Sculptor who Turns Trash into Art

Harminder with his prize in Delhi

A makeover of trash by him turns into an admirable piece of art. Ludhiana-based sculptor Harminder Singh Boparai finds beauty at unlikely places – in waste bins and garbage dumps – and transforms the objects of his fancy into three-dimensional figurines.


For instance, a sculpture depicting a bee on a flower uses cast away cooler fans for petals and discarded foot rests of a scooter for the wings of the bee. For a sculpture symbolizing two dancing girls, the artist uses old milk containers to create the girls’ dresses supported by twisted iron rods for limbs. 


A sculpture of three ostriches uses defunct bike tanks, generator pipes and cycle stands. 



A figurine of two black-and-white ladybirds and another symbolizing a mother-child duo are creative and thoughtful combinations of discarded cooking pans. These are just a few of the nearly 35 pieces created by him out of waste, mostly metal scrap. The other sculptures include Lord Ganesha, Abraham Lincoln, a crow, a dog, and a peacock.

Harminder says he has a passion for all things discarded and is even a compulsive hoarder. “What seems unappealing or quirky to others is inspiration to me. I love turning the everyday objects into interesting things. This is also my way to conserve nature by recycling metal,” says the artist, who teaches art at Satpaul Mittal School. Harminder is also a farmer who, given his habit to not give away old possessions, continues to work with his 40-year-old tractor.



His art is not limited to creating the best out of waste though. Hailing from Ghudani Kalan village, Tehsil Payal, Harminder is a trained sculptor from Tac Academy of Fine Arts and boasts of several awards including Gold Medal in Zonal Level Competitions by Punjabi University Patiala and Appreciation Award by Lalit Kala Academy Chandigarh, 2011. Many of his works have found space in galleries in India and abroad.

His latest achievement is the Silver Minar award, the highest in the art category, at the recently concluded Delhi International Film Festival.


The 32-year-old had showcased a sculpture symbolic of the logo of British entertainment firm HMV. The famous and one of the most loved logo shows a little dog (named Nipper) sitting inquisitively before a gramophone listening to his master’s voice coming from the horn.

Knitting a Revolution

Amit Thapar (left) and Dr Ravinder Verma

Is a revolution in hand-knitting, with a whole new generation of needle hobbyists churning out novel yarn patters on the cards? A Ludhiana-based acrylic and wool yarn manufacturing giant thinks so, and is ready to blow the dust off his folksy skill and lend it bright hues of comfort and style.

Ganga Acrowools Limited, a leading acrylic yarn exporter in the country, barged into this territory last year, with a campaign titled ‘Knitting Happiness’. Under this, the company launched an array of designer yarns with to-do-instructions for people to indulge in some quirky needle crafting. To create not only trendy scarves and sweaters, but also whimsical objects like toys (birds, animals), bells, hand bands, wall hangings, bags, purses, pencil caps and so on.

This special ‘designer’ yarn is manufactured using a special printing technology imported from Italy that lends multi-hues and textures to the yarn. Supplied mainly in Jammu and Kashmir, Himachal, Punjab, Delhi, Bihar and Uttar Pradesh, the product has received a great response, says the company, while claiming to be the only player in this area so far.

The idea, says the owner, comes from places like Europe and the US where knitting as a distinguished craft has been immensely popular for over a decade now. “Knitting is big abroad. It reigns over the lifestyle pages in glossy magazines and has spurred social circles dedicated to it. Women and even men are transforming this homely hobby into a fashion pursuit. 

Multi-coloured yarn by the company

A slew of people are posting their artfully crafted yarn patterns on blogs that are readily lapped up by thousand of fans,” says Dr Ravinder Verma, the Managing Director of the 13-year-old acro-wool unit. “I wish to emulate the concept in India where knitting can serve great as a pastime, for creative satisfaction and even socializing,” he adds.

It is for this reason that the company intends to open a ‘knitting café’ and eventually a knitting school in the city. Informs Amit Thapar, Commercial President, “We want to see the café in place within two years, where a dedicated space for needle-wielding artists can create artful pieces while enjoying a cup of coffee. A knitting school is in the pipeline too, where the new generation will be introduced to this neglected domestic art. We wish to make it an insignia of style, and wish to barge into the social circles of women,” he adds.

Netting Poetry of a Digital Age

For the first time ever, the Punjabi Sahit Akademi opened its arms to poets who write, share and publish their works online, on reading websites or online social networking platforms. For a poetry fair held in Ludhiana in April this year, young poets who are yet to see their works bear a physical form shared stage with published, well-established names from Punjab and Delhi.

The fair, named ‘Punjabi Kavita Mela’ saw around 100 Punjabi poets from various cities of Punjab as well as Delhi recite their poetic works, those creating rich digital literature adding up to at least half this number.

“There is a growing tribe of such creative writers who post works online and enjoy a great fan following. We can’t ignore them,” said well-known poet Jaswant Zafar, Secretary of the Akademi who initiated the event. “The platform is to give them a chance to improve, through interaction with well-experienced poets. This is also a novel way to synergize the two forms of poetry,” he added.

Zafar observed that most such poets belong to small towns of Punjab who are quite savvy with the Internet. “They connect on Facebook, blogs or through their own websites and pages. Most of them are below 30,” he added.

Dr Gurbhajan Singh Gill, President of the Akademi, said he is impressed with the quality and imagination in this “paperless literature” and thus welcomed the move.

“Consider these beautiful lines that come from a young poet Manjinder Singh in Ludhiana, for instance:

Ae keho jahi adalat hai
Ae keho jahi waqalat hai
insaaf da sach tikeya
jhoothe gawahan utte

“We need such talent to come to the fore,” added he.

Interestingly, a majority of these online poets comprised women, observed Dr Gill. “The artist can bear complete anonymity on the web. And the restrictions on stepping out of the house to connect with poets or perform are non-existent here,” he argued.
The event took place at Punjabi Bhawan, Ludhiana, and was organized in association with Shabd Lok.

Visually Impaired, but his vision carried him through

A symbol of the indomitable human spirit, Dr S Tarsem of Malerkotla has overcome visual impairment to emerge a triumph, rising well above most of his sighted peers. A prolific and multiple-award winning author of prose and poetry, he is also a distinguished scholar-teacher of Punjabi, Hindi and Urdu.

 What makes this achiever an extraordinary precedent of crushing despair and shattering stereotypes is that Dr Tarsem has not even learnt Braille, the tactile writing and reading system for the blind.

Just how has a man with an erased vision for the last four decades sailed through the adversities to become a full and happy participant in life? His soon-to-be-published autobiography could throw a light.

Titled “Kalam te Kalaam’, the book chronicles the illuminating career, with its many blessings and challenges, of the 71-year-old retired professor from Government Post-graduate College, Malerkotla.

“I remember how I was ready to be brushed aside for the post of lecturer given my disability during the interview. I promptly stood up and gave a demonstration. The panel was awestruck but impressed, and I was selected for the post,” he shares.

In class, his students read and he explained. During assessment, his helper read and he marked the answer sheets. For his writing, he dictated and his assistant wrote.
“It was never smooth. Many a times, I came under fire from some colleagues who questioned my merit for the job given my disability, but the management always replied that they had no reason to sack me. I was a star lecturer, and a favourite of the students,” says he.

To be published by Sangam Publications, the book is expected to be released within a month.
“My book is not a personal account of loss and triumph. I will serve as an empowering tool for the blind. It will advise them on ways to overcome their disability and gift them motivation,” says Dr Tarsem.

Prakash Singh Badal presenting Sharomani Sahitkar award to Dr.S.Tarsem in 2000.

Born in the small town of Tapa Mandi in Barnala, Dr Tarsem was a normal child who took joy in looking everything around until he fell prey to a genetic disease that killed his sight gradually, rendering him complete blind by the time he turned 30.
Interestingly, it was after eight years of dealing with the visual challenge that Dr Tarsem enrolled for the M.A. degree, for better career prospects. He went on to complete Masters in Hindu, Urdu and Punjabi, and eventually earned his Ph.D. in Punjabi literature at the age of 45.

A ranker throughout, he was the first among the 200 candidates selected by Punjab Public Service Commission in 1983 for the position of lecturer.

Besides penning over 20 books in Hindi and Punjabi including six short story ones, five books of Ghazals and poetry, five proses and six criticisms, he has been bringing out a Punjabi quarterly magazine Nazria for nearly a decade and a Hindi-Punjabi magazine The Bindu since 1995.

Winner of several state, national and international literary awards including Shiromani Punjabi Sahitkar award 2000 from the Punjab Government, Dr Tarsem has also been the General Secretary of Punjab Welfare Association for the Blind for three decades.

Chandigarh's Resident Brings Overland Photo Tours to India

Thanks to the big idea of a former army officer, India might gear up to travel the new way.
In overland truck expeditions, Captain Suresh Sharma of Chandigarh brings a new concept to the domestic market from Africa. He offers to let you take on rugged terrain aboard a vehicle turned into self-contained movable world, with passenger seats; kitchen with enough foods and water; space for camping and leisure equipment; luggage lockers; and washroom all attached.

Sharma quit as short service commission officer in the army only to get into shooting with a camera and travelling, his passions. “The tour will give the travellers a thrill that only going into the wild can offer,” he says. “Where else do you see a wild elephant sloshing its way across the waterway.”

Besides the simple joys of travel, passengers explore unfamiliar cultures and the excitement of capturing rare photographs. “It is an overland photo tour, where my role is of a mentor and guide,” says captain Sharma, whose photographs were included in the coffee table book “The Indian Army: An Illustrated Overview”, which the defence minister had released in September 2007.

Many of his photographs have also made it to reputed newspapers, magazines, textbooks and websites. His next coffee table book is about fighter aircraft MiG-21. In his overland adventure venture Green Dot Expeditions, the support of his wife, homoeopathic doctor Rajbir Kaur, has made the journey smoother.

In the past three years, the couple has detailed every aspect of the expedition and engineered equipment to need. Push-back seats, thick mattresses under the on-board roof-top prefabricated tent canopies, an LED monitor, and a library are a few of the overlander’s many features.

“The on-board outdoor studio equipment comes handy to capture unannounced delights such as a camel trader cooking food with family over sand dunes,” says captain Sharma, who has logged more than 1-lakh kilometres in the country in his self-designed caravan (he maintains a logbook). Of late, he delivered a talk in New Delhi on “Caravan tourism: India by road”, which the PHD Chamber of Commerce and Industry had organised.

His first overland expedition takes off next month, to Kullu, Teerthan Valley and Manali, for 10 days. In winter, the destinations are warmer Rajasthan and coastal India.

Oldest Surviving Founder member of CPI (M) Dies in Punjab

Comrade Jagjit Singh Lyallpuri, veteran communist leader and the oldest surviving founder member of Communist Party of India (Marxist), passed away in Ludhiana on Monday night.
Lyallpuri, 96, breathed his last at his residence in Krishna Nagar at 11:30pm, due to failing health over the last few days.

Jagjit SIngh Lyallpuri

He is survived by three sons. His two eldest sons, Jagdeep Singh, a retired engineer, and Sudeep Singh, a retired Colonel, live in the UK. Lyallpuri lived in city with his youngest child Dr Navdeep Singh Khaira, a Nephrologist at Christian Medical College and Hospital, daughter-in-law Dr Parwinder Kaur, and two grandsons, an engineer and a doctor.

Throughout his illustrious career as an activist and a communist that spans over seven decades, Lyallpuri held several key posts including the general secretary of All India Kisan Sabha and, during the fag end of his career, the general secretary of the Marxist Communist Party of India (U) when the latter was formed in 2005.

Lyallpuri, a senior trustee of Desh Bhagat Yaadgar Commmitee, had been to jail several times, including during the pre-independence days and the emergency in 1975.
He is best remembered for his struggle as a nation leader for farmers’ and labourers’ rights, and was among the leaders who opposed ‘Khush Hasiyati Tax’ imposed by Punjab Government after independence.

Born in Lyallpur, Pakistan, on April 10, 1917, he qualified as a lawyer from Government Law College, Lahore, in 1940. He began his political career as a Congress party worker. He quit the job to become a co-opted member of the central committee of the Kirti Communist Party, when he was soon encrusted with the task of legal functioning of the Punjab Kisan Sabha.

Lyallpuri's Autobiography

 When All India Kisan Sabha activists were arrested by the British rulers at the outbreak of Second World War, he abandoned his newly begun practice as a lawyer.
In 1942, the Kirti Communist Party merged with the Communist Party of India and Lyallpuri remained a member until CPI split into two in 1964 when he, along with veterans such as Jyori Basu and AK Gopalan, founded CPI (M).
 
Lyallpuri had shifted to Ludhiana after partition in 1947, taking up residence first new Rakh Bagh and in 1974 in Krishna Nagar.

He never applied for any benefit entitled to freedom fighter. In 2010, he brought out his autobiography titled My Life My Times.