The Tribune, Chandigarh, India

EDUCATION

HIDDEN TREASURE
Prof Ishwar Singh, a researcher par excellence
Jatinder Sharma

Rohtak, January 9
The search for the treasure hidden among the academia at Maharshi Dayanand University leads to Dr Ishwar Singh, Professor of Chemistry, with brilliant academic records and an alumnus of Delhi University. Before joining MDU in 1978, Prof Ishwar Singh had been on the faculty of Delhi University’s prestigious Ramjas College and Sri Venkateswara College.

In 1985, Prof Ishwar Singh was awarded a Commonwealth Academic Staff Fellowship to work on enzymes at the University of Leeds in the United Kingdom. Working with Prof Peter Knowles, he discovered the role of an organic co-factor in a copper containing enzyme of the blood serum. In 1986, he presented his work in the International Conference at the University of Florence in Italy. He has published papers in collaboration with a number of well-known biochemists of the UK and the USA.

The Atomic Energy Research Institute at Budapest invited Prof Ishwar Singh in 1997 as a Visiting Scientist to deliver lectures and seminars in Hungarian universities. In 1999, he was invited to deliver a talk at the Indian Science Congress Association in his research area on the role of selenium in human beings.

In 2001, Prof Ishwar Singh was invited by the Korean Institute of Energy Research to develop chemical sensors, which he later on developed for the toxic gases like hydrogen sulphide and oxides of nitrogen. He was also invited to deliver a talk at the International Sensor Society’s conference in Seoul.

Perhaps, the most significant contribution Dr Ishwar Singh has made for Maharshi Dayanand University is that the extension of his work resulted in the invitation to four other teachers from the Department of Chemistry to work at the Korean Institute of Energy Research. These teachers are Dr K. C. Singh, S. P. Khatkar, Vinod Bala Taxak and Ravi Rana. In this way, the Chemistry Department has developed an international scientific vision.

Prof Singh again visited Korea in 2002 to set a laboratory for making phosphorescent and electro-luminescent materials at the Korean Institute of Energy Research.

Prof Ishwar Singh has also visited a number of universities in Japan, Singapore and Europe. He sees a bright future for science and technology development in India and its brilliant scientists. He is quite optimistic that one day India would also lead the scientific path like the present day small countries like Korea, Singapore and Taiwan.

Women get a fair deal in MDU
Our Correspondent

Rohtak, January 9
There is a significant representation of women on the faculty of Maharshi Dayanand University. Out of the total 198 regular teachers in MDU, there are 52 women teachers. In some departments such as Statistics, Physical Education, Psychology and Education, more than two-third of the teachers are women. In some departments like Journalism, Music and Fine Arts, women have equal representation.

In the departments of History, Economics, Sanskrit, Law and Bio-Sciences, one-third of the teachers are women. Moreover, the president of the Maharshi Dayanand University Teachers Association is a woman. Similarly, during the last couple of years, the dean, Student Welfare, and the chief warden have been women teachers.

The teaching faculty of the university is aging. Of the total 198 teachers, 78 are in their fifties, 92 teachers are in their forties and the remaining 28 are in their late thirties. Sixteen out of the total 42 professors have been promoted under the Merit Promotion Scheme (MPS) and the remaining two have been selected directly.

CULTURE

ARTSCAPE
A veritable banquet of the soul to beat the chill
Garima Pant

Gathering, a painting by Stanley Suresh

AN exhibition of paintings, sculptures and photographs by Society for IMPRESSION’87 Artists’ Group, India, is being organised at Lalit Kala Akademi till January 11. Its participating members include Ashis Kabasi, Aniruddha Mukherjee, Anusuya Mazumder, Debashis Kabasi, Krishnendu Simlai, Pradip Saha and Stanley Suresh. The group, formed in the year 1987 as the name suggests, is a perfect mix of art, creativity and talent. Anusuya Mazumdar, who has titled her works as ‘Poetry of life’ has both inner and outer poetry as the basic content of her work. She has tried to present the Bengali folk element in a modern form.

For sculptor and photographer Krishnendu Simlai it has been a long, hard and arduous journey into this world right from the very beginning. Essentially a sculptor, Krishnendu took a jump into the field of photography five years back. His photographs, based on a wide range of subjects, speak volumes for themselves. A truly masterful collection and definitely worth a watch.

Portrayal of life in reality

One Day on the Red Light

H. N. Mishra’s Women-1, Acrylic

Polygamy, Oil

Dipankar Dutta’s Demonica

A solo show of recent paintings by Dr Sneh Gangal is on at Lalit Kala Akademi’s Fresco Art Gallery till January 11. Her paintings bring forward various facets of human emotions. Her work, ‘Cobweb of Identities,’ portrays in one canvas the different identities a woman has, including that of a goddess, a wife, a mother and so on. Her search for her true identity of what exactly she is and what position she holds in life are some of the questions posed through this painting.

Her portrayal of an old beggar with two children around him gives a very dismal portrayal of life in reality, their struggles, the apathy faced day in and day out and the sacrifices they have to make to survive.

The colours used in her works are not subtle but hold a certain degree of harshness to them. But this harshness doesn’t harm the picture. Rather, it gives the works a very commanding effect and makes the viewer stop and watch.

Blend of youth and experience

The 29th and 30th group exhibition of the Painters’80 group is being held in the Capital till January 11 at Lalit Kala Akademi. The group has existed for 22 years with a large number of group shows to go along with its famous name. With the span of time a few of its founder members have moved on to other cities in the country and there have been new entries in the group, making it a perfect blend of youth and experience. The present series of works has titles like ‘Brushing off Terror’, ‘Open Coffin’, ‘Broken Blue’ and so on. These showcase different forms and facets of terror. Pain, agony and shattered myths about peace on this planet are presented in sometimes simple and figurative works and by some in not so simple, non-figurative creations. The heinous crimes against humanity, like the riots in Gujarat and the attack on the World Trade Centre, have somehow formed the basic crux of the entire thought process that is provoked after being a witness to these works of art. More than anything, they are a depiction of the present state of affairs in society and the mindset of people. These abstract and semi-abstract artists have given the art admirer an entirely new and different perspective to look at.

Creations from Doon

An exhibition of paintings and sculptures organised by the Doon Creative Group is on at Lalit Kala Akademi till January 11. The group comprises Asha Sahay, H.N. Mishra, Jagmohan ‘Bangani’, P.K. Sahay, Rajendra Lal and Ramesh Chhetri. Rajendra Lal has titled his works as ‘Landscapes’. Done in acrylic on canvas, the simple, serene works showcase beauty and are very effective. Asha Sahay has taken Gujarat as the main theme of her paintings, showcasing the terror and pains inflicted on people and their lives. Ramesh Chhetri has peacocks as an integral part of all his works. Jagmohan has portrayed life in the villages. Yellow and green hues are predominant in his colour palette and that adds a very different and distinct touch to all his paintings displayed.