Wednesday, November 16, 2011

May 2011 to October 2011

In the period from May 2011 to October 2011, the main central programme was to commemorate the 150th birth anniversary of the legendary scientist Acharya Prafulla Chandra Ray. An All Bengal Committee has been formed for this purpose. As per the decision of the Committee, a Bengali booklet has been published on the life and work of Acharya Ray. The Committee appealed to the people to form district level committees. Responding to the call, such committees have been formed in the Howrah, Murshidabad, Purulia, Bankura, Burdwan, East- and West-Midnapur, North- and South 24 Parganas districts. The All Bengal Committee also decided to hold science competitions at the subdivision, district, and state levels. The following competitions were held.

1. Science Through Experiments: In this event a student has to perform an experiment to demonstrate any of the theories that is taught in the class (that is, included in that class' science curriculum). There were three groups: (a) 7th and 8th standards, (b) 9th and 10th standards, (c) 11th and 12th standards.

2. Essay competition: There were four groups, and the subject of the essay for each group were as follows: (a) 5th and 6th standards: Acharya P. C. Ray's life (b) 7th and 8th standards: Acharya P. C. Ray's social service (c) 9th and 10th standards: Acharya P. C. Ray's role in establishing nationalist industry (d) Open to all: The relevance of Acharya P. C. Ray in the present time. Each competitor had to write a 500 word essay on the assigned topic within 30 minutes at the venue of the competition.

3. Extempore speech competition: This event was open to all. The topics were announced in advance. A competitor had to draw one by lottery and had to speak on that topic in 5 (4+1) minutes. The topics were (a) The problem of global warming, (b) The problem of reducing groundwater level, (c) Arsenic pollution: the problem and the remedy, (d) The problem of belief in witches, (e) Will the world really come to an end in the year 2012? (f) Is nuclear energy a desirable alternative to conventional power? (g) Non-conventional sources of energy, (h) The hazard of large-scale use of chemical fertilizers, (i) The role of mathematics in building a rational bent of mind, (j) Is astrology a science?

4. Science quiz: The questions were designed to test reasoning rather than rote learning. There were two groups: (a) up to the 10th standard (b) 11th and 12th standard. A team of three students could represent a school.

The competitions held in different districts were as follows. Each competition was followed by a discussion on the life and work of Acharya Prafulla Chandra Ray.

West Midnapur: Subdivision-level competitions were held in
Ghatal, Kharagpur, Gopiballavpur, and Midnapur town on 29th July. The
speakers in the four programmes were Pulakesh Aich, Soumitro Banerjee,
Dinesh Mohanta, and Makhan Goswami respectively. The district-level
competition was held at 22 August at Midnapur.

East Midnapur: Subdivision-level competitions were held in
Tamluk (15 January), Bajkul (17 January), Contai (22 January), Haldia
(6 March), Tamluk (13 March), and Mecheda (23 July). The
district-level competition was held at Tamluk on 24 July, and
Dr. Tapan Si discussed the life and work of Acharya P. C. Ray.

Bankura: The district-level competition was held on 31st August, speaker: Dinesh Mohanta.

Purulia: The district-level competition was held on 21st August, speaker: Dinesh Mohanta.

South 24 Parganas: The district-level competition was held on 28th August, Speaker: Dr. Tapan Si.

Hooghly: The district-level competition was held on 21st August, at Chuchura. Speaker: Debasis Ray.

Murshidabad: Subdivision-level competitions were held in Hariharpara (19 July), Islampur (25 July), Beldanga (4 September), Behrampur (5 Sepember). The district-level competition was held in Berhampur town on 25 September. Prof. Purnendu Sen, Prof. Sukumar Mal, and Prof. Subhasis Maity discussed the life and work of Acharya Ray.

Nadia: A subdivision-level competition was held at Kalyani town on 31 July. Prof. Ashoke Prasun Chatterjee, Prof. Alok Kumar Banerjee (VC, Kalyani University), Prof. Soumitro Banerjee, Prof. Smaran Acharya and Prof. Biplab Dasgupta were among the speakers in the seminar.

Burdwan: Subdivision-level competitions were held in Kalna (21 August), Katwa (21 August), Asansole (21 August), and NIT Durgapur (20-21 August). The district-level competition was held in the Burdwan town on 4 September.

Kolkata: Local-level competitions were held in South Kolkata (22 August), North Kolkata (22-23 August), Naktala (10 July), Behala (23 July), and Nimta (22 Aug). The district-level competition was held on 28th August, at the Hindu School. Mr. Debasis Ray was the main speaker.

State-level Competition:
After the subdivision-level and district-level competitions, the state-level competition was held at the University College of Science, Rajabazar, Kolkata, on 11 September. Hundreds of students thronged the university premises from early morning. Eminent scientists and educationists were among the panel of judges for various programmes. In the concluding session Prof. Samaresh Bhattacharya and Mr. Debasis Ray discussed the life and work of Acharya Ray, which was followed by the prize distribution ceremony. Prof. Dulal Mukhopadhyay presided over the sesssion.