Sing along: A file photo of Anjan Dutta (right) with son Neel

Students of the Bengal Institute of Technology had organised Bits 2 Bytes 07, a technological fest on October 1 and 2, 2007. The fest was a mixed bag and included events like gaming, quizzing, seminars and project displays. The students had also organised Impulse 07, the annual cultural fest on October 6 and 7, in which colleges like South City, MSIT and Techno India, took part. Bengali band Eeshan and Anjan Dutta entertained the audience with lilting numbers. Then Sa Re Ga Ma Pa finalist (now the winner) Aneek Dhar and Raja Hasan were the star attraction for the evening.

Raj Jaiswal, third year, ECE,
Bengal Institute of Technology

CALCUTTA
Say no to drugs

The Lions Club of Howrah and DUVA (Drive for United Victory over Addiction), organised an awareness campaign on HIV / AIDS and drug abuse at Birla High School (Girls). Students of Class XI attended the counselling session, which highlighted the major causes and harmful effects of drug addiction. The students were advised not to yield to peer pressure or depression. Say no to drugs, cautioned Premi, the general secretary of DUVA.

The talk also threw light on the need for generating awareness about HIV / AIDS among high-risk groups as well as the general public. Myths about the ways in which AIDS spreads were also busted.

Ankita Dutta, Class XI (Science),
Birla High School (Girls)

New innings

Computer Point, Ballygunge Phari, a learning centre of Sikkim Manipal University (SMU), celebrated its annual students meet on October 10, 2007, at Kala Mandir auditorium, Calcutta. The programme started with Rabindrasangeet and was followed by a speech by the director of Computer Point, Ratna Bandhopadhay.

On this occasion, it was announced that henceforth, the institute would be known as the School of Management, Media, Technological Sciences and Research (SMMTR). This announcement was followed by a prize-distribution ceremony. Prizes in many categories like the highest scorer in the university exam, best performer in field camp and best performer in seminar presentation were given away.

There was a solo Manipuri dance performance, which was followed by a group performance to a medley of Hindi film songs. A fashion show was also organised in which the students scorched the ramp.

Sudipta Panja,MBA (fourth semester),
Ballygunge Phari

Beyond books

Triumphant: The winning team celebrates

Triumphant Institute of Management Education (TIME) Pvt. Ltd (which is engaged in training students for engineering and medical examinations) conducts India’s largest science quiz for school students. Titled Aqua Regia, it is open to students from classes VIII, IX and X, of all streams and is conducted in over 25 cities across the country. The city finals took place on October 12, 2007, at G.D. Birla Sabhaghar, Calcutta. The objective is to encourage students to look beyond textbooks and establish the connection between what they learn at school and the application of these concepts. Rahul Reddy, an alumnus of IIM Calcutta and director, TIME Calcutta, said, “The idea is to present an event that is informative, challenging and entertaining.”

A school can nominate any number of teams of two members each. All participating teams have to take part in a written preliminary round that is conducted at the school itself. The top teams from each school qualify for the city finals at each city. And the winners from each city finals qualify for the zonal finals and the winners of each zone qualify for the national finals to be held in Hyderabad in December. All expenses for the travel of the teams and an accompanying adult to the zonal and national finals is borne by TIME. While all the finalists will be awarded merit certificates, all students will be given participation certificates through their schools and the winners will take home cash prizes and gifts.

Launched last year, the quiz saw over 67,000 students from 11 cities participating in the event. The Calcutta round of the quiz was won by Sarthak Chatterjee and Avik Debnath of Don Bosco High School Park Circus. They took home a cash prize of Rs 10,000.

Kaustav Dutta and Soham Dan from St James High School were the first runners up and Shuromoy Das and Sharmili Chakrabarty from St Sebastian High School were the second runners up.

The winning team from Don Bosco High School Park Circus is now preparing for the group finals that will take place in Mumbai in mid-November.

Winners at the group finals will go on to the national finals to be held in Hyderabad on December 3, 2007.

Sarthak Chatterjee

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