 |
 |
| Students perform modern dance and (below) a group song during Moorchhana, the fifth anniversary celebrations of the Asian School of Business Management. Telegraph pictures |
Of talks, fest & celebrations
The Indian National Trust for Art and Cultural Heritage (Intach) and Siksha ‘O’ Anusandhan (SoA) University will jointly host Dharohar-2011, a national-level quiz competition on art and culture on October 30. This contest is being organised for the first time in the state. The Institute of Technical Education and Research (ITER), the faculty of engineering of the university, has been finalised as the venue.
The quiz is open only to engineering students from all over the country. Each engineering college can depute 20 teams to participate in the competition with an entry fee of Rs 100 each. The last date for registration is October 25. Registration will begin at 11am at ITER on October 30.
The champions will take away prize money worth Rs 50,000 while the runners-up will get Rs 30,000. The team in third position will receive Rs 20,000. Dhananjay Shettigar from Mumbai will conduct the show as quizmaster with Mumbai-based Quizmonks as the research partner.
Students of ITER have designed the poster for the event and created a website dharohar.in for the purpose.
Champions all the way
The Piloo Mody College of Architecture (PMCA), Cuttack was declared the champion of Zonasa, the three-day zonal fest of National Association of Students of Architecture (NASA).
The fest, held to celebrate the spirit of architecture students, was held at the College of Engineering and Technology (CET), Bhubaneswar, from October 10 to 12. Nine colleges from the eastern zone had participated in it.
A group of 55 students of PMCA had taken part and bagged the first position for the prestigious Reubens Trophy, which showcases the best works of the students during the academic year.
It is considered the most coveted award of NASA as it puts the performance standards of different colleges in perspective.
The college also won the first prize for flag designing and second prize in the cultural event. In formal design events, the students put up a great show by securing positions in landscape design, architectural design and interior design.
Music stars
After the phenomenal success of RB Music’s maiden production, College Days, an audio CD of Oriya modern songs exclusively produced by the students of Ravenshaw University, Cuttack, the group is going to cut their second album by the end of this year. This album will be a unique one with eight songs on Oriya identity, culture, patriotism and nationalism.
The album will consist of some famous patriotic poems by noted Oriya nationalist leaders such as Pandit Gopabandhu Das, Pandit Nilakantha Das, Pandit Godavarish Mishra, Godavarish Mohapatra, Hare Krushna Mahtab and others, all set to music. It will also have one famous patriotic poem each by Nobel laureate poet Rabindranath Tagore and rebel poet Kazi Nazrul Islam, translated into the Oriya with the original tune intact.
The album will commemorate the 75th Utkal Divas or Orissa Formation Day. The students of Ravenshaw University will lend their voices to songs in the album. To select talented singers, RB Music is going to hold an audition tomorrow.
Earlier, the university conducted an extramural lecture on “Human Rights: The Changing Dimensions”, which was delivered by Vivek Pattanayak, the ex-chairman of the Orissa Public Service Commission and former director of International Civil Aviation Organisation on October 13.
The lecture was organised by school of social sciences, Ravenshaw University and was attended by a large number of students and other faculty members. Pattanayak stressed human dignity and at the same time propagated the rights of various groups, individuals in the society.
Anniversary day
Asian School of Business Management (ASBM), Bhubaneswar, celebrated its fifth anniversary, Moorchhana, on October 14. Students, teachers, dean of the institute, Kalyan S Ray, associate dean, Phalgu Niranjana, chairperson of students’ affairs, Ashish Mohanty, PGP chairperson, Mrutunjay Dash, member of ASBM academic advisory council and senior lawyer, L. Pangari, took part in the celebrations.
Founder director of ASBM Biswajeet Pattanayak spoke about the international and national laurels that have been bestowed on this B-School. Director general of police Manmohan Praharaj attended the event as chief guest and emphasised the country’s industrial progress.
To mark the occasion, a spectacular cultural programme was held in which groups of students flaunted a diversity of talents. Later, the winners of various literary, cultural and sports competitions were awarded trophies and certificates. Earlier, a blood donation camp had been organised on the campus in which more than 200 students, teaching and non-teaching staff had participated.
Medical talk
Governor Murlidhar Chandrakant Bhandare urged medical practitioners and researchers to find ways to ensure access to quality medical treatment to the poor at less cost to fight infections. He was delivering the convocation address of the National Academy of Medical Sciences (Nams) at Siksha ‘O’ Anusandhan University, Bhubaneswar on October 15.
The governor said Orissa was at the bottom of the national health scenario on several counts, which included infant mortality rate and maternal mortality rate. Lack of awareness is a key reason for the dismal scenario, he said.
A total of 21 and 34 medical professionals from across the country were admitted as fellows and members of the Nams respectively at the convocation. It was held on the concluding day of Namscom-2011, the three-day annual conference of Nams, an apex body of senior medical professionals, researchers and health policymakers, and was held in Orissa for the first time. Nams president and Medical Council of India chairman Dr. K.K. Talwar addressed the gathering.
Expressing concern over the standard of medical education in the country, Talwar said medical education had been on the decline for quite a few years, as government-run medical colleges were starved of funds and promoters of private medical colleges often had commercial interests in mind. The vice-chancellor of SoA University, R.P. Mohanty, was also present on the occasion.
