The Mysuru-based CSIR-Central Food Technological Research Institute (CFTRI) plans to celebrate National Science Day in a novel way this year. As part of the National Science Day celebrations beginning Friday, the institute will hold a three-day Kannada Science Theatre Festival, an exhibition of portraits drawn by an amateur artist, and a seminar on ‘Science Fiction and Science among the People’.
R. Balasubramaniam, founder of Swami Vivekananda Youth Movement, will inaugurate the events at 5 p.m. on Friday. K.S.M.S. Raghavarao, director of CFTRI, will preside over the programme. On Friday, portraits of some eminent scientists drawn by Anil Kumar Jagalur will be on display. The same evening, the first of the plays of the theatre festival will be staged.
The festival, which is being held in association with Mysuru Science Theatre Festival Trust and Vigyan Prasar, New Delhi, will showcase three Kannada science plays — Arivina Angaladalli (team: Parivarthana; direction: Tejaswini and Ravi Teja); Nilukada Nakshatra - Ramanujan (team: Arivu; direction: Prashanth Mysuru), and Calculus (team: Kalasuruchi; direction: Deepak Chandrashekar), a press release said.
On Sunday, a seminar in Kannada on ‘Science Fiction and Science among the People’ will be held at Cheluvamba Hall, CSIR-CFTRI campus, from 10 a.m. on. G. Ramakrishna, eminent professor of physics, will chair the session in which scientist-writers K.N. Ganeshaiah, Savitha Srinivas, B.S. Shylaja, T.S. Channesh, and B.S. Somashekar will participate, the release said. Entry to both the theatre fest and seminar is free.
The shows will be staged at IFTTC Auditorium, CSIR-CFTRI, on Friday, Saturday and Sunday. Those who are interested may contact Sharma on 2515910 or 98866 40328 for passes and more information.