As per the plan, teachers and students of various colleges and departments under DU will organize various events to bring curiosity about the First War of Independence among the masses. The event will be inaugurated today at the University Convention Hall.

To make the event more interesting, Alkazi Foundation for the Arts has come forward to organize an exhibition of photographs on "Traces of the Uprising, 1857" from October 26 to November 20 at the University Conference Centre.

The exhibition will display some special collection of photographs by Alkazi on freedom struggle of the mid and late 19th Century.

The photographs are related to three sectors of the uprising: Delhi, Kanpur and Lucknow with a special focus on Delhi.

For entertainment purpose, the varsity will also screen several acclaimed films including "Shatranj Ke Khilari", "Junoon" and "Jhansi ki Rani".

On October 30th, the Department of Germanic and Romance Studies will organise a two-day conference on "European Responses to the 1857 Rebellion in India".

The quiz will comprise a written preliminary round to be followed by semi-finals and a live Final round. Adding zing and glamour to the contest will be the `celebrity round' of questions, where personalities from diverse fields will pose questions to the audience and fetch attractive prizes. Co-sponsor Zipouch is manufactured by Flex and is one of the finest household storage solutions, that provides a unique combination of ultimate convenience and diverse utilities as it can fit into any storing requirement of the consumer. Flex has pioneered revolutionary concepts for home storage of foods.

Organised by the Italian Cultural Institute, the celebrations began on Monday and will stress on the intermingling of cultures through the chosen theme.

"It is a week-long celebration in the world at different Italian institutes and embassies," Patrizia Raveggi, director of the cultural institute here, said late on Tuesday.

The sea has been chosen as the focal point of this year's theme because a large part of Italy's history was based on the sea. The sea has inspired poets and artists from many parts of the world, has dictated joyful and melancholic songs to its inhabitants through its various moods.

Students from Classes 8 to 12 can participate in the road safety essay competition on the theme `Disciplined driving is the only road to human safety' and the essay competition on vehicular pollution on the theme `Prevent vehicular pollution than cure.'

Both the above mentioned competitions carry over 100 marks and are for three hours duration. Schools have been asked to conduct this competition on any day in the last week of October 2007 and send in the essays by November 8,this year to the regional offices of CBSE. The medium of writing may be English, Hindi or any of the languages included in the eighth schedule of the Constitution.

The board will be awarding three cash prizes of Rs 5000, Rs 3000 and Rs 2000 in each language and category.

Hon'ble Vice President of India Shri M. Hamid Ansari was the Chief Guest at a function organised by the Sarvodaya International Trust, New Delhi Chapter at the IIC Lawns on the occasion of Gandhi Jayanti and the International Day of Non Violence. The function was the culmination of a weeklong festival where twenty six private and Government schools participated through creative essays, songs and drama and painting based on the life and works of the 'Father of the Nation'. Speaking on the occasion, the Vice President commended the thoughtful presentations and commented that the 2nd October should be lived everyday of our lives so that we could practice the teachings of Mahatma Gandhi.

The Junior wing of Delhi Public School, Mathura Road organised 'Incredible India', its two day annual exhibition. It was a joint effort of the students, staff and parents. The theme for this year was Facets of India- its rivers, exotic wildlife with all its flora and fauna, unheard of cuisines from across the length and breadth of India, a minute study of the heart of India, Delhi and the entertainment industry The colourful costumes, the wonderful performances and the very informative charts by the students were the highlights of the event.

"In this fast pace world these young and energetic children need these activities to help them to channelise their energies and prevent them from going into wrong directions," said the Chief Guest, Member of Legislative Assembly, Amreesh Gautam. The students were also provided with refreshments and soft drinks. After the competition got over at noon , the children were entertained by cultural programs and lucky draws.

Principal Ms. P. Datta stressed that the aim of exhibition was to sensitize the learners to the application of Science and Technology in serving mankind. The exhibits were judged by eminent educationists from CBSE, NCERT and DU. Mr. Champak Chatterjee, Secretary Education, Government of India gave away the prizes to the winners. Mr. R. P. Sharma, Education Officer, Science, CBSE proposed the vote of thanks and lauded the efforts of the students.

Lotus Valley International School, Noida held its Annual Exhibition `Aakriti', which saw the display of the children's work ranging from all spheres of learning to dance, western and Indian music and sports. They displayed their creativity through various models, life-sized papier mache birds and animals, skits, poems and stories based on themes such as `Great Indian celebrations' and `Our Beautiful Earth'. Chief Guest Mr. Sudhir Tailang, a renowned cartoonist appreciated the efforts put in by the students and the teachers.

Springdales School, Dhaula Kuan hosted the Valedictory Function of the Delhi School's Literacy Project. Dr. Rajni Kumar, Founder Principal, Springdales School, Dhaula Kuan and Honorary Advisor, DSLP welcomed Chief Guest Mr. Vijay Kumar, IAS, Director of Education, Govt. of NCT Delhi and congratulated the schools for having launched a variety of programmes to eradicate illiteracy The . S.M. Arya Memorial Trophy was won by Dev Samaj Modern School, Nehru Nagar, the Laxman Aggarwal Trophy for Best Street Theatre went to Springdales, Pusa Road and St. Mary's, Safdarjung Enclave. Ms. Ritu Verma, Project Manager, Springdales Education Society proposed the vote of thanks.

Several industry experts, technology enthusiasts and academia discussed issues regarding developing and using free open source software (FOSS) at the event on Friday.

"An average user utilises his computer for a few basic uses like getting online, checking email, writing documents and making spreadsheets. This experience is not rocket science. There are several programs available for free, which can do this," says Kishore Bhargava, an organiser.

M.P. Goel, regional vice-president, CSI, Prof. Nupur Prakash, dean, USIT and Prof Yogesh Singh, director, students welfare , were among those present.

The first day witnessed an entire array of events like `Twisters', a group dance competition in which Guru Tegh Bahadur Institutute of Technology bagged the first prize. Other events included `Cross Terrain', where teams had to clear a patch of land using remote controlled robot, web programming and red chilly eating competition. Debates in Hindi and English were also conducted.

The three-day festival also has a variety of cultural events like Treasure Hunt, Shootout at USIT along with fashion and rock shows.

Does children's book reading go beyond the obvious boy-wizard tales, and how to promote culture through it? Questions which any storyteller might have asked herself or others. From today, for the next three days, writers and artists of children's stories have gathered in the Capital to answer these questions at the International Conference on Storytelling.

The gathering of writers from all the continents is being hosted by India's Association of Writers and Illustrators for Children (AWIC), but the discussions will not merely be limited to the written medium. Papers are to be presented on different media as mime (including a performance by special children), Kathak by Shovana Narayan, a Pakistani shadow play group, ballet and puppets.