Former director of Birla Industrial and Technological Museum, Calcutta, Samar Bagchi at the workshop in Patna on Friday. Picture by Nagendra Kumar Singh

Patna, Dec. 2: To imagine human life without chemis- try is impossible but it is essential to understand the impact of an invention before allowing it to see the light of day.

Delegates and participants at the chemistry workshop organised by Magadh Mahila College today expressed this opinion. The workshop, “Chemistry — the elixir of life”, was arranged to mark the International Year of Chemistry, 2011.

While academics spoke at length on the subject, students made PowerPoint presentations.

Basabi Mahapatra, the organising secretary of the programme, said chemistry plays a vital role in human life.

“Chemistry permeates every aspect of our lives. Can we imagine a day without food, water, medicines, clothes and thousands of other familiar objects that make up modern society?”

Not everyone agreed with Mahapatra, though.

On a completely different note, Samar Bagchi, the former director of Birla Industrial and Technological Museum, Calcutta, said chemistry is a boon to human life only if it is used in an effective way.

He related environmental catastrophe with industrial development and scientific innovations.

“The situation is critical now because the concept of innovation has changed. There has been a paradigm shift from creating necessities to producing luxuries. Chemistry is a boon only when inventions are made to develop the necessities of life. Else, it can lead to natural catastrophes like global warming and climate change.

The students gave PowerPoint presentations once the workshop got over.

Daksha Rekha, a student who took part in the workshop, demonstrated through her presentation how life would be impossible without chemistry.

Jaya Pathak, another student, explored questions like why onions make people cry and ice floats on water through her presentation.