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Sahiba Chawdhary

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The National Science Fest will be organised by St. Stephen’s College on 24th, 25th and 26th January 2014. The event is being headed by the Students’ Union Society of the college, in collaboration with the Computer Science Society, Chemistry Society, Electronics Society, Photography Society, Environment Society, Debating Society and Quiz Club. The fest aims at offering a mix of competitive and academic activities. These range from a paper presentation to a treasure hunt.

Mrittunjoy Guha Majumdar, Senior Secretary for NSF, says, “This year we present yet another edition of the Stephanian scientific extravaganza with many more electrifying events and a lot more enthusiasm to make this event memorable.”

First day brings an interdisciplinary triathlon of events with Debugging Electronicz, Paper Presentations and a Science Quiz. This trail of events continues to the second day with CYSAE (Competition for Young Scientists and Enthusiasts) and the Scientifik Exhibition.

Amal Jahan, General Secretary says, “We are expecting an overwhelming response given the trend that has been set for the past few years. Enormous energy and effort has been invested in planning NSF’14 to make it an interesting and exciting affair.”

The fest promises to pose ultimate challenges for the electronics enthusiasts with events like, “Debugging Electronicz” followed by the NSF talks where revered veterans like Dr. Prasanta Panigrahi and Dr. Patrick Dasgupta will talk about interesting topics such as Black Hole evaporation and Quantum Dots. The new twist to this year’s NSF is for the explorers with a scientific bent of mind with events like the Treasure Hunt.

For those consummate in rhetoric, Day 3 schedules the NSF Debate, with the motion “Whether parents should be allowed to choose the genetic composition of their kids!”

NSF ’14 is expected to conclude with the ‘Scientifik Exhibition’ wherein participants will be presenting posters and models on the topic “Innovative Practices for Conservation of Natural Resources”, which will be judged for the top spot by Dr. Kinkini Dasgupta, Department of Science and Technology, Government of India.

List of Events:

Day 1: 24th January, 2014

  •  Opening Ceremony
  • NSF Talks
  1. “Black hole evaporation and information loss problem” by Dr. Patrick Dasgupta
  2. “The Fascinating World of Chemistry” by Dr. Subho Mozumdar
  • NSF Science Quiz
  • Debugging Electronicz
  • Paper Presentation

Day 2: 25th January, 2014

  • CYSAE (Competition for Young Scientists and Enthusiasts)
  • Scientifik Exhibition
  • NSF Talks
  1. “Small Waves are Making Big Waves: Wavelets in Action” by Dr. Prasanta Panigrahi
  2. “From Quantum Mechanics to Quantum Dots” by Dr. Sameer Sapra
  • Absurd Theory
  • Kapture Photography and Digital Imaging Event

Day 3: 26th January, 2014

  • NSF Debate
  • Treasure Hunt

For more information, you can visit www.nsf2014.wordpress.com or write to [email protected]

Note: DU Beat is the official media partner for NSF 2014.

Bhaag Milkha Bhaag is a long daunting story of a true “life” of an Olympic world champion for whom life becomes a constant battle for survival. Milkha Singh, after being victimized by the Indo-Pak partition was wounded with scars which failed to heal with time.

The phenomenal director-producer Rakeysh Om Prakash Mehra tries to give his audience a perfect flashback of the Flying Sikh, with the first half seeking to enlist the motivating factors for the protagonist- to run with a happy childhood in a proud family. Soon this life turns into a traumatic one of a refugee boy who wields a knife and becomes a coal thief. But the editing deficient flashback, takes a different turn with a captivating love affair with “Biro” (optimistically played by Sonam Kapoor) inspiring him to choose the right path in life. This leads him to join the army and eventually breaking an athletic world record at the 1960 Rome Olympics, giving him world prestige for the rest of his life. Instances of Milkha running, wounded and punishing himself after defeats are a constant reminder of the gutsy dream chaser aiming to get a national holiday named after him.

With moments of great inspiration, the film manages to pull its way through the second half with rigorous practice sessions on sets of Ladakh giving us a fine reminder of what made Milkha one of India’s most iconic athletes.

The film earns its title from Milkha’s father’s last words, “bhaag milkha bhaag” asking him to literally run for his life, making it the most patronizing memory of his life.

Eventually the well-intended biopic turns into a very detailed, exhausting 187-minute roll which lacks objectivity and turns into an overdose of melodrama. Soon you realize that the early years of the gangster mischief, the Australian affair, and meaningless songs are irrelevant and divert from the traditional pattern of a sporting biopic.

Farhan Akhtar pulls the snail-paced movie, with his convincing Punjabi accent, boorish physical presence, and tremendous commitment to his role as the Flying Sikh.  Supporting roles of Milkha’s guides in his historic journey are portrayed convincingly by Pawan Malhotra and Yograj Singh.

As for the ratings, I will give the mouth-publicized flick 3 out of 5, as it is definitely a one-time watch for Farhan’s irreplaceable performance as an inspiring Milkha Singh- one that will go down in history.

In the run of daily life, take a stop to watch this mis-matched, much in need of editing film as you might end up taking a personal lesson back home.