Bihar's Premier Art College- admissions open

PATNA:  Subodh Gupta is just one of the creative  geniuses that have spent their students days here. Would be artists and sculptors, admission forms to the Government college of Arts and Crafts are available till June 30- the entrance exam is on July 5.

 The 74-year-old College of Arts and Crafts is undergoing various changes. Last year, its syllabus was modified for the first time after its establishment and now the college administration plans to add new courses.



A SUBODH GUPTA CREATION

 "The Bachelor of Fine Arts (BFA) syllabus was modified for the first time last year since the establishment of the college. This was done to bring the syllabus in line with that of other national-level fine arts colleges. We also converted the five-year BFA course to a four-year one, like other fine arts colleges across the globe," said the principal Chandra Bhushan Shrivastava.

The college administration will soon  introduce the Master of Fine Arts (MFA) course. "A proposal in this regard has been passed by the syndicate and now we are seeking a green signal from the governor," said,the  principal of the college. Once MFA is launched, this four-semester course will have 40 seats (10 in each department). "After getting permission for MFA, we will seek permission for PhD in fine arts too," added the principal.

 Earlier, one could join after passing class 10 were eligible for admission, but now only those passing Class 12 with minimum 45 percent are eligible. The maximum age for students applying for BFA course is 25 years.

The entrance test: Students have to appear in three papers and the test is conducted in two sittings. The test for first and second papers is conducted together and students get three hours for it.

 The first paper carrying 35 marks is 'Still Life', in which students have to make sketches on the given topic only with the help of pencils. In the second paper that carries 35 marks - 'Memory Drawing' - students are given topics, such as season or festival, and they have to paint it with colours. Half-an-hour time is given for the third paper that carries 30 marks and comprises of multiple-choice questions based on arts, culture, history, basic science and current affairs.

 Application forms for the entrance test are available at Rs 300.

The college offers foundation course in the first year of BFA, teaching painting, sculpture, applied art and print making/graphics. This course is common to all students.

 Later in the specialization course (over the next three years), students have to choose either of the above-mentioned subjects. Besides, history of arts is a compulsory subject common to all students under the specialization course. Students also have to choose one of the optional courses (photography and mural) during their specialization. Graphic and mural have been introduced as new subjects from last year.

"The college campus has now Wi-Fi facility, including in hostels. The present boys' hostel has 32 seats, and the construction of 60-seat girls' hostel will start by July," said the principal, adding that the college at present has UGC-2F and 12B accreditation and the administration is applying for NAAC accreditation too.

 The BFA course has 60 seats, usually  more than 200 students apply for admission.

Out of the 60 BFA seats, 30 are reserved under various caste-based quotas. Besides, the college offers quotas under the categories of disabled, army men, teaching and non-teaching staff, music and sports and NRIs. "If we get applications under these quotas, we refer them to the university and as per permission allot the seats. The seats under these quotas are in addition to the 60 seats," the principal said.

 The College of Arts and Crafts was established at Govind Mitra Road on January 25, 1939 by late Radha Mohan. Later in 1949, the government of Bihar took control of it and renamed it as the Government School of Arts and Crafts. In 1957, the college shifted to its present location at Vidyapati Marg. The institution was rechristened on April 12, 1977 as the College of Arts and Crafts and was made a constituent college of Patna University. The college had been offering a five-year diploma course, which was, in 2012, converted into a four-year degree course.

 Important dates: Availability of forms: June 5 to June 30/ Last date for submission of forms: June 30

 Entrance test: July 5 Results: July 12 Commencement of classes: July 25

Seminar, Gandhi, and Award

The Central University of Bihar (CUB) organised a seminar on nanotechnology and the environment on May 3. Brajesh Dubey, a teacher of environmental engineering at the University of Guelph in Canada said nanotechnology is an emerging field and has wide applications.

 “Materials with nano-sized particles (1-100nanomater in diameter) have always existed in nature. As the application of nanotechnology increases, more and more manmade nano-particles could enter our atmosphere, soil and water. Since there is no regulatory body for nanotechnology based products, many of this could be potentially dangerous to humans,” he said.

Dubey, who has more than decade of research experience in the area of environmental engineering for four years, was welcomed by CUB Vice-Chancellor Janak Pandey.

Award

Chandragupt Institute of Management, Patna, (CIMP) received the international Arch of Europe award in Frankfurt, Germany, on April 28 for “Total Quality Management”.

 The CIMP is the first institute in Bihar and the first education institute in India to get the award. The NTPC and Indian Oil Limited have got the award earlier.

The CIMP director, V. Mukunda Das, said: “It is a great achievement for us. Apart from good placement records, our institute has always encouraged its faculty members to conduct research.” Das himself had researched on rural India as the biggest emerging market in the world after China.

 

Gandhian ideology

Bihar Political Science Association organised a seminar on the application of Gandhian technique for moral regeneration and economics reconstruction at AN College on April 30.

 

The president of the association, L.N. Sharma, said: “It is important to adapt Gandhian ideologies to achieve the ideal state of secularism, social equality and harmony.”

Director of Gandhi Museum Razi Ahmad stressed that Gandhian philosophy and socio-economic ideals can only be implemented through the democratic process in India. “We should not adopt other constitutional routes, or else we will end up having a disastrous example like Pakistan.” he said.

 

 Sikkim Governor B.P. Singh said: “we are in the middle of change in civilisation and must follow the Gandhian economic and social ideal to compete with rest of the world.”

Party time at Law School

The juniors gave a rocking farewell to the final-year students of Chanakya National Law University (CNLU) on May 3.

The party started at 6 pm and continued till midnight. A number of events like couple dance, paper dance and group dance were organised. 

The CNLU students danced away the night to the tune of Bollywood hits and English Pop played by a local disk jockey.

Shilpi Sinha was chosen as Miss CNLU while Saurav Bhanu was adjudged as Mister CNLU.

Swati Chudiwal was felicitated as the most punctual student.

 Saurav Singh, a final-year student, said: “We can’t express our feelings as we have spent five years at the institute. It was full of joy and sorrow.”

Purushottam Kumar, another student, said: “we have seen the growth of the institute, as we have studied both at the CNLU transit campus and the new one.”

He said the institute has all the qualities of becoming a top national law university. The juniors hosted a dinner as well.

[curated by Prem Ranjan]

Bihar School for Outlaws?

Outlaws, In-laws, or under the law? A spate of indiscipline and hooliganism has vitiated the atmosphere at the Chanakya National Law University.

 Frequent group clashes between the fourth- and fifth-year students have become a course of concern for majority of the pupils on the Mithapur campus in Patna, Bihar.

The latest altercation was on May 4. A girl in her fifth year was allegedly abused and threatened by a group of fourth year students when she was out on an evening stroll. Her classmates as well as third year students staged protests demanding strict action against the culprits.

The group staged a dharna till Wednesday when the varsity administration decided to suspend the five fourth year students involved. The students suspended are Piyush Kumar, Tarun Kumar, Sanchay, Prince Bharti and Jayant Kumar.

Ajay, a third-year student at Chanakya National Law University told a local paper: “I dreamt of making a successful career in Law. But lack of discipline and regular group clashes between the seniors and the juniors are hampering the academic atmosphere at the institute.”

 Since December last year, the group of fourth and fifth year students have clashed with each other at least three times, said sources. It's a battleground!

 After last Saturday’s incident, the varsity administration tried to resolve the situation through talks but latter succumbed to pressure from the third and fifth year students. It issued a notification on Wednesday night that read: “Five students are suspended from the university hostel with immediate effect i.e. from Wednesday; the 8^th may 2013 until further orders. The students directed to immediately vacate their respective rooms in the hostel. Failure to comply with the order will entail serious consequences, including rustication from the university.”

Vice-chancellor A. Lakshminath said: “The University is not going to tolerate such incidents. The suspension of the students from the hostel is a warning to the others to strictly follow the University’s rules and regulation.”

     

A protest, A passing out parade and more

Rape protest

Well, well, well,.. so JD Women's College also put on a slogan shouting, placard waving edition of 'let's protest like everyone else'.

Students of JD Women’s College formed a human chain on April 22 to protest against the incident of the rape of a five-year old girl in Delhi. As they stood outside their institution, each student held placards with messages like “Don’t kill the innocence of a child “and “let buds bloom”. 

As usual, there were only platitudes mouthed. One such 'student' who really had nothing new to say was quoted by a local Patna paper:

“I think both the state and the Union governments are answerable for being unable to prevent such incidents from occurring,” said Puja Kumari, a BA first- year student. “Why have the law-enforcement agencies not been able to prevent such incidents?”

Puja Kumari, what should the state government do put a policemen inside each and every house? You should first have the guts to address these issues of child abuse as they take place in your own home, Puja jee. Like try to tell your brothers not to hang around the P&M Mall checking out the drool maaal'.

  

Future Teachers finish their course

On April 25, MEd and BEd students of St Xavier’s College of Education put up a cultural programme for the batch passing out.

 A documentary on the batch, Golden Memories, set the nostalgic tone for the show, which began with a prayer service.

 The farewell song – “Nagma hain, shikwe hain…” – was the main attraction of the show; the farewell dance was also popular. Principal Father Thomas Perumalil, SJ, told the students to deliver their best after the graduate.

 “You should try to understand the emotion of every student in your class. Stick to your values and work towards creating a just society.”

H'm high hopes... he has high hopes....

Best essay writer

Sunny Kumar, a third- year students of Chanakya National Law University, on April 29 received the first prize in an essay competition conducted by the Union ministry of the social justice and empowerment.

 The ministry conducted the competition in September last year on the contribution of BR Ambedkar in the making of the constitution. Students from various schools and colleges across the country had participated in the competition. 

Sunny was adjudged the winner on April 25 and received Rs 1 Lakh from the minister state for social justice and empowerment, Porika Balram Naik, in New Delhi. The students from Bihar have once again proved that they are no less than their country.” 

Son of a farmer, Rajendra Prasad, Sunny studied at a government school in Gopalganj district.

New tech course

National institute of Technology (NIT), Patna, is planning to introduce an MTech course in nano technology from the next academic session.

 NIT-Patna director Ashok De said: “The institute is going to offer MTech course in nano science and technology from the next academic session and we are also planning to modernise the laboratory.” The laboratory would have more computers. The institute also has plans to introduce MTech courses in chemistry and mathematics.

 The director said the new courses are being offered as they are in high demand. The institute will revise the syllabus for a number of undergraduate courses from the next academic session.

 The syllabus will be revised after a gap of six years and will focus on industry inputs, communicative English, personality development and studies of new technological innovations.         

compiled by Prem Ranjan

Honey, what's the buzz at PWC, Patna?

What's the buzz at Patna Women's College? Won't the guys just love to know?

Well well, they've been as busy as bees lately, according to our sources.

The Eco Task Force group Patna Women’s college set up an apiary on campus on April 22.

Okay guys, an APIARY is ... An apiary is a space where hives of honeybees are kept and maintained  by apiarists or traditional beekeepers.

Of course, we know that the eco task force members just hang around talking about the environment, and most of them will run for miles if a bee buzzes along their path, so who are they fooling?

Actually it's the fearless and dauntless, and PWC  College principal Sisiter Doris D’souza [who some say floats like a butterfly and stings like a bee] who told reporters: “It was my dream to set up an apiary at my college.  I’m happy that the dream has been fulfilled.” 

The sticky business was of course facilitated by the Khadi Gram Udyog chairman Shankar Prasad, who had trained two of the Avila convent staffers in honeybee rearing. It's these two people who will be doing the actual work while the Eco task Force members will pose for the pictures.

Of course, the Principal made all the right noises, " These projects bring students closer to nature,” she added. [How? How many volunteers of the eco-task force are to be trained to deal with the stingers? We don't know!

A local newspaper says "The students also learned about Karl Von Frisch, who got the Nobel Prize for Medicine in 1973 for cracking the language code of honeybees – the waggle dance." big deal... any kid who's read up on bees knows about the waggle dance.

According to Frisch’s theory, “forager” in a colony of honeybees performs this dance to communicate to others the direction and distance of patches of flowers from which they can extract nectar.

 The Eco Task Force has been founded by Sister Doris, who is an avid conservationist and well known biologist. One could say that she's got a bee in her bonnet when it comes to the ecology!

The  members are students of the college who mainly  'spread awareness' about various environment issues through  different activities  through out the year. 

Anoz and Mudit look for new horizons

Two students preferred to follow their own dreams instead of joining the ‘herd’ rushing for juicy jobs at Shillong IIM campus placement this year.

They decided to stand apart from the crowd, and go it alone as entrepreneurs instead.

Anoz Sethna from Gandhidham in Gujarat and Mudit Agarwal from Jodhpur in Rajasthan were determined to do what they had planned when they joined the institute two years ago. Both belonged to the 2011-13 batch.

For 'chocolate boy' Anoz, with the looks of a model, it's the family business and Dad's legacy that take pride of place, not plum pickings from multi-nationals.

“It was planned that way, right from the time I enrolled at IIM Shillong. I had to become an MBA and help my father, who will be retiring soon, to carry forward my family business at Gandhidham in Kutch district of Gujarat. We export industrial salt, chemicals and minerals to Southeast Asian countries and China,” says 24 year old Anoz.

24 years old, good-looking Mudit,is basically a Marwari chhokra, with a desi outlook. His  family that runs a textile and hospitality  business in Jodhpur, wants to start his own venture.“My ambition from the outset was to go for a start-up business. While my family is into hospitality, I intend to initiate a venture in food processing,” he says.

On the topic of  the lucrative on- campus  offers, the duo expressed similar views. “Yes, the salaries the companies offer to IIM graduates are good, but from a long-term perspective, the returns will be higher if I help my family in furthering the business,” said Anoz.

 Echoes Mudit, “A business venture on my own will have its challenges and risks, but all said and done, if things go according to plan, it will give me immense satisfaction.”

The duo, however, will miss their alma mater and of course, “cool and beautiful Shillong”.

Of a class of 104, these two  opted out of the placement process to start their own entrepreneurial ventures. Altogether 52 companies confirmed their presence on campus for the process and 39 companies made offers. The highest domestic offer was Rs 22 lakh CTC per annum and the highest international offer was Rs 32 lakh CTC per annum.

The highest domestic offer for the 2010-12 batch was Rs 19 lakh per annum.

 “I will miss Shillong. Unlike Gujarat, which is dry and hot, Shillong is cool and pleasant...like heaven. The two years I spent there was a great learning experience, particularly the corporate interactions,” said Anoz. Agrees Mudit: “I will miss my friends in Shillong as well. It’s a lovely place.”

On its students opting out of the placement process, Sanjoy Mukherjee, chairman, placement committee, IIM Shillong, said there were students who decided to join start-ups to venture into unexplored territories and test their entrepreneurial abilities.

“Students from IIM Shillong were willing to experiment with going for better roles than bigger brands. Two of our candidates opted out of placements to pursue a venture on their own” he added.

He said IIM Shillong has once again established itself as one of the premier B-schools in the country by successfully completing its placements for the Class of 2013.

The remarkable increase in the number of brands recruiting from IIM Shillong, despite uncertain global economic conditions, stands testimony to the potential and skill levels of the participants at IIM Shillong.

“While I am extremely proud of the placement team for their hard work, I would also like to thank participating organisations for their continuous support and making the IIM Shillong final placements a grand success” he said.

Most prominent among those who participated in the recruitment process were JP Morgan Chase, Ranbaxy, Citibank, Robert Bosch and Dr Reddy’s. The African arm of a Singapore-based FMCG major has also recruited from IIM Shillong. These brands, along with the regular recruiters like TAS, Deloitte, HSBC, Apollo, GSK, Nomura, among others, round up a successful placements season.