shriram market, Sohna road, Adj shri ram dhaba, Gurugram. Mob: 8800195677

Tricity-based musician Pranav Chadha, a regular at the open mic events here, recently released his new track Jaan. With a consistent yearning to learn more and being immersed among creative people is what took him from Delhi to Mumbai to Italy. CityWoofer had a chat with him about his journey and his creative process.

Tell us about your latest track Jaan?

Jaan is a simple and sweet melody that I wrote for a girl I was dating at that time. She didn’t want any birthday gift from me but just a song. I took up that challenge. Interestingly the melody came to me while in an autorickshaw on the way to meet her. The song remains, while we have broken up quite a while back.

It was great to have gotten my friend Milan Mandalia, an ex-batch mate at Swarnabhoomi Academy Of Music (SAM), Chennai, to have produced it. His ideas of guitar phrasing and other percussive ideas gave this track a lot of vigor. Also, getting an accomplished violin player, Ajay Jayanthi, through the collaborative start-up named Srround was amazing. And lastly, Navneet, another ex-batchmate at SAM did the Mix and Master. He lives in Los Angeles, and studied Audio Engineering from MI (Musicians Institute, LA).

I wrote the lyrics of this song, and my friend, a budding screenwriter, Ankur Dang, wrote some really scintillating lines where I was getting stuck. I love the idea of collaborating and this track vouches for that.

Can you share about your experiences performing at open mics in the Tricity?

I’m new to the Chandigarh Tricity and I love creative people. So for me, performing and even attending open mics is a refreshing thing to do. Of course, you feel vulnerable when you have to perform something original in front of everyone. You feel the nerves but you still do it.  One really grows in an art form. Brilliant performers in open mics were quite raw and bad in the beginning. What irks me sometimes are performers who talk during others’ performances and are only interested in getting their video made and leave the open mic as soon as they have performed. It’s not respectful, and it’s sadly self-centered. I have experienced this in Chandigarh more than in Mumbai. However, I feel I’ve really enjoyed performing at the open mics, seeing the response.

When did your tryst with music begin?

I started my journey quite late when I was in MA or actually after that. I used to go for Hindustani classical Bansuri classes at Gandharva Mahavidyalaya in Delhi and I would occasionally take vocal classes as well. There was always an inherent inkling to learn music but then I immersed myself in it. I got a Gurukul Scholarship offered by SPICMACAY to stay at Pandit Hari Prasads Chaurasia’s school for a month. That was beautiful. After that, I felt I wanted to do composition and started learning piano. I would go through the grades fast. I cleared exams in Hindustani vocals as well till Madhyama Pratham. Later, I felt I could go to a school as I was always willing to get an education in music. That’s how it started.

I had a regret that when I was a cricketer, my coaches never were willing to teach me the basics properly and that hampered my growth in the long run.

How did you further diversify your creative skills?

At SAM (Swarnabhoomi Academy Of Music), there was an amazing environment. Our apartments were inside the campus and the teachers were in the same building. They were all performers/pedagogues and teachers from abroad and there was also a Carnatic side to the curriculum. I got heavily into western music, jazz and pop. Upon the recommendation of my teacher Raphaelle Brochet, I did my second semester in piano instead of vocals. After coming back from SAM, I got very interested in vocal technique and improving my ear. On the suggestion of a few friends, I joined the Neemrana Music Foundation choir in Delhi and also started taking Western Classical singing lessons. That changed my life considerably. The approach to technique and intonation, everything was so different. I loved the projection, the theatrics and the music. I started getting solo roles in operas and operettas that Neemrana and other ensembles did.

What led you to Italy?

I had moved to Bombay, and I was doing some basic voice-overs and jingles. I would also play keyboards for some gigs. I still keep learning different musical approaches and theories. In 2018, because of my obsession with vocal techniques and related therapy, I went to New Voice Studio, Italy, to learn from two interesting teachers who completely got me back in an effortless singing zone after forcing myself over the years in singing. They told me that I am a Dramatic Tenor instead of a Baritone. And I could see their point. It was akin to a Bollywood story – I read an article, approached them and got in touch with them through many emails and inquiries. I was probably the only Indian they have ever taught. I am suffering from Tinnitus and need to take compulsory breaks from music. As a result, I haven’t been able to go back and further my understanding of the intricacies of voice. Post-Covid my hearing and tinnitus got worse. Amongst all of those difficulties, I’ve been fortunate to release my single ‘Jaan’.

What inspires you to create music?

I love the idea of creating an emotion through melody and rhythm. Music for me therefore is a way of self-expression. I have an intention of spreading love and joy in the world through my art and music is one of those ways. I love to be creative and I love to explore.

Can you share about your professional experience in this field?

I have acted and sung in operas and have done private recitals as a baritone, operettas like El Niño Judio And Los Claveles. I have made jingles for brands like Patanjali. I have done background scores for short films like Khoon Aali Chitthi for which I won an award at a film festival. I have done live shows as a singer in a musical trio and played keyboards for some bands.