Patiala, April 20: Barkat Sidhu, an exponent of the Patiala gharana, is a sufi singer whose soul-stirring voice moves the listeners with the poetry of timeless poets like Bulleh Shah and Shah Hussain Farid.

Sidhu’s rendition of Sufi poets’ compositions touches listeners’ heart.

Abohar (Punjab), Apr 18 : Officials of a sanctuary near Abohar in Punjab have sought more government aid.

Sanctuary guards do not have proper uniforms or licenses to protect the animals from poachers.

"The government is not helping us enough. We don't have sufficient government resources. The people support us and we are able to manage the sanctuary well," claimed Ashok Kumar, the Game Warden.

The sanctuary is spread across 46,513 acres and comprises of 13 villages in Firozpur District.

Noshera Dhala (Punjab), Apr 14: Over 500 couples tied the knot on Monday in a mass marriage ceremony held here on the occasion of Baba Jalan Dass Baisakhi Mela.

The organisers were praised for taking care of all expenses.

"Every person decides about his or her partner. Their names are registered only after the village head's recommendation. Later, the date of marriage is fixed," said Kanwerjit Singh, one of the organisers.

"Last year, we organised 175 marriages and this year around 500 marriages took place," he added.

Amritsar, Apr 13: The Sikh community on Monday celebrated the annual spring harvest festival of Baisakhi.

Farmers, dressed in colourful attires, danced to `Bhangra' beats in middle of the fields.

Throughout the year, farmers work hard for good crop yields and during the harvest festival of Baisakhi, they dance and make merry.

After the celebrations, the farmers start cutting the crop.

IOL Chemicals and Pharmaceuticals Limited, a leading organic chemicals manufacturer and supplier, has announced that it will hire around 400 new employees by the end of this year.

The company has an existing workforce of over 900 professionals.

Market experts believe that despite the global economic slowdown, this is a big step by Ludhiana-based IOLCP towards preparing itself to tap global opportunities in the pharmaceutical industry.

Reliance Communications informed on Tuesday that it will open 82 new exclusive mobile stores in Punjab under its expansion programme.

Under the arrangement, the company would undertake expansion drive across several districts of state including Amritsar, Bhatinda, Chandigarh, Jalandhar, Ludhiana and Patiala.

According to company officials, the latest move is to bring affordable services closer to the people of Punjab and provide easier and faster access to world class telecommunications solutions.