Thoughtsome: Fundamental 2009

It has been decades since I attended a college festival.When we started AESCULAPIA at Medical College Kolkata in 1976, there were only a few such festivals around. Occasionally, I could see milling crowds of youngsters, sounds of music, banners, posters around the colleges. Sometimes, I even judged a few events. So, it was a new experience for me when I arrived in Pune for the last two days as a pure and simple viewer.

I had seen the wonderful website, and the opening animation bowled me over. I was really eager to see how the elephant would roll!!!

And it did, creating drama, passion, tension, smiles, whoops and laughter...

I missed the dance competition, but spent time looking at the exhibits. For a layperson, it was a wonderful lesson. The methodology of creation was new to me. Scientific creation, I could comprehend. There are laws and interpretation, experiments and derivatives, rules and exceptions.But that was in the laboratory, mathematical and engineering formulae,physiology and anatomy and pathology. We have dissected the brain, and the nerves and the interconnections---but I have never seen how one can derive science from vision and colour and placement and proportion. It should have been the other way around. Instead, ideas and concepts and thoughts have been transcreated into a viable scientific formula.

I wandered out into the amphitheatre where the western music bands were vying for a prize. There was some splendid music, a bit staccato in parts, but a lot of skill and talent.

There was the occasional splendid guitar riffs, a memorable vocalist, classical drumming and an atmosphere made memorable by the rotating ,floating Fundamental logo on the brick walls of the buildings, under a moonlit sky ...

Next day, I attended the official ceremony in the auditorium, where Padmashri Sri S.B. Mujumdar after inauguratingthe proceedings, announced that SID had achieved the highest NAAC grade i.e. A. (NAAC has under its new criteria come up with CGPA score for institutions. )

Cumulative Letter Performance
Grade Point Grade Descriptor Interpretation of the Descriptor
Average(Range)
3.01 - 4.00 A Very Good High level of academic accomplishment
(Accredited) as expected of an institution
2.01 - 3.00 B Good Level of academic accomplishment above
(Accredited) the minimum level expected of an
institution
1.51 - 2.00 C Satisfactory Minimum level of academic
(Accredited) accomplishment expected of an
institution
< 1.50 D Unsatisfactory Level of academic accomplishment
(Not below the minimum level expected of an
Accredited) institution.
Note:
1. To declare an institution accredited as “Very Good”, the
institution should have a minimum CGPA of 3.01, and fall
in the CGPA range of 3.01-4.00;
2. To declare an institution accredited as “Good”, the institution
should have a minimum CGPA of 2.01, and fall in the CGPA
range of 2.01-3.00;
3. To declare an institution accredited as “Satisfactory”, the
institution should have a minimum CGPA of 1.51 and fall in
the CGPA range of 1.51-2.00;
4. Any institution that secures a CGPA of < 1.50 shall not be
accredited .

Following this there was a classical ,brief(COMPRESSED!!!) classical dance recital of the traditional Shakuntala story, set interestingly to western classical music.