Mysuru : Former president late Dr A P J Abdul Kalam, who was popular as ‘People’s President’, will come alive at the 103rd Indian Science Congress scheduled to be held from January 3 to 7 in the city.

The Pride of India, a science exhibition, organised as part of the annual conference, will portray Kalam under ‘Hall of Pride’, planned on an area of 15,000 square metres (seven acres) behind Bahadur Institute of Management Sciences (BIMS), Manasagangotri campus. M M Activ Sci Tech Communications is organising the exhibition which is expected to bring 180 organisations, including Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO), Department of Science and Technology, Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO), under one roof.

The ‘Hall of Pride’ is considered as the most revered segment of the expo which has a precedent of dedicating to eminent personalities in various realms. Some of the personalities portrayed earlier include former prime minister Jawaharlal Nehru, Vikram Sarabhai, Dhirubai Ambani, G D Birla, Satish Dhawan, Acharya Prafulla Chandra Ray and Sir M Visvesvaraya.

Other attractions of the expo are Vijyan Jyot, the flame of knowledge and Genesis, a one-day symposium organised concurrent to the science congress. The theme is ‘Realising the Make in India Mission through Indigenous Development - Role of MSMEs’, in line with the focal theme of this year’s congress.

Vijyan Jyot, considered as a novel initiative, will introduce pure science as a career choice among youth and encourage them to take up a career in the field. It is inspired by ‘Vision 2020’ of Kalam to make India a powerful and prosperous country by taking the benefits of science and technology to every Indian and thus, enriching the quality of life.
The exhibition is open to the general public on all the five days, University of Mysore VC K S Rangappa said.

A melange of cultural events will be another major attraction of the conference. It will be held everyday from 7 pm to 8.30 pm.

The event set to begin with ‘Janapada Jatre’ (folklore fair) by 150 artistes drawn from different parts of the State. Fusion music by Manjunath from University College of Fine Arts and his troupe and Sheela and troupe will be held on January 4, followed by fusion dance by Nirupama and Rajendra on January 5 and C A Sreedhar of University College of Fine Arts and troupe will perform Karnatak classical instrumental music with 30 musicians on January 6, the last day of cultural events. Geetha and Sheela, along with students of the university, will also perform on the same day.

To accommodate delegates during the five-day 103rd Indian Science Congress starting here on January 3, the University of Mysore has booked about 2,000 rooms, Vice Chancellor K S Rangappa said.

The rooms have been booked at various different including Hotel Lalitha Mahal Palace, guest houses at Infosys Technologies, Hootagalli and Suttur Mutt choultries.

Infosys has provided 300 rooms to accommodate 600 guests, while the Suttur Mutt has provided 350 rooms on sharing basis.

Children Science Congress and Women’s Science Congress will be held on January 4.
Vice Chancellor Prof Rangappa told media persons that Nobel laureate John B Gurdon would inaugurate the Children Science Congress at the same venue (Amphitheatre) at 10 am.

While the Women’s Science Congress, fifth in the series, would be opened by Human Resource Development Minister Smriti Irani at Crawford Hall at 12 noon, he added.
On the same day, another Nobel laureate Dass Schetman will inaugurate the ninth Science communicators meet at 4 pm, Prof Rangappa explained.