In a daring pre-dawn heist, nearly 16 youngsters fled with gold and silver worth lakhs from a shop in Bathinda recently. Shopkeepers didn’t just complain, they responded with wit and anger. By morning, shutters carried bold notices saying “Entire market is for sale” and “This shop is for sale”. The police has since promised swift action.Saini strikes ‘Harjabi’ chordHaryana CM Nayab Singh Saini’s speech at Maghi Mela in Muktsar is creating a buzz on social media. Sporting a saffron turban, Saini sought to strike an emotional chord with the Punjabis, speaking in his unusual cocktail of Punjabi-Hindi delivered in a Haryanvi accent. Whether this ‘linguistic cocktail’ will resonate with the unpredictable Punjabi voters, only the next year’s Assembly poll results will tell.No ‘trim’ till pollsWhenever elections are around in Punjab, leaders tend to change their appearance. Ahead of the 2019 Lok Sabha elections, Kapurthala MLA Rana Gurjeet Singh stopped trimming his beard. Months ahead of the 2024 General Election, PCC chief Amrinder Singh Raja Warring started donning turban. Now in the run-up to the 2027 Assembly polls, Congress leaders Sukhpal Khaira and Pargat Singh have stopped trimming their beards. All this for a more acceptable Panthic look.Sidhus enjoy kite flyingOften in news for their controversial remarks, Navjot Kaur Sidhu and her husband Navjot Singh Sidhu were seen in a lighter moment in a Lohri video. The clip shows the couple enjoying kite flying, away from political tension and criticism. In a candid exchange, she is heard saying in Punjabi, “Eh guddi mere Amritsar East bhej deo (Send this kite to my Amritsar East)”. Amid the festive cheer, her deep connection with Amritsar East stood out.Warring turns the tablesPunjab Congress chief Amrinder Singh Raja Warring, trolled online over his “12×5=48” gaffe, faced further ridicule from Manpreet Badal at the BJP’s Muktsar rally. However, Warring silenced his critics with a sharp counter-attack. “I may be less educated, but I didn’t carry home the government dining table while serving as the Finance Minister,” Warring said in Ludhiana. The reference was to the controversy over a “missing” dining table from Manpreet’s official residence when he quit as minister. Manpreet later claimed to have purchased the table.Gurdaspur meets CanadaGurdaspur residents are waiting to facilitate Dilpreet Ponty Bajwa, selected to lead Canada in the T20 World Cup, the day he returns home. Rejected by Punjab, Ponty rose like the proverbial Phoenix in Canada. He says it is payback time. “ I am looking forward to the match against India. Sometimes, you have to give people a taste of their own medicine,” he adds.Princes’ Gallery in focusThe Princes’ Gallery in the Old Parliament House — the refurbished reading room — was in focus at the recent 28th Conference of Speakers and Presiding Officers of Commonwealth held there. In the pre-Independence era, it was a gallery where princes of the erstwhile provinces used to sit. Later, it was turned into a reading room for MPs. Having got its old look back, the gallery fascinated visiting dignitaries.Candid VikramadityaIt’s rare for politicians to admit shortcomings, especially when these concern them or their family. However, PWD Minister Vikramaditya Singh recently didn’t hesitate to acknowledge that his mother Pratibha Singh, former HPCC president, isn’t particularly articulate in interviews. In the same breath, he highlighted her strengths, pointing out that she has always accepted responsibilities assigned by the party and fulfilled them to the best of her ability.Contributed by Archit Watts, Pradeep Sharma, Deepkamal Kaur, PK Jaiswar, Manav Mander, Ravi Dhaliwal, Animesh Singh & Subhash Rajta