NIT Trichy's Pragyan '23 Fest held
Pragyan, the techno-managerial fest of NIT Trichy, proudly hosted its 19th edition from 23rd to 26th March 2023. With an ISO 9001:20121 certification, Pragyan remains one of India's largest student-run fests. Pragyan ’23 was no exception and had set out to reach even greater heights. It most certainly achieved this goal with the support and dedication of all its student members and the Pragyan fraternity.
Pragyan ’23 set foot into the Cyberscape, a realm of cutting-edge technological advancements, that symbolised the aim of the fest to be a platform for today's young generation in their pursuit to become the leaders of tomorrow. The fest was powered by High Energy Batteries, with TVS Apache as the title sponsor, RECAL as the legacy partner, and Abhi Bus as the travel partner. Pragyan was able to host this extravaganza due to the support of its sponsors and media partners.
Across the four days, students experienced various elements: informative guest lectures, engaging workshops, enthralling infotainment shows, and interactive exhibits. Staying true to its tagline, “Let’s Celebrate Technology”, Pragyan ’23 brought the student community under one roof to learn, grow, and contribute to the comprehensive progress of society.
Youth Summit: Creating the Leaders of Tomorrow
Pragyan held the latest edition of the Youth Summit, an outreach event dedicated to facilitating conversations among the youth of today, at the Comfort Inn Hotel, Bangalore on 26th February, with enthusiastic participation from students pursuing a future in STEM fields.
The Youth Summit hosted guest lectures with renowned speakers such as Aanand Srinivas, Nirali Bhatia, Prateek Sethi, Rajeev Palanki, Dr Prakash Selvakumar, Poorvi Sachar, Narendra Raj, and Suthas Motwani. The panel discussions on topics such as psychology, entrepreneurship, data analytics, and much more gave an insight into various industries.
The summit encouraged students to explore innovative ideas, interact with the industry’s best, and network with their peers.
A Rundown of Events and Workshops
The essence of Pragyan, as colossal as it may sound, can be encapsulated in three words - Let’s Celebrate Technology. And that is precisely the inspiration behind one of Pragyan’s main highlights - the events. Spanning over eight different clusters, Pragyan ‘23 witnessed the execution of 27 remarkable events. The clusters, namely - Bytehoc, Conception, Concreate, Manigma, EWitts, Phronesis, Roborex and Pandora’s Box, covered a variety of topics, including coding, product design, construction, management and marketing, quizzing, robotics, and more.
A car designing and racing event, Old Town Road marked the start of the myriad of events at Pragyan. Conducted on the CEESAT ground at NIT Trichy, Old Town Road was a huge success with its adrenaline-fuelled racing matches. Quadcombat showcased the ingenuity of students in the form of their aeromodelling skills.
Pragyan Main Quiz tested participants on their general knowledge and prowess in business and management. One of the most popular informal events was Friendly Feud, a fun trivia event based on the famous game show “Family Feud.”
Robowars, a robot-combat event, was one of Pragyan’s grandest events which was carried out in a sturdy, self-built 16ft x 16ft arena. Marketing Hub was an event that was created while keeping all future entrepreneurs in mind and tested the participants’ acumen in marketing concepts, logical reasoning and critical thinking.
Pragyan ‘23 prides itself on this edition’s lineup of workshops. From artificial intelligence to financial planning, Pragyan left no territory uncharted while curating its set of topics. Latent View Analytics, IBM and NITT’s CoE kicked off the first day with three excellent workshops on conversational data analytics, enterprise design thinking (EDT) and industrial automation, respectively.
On the second day, Intel conducted a seminar on FPGAs for various computing applications, Zoho gave an enlightening hands-on discourse on building cloud solutions, Ubisoft shed light on the ever-popular field of game development through their workshop, Daulat tackled the important topic of maintaining personal finances and investing during their talk and Skill Lync provided a beginners course on mechanical automotive design using Catia V5.
The final day saw the execution of two additional workshops; Grant Thornton Bharat conducted a beginner’s guide to Six Sigma, and Brillio organised a workshop on Digital Twinning. The workshops were a huge success and gave students new knowledge on various subjects.
Guest Lectures: An Overview
A notable aspect of Pragyan is its guest lectures. Eminent personalities, successful in diverse spheres of life, offer students much-needed exposure to various facets of life so that they can confidently choose their career path. Pragyan '23 conducted seven guest lectures covering a range of topics including theoretical physics, geopolitics and history, IoT, and much more. Tech Talk by Jackson Johnson and Mohammad Rahamtulla from Silicon Labs were held on the first day. They gave an excellent lecture on IoT privacy and security. The first day ended on a spectacular note with a stimulating session by Advait Danke about spirituality, technology and everything in between.
Atul Gurtu graced the stage on the second day with his brilliant talk on particle physics and its applications. His intellect and passion resounded in students and inspired them to pursue a research career.
Three guest lectures were programmed for the final day. Abhijit Chavda, quite literally a human encyclopaedia, engaged the audience in a splendid discussion about Indian history and the political scenario in India. A renowned constitution litigator, J. Sai Deepak, provided a vital insight into India's political and societal issues that urged students to be model citizens. Ashneer Grover took to the stage with his viewpoints on how to build a business in modern society. The guest lectures were a huge success, and the students were highly enlightened.
Technology Injected with Fun
Apart from the technical events and lectures, Pragyan was also packed to the gills with fun events and shows. The Dance of Light and Fire show by Indieflow was a dazzling display of elegance and sparkling lights. Spectators were treated to the master performances of the Indieflow artists, who combined shining light sticks with stylistic flair and grace.
The OULALA show by Sylvian Oulala thrilled the crowd with its theatrical sense and tricks that tested the boundaries of human capability. Karan Singh Magic took the stage by storm with his puzzling magic tricks and enigmatic moves. The Skeleton Dance Crew showed off their perfect choreography and brilliant engineering with their four-act performance, each one more mind-bending than the last. Interjected between these performances, Tejaswini DS and Manav Agarwal stunned the crowd with their mesmerising solo dance performances, where they bent lights into patterns and shapes that left the crowd enrapt.
Pragyan was closed off by the energy-filled live performances from the fusion rock band Pineapple Express and the electronic music duo Lost Stories. Pineapple Express’s effortless blend of Carnatic and Western sensibilities erupted the crowd, while Lost Stories’ collection of energetic songs set the mood for the finale.
Pragyan '23 also provided a respite from the high-intensity events with their casual Gaming lounge, where participants could play games and relax, as well as informal events such as Laser Tag.
Exhibitions, Sangam, and Ingenium: A Look into the Future
Pragyan hosted Sangam, the premiere intra-collegiate technical competition, a platform where enterprising students showcased their talents for building practical solutions for various problem statements in different categories, namely, healthcare and life sciences, energy and environment, and space technology.
Pragyan also hosted Ingenium, an inter-college flagship event where participants from colleges all across India brought out their most innovative creations and inventions. Students were encouraged to think creatively as well as economically, providing the best solutions for the problems provided. The finalists of this event earned the privilege to display their finished projects in the exhibition during Pragyan.
During the second day of Pragyan, the expansive Golden Jubilee Convention Hall housed the Open House Exhibition, where technical clubs and the finalists of Sangam and Ingenium displayed their innovative and unique projects in a series of exhibits. The exhibition saw a footfall of hundreds of people, including school students hailing from Trichy. Various models in the fields of robotics, 3D modelling, and humanitarian causes were on display in this exhibition. Several special exhibits were on display, namely, the Indro Robot, a humanoid robot capable of human-like functions, Mitra Robot, a humanoid robot with linguistic capabilities and advanced facial recognition, Go1 robot, a dog-like robot with quick feet, reflexes, and detection system, and Gesture Drone, a flight drone capable of responding to gesture commands using hands.
Outreach Events: Social Responsibility, Young Techie and More
Interest in the fest was kept up by the periodic release of articles on Medium, as well as podcasts on Spotify; topics such as science, technology, social welfare and entertainment were discussed on these media.
To spark the imagination of young students, Pragyan conducted Young Techie 3.0. This was an opportunity for students from grades 6 to 10 to showcase their talent. Students were encouraged to submit written abstracts for solutions to real-life problems, and the most ingenious submissions were awarded a mentorship by the technical clubs of NIT Trichy.
Pragyan, in association with SCIEnT, held an Open House Exhibition, showcasing inventions and projects. The students of Santhanam Vidyalaya visited these exhibits, and were left inspired.
Raksha was a social responsibility event conducted in the Seva Sangham Girls’ School, on self-defence and awareness. The girls’ had an interactive session on topics such as menstruation hygiene, cyber safety, good touch-bad touch, and mental health.
Closing the Chapter on Pragyan ’23
Pragyan ’23 stood true to the values of the fest, creating a space for students to connect, discover, and engage in the progress of humankind. Pragyan’s drive to establish itself as a platform for innovation, inspiration, and opportunities, will always propel it further and ignite the spark of ingenuity and commitment to its cause.
Heartfelt gratitude from Pragyan ’23, and the best of wishes for the years to come.
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Excavation of 'Mrityu Kup' begins in UP's Sambhal
Sambhal (UP) (PTI): The administration in this Uttar Pradesh district on Thursday commenced the renovation and excavation of the ancient "Mrityu Kup" (well of death) at Kot Purvi, located within the Sambhal Kotwali police station area.
The initiative is part of a broader effort to identify and restore wells that are believed to hold great religious and spiritual significance. According to locals, the well was abandoned several years ago and filled with debris, which will be cleared. The well is not only a historic landmark but also a sacred site where devotees believe they can attain salvation by bathing, the locals claim. The well is deeply-embedded in the region's spiritual fabric, with locals holding it in high regard for its mythological importance.
"Thursday marks the beginning of the excavation of the Mrityu Kup, a very ancient and revered site. The excavation is being carried out with the cooperation of the Nagar Palika. The well is immensely popular and its renovation will further strengthen our faith. The district administration has been highly supportive in ensuring the development of this important cultural and religious landmark," local councillor Gagan Varshney said.
Sambhal's Sub-Divisional Magistrate (SDM) Vandana Mishra said accompanied by a team from the Archaeological Survey of India (ASI), she visited the Bhadrika Ashram Tirtha and Chaturmukh Kup in Hauz Bhadde Sarai. "After further study, the team will determine its age and give recommendations for its preservation," the SDM said.
She also highlighted the team's visit to Alam Sarai's Brahma Kup, commonly known as the Chaturmukh Kup, a well constructed with stones. The ASI team has collected samples for analysis and research. "In addition, the excavation of the Mrityu Kup is currently underway. We are evaluating the best methods to ensure its preservation. So far, we have identified around 15 out of 19 wells that are of great historical significance," Mishra said.
The excavation and renovation of the "Mrityu Kup" is expected to bolster Sambhal's religious tourism prospects, local officials claim. The structure is located close to the Shahi Jama Masjid, a court-ordered survey of which led to violence last month, leaving four people dead. The violence broke out after protesters clashed with security personnel during the survey of the Mughal-era mosque.
The protesters torched vehicles and pelted stones at police, who used tear gas and batons to disperse the mob. Around 20 security personnel had sustained injuries in the clash and the deputy collector had fractured his leg, officials had said. Internet services were suspended in the district in the wake of the violence.
Images shared on social media showed protesters pelting stones at the security personnel from atop buildings and in front of the Shahi Jama Masjid. Later, police personnel were purportedly seen cornering and hitting people as they tried to disperse a large crowd from a narrow alleyway.
Visuals also showed a lane strewn with a large number of slippers, bricks and stones. In another clip, some police personnel in riot gear were purportedly seen firing gunshots towards a lane while flames leapt and smoke billowed into the air in the background.
Several people were detained in connection with the violence. Tension was brewing in Sambhal since the mosque was surveyed on the orders of a local court following a petition that claimed that a Harihar temple stood at the site previously.
