Sometimes back there was a decision to stop Odia teaching in Ravenshaw College in some capacity(good sense prevailed and the decision was never implemented though). It is really heartening to come across the following article here.
If such opportunities can be created with consistency then Oriya will regain its popularity as a subject.
"Now, use Microsoft Vista operating system and Office 2007 applications in Oriya but be prepared for the shocker. These softwares have been developed by a literature and language facility and not any advanced out and out IT outfit. And, the entity is Post- Graduate Department of Oriya of Ravenshaw University.
After successfully giving shape to the default Oriya language interface for the Windows Vista operating system along with patches for its preceding XP platform for Microsoft, the department, in collaboration with Orissa Computer Application Centre (OCAC), has readied a comprehensive spellchecker and grammar-checker for the Oriya Office-2007 applications.
Not stopping at that, it has moved on to developing programming strings in Oriya language for Microsoft SQL Server 2005 and Microsoft Visual Studio 2005 applications.
It has developed independent softwares like the comprehensive Oriya dictionary ‘Pramod Abidhan,’ online Oriya tutor ‘Ana Oriya’, dictionary of contemporary word usages ‘Chalanti’ and an revolutionary English to Oriya automated transcription programme.
The developers are no IT geeks but students of Oriya literature in the department with basic knowledge of computers and a few of their counterparts from the MCA wing of the university.
Under the guidance of Prof and HoD, Dr Girish Chandra Mishra, who had been involved in the developing of Shrilipi Oriya programme in 1990, as many as 24 Oriya PG and eight MCA students are churning out products one after the other.
‘Pramod Abidhan,’ the 3,000-odd page Oriya dictionary, has been digitised and made online in the Orissa Government portal.
The dictionary contains around two lakh words complete with their etimiology, pronunciation, usage and varieties of meanings. The software can also be used offline.
Besides, keeping in view the rush of foreigners as multinational investors flock to Orissa, the department has developed ‘AnaOriya’ tutoring software package with online interface that enables selflearning from basic alphabets, words and their translated meanings, vowels, vowel symbols, grammar and sentence formation with exhaustive audio-visual support."
Monday, March 31, 2008
Tuesday, March 25, 2008
What should be Ravenshaw University's Campus Name?
What should be Ravenshaw University's campus name. We have Vani Vihar for Utkal University, Jyoti Vihar for Sambalpur University and Bhanja Vihar for Berhampur University. In my opinion the name should be as unique as Ravenshaw and should symbolize the deep connect between Odisha and Ravenshaw. Whats your opinion?
Ravenshaw University : Documenting history through alumni memories
This news post has been retrieved from here.
"As the camera panned on Narayan Mohan Das and sound recorder went on, the 99-year-old former administrator was transported back in time.
Circa 1926-1930, a young Das moved through the hallowed portals of Ravenshaw College giving a ‘first hand account’ of how the institution was in that period.
‘The whole atmosphere was so calm and serene but full of constructive intellectual activity and excellence. The academics was unmatched with great teachers.
The sense of being part of Ravenshaw was simply overwhelming,’ said Das, with the glint of nostalgia. Like Das, many more are experiencing the time-travel as R a v e n s h a w University, the erstwhile Ravenshaw College , h a s embarked on a mission to trace its glorious past and heritage and preserve it for future.
Christened Ravenshaw 200, the project is reaching out to elderly luminaries and eminent personalities, who once paced through its corridors.
The basic objective is to document the 140-year-old history of Ravenshaw College through the memories of its old students. Ravenshaw College played the pivotal role in shaping modern Orissa.
It was from its very campus that events and movements to bring about socio-cultural and political changes in the State had originated. “But sadly, there has been no record for history. There are no written records on the institution,” said project coordinator and OSD to Vice-Chancellor Devdas Chotray, Dr Sangeeta Rath.
As many as 200 personalities, produced by the college, are slated to be interviewed. Already, 26 interviews through audio-visual medium have been completed and the rest are targeted to be completed by the year-end.
It will result in over 400 hours of recordings that would provide a comprehensive base for defining the history of Ravenshaw.
The interviews are being conducted by Dr Rath accompanied by VC Chotray. There are about 20 to 25 personalities residing outside the State, who will be personally approached while some around 10 NRIs would be contacted through mediums , she added.
While the AV documents would be placed at an independent Audio Visual Centre of the College, efforts are being made to screen them for the public through tieups with television channels and other media . The up coming RavenshawRadio would also broadcast the interviews.
The wealth of information would also be available for research.
Some luminaries already interviewed are former Chief Justice and officiating Governor of Orissa Gatikrushna Mishra (97), freedom fighter and former Union Minister Bibhudendra Mishra (87), former Advocate General Late Gangadhar Rath (85), Poet Jayanta Mohapatra (80), former Chief Secretary of Orissa Ramakanta Mishra (75), eminent cardiologist and painter Dr JP Das (74), former Utkal University VC Dr Devendra Chandra Mishra (87) and economist Dr Baidyanath Mishra (86) etc."
Wow! This is a very good initiative taken by the authorities. So the winds of change are blowing at Ravenshaw.....
"As the camera panned on Narayan Mohan Das and sound recorder went on, the 99-year-old former administrator was transported back in time.
Circa 1926-1930, a young Das moved through the hallowed portals of Ravenshaw College giving a ‘first hand account’ of how the institution was in that period.
‘The whole atmosphere was so calm and serene but full of constructive intellectual activity and excellence. The academics was unmatched with great teachers.
The sense of being part of Ravenshaw was simply overwhelming,’ said Das, with the glint of nostalgia. Like Das, many more are experiencing the time-travel as R a v e n s h a w University, the erstwhile Ravenshaw College , h a s embarked on a mission to trace its glorious past and heritage and preserve it for future.
Christened Ravenshaw 200, the project is reaching out to elderly luminaries and eminent personalities, who once paced through its corridors.
The basic objective is to document the 140-year-old history of Ravenshaw College through the memories of its old students. Ravenshaw College played the pivotal role in shaping modern Orissa.
It was from its very campus that events and movements to bring about socio-cultural and political changes in the State had originated. “But sadly, there has been no record for history. There are no written records on the institution,” said project coordinator and OSD to Vice-Chancellor Devdas Chotray, Dr Sangeeta Rath.
As many as 200 personalities, produced by the college, are slated to be interviewed. Already, 26 interviews through audio-visual medium have been completed and the rest are targeted to be completed by the year-end.
It will result in over 400 hours of recordings that would provide a comprehensive base for defining the history of Ravenshaw.
The interviews are being conducted by Dr Rath accompanied by VC Chotray. There are about 20 to 25 personalities residing outside the State, who will be personally approached while some around 10 NRIs would be contacted through mediums , she added.
While the AV documents would be placed at an independent Audio Visual Centre of the College, efforts are being made to screen them for the public through tieups with television channels and other media . The up coming RavenshawRadio would also broadcast the interviews.
The wealth of information would also be available for research.
Some luminaries already interviewed are former Chief Justice and officiating Governor of Orissa Gatikrushna Mishra (97), freedom fighter and former Union Minister Bibhudendra Mishra (87), former Advocate General Late Gangadhar Rath (85), Poet Jayanta Mohapatra (80), former Chief Secretary of Orissa Ramakanta Mishra (75), eminent cardiologist and painter Dr JP Das (74), former Utkal University VC Dr Devendra Chandra Mishra (87) and economist Dr Baidyanath Mishra (86) etc."
Wow! This is a very good initiative taken by the authorities. So the winds of change are blowing at Ravenshaw.....
Varsity rues wasteland
The following news item was retrieved from here.
"Ravenshaw University’s proposed second campus continues to be a waste ground as Cuttack Municipal Corporation dilly-dallies over its decision to shift its garbage dumping site.
The state government allotted 130 acres of land at Brajabiharipur Mauza under Athagarh Tehsil on the western outskirts of Cuttack for the proposed second campus. When efforts were initiated in November 2007 to acquire the land, nearly 57 acres were found to be under heaps of junk. Though university authorities had sought help from the Cuttack collector for the matter, there were no improvement in the situation as the Cuttack Municipal Corporation (CMC) pleaded it had “no alternative” to the Mauza ground.
Official sources, however, said 30 acres of land at Tulasadeipur under Barang block was provided as an alternative in December 2007. Both Bhubaneswar Municipal Corporation (BMC) and CMC were expected to use it for disposal. Meanwhile, the CMC seems to be gravitating towards a common garbage-dumping yard under a Twin City Solid Waste Management Plan.
Orissa High Court on Thursday ordered the BMC and CMC to dispose garbage at a single point under the garbage-dumping process for the twin cities to facilitate a “waste-energy power project” proposed by the government. The court was hearing a PIL on solid waste management in the twin cities, when it gave the order.
Advocate-general B.K. Mahanti had said: “Some 61.41-acre of land has been identified at Bhuasuni in Bhubaneswar tehsil under Khurda for a dumping yard for both the CMC and BMC.” The court has fixed March 15 as the deadline for erecting the of boundary wall around the allocated land.
Khurda district collector had also filed an affidavit stating that the identified land had already been handed over to the civic bodies. Ravenshaw University authorities hoped the garbage hitch would be resolved with a common yard.
“We are keen to get through the process of acquiring land as the second campus has become a necessity to meet both the present and growing demand of students and there is hardly any scope for extension in the present campus,” said a university official."
I just pray that everything goes well and Ravenshaw has a new state of the art campus.
"Ravenshaw University’s proposed second campus continues to be a waste ground as Cuttack Municipal Corporation dilly-dallies over its decision to shift its garbage dumping site.
The state government allotted 130 acres of land at Brajabiharipur Mauza under Athagarh Tehsil on the western outskirts of Cuttack for the proposed second campus. When efforts were initiated in November 2007 to acquire the land, nearly 57 acres were found to be under heaps of junk. Though university authorities had sought help from the Cuttack collector for the matter, there were no improvement in the situation as the Cuttack Municipal Corporation (CMC) pleaded it had “no alternative” to the Mauza ground.
Official sources, however, said 30 acres of land at Tulasadeipur under Barang block was provided as an alternative in December 2007. Both Bhubaneswar Municipal Corporation (BMC) and CMC were expected to use it for disposal. Meanwhile, the CMC seems to be gravitating towards a common garbage-dumping yard under a Twin City Solid Waste Management Plan.
Orissa High Court on Thursday ordered the BMC and CMC to dispose garbage at a single point under the garbage-dumping process for the twin cities to facilitate a “waste-energy power project” proposed by the government. The court was hearing a PIL on solid waste management in the twin cities, when it gave the order.
Advocate-general B.K. Mahanti had said: “Some 61.41-acre of land has been identified at Bhuasuni in Bhubaneswar tehsil under Khurda for a dumping yard for both the CMC and BMC.” The court has fixed March 15 as the deadline for erecting the of boundary wall around the allocated land.
Khurda district collector had also filed an affidavit stating that the identified land had already been handed over to the civic bodies. Ravenshaw University authorities hoped the garbage hitch would be resolved with a common yard.
“We are keen to get through the process of acquiring land as the second campus has become a necessity to meet both the present and growing demand of students and there is hardly any scope for extension in the present campus,” said a university official."
I just pray that everything goes well and Ravenshaw has a new state of the art campus.
Reason for frequent law and order problems in Ravenshaw Campus
As I was browsing through the internet for Ravenshaw news I came across this news item here
"Tension prevailed in the College Square area of the city following a clash between students of the Ravenshaw University and locals on Saturday.
Two students and two locals sustained injuries and admitted to the SCB Medical College and Hospital here while one platoon of armed police has been deployed to prevent further spurt of violence. The injured have been identified as Raja and Ajit Khatua of Patara Sahi and students as Susant Sethi and Debi Mishra.
According to police, there are two versions on the cause of the clash. Locals have alleged that some boarders of the West Hostel had gone to play holi with girl students of the college, who were staying at Patara Sahi.
They allegedly did not behave properly with the girls to which the locals, primarily Raja and Khatua opposed. After an altercation between them, the students returned. At around 5 pm, Raja and Khatua were in the market adjacent to the university when they were spotted by the students.
The boarders grouped and attacked the two but seeing the two beaten up, locals ganged up and retaliated. The students have alleged that it was the other side which had started the fire. Raja was allegedly passing by the hostel on a motorcycle along with a companion when he heard something from inside. Taking it to be eve-teasing he confronted the boarders and even threatened them with dire consequences outside the campus.
When some boarders came out, he and his friend Khatua attacked them and the clash erupted. With locals supporting the duo the scene at the front gate of the university turned into a war zone for over an hour with both sides attacking each other. Armed police including senior officers rushed to the spot and had to use force to disperse the mobs.
Two cases have been registered by the Malgodown police in this connection and investigation is on. Armed police continued to be stationed in the area."
I often wonder the reason for this constant law and order problem in and around Ravenshaw Campus. In my opinion the reason is the location of Ravenshaw College. It is located in the heart of the Silver City and surrounded by dense population. Moreover civilian facilities like IGNOU study center also exist within the Ravenshaw campus. Shifting the University is not a practical solution. So what should the university authorities do to stop such problems in the future?
"Tension prevailed in the College Square area of the city following a clash between students of the Ravenshaw University and locals on Saturday.
Two students and two locals sustained injuries and admitted to the SCB Medical College and Hospital here while one platoon of armed police has been deployed to prevent further spurt of violence. The injured have been identified as Raja and Ajit Khatua of Patara Sahi and students as Susant Sethi and Debi Mishra.
According to police, there are two versions on the cause of the clash. Locals have alleged that some boarders of the West Hostel had gone to play holi with girl students of the college, who were staying at Patara Sahi.
They allegedly did not behave properly with the girls to which the locals, primarily Raja and Khatua opposed. After an altercation between them, the students returned. At around 5 pm, Raja and Khatua were in the market adjacent to the university when they were spotted by the students.
The boarders grouped and attacked the two but seeing the two beaten up, locals ganged up and retaliated. The students have alleged that it was the other side which had started the fire. Raja was allegedly passing by the hostel on a motorcycle along with a companion when he heard something from inside. Taking it to be eve-teasing he confronted the boarders and even threatened them with dire consequences outside the campus.
When some boarders came out, he and his friend Khatua attacked them and the clash erupted. With locals supporting the duo the scene at the front gate of the university turned into a war zone for over an hour with both sides attacking each other. Armed police including senior officers rushed to the spot and had to use force to disperse the mobs.
Two cases have been registered by the Malgodown police in this connection and investigation is on. Armed police continued to be stationed in the area."
I often wonder the reason for this constant law and order problem in and around Ravenshaw Campus. In my opinion the reason is the location of Ravenshaw College. It is located in the heart of the Silver City and surrounded by dense population. Moreover civilian facilities like IGNOU study center also exist within the Ravenshaw campus. Shifting the University is not a practical solution. So what should the university authorities do to stop such problems in the future?
Ravenshaw elicits information for heritage
Embarking on a nostalgic trip to trace and join the missing links in the historic Borasambar- Senapati annual debate series, the Ravenshaw University has made an open request for assistance and extension of any information on the glorious tradition spanning over 70 years.
The University wishes to document all available information on the prestigious debate series, from details of winners, participants, judges, subjects and topics as well as incidents relating to them for its archive.
While this would not only serve the purpose of preserving the past heritage of the erstwhile Ravenshaw College, it would also throw light on the prevailing trends, issues and concerns of the different periods.
The annual debate was discontinued in 1970, in the centenary year of Ravenshaw College, and the exact reasons for it are still to be uncovered. Information collected can also help in unravelling the reasons.
The debate was restarted last year after creation of Ravenshaw University by the efforts of Vice-Chancellor Devdas Chhotray, a winner of the debate in 1963, and enjoys the status of Chancellor’s debate.
It was instituted in 1937 under the stewardship of the then Deputy Commissioner Nilamani Senapati, who parted with the Rs 600 bestowed on him as farewell gift by the Raja of Borasambar principality in Sambalpur upon his transfer to Cuttack to create an endowment for awarding a prize to the best debater in English. The annual event continued till 1970 but stopped abruptly after that.
The debate was revived after 36 years with the prize purse increased to Rs 5,000.
It has also been decided that the winner of the debate would also be awarded the Chancellor’s Cup and no separate debate would be held for the latter. Last year the winner was Ruchira Nanda. The debate for this year was held on Tuesday with as many as 45 students participating in it.
Among others Vice-Chancellor Devdas Chhotray, former Chief Secretary Pratip Mohanty and State Election Commissioner Sanjeev Hota were present.
Original post here.
The University wishes to document all available information on the prestigious debate series, from details of winners, participants, judges, subjects and topics as well as incidents relating to them for its archive.
While this would not only serve the purpose of preserving the past heritage of the erstwhile Ravenshaw College, it would also throw light on the prevailing trends, issues and concerns of the different periods.
The annual debate was discontinued in 1970, in the centenary year of Ravenshaw College, and the exact reasons for it are still to be uncovered. Information collected can also help in unravelling the reasons.
The debate was restarted last year after creation of Ravenshaw University by the efforts of Vice-Chancellor Devdas Chhotray, a winner of the debate in 1963, and enjoys the status of Chancellor’s debate.
It was instituted in 1937 under the stewardship of the then Deputy Commissioner Nilamani Senapati, who parted with the Rs 600 bestowed on him as farewell gift by the Raja of Borasambar principality in Sambalpur upon his transfer to Cuttack to create an endowment for awarding a prize to the best debater in English. The annual event continued till 1970 but stopped abruptly after that.
The debate was revived after 36 years with the prize purse increased to Rs 5,000.
It has also been decided that the winner of the debate would also be awarded the Chancellor’s Cup and no separate debate would be held for the latter. Last year the winner was Ruchira Nanda. The debate for this year was held on Tuesday with as many as 45 students participating in it.
Among others Vice-Chancellor Devdas Chhotray, former Chief Secretary Pratip Mohanty and State Election Commissioner Sanjeev Hota were present.
Original post here.
Monday, March 24, 2008
Ravenshaw needs world class faculty. Do you fit the bill?
Ravenshaw University wants to recruit the best faculty possible. The Vice Chancellor himself has asked for "Academics who love Ravenshaw" to join it. The full text of VC's message follows:
The original post can be found here.
| Search of Faculty | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)