Aiming high: Physically and mentally-challenged students of Noble Mission staged the musical dance-drama Arun, Barun, Kironmala at Madhusudan Mancha on March 26. Picture by Sanjoy Chattopadhyaya

The third edition of our annual technical fest, InfoQuest 2006, kicked off amidst much fanfare on March 31. The event, organised in association with The Telegraph, served as a platform for the participants to display their technical creativity. Several high-profile delegates attended the gala event, including digital security expert Ankit Fadia.

Despite the seminar that Fadia was to deliver being shifted from the main venue to our mechanical block, there was no dearth of audience. Students patiently endured the scorching heat and the inconveniences of the makeshift venue to hang on to every word.

Fadia started off by bombarding the students with a volley of questions on whether they used mobile phones, ATM cards and the Internet. For the next two hours, the ?guru of ethical hacking? explained how modern gadgets and technologies were being misused by unscrupulous people and suggested damage-control exercises.

He also warned us not to give our mobile phone numbers and email addresses to strangers, as these are being used as tools to invade our privacy.

Darpan, the project exhibition, showcased software and hardware innovations and experiments by us. Some of the projects on chess, 3-D game environment, payroll system and chat server were fascinating. Amongst the hardware projects was a remote-controlled fan regulator, a highway speed checking gadget and a computer-controlled car. Prof B.B. Bhattacharya and Prof Susmit Sen were impressed by the efforts put in by the students and even found some of the projects to be ?marketable?.

Computer freaks, algol-geeks and coding gurus got the chance to show off in Shristi, the software development contest, in C and Java. Around 30 contestants presented papers on interesting topics like low-power cryptography and nanotechnology in another competition, titled Tathya.

On April 1, the panel discussion on Emerging Trends focussed on the implication of the technology used in electricity production in the steel industry. S.P. Gon Chaudhuri, director, West Bengal Renewable Energy Development Agency, discussed the Kyoto protocol at length.

Somdeb Banerjee & Indranath Bhattacharjee,
4th yr B.Tech, Asansol Engineering College

 

Fest zest

Meghnad Saha Institute of Technology, a constituent college of Techno India group, presented its annual fest, Eutopian Euphorians, on March 27 and 28 on its campus and the Science City auditorium.

Day One saw various inter-college competitions and fun events, accompanied by a high-voltage performance by Bangla band Fossils. On the second day, the fashion show by the college students drew much applause from the audience. In the talent hunt competition, the students showed off skills in karate, singing, magic and much more. The star presence of Amit Sana and Aditi Paul of Indian Idol fame added zest to the event.

Puja Agarwal, JD Birla Institute &
Stuti Agarwal, Bharatiya Vidya Bhavan

 

Helping hand

During its work in slums in Titagarh, Barrackpore, Khardah and Siliguri, the NGO Parivartan found that most children have either never been to school or have dropped out midway. Since the organisation, founded in 2000, believes in equal right to education, it has renewed its pledge to bring more underprivileged children within its fold. All those who would like to support the NGO in its endeavours can log on to www.goethals.org/ parivartan.htm for more details, or email vpbcom@vsnl.net.

Abhisek Banerjee,
St Xavier?s College Alumni Association

 

Sufi strains

Even with a 9,000-strong crowd waiting patiently at JU?s open air theatre on Sunday evening to hear his Sufiana music, Rabbi Shergill sat backstage wondering aloud what he was doing on the terrain of Bangla bands. ?I have no idea how I will connect with these youngsters. I just want my sugar levels to be up when I am out there,? he said, as he chewed on a packetful of raisins.

On stage, the singer-songwriter set out to win hearts. ?I am from a small place near Amritsar. So, it?s thrilling that now so many of you have come here to hear me sing,? he said, before belting out hits like Jugni, Tere Bin and Gill Te Guitar at Sanskriti, the annual cultural fest of JU?s engineering and technology department, held in association with The Telegraph.

The language barrier was hardly a hindrance ? the audience waved enthusiastically and broke into impromptu bhangra jigs.

Here?s what the singing sensation had to say...

lDo you make a special effort when you are performing before a crowd that doesn?t understand Punjabi?

That?s what stage shows are about. I want the audience to enjoy when I am performing. So, I explain to them what my songs are about.

• Do you write your own lyrics?

Yes, usually. I put in a lot of thought into it.

• How important are lyrics in any composition?

It is of utmost importance, much more than melody and rhythm. Lyrics are the soul of a song.

• Do youngsters these days feel the depth of your songs?

The state is quite sorry when it comes to Indian youngsters. They just lapped up Bulla ki jaana when it was released. Not that I am complaining, but I think not many bothered to go into its depth. Not many realise what it takes to pen the lyrics.

• How important is recall value of a song?

That depends on what genre the song belongs to. Pop thrives on recall value. But while you can enjoy listening to Beethoven, you cannot be expected to remember intricate segments of the composition.

• Who are the musicians you would love to work with?

Wadali Brothers. And amongst international musicians, I have so many favourites. I would love to work with Jeff Beck.

• What is the theme of your next album?

I haven?t named it yet. One of the songs is called Challa, which means a ?ring?. Most of the songs revolve around love.

V. Shubha
(Picture by Sanjoy Chattopadhyaya)