EDUCATION

CAMPUS
Creative juices flow at four-day college festival
Gaurav Choudhury

Creativity in all its myriad manifestations was in full show in Gargi College which celebrated its annual cultural festival this week. The four-day festival, which began on Monday, presented the entire spectrum of artistic fields, resonating with stellar performances in art, dance, paintings, dramatics et al.

A glittering hour long choreography composition under the theme name Gajaanana- the God of Good Things- by Anita Ratnam’s dance group set the ball rolling for enlightening arty extravaganza.

A spellbound audience, most of them young impressionable college girls, were witness to one of the most brilliant works of imaginative endeavour crafted by fêted icons of almost every field of art.

Master craftsman Harkishan came calling to the college campus and students were audience to a spectacular effort of craftsmanship where the artist worked this skilled pair of hands on a clay image of Lord Ganesha.

Eminent artist Anjali Ela Menon, formally inaugurated the carnival on a misty Monday morning. “Over the years, every individual tends to grow up through a process of data accumulation and it registers in the sub-conscious of the person. Some of these data die away with time. What remains are the legacies of our culture which draws upon its inherent strengths. But there are certain people who have the tendency to overlook the might of our cultural fundamentals,” Menon said.

Underlining the importance of education, the artist observed that education is a reward to India’s culture even as she “rejoiced” at the freedom of “Afghan sisters” from Taliban rule.

For young writers-to-be there could not have been a better opportunity to interact with their role models. Galaxy of celebrated writers including the likes of Shobha De, Githa Hariharan, Namita Gokhlae, Leena Mahandale, R. W. Desai and Dr Anamika converged under one roof during the writers meet and interacted with students. A more appropriate opportunity would certainly have been rarer for students who aspire to become writers and authors.

And for movie buffs, classics and contemporaries were there in galore. But the one that stole the show amidst shrieks and cries of the audience was the Oscar winning thriller Boys Don’t Cry.

A dialogue with ‘His Holiness’

Further up in the north campus, a more sublime and transcendental event was in store for all and sundry. Sri Ravi Shankar Ji, renowned motivator and lifestyle educator, sermonized attendees during a special session of Art of Living organised at Ramjas College during the weekend. The session titled “A Dialogue with His Holiness Sri Ravi Shankar Ji” explained people about the ways and means of “living” and the importance of breathing in an individual’s lifecycle. The causes and remedies of several maladies quite often lay in the way people breathed, it was explained.

Educational fair a big draw

It is time for educational fairs. Universities from overseas countries organise educational fairs in various cities of the country, primarily aimed at offering prospective students options to choose courses in various universities. Hundreds of students visited the education fair organised by the British High Commission and sought counsel from representatives of a large number of British universities. This was followed by a fair organised by Enterprise Ireland which is currently hosting its second educational fair in India. The educational fair includes a series of workshops on Irish education. “The main objective is to highlight the academic and professional opportunities in Ireland and provide first hand information on the various streams of education and vocational training available to students from India and across the globe,” a spokesperson of Enterprise Ireland said.

Observers said that India is a potential market for students wishing to take degree courses overseas. “Our first visit last year was extremely successful and encouraging and resulted in several hundred students signing up at Irish colleges. Indian students are well briefed on Ireland’s economic success and recognize the potential of studying in a booming economic environment,” Mr Frank O’Connor of Enterprise Ireland said.

But the common complain among visiting students was the fee structure which was high for an average Indian student with middle-class backgrounds. While scholarships and financial support is available, the average fee structure usually ranges between 7,500 pounds to 13,500 pounds annually. Oath taking ceremony in Shyam Lal College Newly elected members of the students union in Shyamlal College were sworn in a ceremony held in the college on Sunday last. The oath taking ceremony was followed by a live performance by budding disc jockey Yatin. Enthralled audience were seen dancing to the foot tapping numbers performed by Yatin.

Students stage protest march

All India Democratic Students’ Organisation (AIDSO) held a protest demonstration in the Capital in protest against increasing commercialisation and communalisation of education on Wednesday. Protesting students marched in a rally from Ram Lila Maidan to Parliament Street. The rally culminated in a protest meeting which was addressed by leaders of AIDSO.

ICSI award for excellence

Vice President of India, Mr Krishan Kant presented the Corporate Governance awards instituted by the Institute of Company Secretaries of India (ICSI).

Dr V Kurien, the man behind the milk revolution in India, was conferred the ICSI “Life Time Achievement Award for Translating Excellence in Corporate Governance into Reality,” in a function organised by the Institute of Company Secretaries of India. While technology major, Infosys Technologies, won the award for the “Best Governed Company,” BSES Limited of Mumbai won the award for the “Second Best Governed Company.”

ITM too tie up with Warwick

Institute of Technology and Management, Gurgaon and University of Warwick of the United Kingdom, has announced a partnership agreement to deliver the first year of Warwick’s Bachelor and Masters degrees in electronic engineering and electronic & communication engineering at ITM.

Under the terms of the agreement, the University of Warwick will be responsible for the oversight of all academic aspects of this collaboration, including selection of faculty, approval of syllabi, assessment, examination arrangements, moderation and determination of University examination results. Leeds meets Amity Professor Andrew Lock, Dean, Leeds University Business School (LUBS), U.K. visited the Amity Business School, Noida. Ms. Sara Avery, Marketing Manager, LUBS and Mr. Pankaj Jain, Country Consultant of LUBS accompanied him.

Mr Lock acknowledged the path breaking Management Development Programmes (MDP) of the institute. The visit is expected to bring forth-new opportunities of learning. The LUBS is specifically geared towards providing focussed MDP to corporate to the corporate sector.

Amity Business School plans to further enhance its gamut of MDP’s by offering niche-customised programmes for the executives.

CULTURE

Faith moves this film man to focus on women
Rohit Wadhwaney

After struggling to find a producer for his upcoming serial, Bhamini, Parminder Singh, who directed popular serials like Nirmala and Flying Sikh Milkha Singh, has decided not to wait for things to happen but rather make things happen for himself.

Parminder Singh has started shooting for his serial, Bhamini, which means woman, and is producing it himself. "How long can I wait for a producer? I am an artiste and if I don't work what sort of an artiste will I be called? I have to work. The show must go on," he told NCR Tribune.

"Bhamini is a 52-episode programme, all the episodes of which will be independent," Parminder said. "The programme is based on women who have struggled in their lives and achieved what they wanted to despite a multitude of obstacles in their way."

Parminder, who came out with flying colours in the making of Munshi Premchand's Nirmala, rated next only to Ramayan and above the blockbuster Buniyaad as far as average viewership is concerned, said he had focussed on women from various fields and tried to portray their real-life struggles.

"It is absolutely authentic. It has to be. It is not just about what these women have achieved. It is about what they have lost, about what they have sacrificed to be where they are right now."

Parminder Singh has already shot the first two episodes - one is based on the true life of Mary Roy, mother of renowned writer Arundhati Roy, and the other one on Anita Sood, the swimmer who crossed the English Channel.

Parminder Singh shot for his first episode on Mary Roy in Kerala recently. "I wanted to show the exact locations where Mrs Roy was living. Shooting in Kerala only authenticated the story further," he added.

"Everyone knows who Arundhati Roy is. But how many people know who her mother is? No one would know about her. No one would know about the struggles she went through being a woman. I have shown the exact picture in my 45-minute episode," he said.

Narrating the story, and claiming that it was "as true as his existence", Parminder Singh said, "In Kerala Christian women who get married are deprived of any share in their father's property. Nothing is left to the women who get married. Mrs Roy got married and her husband treated her very badly. A time came when she was actually thrown out of her husband's house along with her kids.

"Distressed, the woman (Mrs Roy) came to her father's house to seek shelter, where her brother told her to get out and that he had nothing to give to her. The woman was thrown out of her own house and helplessly walked away with her children."

"It is unbelievable that a woman who lives in the house of her parents for so many years has no claim to it after she gets married. Believe it or not, Indians still do perform such acts. Even in Hindi movies it is shown quite clearly that a woman once married is a stranger to her father's house and it is shocking," Parminder Singh reacted.

Moving on with the story, he said, "The woman vowed to fight her own family in a court of law for her share of the property. Even though she was denigrated by all and sundry in the community, she did not budge. She went to a lawyer who told her that she was mad to fight a case like this because it would go against the whole community. The lawyer refused to fight the case for her. She went to a minister as well as a priest for help but only to be shown the door.

"After sometime she met a woman lawyer who was ready to fight the case for her and ultimately she won the case and got her share of the property."

Parminder said the story was absolutely true and "no one could challenge its authenticity."

Admitting that the serial could give rise to controversies, he said: "All my 52 episodes are based on reality about women who we know are popular. No one knows what all they had to give up. We just see the good things of life. Anything that is authentic becomes controversial in India. Being an artiste I cannot be bothered about that. I have to make a serial and I am making it faithfully."

Parminder Singh has approached Sony Entertainment Channel for broadcasting the serial. "Sony has more or less agreed to it," he added.

Parminder has also started work on the real-life stories of Kalpana Chawla, the first Indian woman in space, Bhanwari Devi, the woman on whom the movie Bawandar is about to be released, Helen and Madhubala, both famous actresses of yesteryears.

"Even in the real-life story of Madhubala, my main focus is on the days when she was on her death bed. It is not about the movies she has done or how good an actress she was. Everyone knows that. What people don't know is how many people helped her while she needed them and how many walked out on her," Parminder Singh said.

A resident of Chattarpur in South Delhi, he said, "It is a pity that a director in Delhi finds it so difficult to find people to support him. Though I have started work on my project I am quite worried about the finance part of it. But I am hopeful everything will work out. Rain or shine, the show must go on." 

A contest to ingrain culture at a young age
Tribune News Service

New Delhi, November 21
The Sri Sai Kala Kendra, an organisation which promotes art and culture, among school children, organised a song and dance competition on Sunday at Hindi Bhavan near Bal Bhavan.

The competition was inaugurated by the Speaker of Vidhan Sabha, Chowdhury Prem Singh, who later appreciated the efforts of Mrs Sambita Bose Mehta of the kendra and blessed the participants for their bright future.

The Minister for Education, Power and Industries, Dr Narendra Nath distributed the prizes to the winners. He appreciated the role of the society which promoted art and culture and gave a chance to all the participants to show their talent amongst a huge crowd.

The four categories of song competition saw the upcoming singers singing songs of their choice which were judged by Ms Sangeeta Lahiri, vocal teacher of the Bal Bharati School, Pusa Road and Mrs Sudha Bahl, vocal teacher of Green Fields School, in the trans-Yamuna area. The songs were judged on the basis of their sense of tune, sense of rhythm and voice modulation.

The dance competition was divided into two rounds and the winners were selected on the basis of their face expression, body rhythm and costume according to music. The jury consisted of experienced artistes like Swagta Sen Pillai, a bharatnatynam exponent, and Madhumita Sen, dance teacher of Green Fields School.

In the end, the children were the happiest as several of them received attractive prizes, certificates and trophies from the Industries Minister in the presence of Dr Dharamkirti, former education director and president of the Alee Club, and Mr Harish Chandra, a well-known choreographer.