National Council for Science & Technology Communication (NCSTC)

30th December, 2018Newsletter of the 26th National Children’s Science Congress

oung scientists need to focus their attention on the subject of climate change as it would have the biggest

Yimpact on agriculture and water resources, eminent expert Prof. Uma Charan Mohanty said.

“Though climate change is a huge issue of our times, it is not taken up as a basic subject at the under graduate level in our institutions. It is needed that the subject should be included at the school and under graduate level,” Prof. Mohanty, Emeritus Professor at the School of Earth, Ocean and Climate Sciences, IIT, Bhubaneswar, told Vishlesan on the sidelines of NCSC-2018 on the second day of the conference.

In countries like the United States, climate change is a subject at the under graduate level, he said.

The society has to face a lot of challenges and learn to cope with the fallout of climate change which has become a major concern. It is something that can't be reversed, he said adding “young scientists have to come up with solutions to deal with agriculture, water resources and health related issues to help sustain mankind.”

“The biggest challenge for them will be to create clean energy without emitting green house gases. Clean energy can be generated from solar, wind and hydro sources with focus on non-conventional energy,” Prof. Mohanty said.

Prof. Mohanty, who interacted with the children attending NCSC-2018 at a “Face to Face” programme, said the National Children's Science Congress was a good platform for shaping the young minds and motivating them into great achievements in the eld of science. The opportunities are much more today with students having access to all kinds of information and improved technology, he said.

CLIMATE CHANGE NEEDS TO BE A SUBJECT AT UNDER GRADUATE LEVEL: PROF U.C.MOHANTY

NCSC-2018 IN PICTURES

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thampus 2 of Siksha 'O' Anusandhan Deemed to be University, the venue for the 26 National Children's Science

CCongress, continued to buzz with activity as participants and visitors took great interest in demonstrations conducted by experts in diverse areas of learning.

Prof. Sumeet Singh from Punjab drew much attention in the 'Activity Corners' using tools like scales and contents of a geometry box. His idea was to make science and mathematics education simpler by using practical tools.

“Mathematics is considered to be a very tough subject by students. I have developed these products for use as teaching aids mainly for the visual understanding of geometrical theories. It is a very easy and convenient way to teach and learn mathematics,” he said.

Prayanjana Mishra, a visitor to Prof. Singh's kiosk, said she had never seen such methods to teach mathematics. “Science has practical ways of teaching but when it comes to mathematics, we always nd it difcult to teach through practical demonstrations. I believe the products will help us a lot,” she said.

A crowd of children gathered at the kiosk where V.Shivasankara Sastry demonstrated 'origami', a simple trick of creating beautiful art out of waste paper. “We use paper to convey the message of science and mathematics. We also demonstrate 'kirigami', a variant of origami, and convert the paper into shapes of insects,” he said.

Sastry demonstrated nearly 100 origami and 50 kirigami art designs to the crowd which included grownups as well at the Activity Corner. “It is a simple art form, but also appears complex. At the same time, it is exciting,” said Girish Ojha, who accompanied his daughter to the activity centre of NCSC.

Prof. Manish Jain, an expert from IIT, Gandhi Nagar, presented the rst Indian Turing Machine at the Activity Corner. He said the machine could be used to send condential messages. The original machine was invented by Alan Turing during the Second World War for decoding messages.

ACTIVITY CORNER

WHERE YOU CAN HEAR THE BUZZ OF EXCITEMENT

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n abandoned Royal Bengal Tiger cub was found in the Similipal forest by a group of Khadia tribesmen in Odisha's

Anorthern district of Mayurbhanj in 1974. The mother had apparently left the sickly cub behind. They brought the

animal, a female, to Saroj Raj Choudhury, then Director of Project Tiger in the Similipal Forest Reserve. Project

Tiger was a programme launched by the Government of India in the early 1970s to protect the tiger.

A lover of wildlife and an expert on tigers, Choudhury decided to rear the cub at his ofcial bungalow in Jashipur. As the

cub was found on the edge of the nearby Khairi rivulet, she was named 'Khairi'. The cub, after getting the needed care

and nourishment of loving human hands, started to grow. In fact, she blossomed.

Khairi soon became accustomed to khaki clad forest personnel around her as news spread about the forest ofcial having

a tiger as pet at home. The tigress would roam around the bungalow, play with 'Tiger', a dog, 'Bhaina', a hyena and a

mongoose, which were among other pets at the Choudhury home. Khairi was fed mutton laced with milk powder and slept

on the same bed with other family members.

The tigress would accompany Choudhury on his tours and people in Bhubaneswar were often startled to see a jeep

carrying a tigress whizzing past them on the roads.

People from far and near, after coming to know about the pet tigress, ocked to Jashipur to have a glimpse of the animal

and its close association with humans. Tourist buses made Jashipur their favoured destination and children loved to visit

her. Seles were unknown those days, otherwise she would have been a rage in the social media. Media persons also

visited the Choudhury home frequently for a look at the tigress and then published her story in newspapers. Children

would write loving letters to Khairi on their return home which were delivered at the Choudhury home. Subsequently, the

government set up a Sub-Post Ofce near Choudhury's bungalow which was named after the tigress.

Choudhury and his associates also launched a research into Khairi's behavior. Forest personnel were assigned the job

of keeping watch on her movements and behavior round the clock. Soon Khairi became one of the biggest advertisement

for tourism in Odisha. The Government of Odisha also made a documentary on the tigress which was screened in cinema

halls. Choudhury virtually acted as Khairi's foster father and her story had a striking resemblance with that of 'Elsa', the

lioness of Kenya on which the famous lm 'Born Free' was made in 1966. Elsa and two of her sisters were raised by game

warden George Adamson and his wife Joy Adamson after they were orphaned when only a few weeks old. Choudhury,

who was credited with devising the new method of 'pug mark count' to conduct census of the big cats, also made attempts

to release the tigress in the wild but it was not successful as she would return 'home' every time.

Khairi died under unfortunate circumstances in 1981 when she came in contact with a stray dog infected with rabies. She

died of the disease plunging wildlife circles and the people of Odisha into gloom. Incredibly enough, Choudhury passed

away a few months later.

THE STORY OF KHAIRI - THE PRINCESS OF SIMILIPAL