Nature – The KGP Chronicle

Bridging the divide

A novel Science Communication Conclave at IIT Kharagpur tries to bridge the gap between the scientific community and the media to pave the way for better news dissemination

Veteran science journalist Ms. T.V. Padma during her talk

February 28 was the day C.V. Raman went to the media to disclose to the world his discovery of the ‘Raman effect’. What better way to celebrate National Science Day, as this day is known, than re-energize the bond between the scientific community and its messengers and interlocutors – the media? That is precisely what IIT Kharagpur’s two-day Science Communication Conclave 2020 has done. This unique initiative of the Institute brought together top science journalists and communicators throughout India, researchers, faculty and students to deliberate on how best to disseminate news from the world of science and technology.

In his address to the audience, Prof. Sriman Kumar Bhattacharyya, Deputy Director, IIT Kharagpur, pointed out, “National Science Day is a reminder of the importance of science dissemination and it should be done by any means possible.”

Was this task of dissemination of news related to science and technology anyway being jeopardized by scientists’ reservations about opening up to the media? Were journalists jeopardizing the intent and purpose of communication in their hurry to ‘break news’? Is scientific jargon serving as a barrier to the correct representation of scientific developments? Is science news becoming less popular? Could there be ways to spur its popularization?

Prof. Baidurya Bhattacharya, Dean, International Relations

The congregation of mediapersons, scientists, as well as students took a hard look at the issues at hand. Prof. Baidurya Bhattacharya, Dean, International Relations, convenor of the event, set the tone by opening the conclave with a presentation on the development of cloning technology that at once highlighted the follies and expected rigour of reportage on a scientific development. “There is an enormous need to disseminate factually correct information and at the same time to live up to the demands of the media industry,” said Prof. Bhattacharya.

Panel discussion on ‘Role of alternative media in science dissemination’

For some years now, science news have taken a backseat in traditional media. Supplements dedicated to science have been dropped and science news have shrunk often to half a page being devoted to it. Senior journalists, such as Ms. T.V. Padma and Mr. Dinesh Sharma, highlighted the problems facing science journalism today – organizationational constraints of the media houses who were dependent on advertisements, the preference for ‘breaking news’, low priority for science news vis a vis political news and news from the world of entertainment, the lack of mentoring of science journalists, the lack of infrastructural support or of networking bodies.

Dr. Meher Wan, , Editor of Indian Journal of Engineering and Materials Science

They also drew attention to what they called ‘communication bottlenecks’ with the scientific community that were adding to the troubles. Often, scientists’ unwillingness to publicly communicate on research and the lack of an institutional policy on communication complicated matters.

Despite the drawback, senior journalists such as Mr. Pathik Guha (Anandabazar), Mr. Amal Sarkar (Ei Samay), Ms. Padma, Mr. Sharma, Mr. B.R. Srikanth, and a younger crop, such as Mr. Mohamad Shafi Shamsi, Mr. Indrajit Kundu, Mr. Sujoy Dhar, or Mr. Shwetank Dubey, were making all out efforts to encourage public interest in science through innovative ways of story-telling or through the use of more visual elements such as infographics.

In fact, alternative media appear to be making a major advance in this respect by opening up ways for better and more impactful science communication. “We live in the times of ‘convergence media’,” remarked Mr Sujoy Dhar, correspondent for Reuters in Kolkata and a writer for Inter Press Service (IPS), pointing to the enormous advantages of online news dissemination.

Ms Satarupa Sen Bhattacharya, National Editor at Citizen Matters, an online civic media platform that researches and reports on critical urban issues, pointed out, “Online has a lot of space and can also experiment with different formats. It is a foregone conclusion that videos, podcasts and photoessays have a lasting impact and can catch a readers’ attention further.”

Ms Sahana Ghosh, staff writer with Mongabay, an international science news website, said, “With sound graphics, infographics, and other visuals, a story can be told in a wonderful manner. There is also scope for collaborations and cross-disciplinary work. The advantage for scientists lies in the fact that we can create high impact small packets of information and these are easy to digest.”

The conclave also showcased the works of two science communicators with a difference – Ms Ipsa Jain, currently a Postdoctoral Fellow at the Institute of Stem Cell Biology and Regenerative Medicine, Bengaluru, who uses art and aesthetics as a vehicle for storytelling, and Lipsa Panda, currently working as a visual research communicator for the Lancet and FT commission, who also holds a PhD in Respiratory Immunology from CSIR- IGIB, Delhi. “Science cannot be breaking news but it has to be disseminated. A quick check and you will see that newspapers have 20 million readers, but Facebook has 2.9 billion, and YouTube 1.9 billion…. These are the platforms through which you can bring awareness about what kind of research you are trying to do, and this awareness can create interest so the audience will eventually demand to read science news,” argued Lipsa at a panel discussion on the ‘Role of alternative media in taking science to a wider audience’.

The poster exhibitions of the work of Ms. Jain and Ms. Panda at the conclave, which drew a lot of attention, clarified their point even better.

How could the scientific community help the media in its efforts for wider news dissemination? The discussions at the conclave seemed to suggest a few ways.

For one, greater cooperation between scientifists and mediapersons. “Remember, we are not adversaries. We need each other to take the news of science to the people,” said Prof. Pallab Dasgupta, Professor at the Department of Computer Science and Engineering, who was also panellist at the discussion titlted “Lab to media – bridging the language gap”.

A greater interaction with mediapersons, in fact, had helped both Prof. Abhijit Mukherjee, renowned hydro-geologist and Associate Professor, Geology and Geophysics, and Prof. Bhargab Maitra, a noted expert in urban planning and development, and transportation and Head of the Ranbir Chitra Gupta School of Infrastructure Design and Management and Professor at the Department of Civil Engineering at IIT Kharagpur, to make an impact at the level of policy-making. Both of them pointed this out during their talk at the conclave.

Another way that emerged from the discussions was training scientists and researchers on public communication. Several among IIT Kharagpur’s faculty acknowledged the need for it to ensure correct reportage of scientific developments. Some like Prof. Suman Chakraborty, Professor at the Department of Mechanical Engineering and Dean of the Office of Sponsored and Industrial Research Consultancy at IIT Kharagpur, had already started the initiative by asking his students to put down their research work in the simplest possible language. “The more effective the communication, the more effective the way the journalist can disseminate the news. In fact, this kind of training is part and parcel of advanced research for students around the world,” said Prof. Chakraborty.

A host of IIT faculty talked about new and emerging areas of research. Prof. Swagata Dasgupta on protein chemistry, Prof. Sudeshna Sarkar on Artifical Intelligence, Prof. Saibal Gupta on ‘analogous studies’ of planetary topography, Prof. Chacko Jacob on nanomaterials and new materials, Prof. Brajesh Dubey on waste management, Prof. Sangeeta Bhattacharya on public health matters and Prof. Dilip Swain on food security. Many of them cautioned the media against hype.

As Prof. Sunando Dasgupta, Professor at the Department of Chemical Engineering and Head of the Advanced Technology Development Centre, IIT Kharagpur, pointed out, “Science is a process of inquiry. You cannot expect breaking news to happen on a daily basis… For example, there can be no breaking news in cancer cure. It is an ongoing work and the steps that we take are at best incremental. But yes, scientists need to explain what they are doing. However, they are not trained to communicate what they are doing.”

Prof. Partha Pratim Chakrabarti, former Director of IIT Kharagpur, left a lasting impression with his concluding talk on Vigyan Katha Sagar, his proposed mission to take science to school children through Next-gen stories that embed principles of modern science and technology and enable critical thinking. Prof. Chakrabarti wrote, “The talk was inspired by the timeless masterpiece – Kathasaritsagar and its immense potential for a revisit. I illustrated the untapped power of simple age-old stories like Thirsty Crow in modern light and gave a sample of some of my own initial attempts at story-telling on problems solving and algorithm design meant for school students. Request others to share their ideas and possible stories.”

Towards a Greener, Cleaner World

Sarve bhavantu sukhinaḥ; Sarve santu nirāmayāḥ

Sarve bhadrāṇi paśyantu; Mā kashchit duḥkha bhāgbhavet

‘May all be prosperous and happy, May all be free from illness,

May all see what is spiritually uplifting, May no one suffer.

A 16-YO global icon of climate activism, Ms Greta Thunberg took on national and international leaders with her speech at the United Nations Climate Summit on 23^rd September 2019.

Closer home, Vision Prabaho, a team of green evangelists of IIT Kharagpur, is making an effort in their little way to promote climate consciousness in and around the campus. The team, under the aegis of the Rekhi Centre of Excellence for the Science of Happiness, IIT Kharagpur, organised ‘Green Chintan’ – an environmental workshop on poster and model / prototype competition on 26^th September, for school students (classes V-VI and IX-XII). More than 60 students demonstrated models and posters on Rain Water Harvesting, Hydraulic Lifter, Biogas Production and River Cleaner.

Prof. Partha Pratim Chakrabarti, Chief Guest at the event, took to the microphone congratulating each participating team individually and assuring them all-round assistance in implementing their models on a larger scale. He requested Vision Prabaho members to help these children take their ideas forward to turn them into reality.

Prof. Saamdu Chhetri, Guest of Honour at the event, came up with one unique explanation. “What is ‘Bhagavān’”, he asked. “God”, rumbled a few students. The description that followed surprised not only students but also a few adults present at the S.N. Bose Auditorium.

He divided the word into individual letters. ‘Bh’ for Bhoomi – The Earth, ‘G’ for Gagan – the Sky, ‘A’ for Agni – Fire, ‘Va’ for Vayu – the Wind and ‘N’ for Neer – Water. “All living creatures on this planet are made up of these five elements. When we fail to value any one of these, we end up harming ourselves. We live in a symbiotic relationship with nature. Man can never live in isolation,” he said.

Prof. Anuradha Choudry addressed the topic of soul-cleansing. She explained that without a clean mind and clean soul, one can never strive to attain a clean society or the environment thereof on a larger scale.

On these lines, a mythological story was narrated by Prof. Jenia Mukherjee. The story traced the formation of the world’s largest delta – the Sunderbans, conveying a subtle hint on water conservation. Prof. Mukherjee stated that the contribution of rivers in our lives was a part of our cultural identity. She invited students to visit the wetlands in Kolkata and see how these wetlands function in relation to the 750 million litres wastewater generated daily by the city itself. The students listened with awe as she explained wastewater management procedures undertaken by the fishermen and farmers with their local skill and knowledge, leading to the production of more than 22 tonnes of fish and 40 tonnes of vegetables on a regular basis.

DAV Model School walked away with the trophy and a cash award for the Best School. Other prizes included Poster Competition and Model/Prototype Making.

Prof. Priyadarshi Patnaik wrapped up the session with his pearls of wisdom. He mentioned that the rapid depletion of natural resources is posing an ever-increasing global threat. It is high time people became more responsible towards the environment and strived to make it a better, safer place for our future generations.

Every Frame Has a Story

The office door creaked open and in walked a gentleman in a pink-purple striped shirt and grey trousers, with his laptop bag hung from over his right shoulder. It was 6:05 pm by the clock.

Shyamal Biswas – the name was synonymous with photography, in the campus. He is an ace photographer with credits from the National Geographic.

“My passion for photography goes back a long way. It accelerated after coming to IIT. I remember I just passed out of my 10^th standard, and was awarded a national scholarship of Rs 300. I spent 150 rupees to buy a Snapper camera and it all started from there”.

“I joined Jadavpur University and used to attend all their photography exhibitions. In one such exhibition, I came across a picture which captured a tribal Rajasthani lady smoking a beedi out of a moving bus. That struck me! I knew I could take pictures like these.

Here, around the campus, the Subarnarekha will always be my favourite photography spot”, he said.

“One year, Prof D J Sen, Chairman, Nehru Museum, approached me to capture the flora and fauna of IIT Kharagpur as the annual calendar theme, giving a 15-days deadline. That was the beginning of my pictures getting featured. I started taking birds’ pictures”.

“The genres of my photography kept changing with time. Initially it was general photography. Then it was wildlife that focused mainly on birds. Now I am more inclined towards human character, landscape and most importantly, street photography. This is closest to my heart. Each picture captured, has a story in itself. Either they have motion, or they have some unique subject, or some particular moment. I try to keep a human figure in most of my pictures. Presently, I am exploring subjects like colours of sunset and abstract photography. I do this out of my own satisfaction. I do this because I love doing this. I do this because it keeps me going”

“The best part is when you get recognized for your passion. I consider my greatest achievement when National Geographic featured two of my pictures. Interestingly, one of them was captured on my mobile. I was driving around the campus, when suddenly I came across a structure being constructed. I found the concept fascinating – one person on each step of the structure. I brought out my mobile and captured it. The framing and the context of this picture was what stood out”. I named this picture, ‘Stair to Heaven’.

The second picture featured by Nat Geo, was taken with a high end camera. Titled, ‘The Petal Collector’, the picture was clicked in Satkosia Gorge Sanctuary, Odisha. I randomly took a few shots of birds. It was later while I was going through the pictures back in my camp that I found a petal stuck in the bird’s claws. I was awestruck”. His face lit up with pride as he narrated this.

“Evolution of photography is very interesting” he continued. “People today, are moving over still photography. Point and shoot cameras will no longer exist. What will stay are high-end cameras, lens and mobiles phones. With the coming of digital platforms, photography has gone up by a few notches. In recent future, it will be dominated by mobile cameras. These days, the inclination is more towards video-blogging or Vlogs, than still photography. This is one area that can be developed”.

“Photography is an art”, he continued. “And why do you think people take up such art forms? To share it”. “No matter how much I say that I do not own my pictures, but somewhere deep in my subconscious, if someone likes or comments on my pictures, I feel satisfied, motivated”, he confessed.

“How do you manage all these with your job?’” I asked.

“Very tricky question”, he laughed. “I extract time and just drive off. It gets a bit taxing at times, but they’re worth it. It is my oxygen”, he signed off.

Planting the seeds of change

“Be the change you wish to see in the world.”

These prophetic words of Mahatma Gandhi aptly sum up the deliberations on the World Environment Day on June 5 at IIT Kharagpur. On the day, a panel discussion organized by Vision Prabaho, the eco-conservation forum of IIT Kharagpur, brought together professionals from different walks of life to talk on ‘Environment Vs Development: from confliction to sustainable coexistence’. There was Ms. Nadira Patheriya, Former Judge, Calcutta High Court, Mr. Satyajit Roy, WBFS, Directorate of Forest, Govt. of West Bengal, Prof. Somnath Ghosal, Rural Development Centre, IIT Kharagpur, Prof. Saamdu Chetri, Rekhi Centre of Excellence for the Science of Happiness, and former Executive Director, Gross National Happiness Centre, Bhutan, and Mr. Rohit Kishan Ray, Research Scholar, Physics Department, IIT Kharagpur.

Ms. Nadira Patheriya at the Green Parliament

Mr. Satyajit Roy explained how aggressive development in different parts of the country was destroying its wildlife, eg. the Great Indian Bustard of Rajasthan or the Fishing Cat of the Sunderbans. “How much land should go for development? How much forest should we preserve? The forest department often has to balance both the priorities,” said Mr. Roy. He also pointed out how the involvement of the local communities in conservation efforts, government programs such as Van Mahotsav, and even state schemes, were helping to turn the tide. In fact, there has been a marginal increase in the forest cover in India.

“The Nature does not need us, but we need Nature,” said Prof. Chetri, who powerfully advocated education on environmental matters from a very young age, the dropping of meat and packaged food from our diet. “If we stopped eating meat and dairy products, there would be a lot of land for planting trees,” he said. He also argued that packaged food was benefiting no one else but the multinational companies. He cited the case of Bhutan, which used only 39 per cent of its ‘Natural capital’, and made local communities responsible for the upkeep of the environment. In many areas of Bhutan, the biodiversity had improved and the water system had regenerated as a result, he said.

Ms. Nadira Patheriya did not agree with Prof. Chetri on radical solutions, such as dictating the change of diet, but she stressed on the use of environmentally-friendly materials in exchange of plastics. “I look at plastics and I feel angry. What have we done?” she said. She was happy at seeing corn flour being used to make the small packets for the ‘prasad’ distributed at Golden Temple of Amritsar. “Even for paper bags, we cut down trees. Why not make jute bags, which would also bring in revenue?”

Prof. Somnath Ghoshal said he did not see any conflict between ‘Environment’ and ‘Development’, but of course, there is a conflict between ‘Healthy environment’ and ‘Careless Development’. He emphasized on the need to look at the ‘inner environment’ of each individual as well because “the art of living, or how I live, what I nurture’ has an indelible impact on the environment.

Rohit Kishan Ray stressed on the need to run a “propaganda” on a war footing to make people aware of the environmental disaster awaiting us if we continued in our ways. Recent political developments had convinced him how fear could be used to influence opinion. “People had to be convinced that they need to save themselves, not Nature… the ‘threat’ was to their own existence.”

Moderated by Prof. Sudha Goel, Civil Engineering; Environment Science and Engineering, each speaker stressed on the importance of taking small individual steps to bring about change. In this context, it would be relevant to mention how Vision Prabaho has been campaigning against the use of plastic in IIT Kharagpur. The group observed Earth Day with its program for “Un-nailing Trees”, whereby trees on both sides of a 500 metre road were freed of nails and other contraptions.

“Our foremost aim is to spread awareness regarding the importance of tree conservation, reducing the carbon print and encouraging the student community in plantation drives which is crucial to the sustenance of life on earth,” says a group member. Vision Prabaho, which is also mentored by Mrs. Barnali Chakrabarti, botanist and wife of the Director, Prof. Partha Pratim Chakrabarti, observed World Environment Day 2018 with a “Green Talk” featuring Prof. Souvik Bhattacharya, Vice-Chancellor, BITS Pilani among other green activists and thinkers.

Pictures: Vision Prabaho