Reporters'Diary

The two sides of nonmalcy

trouble finding work. The Youth
By FARWA IMAM Atl
r rt-i,. are picked uP randomlY and

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the meaning of normalcy.
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normalcy elicits a sharP response
here. "There is not a single woman
in Hussain Nagar whose dignitY
wasleft intact,"ruiae*i"uiupi
who lives at the Narodr, r-*'u"j
Relief camp, of the
lommunal clashes rocked "X':-':":
Gujarat
*r*ri,rr,rher{arodiapatiyacamp
,rpJd, cut to pieces or burnt."
^;;;:il;;;.;;
Raziyabi, 1/,speakswithacynicismwhichisatestimony w-ell' smiles in reply' And then
.No woman *us ,uped today," ,h" **id, "So i Narendra Modi's Gujarat, normal depends on which side
to her times.
suppose things are normal." amina says that the men
No light yet
By VIJAYA PU$HKARI{A
A MRITSAR: During Baisakhi
.ta,- (April 13), thousands visit the
Jallianwala Bagh, the site of Gen.
Dyer's massacre. Successive govern-
ments have liberallY helPed the
Jalianwala Bagh National Memorial
Trust maintain the garden and
provide amenities for the 5,oOo daily
visitors. During the 75th anniversary
.jJt 1994,, the Centre sanctioned Rs 2
-rre to the trust.
Former Prime Minister I.K. Gujral
also donated Rs 50 lakh towards alight
and sound show. Philips India bagged
the contract, but the work was never
undertaken, because the culture
ministry which was to give the final
nod, sat on the proposal for too long.
6s
, **d,
:*i-ffiffi iffi*r_:J:n{:i;*t';;ra
ffiffi
reffiIffil@
theatres. we repeat the normalcv question and- get 'all is
realisation d1yls:-i-n
have of the Sabarmati you are
Integrated Digital Solutions, who later
won the tender, too, backed out after
the ministry did not approve the
expense estimate.
It is rumoured that the reason the
ministry did not give the go-ahead the
second time around is the Cabinet
decision to make the Prime Minister
the chairman of the trust. Opposition
leader Sonia Gandhi heads it now.
Any answersP
By TARI0 BHAT
T AMMU: A sombre gathering of
J Kashmiri Pandits on the banks of
Jammu's Tawi river watched as a
barber shaved off Brijnath's hair and
beard. They were there for the loth duy
rites for the 24 victims of the
Nadimarg massacre: the victims
time
are foisted on them' Each
"ur", a tension-inducing
:i:*:,'^.' i:l :i^:,:'l'"":::
kilting-takes place, theY retreat
to Muslim-dominated areas.
We cross the Sabarmati and
pass v:Ylclt":t ll t":-"t:
A.P
overweigh.t
9l:"lt Y:T::
}tf"t}T:-;lJi;,XffiT"111
I
in'
included Brijnath's mother, brother
and nephew. Hiral Lal Bhat, one ofthe
mourners, spoke most vehementlY
against the state government for
preventing the Nadimarg survivors
from leaving Kashmir. I told him that
the survivors had, in fact, sold their
belongings, and were on their waY to
Jammu. "You were there?" he asked.
Hiral LaI seemed shocked when I
told him that I lived in Kashmir- "Have
you not migrated? How are You alive?"
he shot off breathlesslY.
"I am a Muslim," I said in a low
voice. Hiral Lal stood gaping, and then
disappeared into the crowd. After the
puja, he came up to me and asked me
a question that sPoiled mY day.
"Neither me nor mY two sons can
return to Kashmirj' he said. "But do
you think my grandchildren can make
to itbackto Kashmir?" I had no answer
and he did not press me for a rePlY. I

1, Former Bollywood vamp
f,omilla $utton urito$ oll.,,
tr Showhiz tidbits
n Vedic a$tnologY
tr Starlets and item
numbers
2. 0ollege student$ at
Bandra railway $tation.',
U Carry placands with $ocial
messages
trSell peanuts
trPlay tnuant
3. Aften GM Amarinder
Singh's none too good-lookin$
grcat*gfandfather wag
turned flrray from a
chandelier shop, he,..
tr Had the shop assistant
fired
if lInote out a cheque for
the entire collection
[l Brokc all the chandeliers
4. Produots endor$cd bY
lndian cricketer$ hav&..
fl Been boycotted
ft Seen a dip in sales
f $een a marked incnea$o
in sales
For hints scs Pages
s6,29, 62,04

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