An event to remember

FOR AS many as 10,000 school children, particularly those from several remote villages in the backward Tuticorin district, the Art and Science exhibition held recently at the V.O. Chidambaram College in the port town will be a memorable event.

Hundreds of exhibits including the Jurassic Monster and the Melting Man displayed at the exhibition held as part of the golden jubilee celebrations of the college, attracted students as well as a large number of the general public, and provided them with food for thought.

The college, named after the great patriot and doyen of the Swadeshi Shipping Movement, V.O. Chidambaram, had rightly chosen 'Education for all' as the message of its year-long golden jubilee celebrations that began on July 22.

The academic journey of this 'temple of learning' commenced in 1951 with the motto of Love, Knowledge and Righteousness, under the illustrious leadership of its first Principal, Prof.Srinivasa Raghavan, a Shakespearean scholar and recipient of the Sahitya Academy Award.

The college, on a sprawling 100-acre campus, founded by the late A.P.C. Veerabahu with a view to opening the portals of higher education to the socially and economically discriminated sections, particularly in the southern districts, continues to conduct its affairs with the nationalistic goal in mind, says its hon.secretary, Mr. A.P.C.V. Chockalingam.

According to the Principal, Mr. R. Suryanarayanan, a series of programmes including seminars, symposia, sports events, quiz programmes and health camps have been planned to celebrate this event in a meaningful and purposeful manner. Major industries including the Tuticorin Port Trust, SPIC, Sterlite Copper and Tamilnadu Mercantile Bank also participated in the exhibition.

In keeping with the golden jubilee message, the Art and Science Exhibition was organised in the college campus to promote scientific temperament and social awareness among the students and the public.

For instance, the artificial forest with rare species of flora and fauna, created by the Zoology department provided information about the immediate environment and the paramount need to protect the same.

Exhibits such as miracles of the sea, skeleton dance, ornamental fish, live snakes, melting man explaining the refractive index concept, evolution of man and the golden green plant evoked a lot of interest.

The floating ball, ring dance, Viswaroopa Anjaneya, invisible body and several other exhibits in the Physics section and fire under water, golden sparkles, blood without cut, etc., in the Chemistry section are worth mentioning. Replicas of historic monuments, photographs showing the role of the Swadeshi shipping launched by VOC in the struggle for freedom and exhibits on archeological importance at the History section were thought- provoking.

The Mathematics section offered a variety of information through exhibits such as Magic Diamonds, Take You to Infinity and Chessboard Puzzle, while Digital Surgery, IT Wonders and Video Conferencing were among the exhibits of interest at the Computer Science section.

A rare collection of books, journals, encyclopaedia and dictionaries were seen in the Library Science section.

The Tamil section provided a vivid picture on the universal appeal of Tamil literature.

Valuable information such as digital English test, Aim at the stars and Test your aim and memory, were all from the English section.

S. DORAIRAJ

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