a dream come true

1
New Delhi, Friday, March 02, 2012. 4 Pages www.hindustantimes.com To advertise call Aditya Vashistha: 9971889096 HT Live wishes its readers Happy Holi NOIDA Rajkumari Tankha [email protected] Noida is all set to become dis- abled-friendly. To begin with, the Sector 50 traders associa- tion is making a ramp to make the market accessible to the disabled. The Sector 18 com- mercial complex will come a close second. But it is not the district admin- istration or the Noida Authority that is working towards this. This is because of the hard work of a lone woman who, forced by circumstances, decided to do something. “I am so happy that Sector 50 will be the first wheelchair accessible market in the city,” says Priyanka Malhotra. “The architects are presently work- ing on the designs of the ramp,” she adds. Malhotra is trying to build public awareness by enrolling the government admin- istration. “We want to make movie theatres, schools, mar- ket places and other public facil- ities wheelchair accessible,” she says. This resident of Sector 51, Noida, is a mother of two, the elder of whom, son Nipun is wheelchair bound. Throughout his growing up years, it was a challenge for Malhotra to assimilate him in society. Finding an accessible school, disabled-friendly buses, entertainment places and col- lege were always her major con- cerns. She had found this amiss in all areas of life of the physi- cally challenged, and it great- ly bothered her. “I could make my son’s life comfortable because we are well off. But there are many oth- ers who are not financially sound,” says Malhotra. So in 2006, she joined the NGO, Samarthyam National Centre for Accessible Environment and trained as an accessibility auditor. She later started working with Samarthyam in an honorary capacity. She was also a part of the Samarthyam team that did accessibility audits for Janpath and the Garden of Five Senses in Delhi. “Working in association with the government through Samarthyam I realised that one can get results if the intention is good. People by far are will- ing to help, they are sensitive to these issues, the only thing lacking is awareness,” she says. In 2008, she led a team to Mumbai to ensure that election booths there were disabled- friendly. She presented a report to the then Chief Election Commissioner Naveen Chawla with her recommendations. Last month, Malhotra decid- ed to branch out of Samarthyam and start her own foundation, Nipman. The three focus areas of Nipman are health, dignity and happiness for the disabled. The auto expo goodwill day on January 5, 2012, was coor- dinated by the Nipman team where 50 wheelchair users attended the Auto Expo and were given an opportunity to interact with car manufactur- ers to express their require- ments. Throughout the Auto Expo the Nipman Foundation, in part- nership with Confederation of Indian Industry (CII), put up booths at the gates at Pragati Maidan to provide wheelchairs to the physically challenged and elderly. “The response was so good that CII wants to partner with Nipman Foundation to provide these facilities at the regional expos in other parts of the coun- try,” she says. “We are trying to build pub- lic awareness by enrolling the administration and are getting a very encouraging response,” says Malhotra. “I started alone in January, and within a month I have got two volunteers, Veena Mathur and Gauri Aggarwal, both res- idents of Sector 50, Noida. I wish more people become sen- sitive about these issues,” she says. “Nearly 10% of India’s pop- ulation is disabled. We want to make all public facilities acces- sible to this population, so that they become more visible out- side their homes, so that they live with dignity and happiness,” adds Malhotra. Apart from this, Malhotra is also working to develop a web- site that will cater specifically to the disabled. barefacts GOVT COLLEGE LIBRARY TO BE RENOVATED The renovation and upgradation of the library in Government Inter College in Sector 12 has started. 349.5 sq m is the area of library 3 months is the time in which the construction work will be completed R500 the annual subscription fees 800 the number of books and magazines in the library jyoti prasad, DISTRICT INSPECTOR OF SCHOOLS, GAUTAM BUDH NAGAR Since it was opened in April 2011, the library had been functioning out of a small room. There is no librarian, and till now a staff was given the additional responsibili- ty of managing it. This is the reason why it had just a few members and readers. Once we have a proper building we will also need staff and for this we have already sent a requisition to the State Government. We also expect more members by May. Crusader for the disabled Through her NGO, Priyanka Malhotra is trying to give health, dignity and happiness to the physically challenged Rajkumari Tankha [email protected] She lost her parents at an early age, and was brought up by her paternal uncle in a large joint family. The various experiences quite early in life are reflected in the bronze sculptures of Premlata, a resident of Sector 50, Noida. “Sculpture is a means of expressing my feelings. The rhythm of music and innocence of children move me to shape the forms I create,” says Premlata, 62, sitting amidst her art pieces. She doesn’t hold any degree, diploma or certificate in art. It is only her passion for art that has brought her this far. Though she used to sketch even when she was in school, making a career of it was some- thing she never thought about. This was only expected since there was no one to guide her, advise her, judge her and no one to motivate her either. But this didn’t sadden her. “I got married immediately after Class 11 and got busy with domestic life. I completely enjoyed married life, working for my husband and children,” she says. And finding a voca- tion of her own was something that never occurred to her. It was only in 1995, after her daughter was married that she thought of doing something. “With all the three children set- tled, I had ample time, while earlier, I didn’t have any free time” she says. So on her daughter’s insis- tence, Premlata joined Triveni Kala Sangam, just to kill time. This gave her some mission in life. She looked forward to her sculpture classes in Triveni. Slowly she was drawn towards the art. So much so that she started visiting Triveni five days a week. The first sculpture she made, Dharaatal, was selected by the National Gallery of Modern Art as a permanent exhibit. This boosted her morale and she started making more pieces in bronze. “I love this medium. The different colours this metal gets at different temperatures is simply awesome. You can’t get these shades with any kind of colour mixing,” she says. “I owe a lot to Triveni. My life got a direction there. My art blossomed here. And it is at Triveni that I have made friends with other women artists. I enjoy having discourses with them on art and other sub- jects,” she says. She has had five solo shows so far and participated in a num- ber of group shows. Most of her exhibitions have been at the All India Fine Arts and Crafts Society or at Triveni Kala Sang- am and Lalit Kala Akademi. Her latest show, Akaar Prakaar, was held at the Triveni Kala Sangam last month. Her works are included in many private collections in USA, Germany, Canada and England. “I have had the privilege of exhibiting abroad since my sons are there and they motivate me to hold shows there,” she says. Other than sculpting, she enjoys travelling and has been almost all over India and abroad too. “My husband worked with the Indian Railways, which gave us ample opportunity to trav- el. And now both my sons are settled abroad so we keep vis- iting them,” she says. Sculpting experiences For Premlata, sculptures are a means to express her feelings Premlata’s first sculpture has been selected by the National Gallery of Modern Art as a permanent exhibit. SUNIL GHOSH / HT PHOTO TALK TO US HT Live has two regular columns, My Colony and My Best Holiday. My Colony is about what you like about the colony you are living in, and My Best Holiday is the best holiday you had in recent times. Both go with the photo- graph of the contributor. Anybody interested in contributing for the same can write to: [email protected] I could make my son’s life comfortable because we are well off. But there are many others who are not financially sound. PRIYANKA MALHOTRA Priyanka Malhotra is trying to build public awareness by enrolling the government administration. SUNIL GHOSH / HT PHOTO Aparna Singh Gupta [email protected] Dr Murugan Pillai, 48, hardly looks his age as he leaves you speechless with a swift sword show. Meet the guru as he prac- tises Kalarippayatu, the martial art form of Kerala. An art form he has been practising for the past 27 years. It all started when as a young- ster in Thiruvananthapuram, he was mesmerised by karate. However, as he belonged to a family of businessmen and physi- cians, these art forms were looked down upon as a means of living. “Over the years I realised that Kalarippayatu just had no parallel. More than anything else it taught self-healing. So I just wanted to learn it,” he says. Once he made up his mind, there was no stop- ping him. After eight years of practice, the turning point came when he was selected by his institute to perform at the Taj Mahal. The show was organised by the Uttar Pradesh tourism depart- ment. “My performances had the audience spell bound,” he adds. But as luck would have it, Pillai shifted to Delhi in 1993 because of family pressure to take up a job. Living on rent in Mayur Vihar phase 3, he decided to earn some money by teaching Kalari to some eager children. Today he conducts workshops all over India and abroad. He also has regular presentations in schools in Delhi, Faridabad, Noida and Ghaziabad. His institute Nithya Chaitha- nya Kalari is empanelled with the Indian Council for Cultural Relations and affiliated to Nehru Yuva Kendra (under the Union Ministry of Youth Affairs & Sports) and is also recognised by the Sahitya Kala Parishad and Indian National Trust for Art and Cultural Heritage. “It has been a dream come true for me. I love my work and I am very happy that I believed in it when no one else did,” he says as he gears up for his performance at the ongoing book fair. A dream come true... PREMLATA IS ALWAYS WORKING, IF NOT AT TRIVENI THEN HER BALCONY THAT SHE HAS CONVERTED INTO A STUDIO. ...Is how Dr Murugan Pillai explains his rise in the field of Kalarippayatu in NCR Presently Dr Murugan Pillai is busy preparing for his performance at the ongoing book fair. WASEEM GASHROO / HT PHOTO

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Dr Murugan Pillai, 48, hardly looks his age as he leaves you speechless with a swift sword show. Meet the guru as he practises Kalarippayatu, the martial art form of Kerala. An art form he has been practising for the past 27 years...

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To advertise call Aditya Vashistha: 9971889096

HT Live wishes its readersHappy Holi

NOIDA

Rajkumari Tankha■ [email protected]

Noida is all set to become dis-abled-friendly. To begin with,the Sector 50 traders associa-tion is making a ramp to makethe market accessible to thedisabled. The Sector 18 com-mercial complex will come aclose second.

But it is not the district admin-istration or the Noida Authoritythat is working towards this.This is because of the hard workof a lone woman who, forced bycircumstances, decided to dosomething.

“I am so happy that Sector50 will be the first wheelchairaccessible market in the city,”says Priyanka Malhotra. “Thearchitects are presently work-ing on the designs of the ramp,”she adds. Malhotra is tryingto build public awareness byenrolling the government admin-istration. “We want to makemovie theatres, schools, mar-ket places and other public facil-ities wheelchair accessible,” shesays.

This resident of Sector 51,Noida, is a mother of two, theelder of whom, son Nipun iswheelchair bound.

Throughout his growing upyears, it was a challenge forMalhotra to assimilate him insociety. Finding an accessibleschool, disabled-friendly buses,entertainment places and col-lege were always her major con-cerns. She had found this amissin all areas of life of the physi-cally challenged, and it great-ly bothered her.

“I could make my son’s lifecomfortable because we arewell off. But there are many oth-ers who are not financiallysound,” says Malhotra.

So in 2006, she joined theNGO, Samarthyam NationalCentre for AccessibleEnvironment and trained as anaccessibility auditor. She laterstarted working withSamarthyam in an honorarycapacity. She was also a part ofthe Samarthyam team that didaccessibility audits for Janpathand the Garden of Five Sensesin Delhi.

“Working in association withthe government through

Samarthyam I realised that onecan get results if the intentionis good. People by far are will-ing to help, they are sensitiveto these issues, the only thinglacking is awareness,” she says.

In 2008, she led a team toMumbai to ensure that electionbooths there were disabled-friendly. She presented a reportto the then Chief ElectionCommissioner Naveen Chawlawith her recommendations.

Last month, Malhotra decid-ed to branch out of Samarthyamand start her own foundation,Nipman. The three focus areasof Nipman are health, dignityand happiness for the disabled.

The auto expo goodwill dayon January 5, 2012, was coor-dinated by the Nipman teamwhere 50 wheelchair usersattended the Auto Expo andwere given an opportunity tointeract with car manufactur-ers to express their require-ments.

Throughout the Auto Expothe Nipman Foundation, in part-nership with Confederation ofIndian Industry (CII), put upbooths at the gates at PragatiMaidan to provide wheelchairsto the physically challenged andelderly.

“The response was so goodthat CII wants to partner withNipman Foundation to providethese facilities at the regionalexpos in other parts of the coun-try,” she says.

“We are trying to build pub-lic awareness by enrolling theadministration and are gettinga very encouraging response,”says Malhotra.

“I started alone in January,and within a month I have gottwo volunteers, Veena Mathurand Gauri Aggarwal, both res-idents of Sector 50, Noida. Iwish more people become sen-sitive about these issues,” shesays. “Nearly 10% of India’s pop-ulation is disabled. We want tomake all public facilities acces-sible to this population, so thatthey become more visible out-side their homes, so that theylive with dignity and happiness,”adds Malhotra.

Apart from this, Malhotra isalso working to develop a web-site that will cater specificallyto the disabled.

barefacts

GOVT COLLEGELIBRARY TO BERENOVATEDThe renovation andupgradation of the libraryin Government InterCollege in Sector 12 hasstarted.

349.5sq m is the area of library

3 months is the time in which theconstruction work will be completed

R500 the annual subscription fees

800 the number of books and magazines in the library

jyoti prasad, D I S T R I C T I N S P E C T O R O FS C H O O L S , G A U TA M B U D H

N A G A R

Since it was opened in April2011, the library had beenfunctioning out of a smallroom. There is no librarian,and till now a staff was giventhe additional responsibili-ty of managing it. This is thereason why it had just a fewmembers and readers. Oncewe have a proper buildingwe will also need staff andfor this we have already senta requisition to the StateGovernment. We also expectmore members by May.

Crusader forthe disabledThrough her NGO, PriyankaMalhotra is trying to give health,dignity and happiness to thephysically challenged

Rajkumari Tankha■ [email protected]

She lost her parents at an earlyage, and was brought up by herpaternal uncle in a large jointfamily. The various experiencesquite early in life are reflected inthe bronze sculptures of Premlata,a resident of Sector 50, Noida.

“Sculpture is a means ofexpressing my feelings. Therhythm of music and innocenceof children move me to shapethe forms I create,” says Premlata,62, sitting amidst her art pieces.

She doesn’t hold any degree,diploma or certificate in art. Itis only her passion for art thathas brought her this far.

Though she used to sketcheven when she was in school,making a career of it was some-thing she never thought about.This was only expected sincethere was no one to guide her,advise her, judge her and no oneto motivate her either. But thisdidn’t sadden her.

“I got married immediatelyafter Class 11 and got busy withdomestic life. I completelyenjoyed married life, workingfor my husband and children,”she says. And finding a voca-tion of her own was somethingthat never occurred to her.

It was only in 1995, after herdaughter was married that shethought of doing something.“With all the three children set-tled, I had ample time, whileearlier, I didn’t have any freetime” she says.

So on her daughter’s insis-tence, Premlata joined TriveniKala Sangam, just to kill time.This gave her some mission inlife. She looked forward to hersculpture classes in Triveni.

Slowly she was drawn towardsthe art. So much so that shestarted visiting Triveni five daysa week.

The first sculpture she made,Dharaatal, was selected by theNational Gallery of Modern Artas a permanent exhibit. Thisboosted her morale and shestarted making more piecesin bronze. “I love this medium.The different colours this metalgets at different temperaturesis simply awesome. You can’tget these shades with any kindof colour mixing,” she says.

“I owe a lot to Triveni. Mylife got a direction there. Myart blossomed here. And it isat Triveni that I have made

friends with other womenartists. I enjoy having discourseswith them on art and other sub-jects,” she says.

She has had five solo showsso far and participated in a num-ber of group shows. Most of herexhibitions have been at the AllIndia Fine Arts and CraftsSociety or at Triveni Kala Sang-am and Lalit Kala Akademi. Herlatest show, Akaar Prakaar, washeld at the Triveni Kala Sangamlast month.

Her works are included inmany private collections in USA,Germany, Canada and England.“I have had the privilege ofexhibiting abroad since my sonsare there and they motivate meto hold shows there,” she says.

Other than sculpting, sheenjoys travelling and has beenalmost all over India and abroadtoo. “My husband worked withthe Indian Railways, which gaveus ample opportunity to trav-el. And now both my sons aresettled abroad so we keep vis-iting them,” she says.

SculptingexperiencesFor Premlata,sculptures are ameans toexpress herfeelings

■ Premlata’s first sculpture has been selected by the National Gallery ofModern Art as a permanent exhibit. SUNIL GHOSH / HT PHOTO

TALK TO US■ HT Live has two regularcolumns, My Colony and My BestHoliday. My Colony is about whatyou like about the colony you areliving in, and My Best Holiday isthe best holiday you had in recenttimes. Both go with the photo-graph of the contributor. Anybodyinterested in contributing for thesame can write to:[email protected]

I could make my son’s life comfortablebecause we are well off. But there are many

others who are not financially sound.P R I YA N K A M A L H O T R A

■ Priyanka Malhotra is trying to build public awareness by enrolling thegovernment administration. SUNIL GHOSH / HT PHOTO

Aparna Singh Gupta■ [email protected]

Dr Murugan Pillai, 48, hardlylooks his age as he leaves youspeechless with a swift swordshow. Meet the guru as he prac-tises Kalarippayatu, the martialart form of Kerala. An art formhe has been practising for thepast 27 years.

It all started when as a young-ster in Thiruvananthapuram, hewas mesmerised by karate.However, as he belonged to afamily of businessmen and physi-cians, these art forms were lookeddown upon as a means of living.

“Over the years I realised thatKalarippayatu just had noparallel. More than anythingelse it taught self-healing.So I just wanted to learn it,”

he says. Once he made uphis mind, there was no stop-

ping him. After eight yearsof practice, the turningpoint came when he wasselected by his instituteto perform at the TajMahal. The show was

organised by the UttarPradesh tourism depart-

ment. “My performances hadthe audience spell bound,” headds.

But as luck would have it, Pillaishifted to Delhi in 1993 becauseof family pressure to take up ajob. Living on rent in MayurVihar phase 3, he decided toearn some money by teachingKalari to some eager children.Today he conducts workshopsall over India and abroad. He

also has regular presentationsin schools in Delhi, Faridabad,Noida and Ghaziabad.

His institute Nithya Chaitha-nya Kalari is empanelled withthe Indian Council for CulturalRelations and affiliated to NehruYuva Kendra (under the UnionMinistry of Youth Affairs &Sports) and is also recognisedby the Sahitya Kala Parishad andIndian National Trust for Artand Cultural Heritage. “It hasbeen a dream come true for me.I love my work and I am veryhappy that I believed in it whenno one else did,” he says as hegears up for his performance atthe ongoing book fair.

A dream come true...

PREMLATA IS ALWAYSWORKING, IF NOT ATTRIVENI THEN HERBALCONY THAT SHE HASCONVERTED INTO ASTUDIO.

...Is how DrMurugan Pillaiexplains his risein the field ofKalarippayatu inNCR

■ Presently DrMurugan Pillai isbusy preparingfor hisperformance atthe ongoing bookfair.

WASEEM GASHROO/ HT PHOTO