A youngster dressed to look far beyond his years takes time out at the annual sports of the Indian Institute of Cerebral Palsy held on January 31. The students of the school participated in the meet. Picture by Amit DattaUS consul general Henry V. Jardine inspects the handiwork of The Heritage School students on a recent visit. Picture by Sanjoy Chattopadhyaya

GD Birla Sabhagar was a hive of activity for young minds on February 2, as the Calcutta round of the Annapurna National Spelling Bee took place. In the first national event of this competition, Calcutta was the last port of call in the regional rounds. It has already visited seven other cities nationwide, with over 5,000 children having participated.

The event comprised three rounds. The winner was Mohini Ganguli of The Heritage School, with Sukanya Basak of Calcutta Girl?s High School and Vishal Raman of St Thomas School in second and third place, respectively. All three stand to win Annapurna scholarships.

The host, Giri ?Pick Brain? Balasubramaniam, cited the success of children of Indian origin in equivalent American and British events as the inspiration for the national competition. ?Indian-American children have always been exceptionally good in Spelling Bees, so it makes sense to have an event in India,? he explained.

However, there are differences between the Indian event and those that take place abroad ?The children taking part here are younger, most of them in Classes IV to VII. In America they tend to be older,? said Balasubramaniam. ?I want the competition to be fun. Perhaps as the years go by the competition may become more serious, but at the moment I want it to be enjoyable.?

Balasubramaniam is ambitious for the growth of Spelling Bee. ?At the moment, we are organising regional rounds in eight cities, but in the future I want there to be at least 20 different rounds throughout the country. Preferably one for each state,? he explained.

It seems the participants are proving themselves just as adept as their expatriate peers, with Balasubramaniam confessing that he was ?bowled over by the knowledge and calibre of the participants. There is a tendency among the older generations to think that computers and IT have somewhat eroded children?s linguistic sense. Spelling Bee has proven that this is not the case.?

Patrick Pringle

 

Language learning

The ever-expanding English language training market has been bolstered in Calcutta with the opening of a VETA training academy. Founded in 1981, VETA has over 100 franchise centres in the south, from Bangalore to Chennai, with over 18,000,000 students trained in the past 25 years.

The opening of the centre on Ashutosh Mukherjee Road signals the academy?s first venture beyond south India. N.R Ganesh, territory manager for Bangalore, outlined the aims of VETA?s latest office: ?We want to provide practical training that will immediately be relevant to the student. We find that learning of grammar is often more effective when placed in an everyday context. Our courses focus on vernacular learning. Students will take initial language tests, so that we can place them in the appropriate class.?

The Calcutta centre will emphasise technology in its teaching methods, with cassettes being provided for basic course, and CDs and DVDs being made available for more advanced courses. Ravi Kumar, West Bengal regional manager, added: ?At this early stage we must establish a brand reputation for VETA in West Bengal.?

 

Health hazards

A substantial impact on malnutrition and other issues affecting child health is possible only through a sustained, collaborative partnership between the government and the NGO sector. This was highlighted at the 32nd Foundation Day celebrations of the Child In Need Institute (CINI) held on February 1 at its main campus in Pailan, (near Joka), South 24-Parganas. Governor Gopal Krishna Gandhi was the chief guest on the occasion.

He interacted with some of the mothers whose children are admitted at the emergency ward of the institute (providing treatment for respiratory problems, dehydration and other acute infections). He also visited the Nutrition Rehabilitation Centre where malnourished children along with their mothers are admitted. The purpose is to help the kids recover and also sensitise the family on basic childcare practices. The governor briefly interacted with a group of street children in the urban programmes.

Guest of honour Dr Sujan Chakraborty (MP) said that to ensure good health of children, it is important to work with the mothers and make them aware. He stressed on malnutrition, adding that one must focus on developing the child?s immunity. MLA Dilip Mondal agreed.

Dr Samir Narayan Chaudhuri, director, CINI, emphasised that more political will is required to tackle malnutrition. He said the institute focuses on the life cycle approach (LCA), which is a framework of interventions targetting crucial stages in the life cycle ? pregnancy, early childhood and adolescence. Lady Odile Slynn of Hedley, chairperson, CINI UK, highlighted the fact that their fundraising and other promotional efforts have resulted in a positive impact at the field level.

Also present on the occasion was CINI?s goodwill ambassador, former footballer P.K. Banerjee, and Prof Sunit Mukherjee, chairman, CINI. Prof Sujit Bose, vice-chancellor of Visva Bharati, released a CD developed by CINI, Tar Onto Nai Go Nai, a compilation of songs by Rabindranath Tagore, at a cultural function held at GD Birla Sabhagar in the evening. Singers like Srabani Sen, Arindrajit Saha, Manoj Murali Nair, Manisha Murali Nair and Dipankar Basu performed at the event.

 

Scintillating science

The 31st Eastern India Science Fair and the 5th Engineering fair was held at Birla Industrial and Technological Museum (BITM) from January 17 to 21. Ten states participated, with 267 students and 95 teachers from 169 schools and 11 science clubs, and 54 students with 28 models from 12 engineering colleges. Around 180 models were exhibited on the theme ?Science and Technology for Rural Development?.

The projects were created keeping in mind the basic needs and problems and possible practical solutions. About 21,513 visitors from 92 schools dropped in.

Kirti Kumar Roy, Public High School, Balasore (Orissa), won the JC Bose trophy and NCSM (National Council of Science Museums) scholarship of Rs 500 per month for 24 months for the best individual exhibit for his model ?Automatic Irrigation System Through Mobile Phone?. Md Imran and Priya Ranjan Kumar, Marwari Plus 2 High School, Jharkhand, won the P.C. Roy Trophy and NCSM scholarship of Rs 500 per month for 24 months for the best team exhibit, ?Urja Ke Vakalpik Sadhan?.

Anshul Sao, Rudra Pratap and Suryarghya Chakraborti, from IIT Kharagpur, bagged the best team project trophy for their project ?Real-Time Robot Navigator in Dynamic Environments Using Micro Genetic Algorithms? and an NCSM scholarship of Rs 1,000 each per month for a year.

They were followed by students of B.P. Poddar Institute of Management and Technology, Calcutta, represented by Somnath Pradhan and Souvik Samanta, who received Rs 800 each per month for one year for their project ?An Advanced Version of Spy Robo?. Sumandeep Banerjee, Shubham Chopra and Arnab Mitra of IIT Kharagpur, bagged the best applied technology project award of Rs 5,000 for their project ?Web Based Home Control?.

There were workshops, too, on electronics, bioscience, candle craft and pattern making. Quizzes and cultural programmes were held for the participants in the evenings. A seminar on the focal theme was also held, where eminent professors from science colleges and universities interacted with the students.

BITM had also organised a nature trail programme at Science City on January 27. About 225 students (Class VII to IX) from 25 schools participated. February 2 was the launch of the museum?s new 3D theatre, with the film Mars Exploration.