BHUBANESWAR: History emerged out of the books as engineering students displayed their knowledge of the country’s cultural heritage with elan at Dharohar-2011, a national-level quiz contest hosted by Sikhsha O Anusandhan (SOA) University and the Bhubaneswar chapter of INTACH, in association with The New Indian Express, at the Institute of Technical Education and Research (ITER) on Sunday. Tricky questions on history, music, art and culture were encountered with prompt answers from the participants as the audience were taken through a whirlwind tour of India’s heritage. A total of 158 teams, each comprising two members, from 32 engineering colleges across the country participated in the contest conducted by Dhananjay Shettigar.Out of the 158 teams, six teams christened Mukteswar, Rajarani, Konark, Jagannath, Lingaraj and Brahmeswar toppled the barrier of the preliminary written round, to make it to the finals. Participants were set an array of topics including mythology, history, arts, literature, architecture and music, to choose from in the final round. The team from the Birla Institute of Technology (BIT), Mesra, featuring Debjit Roy and Pranshuman Singh scored 165 points to notch the first position, 35 points more than the team from ITER, comprising Avinash Sahu and Ankit Patnaik, that came second. The teams from BIT and ITER were awarded cash prizes of ` 50,000 and ` 30,000 respectively. The team from Synergy Institute of Engineering and Technology, Dhenkanal, comprising Amit Bikram Kanungo and Satyajit Gahana, bagged the third position and were awarded ` 20,000. This apart, consolation prizes of ` 10,000 were awarded to the other finalist teams. On the occasion, the chief guest, former Indian diplomat Abasar Beuria said, “People are of the opinion that preservation of heritage is the responsibility of fossilised people like us, but in reality youngsters are the caretakers of the country’s heritage.” The biggest threat to our heritage today is the advent of technology and it is up to the students to save it, he said. Convener of Bhubaneswar chapter of INTACH, SKB Narayan said with most of the engineering students interested in a professional career, this event was aimed at enthusing them to understand the country’s rich heritage and culture. Dharohar would henceforth be an annual event. SOA University Deputy Chairman B K Sharap, Registrar B B Pradhan, ITER Director Manas Mallick and Additional Dean R K Hota were present at the event.
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