Welcome to Ravenshaw University

Leading exponent of Hindustani classical music, Pandit Vishwa Mohan Bhatt and his son Salil Bhatt performed on the Mohan Veena (an innovation of the slide guitar) and Satwik Veena respectively at the Heritage Hall of Ravenshaw University on February 22. The concert was held under the aegis of Society for Promotion of Indian Classical Music and Culture Amongst Youth (SPIC MACAY). The musical evening started with an introductory lecture on Indian classical music by Pandit Vishwa Mohan Bhatt. He began his Mohan Veena recital with an alaap in Raag Behag, an evening raga. His son Salil Bhatt joined him in the second part of the concert and both of them struck a jugalbandi in late evening raga, Raag Maru Behag in Vilambit and Drut Gat set to Teen Taal with befitting tabla accompaniment by Akram Khan. At the end, Pandit Vishwa Mohan Bhatt interacted with the audience in a question-answer session and explained the quintessence of Indian classical music. Pandit Vishwa Mohan Bhatt is a recipient of the prestigious Grammy Award in 1994, Sangeet Natak Akademi Award in 1998 and the Padma Shri in 2002. Being the foremost disciple of Pandit Ravi Shankar, Panditji belongs to that elite body of musicians which traces its origin to the Mughal emperor Akbar's court musician Tansen and his guru Swami Haridas. Apart from being a star performer on stage, he has a number of studio and live recordings to his credit which have achieved phenomenal success and outstanding sales records.

Students of Ravenshaw University were adjudged as the 'Best Disciplined Team' and Ravenshaw University was declared as the 'Best University' at the 'State Level Integration Camp' organised by National Service Scheme (NSS) and Directorate of Continuing Education (DCE), Utkal University at Bhubaneswar from February 15 to 21. Ravenshavians also bagged 14 certificates of merit for their glorious achievements. Coordinator Dr. Priti Rekha Das Patnaik and programme officer Dr. Alekha Kumar Sutar of Ravenshaw University accompanied and guided the group to the integration camp. Dr. Alekh Sutar, Lecturer in Chemistry, Ravenshaw University was also felicitated for his dedication and service. The students who represented Ravenshaw University are Krishna Kasturika of B.Com. final year (Management Hons.), Siddharth Shekhar of B.Sc. final year (ITM), Swadhin Behera of B.A. second year (Geography Hons.), Sweta Mukherjee of B.A. second year (Geography Hons.) and Asha Swain of B.Sc. first year (Zoology Hons.). Krishna Kasturika was the group leader. The students earned huge appreciation for their dedicated service. Nine universities including 34 colleges participated in the camp coordinated by Dr. Surekha Sundari Swain of Utkal University.

Cuttack: Students of Ravenshaw University swept the 3rd Inter-University RTI debate competition held at Physics Lecture Theatre in the University on December 12, 2009 by bagging the first and third prizes. The topic of the debate was ‘Who Wants Information: Ignorance is Bliss’. Information Commissioner, Satyananda Mishra, former DG Gopal Nanda and eminent RTI activist Dr. Bhagawan Prakash graced the occasion as judges.

Fifteen students from ten universities of the State participated in the RTI debate competition. Puspanjali Panda of College of Veterinary Sciences and Animal Husbandry, OUAT, Bhubaneswar and Swayamshree Mishra, Ravenshaw University, Cuttack bagged the first prize jointly and won the RTI Running Shield and a cash prize of Rs. 5,000. Bhumika Mallick of National Law University, Cuttack bagged the second prize with a cash award of Rs. 3,000 and Sampad Patnaik of Ravenshaw University, Cuttack bagged the third prize with a cash award of Rs. 2,000.

Earlier, in the first week of December, the prestigious Borasambar Debate, which was reinstituted by Vice-Chancellor Mr. Devdas Chhotray after decades of discontinuance, was held at the Heritage Hall of the University on the topic, ‘God is a Woman’. While Sampad Patnaik, B.A. (English Hons.) and Swayamshree Mishra, B.A. (Sociology Hons.), who also excelled in the 3rd Inter-University RTI debate competition, bagged the joint first prize, Krishna Kasturika, B.Com. (Management Hons.) and Debamitra Sen, M.Sc. (Mathematics) bagged the joint second prize.

The origin of the prestigious Borasambar Debate can be traced back to 1934, two years before the State became a separate province. Nilamani Senapati, one of the few Oriya ICS officers was posted as deputy commissioner of Sambalpur district. Borasambar was then a small principality of about 1,000 square miles in Gandhamardan hills. When Senapati was transferred to Cuttack, he was presented with Rs. 600 as parting gift by the Raja of Borasambar Estate, Rajendra Singh Bariah. Senapati then donated the amount to Ravenshaw College to create an endowment for awarding prize to the best English debater.
Among the winners of the prestigious debate are luminaries like Sriram Chandra Dash, Prafulla K Pati, A.N. Tiwary, Nilakanth Rath, S.K. Palit, P.C. Hota, Sarat Kar, D.K. Ray and the present Vice-Chancellor Mr. Devdas Chhotary himself in 1963.

The National Education Day was observed in Ravenshaw University on November 11, 2009 on the occasion of the birth anniversary of Maulana Abul Kalam Azad, a great freedom fighter and the first Union Minister of Education. Prof. Bimalendu Mohanty, an eminent educationist and former Vice-Chancellor of Utkal University of Culture was the chief guest on the occasion. Dr. Sachindra Raul, Dean, Students' Welfare, Ravenshaw University presided over the meeting. Prof. Mohanty highlighted the contribution of Maulana Azad and threw light on different aspects of Higher Education in the present scenario.
Essay and debate competitions were organised among the students as part of the celebration. The winners of the competitions were awarded trophies in the function.
While Dr. Soma Chand, Reader in History introduced the guests, the meeting came to an end with vote of thanks by Dr. Sasmita Tripathy, the co-ordinator of the celebration.

Cuttack: Ravenshaw University celebrated its ‘Third Commemoration Day’ with much pomp and enthusiasm on November 15, 2009.

Dr. Kiran Seth, Professor in Mechanical Engineering, IIT Delhi and founder of Society for Promotion of Indian Classical Music and Culture Amongst Youth (SPIC MACAY), delivered the commemoration day address at the open air stage in the University campus. He spoke on the subject, ‘Our Core Competence’.

The lecture was followed by cultural programmes by distinguished artistes. 102-year-old noted Hindustani classical exponent Ustad Abdul Rashid Khan performed Hindustani Vocal followed by Gotipua dance by artistes of Konark Natya Mandap. Ustad Abdul Rashid Khan and renowned Odissi teacher Guru Gangadhar Pradhan were felicitated on the occasion for their priceless contribution to Indian music and dance respectively.

On this occasion, the Science Faculty of the University held an exhibition which was open to students as well as public. A friendly cricket match was also played on the same day between the old boys and the current players in the University playground.

The famous Ravenshaw College, the glory of Orissa, became a Unitary University exactly three years ago on November 15, 2006 when former Bihar cadre IAS officer Mr. Devdas Chhotray joined it as its first Vice-Chancellor following the notification issued by the State Government. From an autonomous college to the status of a Unitary University, the century-old institution got its due status after a long wait.

Cuttack: Following successful consultations held at Sambalpur, Jeypore and Berhampur, the fourth regional consultation of the Higher Education Taskforce constituted by the Government of Orissa under the chairmanship of Padmabhusan Prof (Dr) Trilochan Pradhan was hosted by Ravenshaw University.

The consultation was attended by a galaxy of educationists, academicians, educational administrators, people’s representatives and members of civil societies. The meeting was presided over by Vice-Chancellor of Ravenshaw University Devdas Chhotray while Prof Pradhan conducted the deliberations. Minister of Higher Education Debiprasad Mishra, Commissioner-cum-Secretary of Higher Education Madhusudan Padhi, Cuttack MP Bhartruhari Mahtab and Banki MLA Prabhat Ranjan Tripathy were in attendance as guests. Among the audience were former minister and educationist Trilochan Kanungo and eminent former bureaucrat Vivek Patnaik, who participated in the deliberations. Executive Director of Human Development Foundation (HDF) and Secretary to the Task Force were also present.

Following a presentation about the background to the Task Force by Dr Dhanada Kanta Mishra of HDF, which is providing secretarial services to the task force, Prof Binayak Rath made a comprehensive presentation giving wide-ranging ideas for reforming the existing university system in particular reference to Utkal University. The key recommendations made by a University-level group formed by the Vice-Chancellor for the purpose included restructuring the university into several smaller universities as per the recommendation of the Knowledge Commission for better management and administration. Other suggestions included reforming the University statutes and accounts procedure, curbing political interference on campus, providing greater autonomy, etc.

The Minister of Higher Education discussed the determination of the Government to see higher education as a vibrant growing sector so that the State can stay abreast of the developments at the national as well as international level. Mahtab called for introspection on the role of higher education in overall development of the State and urged the task force to keep the State’s interest uppermost while deliberating on the draft policy and perspective plans. Padhi urged the gathering to give practical and implementable ideas to improve the situation in higher education. Prabhat Ranjan Tripathy also addressed the gathering.

Prof. Trilochan Pradhan in his key note addressed touched on various aspects of the higher education scenario at the national and international level. Drawing from his vast experience in academics and higher education, he dwelt at length on the need for reforms and fast growth to catch up with rest of the world.

Among the participants, Trilochan Kanungo drew the attention of the task force to the predicament of managing higher secondary (+2) education and called for sending it back to schools. Vivek Patnaik emphasized on employability as one of the major objectives of higher education and drew attention on education in demand-based areas such as agriculture, international law, etc. Rabi Patra presented the genuine grievances of teaching community and called for urgent attention to address the same.

ICCR hosts Chocquibtown musical band

ICCR’s Regional Centre located on the campus of Ravenshaw University hosted a musical programme by the popular Columbia-based band, “Chocquibtown” on 20th October, 2009 (Tuesday).
The unique musical event was held in the auditorium of Xavier Institute of Management, Bhubaneswar (XIMB). The event was a part of the celebrations of 50 years of bilateral relations between India and Colombia. The Embassy of Colombia, New Delhi in collaboration with ICCR organized the event in Bhubaneswar.
The concert was ICCR’s first major cultural event for the State after the formal inauguration of its Orissa Chapter on the Ravenshaw University campus in Cuttack. The Chapter has been hosting cultural events under ICCR’s ‘Horizon Series’ every month in Cuttack and Bhubaneswar.
The Colombian Hip-Hop and Salsa band was nominated for the prestigious Grammy Award for the year 2009. Ambassador of Colombia in India, Juan Alfredo Pinto Saavedra visited the State and attended the show which turned out to be a huge success.