The 18th convocation of Uttar Pradesh Rajarshi Tandon Open University (UPRTOU), will be held on September 26 at 10 am in the Atal auditorium located in Saraswati campus. The convocation will be presided over by Governor and Chancellor Anandiben Patel.
Chief guest Professor Shashi Kala Vanjari, Vice- Chancellor, National Institute of Educational Planning and Administration (NIEPA), New Delhi, will deliver the convocation address. UP Minister of Higher Education Yogendra Upadhyay and UP Minister of State of Higher Education, Rajni Tiwari, will attend the convocation as a special guest.
At the convocation 26 gold medals will be given to students, of these nine gold medals will given to male students and 17 gold medals to female students. Besides, 20,734 students who have passed the session December 2022 and June 2023 will be awarded degrees. This information was given by Vice- Chancellor Prof Seema Singh in a press conference held on Sunday. Prof Singh said all necessary preparations have been completed for organising the convocation in the Atal auditorium. The convocation will be held in Indian traditional dress. In the convocation Chancellor Gold Medal will be given to Neelam, a student of Baba Sadhav Ram College Azamgarh Studies Centre. Neelam passed the MA Home Science examination in first class. The Vice-Chancellor said that this time on the instructions of the governor programmes of the ‘Dikshatsav’ were organised before the convocation in which seminars, poetry writing, patriotic songs, essay writing, speech competition, traditional sports, women conference, health awareness programme and sports competition were held. On the occasion of the convocation 10 Anganwadi centres will be presented a kit by the Chancellor on behalf of the university. In addition, 30 other Anganwadi centres will also be provided kits. On the occasion the Chancellor will also honour outstanding teachers of the university and group dances will be performed by visually-impaired children of special school. Registrar Colonel Vinay Kumar, Professor Satyapal Tiwari, Dr Satish Chandra Jaisal and Dr. Prabhat Chandra Mishra etc. were present in the press conference.
PREPARATIONS BEGIN: As ‘pitra paksh’ is starting from September 29, people have started making preparations for rituals for peace and salvation of their ancestors’ souls. While many have planned trips to Prayagraj, Varanasi and Gaya, there are many others, especially those from abroad, who could not visit India to perform ‘pind daan’ of their loved ones. For these people, priests of the city are offering to perform the rituals in an online mode after bookings. In the Hindu culture, every year during the ‘pitra paksh’ period, people perform ‘shradh’ and offer prayers for the peace of departed souls. But some cities are considered important and ideal for these rituals, like Prayagraj, Varanasi and Gaya. In Prayagraj, the ritual begins with performing ‘pind daan’ and ‘shradh’ of ancestors with Kshar Karma. Because of the importance the city holds in terms of these rituals, every year, large numbers of people visit Sangam during ‘pitru paksha’. This year, the priests are anticipating an increase in the number of people after a lull of two years because of the pandemic. Their ‘jajman’ (customers) abroad are making online bookings through websites and applications. According to Shambhunath Tripathi ‘Anshul’, former principal of Triveni Sanskrit college, three duties of man have been specifically mentioned in the scriptures —duty towards Dev (God), Rishi (seer) and Pitra (parents).
“During ‘pitra paksh’, gratitude is expressed towards parents, ancestors and elders of the family as if one is not free from ancestral debt, his birth is considered meaningless,” explained Tripathi. “Therefore, during ‘pitra paksh’, reverence is paid to ancestors by doing ‘pind’ daan in Sangam. It is believed that Lord Vishnu and all gods and goddesses residing in Tirthraj Prayag free the soul from the cycle of birth and death by providing salvation,” he added. Abhishek Pandey, a priest, said that people from America, Holland, Canada, Australia, Nepal, Indonesia and Mauritius have made bookings for ‘pind daan’. Online booking facility is available on social platforms too. Around 200 priests of Prayagraj are active on such platforms and have made arrangements to perform rituals online.