Skip to main content

Singing a different tune? Kerala science meet to end on now aborted Cow Hug Day

By Rosamma Thomas 

The 35th Kerala Science Congress has begun in Idukki district, where the Mar Baselios Christian College of Engineering is the venue for this year. Co-hosts are the Kerala State Council for Science Technology and Environment and the Kerala Forest Research Institute. 
The event began on February 10 and concludes on February 14, which the Government had declared Cow Hug Day -- only to withdraw it late on Friday following all-round ridicule.
The schedule of the event runs into 40 pages and lists a whole range of papers that will be presented – among them ‘Recent landslides in Kerala –an ecological perspective’, ‘Investigations on the solar flare induced effects on Mars’ ionosphere using Maven observations’ and ‘Mathematical ideas behind Covid modeling and human welfare’.
The state government has already put out a compendium for the event, which includes abstracts of all papers that will be presented – that compendium is nearly 400 pages long. Agriculture, biotechnology, chemical sciences, earth and planetary sciences, engineering and technology, mathematics, nanotechnology, and environmental and health sciences are all represented with several papers in each of these areas. This reporter has not yet browsed the compendium with care, and intends to attend at least one day of the events to get a taste of what is being served at the Science Congress.
It seems, though, too crowded an event, with too broad a range of subjects covered – the ordinary generalist, a student of literature, music or philosophy, may be quite lost at an event of this nature, one guesses. The state government conducts an annual press conference in September to announce this event each year, but little else occurs to publicize the event.
It is a relief, though, that while the Union government encourages Indians to hug cows, at least one state government had decided to sing a different tune.

Comments

TRENDING

The making of a self-made woman: How eighty sheep changed everything for Kalawati Ninama

By Vikas Meshram*  About forty-two kilometres from Rajasthan's Banswara district, in the tribal heartland of Ghatol block, lies the small village of Ubapana. This is where Kalawati Ninama, her husband Dhulji, and their four children make their home. Their days unfold much like those of their neighbours—bustling mornings, long hours of farm labour through the afternoon, and evenings spent tending livestock. For this family, farming and livestock were once simply a means of putting food on the table. Today, they have become the sturdy foundation of something far greater: genuine self-sufficiency.

India has spent billions on skilling. Where are the jobs?

By Vikas Gupta   India loves the photograph of a certificate ceremony. A minister on a stage. A banner bearing the word “skill.” Young people holding folders that promise a future. It is a reassuring image because it tells us the problem has a manageable answer: train the young, make them job-ready, and work will follow.

BAPS, the Eiffel Tower and the curious silence on secularism

By Rajiv Shah   I was a little surprised to see how some of those whom I respect for taking a firm stand on patriarchal issues reacted to the manner in which they responded to the recent incident in Paris, in which women employees of the Eiffel Tower were asked to remain "invisible" on September 5 when 100 BAPS sadhus visited one of the world's top tourist destinations.