Chandigarh
Stalls with activities for people of all age groups kept visitors occupied on the second day of the Chandigarh Carnival. Of the 40 stalls, Government Home Science College arranged for games based on psychology and personality tests in three stalls. The games included lucky colour, love test, compatibility test, hand writing analysis and desert fantasy dream interpretation.
“I used non-personal and evaluative questions to judge the personality type of people who took the love test. I also suggested ways to overcome the problem they were facing in their relationships,” said Aanchal Goyal, MA (psychology) student.
The thinkers hub put up by Centre for Education and Voluntary Action (CEVA) installed folk theatre forms of storytelling, including shadow puppets and Rajasthani Kaavad that had a box with a number of doors, each with colourful illustrations depicting a story. “We have the brain gym, puzzles, games. mathemania, amazing science and other games with varying difficulty levels for various age groups,” said Rajesh Gera from CEVA.
Many foreigners were also seen at the carnival. “The carnival is fascinating as it is the mix of tradition, modern culture and practices, and the entire place is interspersed with music, dance, art, food and shopping,” said Wendy Tanner, a mosaic artist from Australia.
South Indian, Chinese, north Indian and Punjabi cuisines were served. Stalls for henna tattoos, hair beading and portrait making were also put up.
Social messages being propagated
The State AIDS Control Society displayed all the information about AIDS and its prevention at their stall. Traffic police officials put up equipments and graphics to teach children about road safety. The education department also put up a stall where pamphlets regarding the various schemes initiated by the government for schoolchildren were being distributed.
Music echoes around the valley
No corner of dreamland was devoid of music as the Sangeet Natak Academy played old melodies throughout the day. The ITFT corner was buzzing with north-eastern folk songs. The live band sang several Punjabi and Hindi songs. The musical evening was marked by the performance of Punjabi singer Satinder Sartaj that saw an overwhelming response from the audience.