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| Students of National Institute of Technology, Rourkela, at the pot-painting workshop. |
Lazy weekends made way for an uninterrupted flow of creativity at the National Institute of Technology (NIT), Rourkela, as dozens of students tried their hands at pot painting. Artist Ketaki Bhattacharya conducted a workshop that spanned over two consecutive weekends at the institute’s C.V. Raman Hall of Residence. The trainer divided the participants into groups of three and provided huge pots and necessary materials to them for painting. Under her guidance, the students honed their artistic skills and dished out sparkling, chromatic wonders. The hall wardens also did not miss out on the opportunity to indulge in a few minutes of happy painting. The painted pots now adorn the hall. “The enthusiasm of the participants and their aesthetic sense was a pleasant surprise for me. Though I have been planning to organise art events in Rourkela for long, this is the first time something actually materialised. The city does not have proper art galleries or other art exhibition facilities for which talents, instead of surfacing, are getting buried underground,” said Bhattacharya, who is a Kathak dancer and fine arts connoisseur from Santiniketan. The chief warden of the institute awarded certificates to all the participants at the end of the workshop.
Welcome aboard
Akanksha, the freshers’ day at Asian School of Business Management (ASBM), Bhubaneswar, was celebrated with gusto to welcome the new batch on the campus. The occasion was marked by a cultural extravaganza with seniors and juniors dancing to the latest Odia and Hindi film songs. A laugh riot followed when they also put up mimicry acts. “It was a cool way of being introduced to our seniors and teachers,” said Girija Shankar Pati, a student.
Spaced-out
A seminar, titled ‘An Elementary Particle’, was held at Ravenshaw University, Cuttack, on September 16, to elaborate on the discovery of “God Particle” by researchers at the European Organisation for Nuclear Research (Cern), Geneva. Speaking on the occasion, Shanti Swarup Bhatnagar awardee scientist Soumitro Banerjee from Indian Institute of Science Education and Research, Calcutta, elaborated on the history of the discovery of particles. “The whole set of particles, which are broadly classified under two heads, obey the statistics developed by Enrico Fermi (the Fermion particles) and those which obey statistics developed by Satyendra Nath Bose (the Boson particles),” said Banerjee. He said the new particle, which is named Higgs Boson, was proposed by Peter Ware Higgs in 1964, but could not be detected for a long time. Cern researchers had announced the experimental discovery of a new particle that has properties similar to the Higgs Boson on July 4. However, naming of the new particle as “God Particle” has created some confusion among the people. The seminar was organised by Bigyan Chetana Manch.
Drive safe
Commuters in the capital city were caught unawares as a group of youngsters, armed with roses and leaflets, descended on them on Sunday morning. As part of a traffic awareness campaign, the young boys and girls – all first-year students of the Institute of Management and Information Science (IMIS), Bhubaneswar – toured the busy intersections of the city, distributing roses and a list of do’s and don’ts among motorists and pedestrians. This was done to drive home the point that they won’t be greeted with smiles and flowers the next time they violated traffic norms. The leaflets contained precautions to be followed on the road. They also urged the commuters not to overspeed or use mobile phones while driving or crossing the roads and to avoid drivingwhile being drunk .
Medical talk
The 22nd eastern zone and 42nd Odisha state branch joint annual conference of the Indian Society of Anaesthesiologists will be held at the Institute of Medical Sciences and Sum Hospital, Bhubaneswar, from October 13 to 15. The theme of this year’s conference is technological advances reinforcing the skills in clinical anaesthesia. Eminent anaesthesiologists from different parts of the country and abroad are expected to take part in the conference being held under the aegis of the Odisha state branch of the ISA and organised by its Bhubaneswar branch. A pre-conference workshop will be held on October 12 as a prelude to the scientific discussions to be held during the conference.
Sports time
The Inter-College Men’s Kabaddi Tournament, 2012, of Sambalpur University concluded on September 16 at Chhend, Rourkela. Teams from Gangadhar Meher College and the postgraduate department of Jyoti Vihar (Sambalpur University) were declared joint winners after the final match was washed out. In the semi final, Gangadhar Meher College had defeated Netaji Subhash Chandra Bose College (32-26 points) while Jyoti Vihar’s postgraduate department trounced H.K. Ray Mahavidyalaya (56-12 points).
Development issues
A seminar on contemporary socio-economic and political scenario was organised at Balasore College of Engineering and Technology last week. Several speakers deliberated on development issues in the country against the backdrop of current political and economic situation and talked about the challenges on the path of progress. They emphasised on moral values and proper conditioning of the youth as the major contributing factors towards the country’s progress.
