The Telegraph | Friday, January 20, 2006 | Advertise with us IN TODAYS PAPER Front Page Nation Calcutta Bengal Opinion International Business Sports At Leisure Sudoku CITY NEWSLINES Calcutta North Bengal North East Guwahati Jamshedpur Jharkhand Ranchi WEEKLY FEATURES Etc Etc ARCHIVES Since 1st March, 1999 THE TELEGRAPH - About Us - Advertise - Feedback - Contact Us Front Page > Calcutta > Young Metro Email This Page Print This Page Whiz-kids tot up tech designs A team explains its display to visitors at the science fair at BITM on Wednesday. Picture by Aranya Sen Some of the brightest young brains of eastern India are out in full force this week to display their technological prowess at the 31st Eastern India Science Fair and Engineering Fair at the Birla Industrial and Technological Museum (BITM). Few facets of modern Indian life have escaped the innovative and remarkably thorough scientific gaze of the participants. School students from as far as Bihar, Orissa and Assam have converged on the fair bringing with them fresh ideas and innovations. The event has been divided into two separate components: the 31-year-old science competition and the two-year-old engineering section that is devoted to the exploits of college-level students. Inspection of the various stalls reveals that the distinctive and highly-contemporary issue of renewable energy and conservation of the environment has influenced the thinking behind many of the projects. While some participants have focussed on a broader approach, others have created specific new apparatus. The former includes Rohit Shaw of the Durgamoyee Academy, Bhadreswar, whose project involves multi-storeyed livestock farms surrounding an artificial lake and storing of animal waste in tanks and renewing it. If such a scheme is adopted in rural India, we would in time become a developed country, elaborated Rohit. His teacher, Mainak Biswas, concurred that technology being introduced to rural development is very important. Environmental awareness was also on top of the agenda for Shourjya Sanyal, 16, of Calcutta Boys School. Shourjya has made a bicycle that when pedalled powers a washing machine attached to the rear wheel. One can replace the washing machine with a mixer grinder if required. Shourjya commented that his display provides a solution to fitness as well as energy requirements of household machines. Adapted rickshaws were ubiquitous among the projects, ranging from a simple suspension attached to the normal design to more complex ventures. Prasanta Adhikari of Old Agartala School, west Tripura, has modified a rickshaw so that it processes wheat with its chain mechanism. Other highlights include a solar-powered cooker, a carbon monoxide detector and a complex DNA-based project. Jayanta Sthanapati, director of BITM, was highly impressed by this years exhibits. He asserted that year on year the standard has been improving, with the number of entries also increasing. Patrick Pringle HAPPENINGS HERE N THERE AROUND TOWN Words to visuals Smooth sailing : Judy Lowrie from Canada shows the participants of a skating camp at Clown Town how to stay grounded even when in flight on skates. Picture by Sanjoy Chattopadhyaya Some of the best lyricists flourished in the Hindi film industry in the 50s and 60s, opined Javed Akhtar at an interactive seminar on Urdu Poets and Hindi Cinema at KP Basu Memorial Hall, in Jadavpur University (JU), on January 16. The seminar was organised by the department of film studies of the university. Akhtar recited some of his well-known creations like Uljhan and Banjaara at the session. Programme coordinator Sangita Dutta translated the works to English and Bengali. During the interaction, Akhtar regretted that the film industry is now lacking in quality scriptwriters and lyricists. He also reminded the audience that film and music buffs shared the responsibility of appreciating only the genuinely good creations and being critical of the sub-standard ones. Upholding the importance of a good script and content in a film, he cited the likes of lyricists Sailendra and Kaifi Azmi. Though considerable technological developments have swept the industry, the creative standards have deteriorated, he added. The main reason behind the mindless dialogues in many films, Akhtar felt, is the weak vocabulary of the writers and their neglect of literature. Expressing his approval of remakes, he emphasised that even they need to be produced with more finesse. Clippings of Sholay, Deewar, 1942 A Love Story and Lagaan were screened at the programme, which lasted for two hours. Diganta Biswas, Mass communication, JU CHIT CHAT Me, in a crate Some were dreamy, some sombre, others bright and intricate each creation of the Black Box Project, an international educational and creative workshop, were what the youngsters perceived they were. The outcome was an impressive line-up of thought-provoking black boxes at an exhibition at Seagull Arts and Media Resource Centre from January 14 to 17. The objective of the workshop was primarily to encourage youngsters to think creatively, and make a personal artistic installation inside a 1mx1mx1m black box. Their teachers were also asked to create their own black boxes. The exercise was a resounding success with a steady trickle of visitors dropping in to view the varied selection of end products, many with elaborate attention to detail and innovative use of material. Video contest The 18th UGC-CEC educational video competition 2005 has been announced. The categories for entries include general, undergraduate, excellence in informative research, script, camera work, editing, sound, graphics, presentation and best amateur video production. Copies of 10 to 30-minute programmes, produced in 2005, can be sent in betacam format/DVD/VHS to Consortium for Educational Communication, New Delhi, between February 1 and 10. Log on to cec-ugc.org to download entry forms/brochures and for other details. Top Email This Page Print This Page
Posted on: Tue, 24 Jun 2014 10:59:38 +0000
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