SANT BALBIR SINGH SEECHEWAL JI- A GREAT PUNJABI ENVIRONMENTALIST

  aSANT BALBIR SINGH SEECHEWAL JI has  become  Punjab's most famous eco-activistWHO STARTED AVTAAR RADIO FOR MAKING THE PEOPLE AWARE OF POLLUTION.HE was  spearheading an anti-river pollution campaign. By combining his assiduously cultivated self-help philosophy with the environmental essence of the Gurbani, Baba ji has resurrected the 110-miles long Kali Bein rivulet.

In his latest project in early 2009, taking up the cudgels to save Buddha Nullah, eminent environmentalist Sant Balbir Singh Seechewal has initiated a campaign for generating awareness amongst different sections of the society to solve the problem of desilting the water body following the failure of the Punjab Pollution Control Board's (PPCB) and industries in complying with the High Court's orders in this regard.

Seechewal says that when he started the water-cleaning project of Kali Bein Rivulet in 2007, it was a challenging task. But, as people became aware of its importance, they joined in cleaning the rivulet, which had become a dried-up drain and had been reduced to a garbage dump with its historic and religious significance long forgotten.

[edit]Respect for natural resources

"People had illegally taken over the riverbed and it was difficult to free it from their clutches. But, with god's grace it was done. It was an incredible experience to resolve the issue of Kali Bein. Following that we can bring about a revolution by treating polluted water and use it for irrigation purposes. Polluted water has become a major problem not only for India but also for the entire world. However polluted water can bring prosperity if we treat it and use it for irrigation. We have proved this in village Seechewal and other nearby villages. We have purified the polluted water and directed it to fields through water motors. We have learned a lot from this experience," said Sant Balbir Singh Seechewal, who has now earned a name as an environmentalist.

Seechewal says: "We are facing water scarcity these days, as the ground water level has gone down. But, this can be changed. The flow of polluted water in free-flowing natural rivers has blocked the recharging process. If the flow of polluted water can be stopped to the streams, the water level will automatically improve. In India, when rains come we have floods, but when rains stop we face severe droughts. This is happening because the water is not recharging the earth. If the water is used to recharge properly, we will never face scarcity of water. And, water can be preserved for the coming generations."

"Whatever work we have done in cleaning up the Kali Bein rivulet it is for the welfare of mankind. No other work can be more sacred than this. It is said in the Bani (Guru's gospel) that it is better to save a creature, than to take bath in 68 holy places of pilgrimage'. Nowadays, animals, birds and even water creatures are dying - and to protect them is the need of the hour. We are happy that we are devoting our time for their betterment," Seechewal adds.

Seechewal lays stress on understanding the importance of river water.

"Water is water. Be it of Punjab's white Bein or Kali Bein, or be it of rivers like Satluj, Ganga, Yamuna and Godavari. Be it water in India or any other country - it is needed by everyone. We need water just like we need air to breathe. A wave has started from Punjab's Kali Bein rivulet and we want it to spread not only across India but also across the whole world. Environment is of prime concern these days. Efforts made at the Kali Bein have sent a message globally," said Seechewal.

JASPAL BHATTI-GREAT PUNJABI COMEDIAN

Jaspal Singh Bhatti (3 March 1955 – 25 October 2012) was an Indian television personality famous for his satirical take on the problems of the common man. He is most well known for his television series Flop Show and mini capsules Ulta Pulta which ran on Doordarshan, India's national television network, in the late 1980s and early 1990s.

Early years

Jaspal Bhatti was born on 3 March 1955 at Amritsar in a Rajput Sikh family. He graduated from Punjab Engineering College, Chandigarh in Punjab, as an electrical engineer. He was very famous for his street plays like his Nonsense Club during his college days. Most of these plays were spoofs ridiculing corruption in society. Before venturing into television, he was a cartoonist for theThe Tribune newspaper in Chandigarh.

Flop Show

His low-budget Flop Show show in the early 1990s is remembered even today. His wife Savita Bhatti produced the show and acted in all the episodes as his wife. Only 10 episodes were ever produced, but the show has had a long and powerful legacy and is well remembered. One of his co-actors Vivek Shauq has been very successful since his stint in Flop Show, having found a footing in Hindi cinema. On 10 January 2011, Shauq died from septicemia.

Subsequent work

Bhatti's subsequently acted and directed the popular TV series Ulta Pulta and Nonsense Private Limited for the Doordarshan television network. What attracted audience to his shows was his gift of inducing humour to highlight everyday issues of the middle class in India. Jaspal Bhatti's satire on the Punjab police Mahaul Theek Hai (1999) was his first directorial venture for a full-length feature film in his native Punjabi language. It was well received amongst audience for its simple and honest humour. He played the role of Jolly Good Singh, a guard, in the movie Fanaa. He played a comical college principal in Koi Mere Dil Se Poochhe. He also starred in the comedy Punjabi film Jijaji. Bhatti acted in Hindi Movie Aa Ab Laut Chalen with Kadar Khan in 1999.

Bhatti appeared in SAB TV's Comedy ka King Kaun as a judge with actress Divya Dutta. In his latest stint, Bhatti and his wife Savita competed in a popular Star Plus show Nach Baliye which went on air in October 2008.^[1] The couple put their best foot forward to entertain the audiences with their dancing and comic skills.

The cartoonist, humorist, actor and filmmaker was focusing on acting as he was getting numerous offers from Bollywood producers as a comedian.

In his later years, Jaspal Bhatti set up a training school^[2] and a studio in Mohali near Chandigarh called "Joke Factory".

He also launched a new 52-episode comedy series titled ''Thank You Jijaji''^[3] on Sony's family entertainment channel, SAB TV. It was shot at his own MAD Arts film school at Chandigarh.

At a 2009 carnival at Chandigarh, Bhatti put up a stall displaying vegetables, daal and oils. The onlookers were invited to throw rings around them to win these costly goods as prizes to poke fun at the government's failure to control inflation.^[4]

In 2009, Bhatti school’s, Mad Art’s, animation film on female foeticide won the second prize in the Advantage India organized by 1take media.^[5] It won a certificate of merit at the IDPA-2008 Awards in Mumbai.^[6]

Bhatti was granted the Lifetime Achievement Award, at the first Golden Kela Awards.^[7]

Political Satire

Bhatti was known for floating his political parties during elections to highlight the problems faced by the general public.

In 1995, he floated the 'Hawala Party' delighting passers by with his original poker faced takeoff on growing political corruption in the country which was already a hotly discussed topic in the context of the Jain-Hawala Diaries.^[8]

In 2002, Bhatti announced that he is starting the "Suitcase Party" & released his manifesto alloting 5 seats to his family & more seats to be decided based on the suitcase size of the prospective candidates^[9]

In 2009, the comedian announced that he is floating the "Recession Party" & Bhajna Amli, alias Gurdev Dhillon, as his party's face from the Ludhiana. In his trademark satirical style, he kept his party's symbol as opium, drugs and alcohol for which he claimed that there will be no shortage of supply if his party is voted to power.^[10]

Critical response

India’s leading media critic Amita Malik says of him: "Bhatti has the correct style for TV, an understated, quiet humour which sinks in without shouting, and which mercilessly exposes both corruption in our every day life and the typical people, who thrive on it. The grim fact and the hard truths of our society so bitter otherwise are made so funny through the adept handling of Bhatti, that cleansing laughter is created out of common malpractices."^[11]

Personal life

Bhatti married Savita Bhatti on 24 March 1985^{[citation needed]} and has a son, Jasraj Bhatti, and a daughter, Raabiya Bhatti.^[12]

Death

On 25 October 2012, he died in a car accident. The Honda Accord car which the 57-year-old actor/director's son Jasraj Bhatti was driving hit a tree near Shahkot in Nakodar area of the Jalandhardistrict. The accident took place at around 1.30 am, when Jasraj lost the control over the vehicle while taking a blind turn and rammed into a roadside tree. The actor, along with his son and actress Surilie Gautam, was driving from Bhatinda to Jalandhar for the promotion of Power Cut (2012 film), which is based on frequent power cuts in Punjab. Bhatti was sitting in the rear seat of the car and received serious head injuries. Bhatti was taken to a private hospital in Jalandhar where he was declared dead on arrival by the doctors.

SH. YASH RAJ CHOPRA- GREAT PUNJABI- FILM MAKER

Yash Raj Chopra (27 September 1932 – 21 October 2012)^[1] was an Indian film director, screenwriter and film producer, predominantly working inHindi cinema and Bollywood. Chopra began his career as an assistant director to I.S. Johar and his elder brother, B.R. Chopra. He made his directorial debut with Dhool Ka Phool in 1959, a melodrama about illegitimacy and followed it with the social drama Dharmputra (1961). Encouraged by the success of both films, the Chopra brothers made several more movies together during the late fifties and sixties. Chopra then rose to prominence after the commercially and critically successful drama, Waqt (1965), which pioneered the concept of ensemble casts in Bollywood.

In 1973, Chopra founded his own production company, Yash Raj Films, and launched it with Daag: A Poem of Love (1973), a successful melodrama about a polygamous man. His success continued in the seventies, with some of Indian cinema's most successful and iconic films, including the action thriller Deewar (1975) which established Amitabh Bachchan as leading man in Bollywood, the romantic drama Kabhi Kabhie (1976) and Trishul(1978). The eighties marked a professional setback in Chopra's career as several films he directed and produced in that period failed to leave a mark at the Indian box office, notably Silsila (1981), Mashaal (1984), Faasle (1985) and Vijay (1988). However, in 1989, Chopra directed the commercially and critically successful cult film Chandni which became instrumental in ending the era of violent films in Bollywood and returning musicals.

Chopra then directed and produced the cult classic Lamhe in 1991. Considered by critics and Chopra himself as his best work to date, the film became one of the biggest Bollywood hits in the overseas market. Chopra followed it with the box-office hit and trend setter Darr (1993). StarringShahrukh Khan in his debut, it showed a sympathetic look at obsessive love and defied the image of the conventional hero. Since then, Chopra directed three more romantic films, all starring Khan; Dil To Pagal Hai (1997), Veer-Zaara (2004) and Jab Tak Hai Jaan (2012) before he announced his retirement from directing in 2012.

Chopra founded and was chairman of the motion picture production and distribution company Yash Raj Films, which ranks as India's biggest production company as of 2006, as well as the founder of Yash Raj Studios. Chopra's career has spanned over five decades and over 50 films and is considered one of the leading filmmakers in the history of Hindi cinema. Chopra has won several film awards, including six National Film Awards, eleven Filmfare awards and four Filmfare Award for Best Director. The Government of India honoured him with the Dadasaheb Phalke Award in 2001 and the Padma Bhushan in 2005 for his contributions towards Indian cinema. BAFTA presented him with a lifetime membership for his contribution to the films, making him the first Indian to receive the honour.

SARDAR FAUJA SINGH- MARATHON RUNNER

 SARDAR FAUJA SINGH started his career as a marathon runner at the age of 89 and is a huge inspiration to runners all round the world. He has completed nine marathons and carried the Flame while it was in London for the 2004 Athens Games. His current personal best time for the London Marathon in 2003 is 6 hours 2 minutes but with a world best of 5 hours 40 minutes in the Toronto Waterfront Marathon in 2003. In the same event in 2011 .HE became the first 100 year old to complete a marathon in just over eight hours after setting world records in eight distances from 100m to 5000m just 72 hours earlier. In April 2012 he completed the London Marathon in 7 hours 49 minutes at the age of 101. HE has raised tens of thousands for various charities globally through his running.HE WAS TORCH BEARER IN LONDON OLYMPICS 2012. HE HAS RAISED NAME OF SIKHS ,PUNJABIS IN THE WORLD. MAY HE LIVE LONG.

(Story as provided by the Torchbearer’s nominator)

SHAHID BHAGAT SINGH- A TRUE PUNJABI

SARDAR .Bhagat Singh  27 September 1907 – 23 March 1931, Devanagari: भगत सिंह, Gurumukhi: ਭਗਤ ਸਿੰਘ ) was an Indian nationalist considered to be one of the most influential revolutionaries of the Indian independence movement. He is often referred to as ShaheedBhagat Singh, the word Shaheed meaning "martyr" in a number of Indian languages. Born into a Sandhu Jat Sikh family which had earlier been involved in revolutionary activities against the British Raj, as a teenager Singh studied European revolutionary movements and was attracted to anarchist and marxist ideologies. He became involved in numerous revolutionary organizations, and quickly rose through the ranks of theHindustan Republican Association (HRA) to become one of its main leaders, eventually changing its name to the Hindustan Socialist Republican Association (HSRA) in 1928.

Seeking revenge for the death of Lala Lajpat Rai at the hands of the police, Singh was involved in the assassination of British police officer John Saunders. He eluded efforts by the police to capture him. Together with Batukeshwar Dutt, he undertook a successful effort to throw two bombs and leaflets inside the Central Legislative Assembly while shouting slogans of Inquilab Zindabad. Subsequently they volunteered to surrender and be arrested. Held on this charge, he gained widespread national support when he underwent a 116 day fast in jail, demanding equal rights for British and Indian political prisoners. During this time, sufficient evidence was brought against him for a conviction in the Saunders case, after trial by a Special Tribunal and appeal at the Privy Council in England. He was convicted and subsequently hanged for his participation in the murder, aged 23. His legacy prompted youth in India to begin fighting for Indian independence and he continues to be a youth idol in modern India, as well as the inspiration for several films. He is commemorated with a large bronze statue in the Parliament of India, as well as a range of other memorials.

JI AAYIAN NU

WELCOME

Welcome to PUNJABIS` GUINNESS WEB.This web have been created to  record achievements of PUNJABIS,their culture,personalities,VVIP PUNJABIS who have won  NAME AND FAME in the WORLD in different fields and are doing their best to shine the image of PUNJABIS in the WORLD.

JI AAYIAN NU

WELCOME

Welcome to PUNJABIS` GUINNESS WEB.This web have been created to  record achievements of PUNJABIS,their culture,personalities,VVIP PUNJABIS who have won  NAME AND FAME in the WORLD in different fields and are doing their best to shine the image of PUNJABIS in the WORLD.