Koch poet gets literary award
SHILLONG: Nirmal Koch, an eminent Koch poet hailing from Tura town, received the Kabya Pran literary award from Ajir Kabita, a literary wing of the Darrang Zila Sahitya Sabha, in a function held at Darang Zila Sahitya Sabha Bhavan, Mangaldai. The award was given in recognition of his lifelong contribution in the field of literature. Nirmal has several literary publications to his credit and the most recent being “Longthai Vay”, a collection of Koch poems. He, along with Dhiraj Banai, another eminent Koch writer, have jointly written a Koch booklet titled “Tokpak” (meaning butterfly in Koch dialect), which was released during the recently-held golden jubilee celebrations of the Meghalaya Koch Association. Nirmal, who is also the president of the Meghalaya Koch Sahitya Sabha, has undertaken several literary projects for the revival and preservation of the Koch dialect, which is spoken in pristine purity only in the Garo Hills. He has also worked closely with Alexander Kondakov, a linguist from Russia, which resulted in the publication of the monumental Koch-English dictionary.
Winter camp concludes
SHILLONG: The Leadership Training Service (LTS) organised a three-day camp at Pastoral Centre, Cleve Colony, Shillong, which concluded on Sunday. The theme for the programme was “Taking Personal Responsibility”. As many as 60 students from five city schools – St. Mary’s, St. Edmund’s, Seven Set, Sacred Heart Girls’ School, Mawlai, and St. Francis, Smit – participated. The gathering also had various activities like input sessions, group discussions, and visit to old age home. Delphine Fernandes, the principal of Holy Child Higher Secondary School, Nongthymai was the chief guest for the event. Pradeep Tudu, coordinator of North East Region, welcomed the assembly. Fr. Gabriel Colney, principal of Don Bosco School, Thenzawl, Dondor Nongsteng, Dental & Oral Surgeon (B.D.S), Bashisha Mary Khongwir, Brother Dominic Ralte, SDB and Brother Paul Tirkey, SDB, were the resource persons.
IIM holds entrepreneurship summit
SHILLONG: The entrepreneurship cell of IIM Shillong, E-Cell, conducted the annual flagship entrepreneurship summit of IIM Shillong called Emerge. Celebrating the entrepreneurial spirit of the managers of tomorrow, the eighth edition of Emerge was conducted on Saturday and Sunday. Professor DP Goyal, director of IIM Shillong, addressed the gathering in the opening ceremony and rekindled the spirit of innovation and entrepreneurship in the participants. The inauguration was followed by panel discussions with eminent entrepreneurs from across the country centering around the themes “Hospitality landscape in North East” and “The Young Entrepreneurs” – which gave the participants a perspective on how to counter impediments, failures and challenges and look for opportunity in their entrepreneurship journey. A workshop by Gunajit Brahma, a national award-winning serial entrepreneur, on ‘Essentials for Business Success”, which talked about the vital elements that are indispensable in one’s quiver to carve a successful business career was also conducted. Students from various colleges from Shillong also participated in the event. On the second day of the event, the coveted “Best Manager” competition was organised.