Art restoration is tough

Q: I am keen on studying art restoration. Are such courses available in India? If so, then do let me know the institutes, eligibility and the prospects.

Maushumi Sinha

A: Art restorers painstakingly work on restoring damaged pieces of art to their original glory. Thanks to expert restoration techniques, many priceless oil paintings on canvas, paper and silk, maps and rare manuscripts have got a new lease of life.

Restoration is an extremely challenging job and requires a great deal of skill and dexterity in order to harmonise the damaged portion with the rest and subtly conceal the flaws.

In fact, a single painting may take a team of expert restorers as long as four to six months of continuous work.

Utmost care is taken to ensure that the original work is not altered in any way. The work is photographically documented at each stage to ensure that.

Art restorers work in museums, art galleries and conservation bodies such as the National Museum, INTACH or NGMA in Delhi, etc. With some experience, you can also work as a consultant as most institutions and private collectors have little or no access to professional advice.

Here are two specific courses that you could look at in India:

• Delhi Institute of Heritage Research and Management, 18-A, Satsang Vihar Marg, Qutub Institutional Area, New Delhi (www.dihrm.org), offers a masters in conservation, preservation and heritage management. This is of a two-year duration and the eligibility is a bachelors degree in any branch of arts or science.

• National Museum Institute of History of Art, Conservation and Museology, Janpath, New Delhi, offers a masters in conservation. And the eligibility is a BSc degree with physics, chemistry as main subjects or a bachelors in fine arts.

Options abound in forensic science

Q: I want to study forensic science. Where is it offered?

Anindya Haldar

A: Forensic science employs scientific techniques to solve crimes. Very few universities offer it at the BSc level. However, you can pursue forensic science at the MSc level after completing BSc, BPharm or MBBS. You could check out the following universities
offering the course at the BSc level:

• Utkal University, Bhubaneswar.

• Manipur University, Imphal.

• Delhi University has also launched a BSc (hons) course this year. The course is being offered at SGTB Khalsa College, North Campus.

Criminology is also offered as a subject at the BA level in many universities. Incidentally, Central Forensic Science Library, Calcutta, is the first to offer DNA typing facility in India.

It is a very lucrative field and offers lots of challenges.

Making a career in defence studies

Q: We are third year students pursuing economics (hons). And we are keen on doing a postgraduate course in defence studies. Which are the institutes that offer this course?

Uttam Chakrabarty/Deepak Lal

A: Some relevant institutes that you could look at are:

• Jadavpur University, School of International Relations and Strategic Studies, Calcutta.

The university also offers a four month certificate course in international relations and

current affairs. This course is ideal for those preparing for IAS and other competitive exams.

• University of Pune, Department of Defence and Strategic Studies offers an MA/MSc in defence studies (www.unipune.ernet.in).

• University of Allahabad,

Strategic Studies Centre, Allahabad, also offers a course.

• Aligarh Muslim

University, Department of Strategic Studies, Aligarh,

offers a degree in

defence studies.

• Maharshi Dayanand University, Department of Defence Studies and Statistics, Rohtak, is also a good option.

Q: I have heard that CBSE has introduced an upper age limit for candidates taking the All India Pre Medical Test (AIPMT). What is the new eligibility criteria?

Jyotsna Dewan

A: For the All India Pre Medical Test (AIPMT) to be held on April 1, 2007, the CBSE has introduced an upper age limit of 25 years (as on December 31 of the year of taking the exam).

However, the age bar has been relaxed by five years in the case of SC/ST and backward class candidates.

And also, you will now have only three chances at cracking the AIPMT. Many students are not aware of this clause, but those who have already attempted the PMT thrice will get a one-time exception. They will be allowed one more shot at the exam in 2007.

Approximately 2.5 lakh candidates apply for the 1,654 medical seats every year and now a sizeable number of 25-30 year old aspirants will be disqualified from taking this highly competitive exam.

As per the Medical Council of India (MCI)’s notification, students appearing in the exam should have completed at least 17 years on December 1 of the year of admission.

You should also have scored 50 per cent (aggregate) in English, physics, chemistry and biology to be eligible to sit for the exam.