Tribune Trust Retirees Reunite: A Heartwarming Meet-and-Greet Filled with Nostalgia

The Voice of Chandigarh News:

The sprawling grounds of the Green Shiwalik School, Khuda Ali Sher, Sector 1, tucked away on the outskirts of the City with the Shivalik Hills offering an ambient backdrop, on Sunday (March 9) turned out to be a place of a rare spectacle suffused with sheer joy when retired colleagues of The Tribune Trust Publications, many of them travelling from distant corners of Himachal Pradesh Haryana and elsewhere, converged in great numbers, to be a part of the annual Meet-and-Greet Programme. A visible glint in their staring eyes was writ large as they hugged each other and recounted the heydays of working together for their beloved organization – The Tribune Trust Publications.

A brain child of the Tribune Employees Union (Regd), led by the dynamic duo, Anil Gupta and Ruchika M Khanna, it was the second mega Meet-and-Greet event organised for both the retired and serving employees, which attracted more than 200 colleagues from various departments. Messages kept pouring in unabated from those colleagues who could not attend the event due to their preoccupations and other domestic obligarltions, besides health reasons, wishing us good luck for the success of the gala event.

This time around the Meet-and-Greet programme was held at the Green Shiwalik School on the insistence of Sardar Prem Singh, a former colleague and its managing director. We, on behalf of the Union and hundreds of colleagues, offer a big fat ‘thank you’ to Sardar Prem Singh ji for making all the necessary arrangements and, of course, arranging sumptuous lunch for the colleagues.This is what our generous host S Prem Singh ji has to say about the colleagues as a whole “I had a long- cherished desire to see my colleagues here and grace the school with their benign presence.My wishes have been granted as you all spared your valuable time to be here at the school and bestow your blessings upon us.This gesture of your goodwill has fed me enough gravitas and gumption to continue working hard for the good of the society.I will always remain indebted to you all for the wishes and blessings and you bestowed upon me and my family”

The programme kicked off with the honoring of the colleagues, who had attained the age of 75 glorious years of their lives by the office-bearers of the Union. Among the proud recipients, numbering about 27, were Brehspati Sharma (98 years), Sardar Surinder Singh (94 years) Jagdish Lal (90 years) and O P Arora (former Deputy General Manager), AS Prashar, Prof Sham Singh, AN Aggarwal.The Managing Director, S Prem Singh also honoured the former and serving colleagues with whom he had worked during his serving stint from time to time.

World renowned Cardiologist Dr Yash Pal Sharma, head of the Department of Cardiology, PGI, who was the chief guest on the occasion, gave important tips on general health and wellness. A few key alerts and advisories he categorically mentioned on keeping a healthy heart and keep off other diseases, were to keep themselves examined on a regular intervals. He also advised the gathering to be conscious of what and how much you eat, among others.He grew nostalgic as he recalled his long standing association with The Tribune since his formative years into this noble medical profession.

Prominent speakers on the occasion included Sardar Prem Singh, Anil Gupta, Ruchika M Khanna, O P Arora, Jagrar Singh Sidhu, Balbir Singh Jandu, Balwinder Jammu, Ramesh K. Dhiman, LS Chaturvedi and Rajpreet Dhaliwal (youngest daughter of S Prem Singh), among others. They all were praise for the unique initiative of the Union leadership for offering a common platform for the retired employees, where they could share their agonies and ecstasies together and relive the sheer nostalgia of the moments of togetherness!

Dr Joginder Singh, Sr Vice President of the Union conducted the three-hour long programme.

The programme ended with the senior vice-president of the Union, Karambir Singh, offering a vote of thanks to the attendees, followed by lunch, which all relished to their heart’s fill.