Put your hands together: Students whooping it up at the Techno India fest

It was all about planning and execution, about bonhomie and competition and above all, about the determination of all those who were a part of it. There were 21 events over seven categories showcasing the range and scope of the fest. The technical events included robotics, mechanics, programming, designing, gaming and so on. There were also events like a treasure hunt, face painting, photography and a quiz for lighter moments. The wide plethora of events drew a record number of registrations from all corners of the country, further fuelled by cash prizes worth around Rs 2 lakh.
Edge ’08, Techno India’s annual festival, was also host to Dipayan Dey of Lead India fame, inspiring everyone with his eloquent speech. There was also a panel discussion with eminent personalities from IT giants like Wipro, TCS and IBM. The discussion on the “stability of jobs in the IT industry” was a thought-provoking one for both students and faculty. Edge ’08 was another pearl added to the glittering crown of Techno India, continuing its legacy of excellence.

Siyanatullah Khan,

EE-fourth year, Techno India

CALCUTTA
Helping hands

Zephyr ’07 — winds of change was a cultural programme organised by the Interact Club of Pratt Memorial school. What distinguished it from other inter-school programmes was the participation of students from less privileged schools of the city. It gives youth from both segments of society the chance to showcase their talents.

Zephyr had students from the top schools of Calcutta participating. It was a three-day affair and we held the events at the zoo in Alipore with events like “newspaper publishing”, “paper chase”, “web page designing” and “public eye”. Seeing pupils in different uniforms, sitting together and writing poetry and reports, or just having fun, makes one realise how similar everyone is.

Events on the first day included “spell-well”, “reality bites”, “trend setter” and “footloose”. The second day saw an antakshari competition, a folk dance performed by underprivileged students and the prize distribution. We are proud to say that a mother and daughter pair who were runners-up of the antakshari challenge were both studied at Pratt Memorial. The funds raised were utilised for the benefit of underprivileged children. We count our success not by how much money we make but by the smiles on the faces of the people we serve. By that measure, Zephyr ’07 was a resounding success.

Rohini Das,

Pratt Memorial

Bhubaneswar
Mind your language

The postgraduate department of English at Utkal University, Bhubaneswar, Orissa, organised a students’ seminar on the topic, “Reading English in the 21st Century” on April 2. Prof. Sumanyu Satapathy of Delhi University was the special guest for the occasion. The seminar aimed at exploring and debating the various implications of recent developments, the rise of theory, gender and cultural studies, creative writing, translation, globalisation and communicative English has had on the study and teaching of English in the 21st century. Papers titled Communication and Communion: A Perspective on English, Hyrbridising English, A Kaleidoscope of English: Present and Future, English Literature and its Career Prospects urged the audience to make up their own minds on the matter. There was a lively debate going on between the students and faculty in all corners of the room. The enthusiasm of and presentations by the MPhil and MA scholars were highly appreciated.

Kasturi Bose

MPhil, Utkal University

CALCUTTA
HIT’s hit

The Heritage Institute of Technology’s (HIT) tech fest was held on campus from March 28 to 30 . They called it Dakshh ’08, skill… innovation… application. The best thing about the event was that there was something or the other for everyone, no matter what their talent.

Right from tech goodies like algorythm, hacking, wired, block holes and so on to pure fun-loving games like akriti and bots, it had technology’s favourite toys. Events like braintonics, ad-blitz, tech melange, a debate, quizzes, tech@heart and scripters were a great hit. Strategy-oriented events like strat-a-gem and bplan were also a big success. In these three days, Dakshh witnessed participation from various colleges in and around Calcutta. Colleges like MCKVIE, JU, Techno India, BESU, MSIT, CIEM and many more were really fighting it out to prove they were better than the others. The entire fest was well organised and well managed by the students of HIT.

Students from the National University of Juridical Sciences (NUJS), Calcutta, participated in the first NLS International Arbitration Moot Court Competition in Bangalore from March 21 to 23 and did the city proud. The team of four — Rahul Chatterji (fifth year), Amrita Biswas (third year), Sroyon Mukherjee (fourth year) and Smriti Bahety (first year) —won the competition defeating Campus Law Centre, Delhi, in the finals. We also won the award for the best memorial (best legal brief) and our two speakers at the event — Rahul and myself —got an honourable mention for our efforts.

Amrita Biswas, NUJS

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