A three-day craft demonstration-cum-awareness programme was held at our college recently. It was organised by the office of the Development Commissioner (Handicrafts), ministry of textiles, Government of India. Skilled artisans taught us the basics of various indigenous crafts such as dokra, batik, jute and shola work. This was a great opportunity for us to learn hands-on and it strengthened our theoretical knowledge as well.
“Our college collaborated with the central government in this unique venture,” said Ruma Karmakar, who is the teacher-in-charge of our institute. Rajiv Saikia, senior assistant director of the office of the Development Commissioner (Handicrafts), said, “We are trying to expose college students to our rich heritage through training.”
The workshop was a great learning experience. Now that we have participated in it, we can truly appreciate the value of skills practised by traditional artisans.
Ananya Chowdhury and Soumyajit Jana, College of Art & Design, University of Burdwan
Glass bandage
Type 2 diabetes is a lifestyle disease that has affected nearly every household worldwide. Diabetic foot ulcer (DFU) is a common condition in long-term diabetics. The pathophysiolology of DFU is a bit complicated and even more complicated is its treatment strategy. No medicine is available, except for protective dressings from pharmaceutical companies at steep cost.
Scientist Jui Chakra-borty of CSIR-Central Glass and Ceramic Research Institute (CGCRI)in Jadavpur, Calcutta, had been exploring bioactive glass, a specific category of glass for use in both hard and soft tissue regeneration in the human body. Chakraborty and her research team comprising PhD students delved into a completely new form of bioactive glass to obtain micronanofibre that looks like regular tissue paper. It is also known as eBG, which stands for electrospun bioactive glass. The team conducted preclinical studies on diabetic animals and obtained path-breaking results.
On application of eBG on open wounds of injured or infected stray animals in the canine and feline species, even wounds with a large surface area were healed completely in a week. There wasn’t even a scar to mark the area.
At present, Chakraborty is collaborating with the pharmaceutical industry to complete the clinical study and get permission for human use. She has coined the name Wondercare for this material that will be the first of its kind to heal diabetic and other nonhealing chronic wounds or ulcers quickly, inexpensively and without leaving a scar.
For her contribution, Chakraborty was awarded the platinum jubilee award as CSIR-CGCRI completes 75 years.
Suman Saha, Sayantan Roy, Payal Roy and Rupam Saha, CSIR-Central Glass and Ceramic Research Institute, Calcutta
