While the haves celebrated the last evening of 2007 in the big hotels and clubs, the havenots did not lag behind either, in welcoming the new year. The revellers had their own way of celebrating the new year's arrival. They boozed in open and motorcycle-borne youths drove on the city roads, with a scant concern for traffic laws. Though the police were on an alert, they did not play spoilsport.

Sutlej Club, the premier club of the city, had organised it's New Year party at Whistling Woods wedding resort, on Ferozepur road, about 15 kms away from city. It was for the first time that the club did not host the new year party at it's own premises.

Though the club members thronged to the new venue, yet the response to the programme was far from encouraging. Here the famous singer Sukhbir was the star attraction, who performed along with his troupe. Besides a chilling weather, the late arrival of the singer also dampened the spirits of the club members.

As Sukhbir started singing his popular Punjabi number "Punjabi munde paaun bhangra", the organisers had to call upon the audience to show their enthusiasm. The next song Sukhbir sang was an evergreen Punjabi song "Gur naalo ishq mittha, o rabba lagg na kise noo jaave". An item girl Rima Das danced to the tunes of popular item numbers.

At the Park Plaza hotel, a number of parties had been organised to welcome the New Year. In one of these parties, the main attractions were the belly dancers and the Polish band. The hotel owner and Kila Raipur MLA Jassi Khangura too had organised a New Year party for a select persons.

At the Fortune Klassic hotel, the famous Punjabi singer brothers' duo Harbhajan Mann and Gursewak Mann were the star attractions, who enthralled the audience.

And on the roads, the revellers were seen dancing to the beats of Punjabi dhol in the markets. In some areas, the liquor vends became open air pubs, with youngsters boozing and dancing to popular film songs being played at high volume in their car stereos.

At Sarabha Nagar market, the enthusiasm of the revellers knew no bounds. Here, the deployment of a heavy police force too could not deter them from ringing in the New Year in style. Earlier in the day, Sarabha Nagar police had put barricades on both sides of the market to prevent the entry of vehicles more than the parking capacity of the market. The police also towed away some four-wheelers which had been wrongly parked.

Quest Infosys party

The students of Punjab Technical University (PTU) learning centre Quest Infosys at Feroze Gandhi Market organised a new year-cum fresher’s party today.

The students, staff members and the directing staff of Quest Infosys actively participated in the event and celebrated New Year Eve with gusto. The students of the Information Technology and Management stream attended the function.

Aanchal Nayyar of BSc (IT) first semester and Sharanjit Singh of BCA first semester from undergraduate courses were declared as Miss Fresher and Mr Fresher respectively.

From the post graduate courses, Preeti of MSC IT third semester and Harman of MBA 1st Semester got the top titles. Neha of BCA first semester and Manpreet Sandhu of BSc fifth semester were declared Ms 2008 and Mr 2008 respectively.

The guests Kulbinder, Nitin Kapoor and Amrinder Singh distributed prizes to the winners. Wing Commander SS Arora (retd), Academic Head Navjeet Kaur, Rupinder Kaur, the Management Course Co-ordinator and other faculty members were also present on the occasion. Centre Head Jaspreet Singh thanked the distinguished guests for attending the function.

Gurudwara Model Town Extension

Gurudwara Model town Extension planned an auspicious beginning for the New Year. Devotees today sang hymns to mark the beginning of another year, with the blessings of God. A Kavi Darbar was also organised on New Year’s eve. The poets who participated in it included Karamjeet Singh Noor, Dr Hari Singh Jachak, Rajinder Singh Josh and Tarandeep Kaur. With their works, they brought alive the accounts of the good old times, in this modern world. A kirtan darbar was also organised. Gagandeep Singh, Sarabjeet Singh, Bhai Lakhwinder Singh and a number of other people took part in it.

Speaking on the occasion, the Gurdwara’s General Secretary Mohinderjit Singh said that this marks the beginning of the Gurpurab celebrations on January 5. A Sikh Fest will be organised to mark the day, with various programmes such as Dastar Bandi competition,Gurbani Kanth competition and other religious events.