KALPANA CHAWLA EXCELLENCE AWARD

 

 

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REPORT OF FUNCTION OF HOMAGE TO KALPANA CHAWLA

1st February, 2009

 

        Rich tributes were paid to late astronaut Kalpana Chawla on the occasion of her 6th death anniversary at a Function organized by PECOBA (Punjab Engineering College Chandigarh Old Boys Association, New Delhi) on 1st February, 2009 at PGI Auditorium, Chandigarh. Kalpana Chawla had died six years ago on 1st Feb, 2003 when Space shuttle Columbia exploded. Kalpana Chawla had graduated in aeronautical engineering from Punjab Engineering College Chandigarh in 1982. The Function was sponsored jointly by WLC College, New Delhi whose Chairman is Sh Vinay Pasricha, a PEC Alumnus of 1987 production and Bharat Sanchar Nigam Limited, a public sector undertaking.

 

VIDEO MESSAGE FROM SPONSOR SH VINAY PASRICHA

 

        The Function started with video message received from Sh Vinay Pasricha who was away to Harward University, USA for a short course. In his message Mr Pasricha said “ Pecoba, WLC College, myself & Amarjit Singh Kohli have been associated with this Annual Remembrance Event of Kalpana Chawla  on 1st February for several years. Much as I  would have liked to be present at the Function being the host, I am far away sitting at Boston, USA where I am taking the Annual Course with Harward Business School of the Harward University & today happens to be the first day of the Course. Being in the profession of Education, I travel all over the country & visit various Schools & Colleges. The students are spell bound by the story of Kalpana Chawla & regard her as their role model. The story of Kalpana’s life has caught the fancy of youth and old alike.”

 

 

WELCOME SPEECH BY SH AMARJIT SINGH KOHLI, FOUNDER GENERAL SECRETARY, PECOBA

 

        In his welcome speech Mr Amarjit Singh Kohli, General Secretary of PECOBA, 1 1964 Mech passout, who had founded PECOBA in 1967, said  that immediately after Kalpana’s death on 1st February , PECOBA had organised a Homage Assembly on 9th Feb, 2003 in New Delhi in which the message received by PECOBA from Mrs Sonia Gandhi, the then leader of the Opposition in Lok Sabha was read out.

 

         Mr Amarjit Kohli stated that now 6 years have lapsed since the death of Kalpana Chawla. The Government should acknowledge her contribution  by bestowing Bharat Ratna on her posthumously.

 

 

SPEECH BY SH A. ARUNKUMAR, FOUNDER PRESIDENT, PECOBA

 

Sh A Arunkumar, a 1962 Elect passout &  founder President PECOBA said that PEC’s relationship with space is unique. Dr. Satish Dhawan 1944 Mechanical from Maclagan College, Lahore became the celebrated Chairman of Space Commission and the Secretary Dept. of Space, Govt of India in 1972. Now Alumnus Madan Lal Singla 1969 Aero lead ISRO team designing the Moon Impact Probe of Chandrayan-1

 

 

 INAUGURATION BY SH CHANDRA MOHAN, CHAIRMAN, BOARD OF GOVERNORS, PEC

 

        Padmashree Sh Chandra Mohan, a 1953 Mech passout from PEC, who is the Chairman, Board of Governors, PEC formally inaugurated the Function by paying floral tributes to Kalpana Chawla.  Speaking on the occasion he recalled old memories of his student days while studying in Roorkie. His was the last batch that studied in Roorkie. It may be recalled that after partition of 1947, Maclagan Engineering College, Lahore, the predecessor of PEC, was renamed as East Punjab Engineering College and was temporarily housed in Thomson Engineering College, Roorkie (now the University of Roorkie). In 1950, the word “East” was dropped. The College shifted to its present premises in Chandigarh towards the end of 1953. The first batch which passed out from PEC Chandigarh was 1954.

 

 

PRESIDENTIAL ADDRESS BY PROF MANOJ DATTA, DIRECTOR, PEC

 

 

 Prof Manoj Datta, the Director of PEC who graduated from IIT Delhi made a beautiful presentation on the history of College from 1921 Lahore days till date. He informed the audience that in the end of 2008, the Board of Governors of PEC has decided to rename “Punjab Engineering College” as “PEC University of Technology”. He also said that BOG has also decided to change the present logo of PEC to the new logo. He said that the following message from Kalpana Chawla will remain a source of inspiration to the youth of the country.

 

“ The path from dreams to reality does exist. May you have the vision to find it, the courage to get onto it and the perseverance to follow it”

 

 

SPEECH BY SH VS MALHOTRA, FAVOURITE PROFESSOR OF KALPANA CHAWLA AT PEC

 

 Sh VS Malhotra was the favourite professor of Kalpana Chawla at PEC & Kalpana remained in touch with him till the last. NASA had provided a special email connection through which Kalpana could send to or receive emails from Prof Malhotra from her spaceship. Prof Malhotra said that Kalpana Chawla was a very sincere and serious student, always helpful to others.

 

 

SPEECH BY SH DHANPAT SINGH, BATCHMATE OF KALPANA CHAWLA

 

 

Dhanpat Singh, an IAS Officer who graduated from PEC in civil engineering in 1982 and is the President of Kalpana Chawla Memorial Foundation, said that Kalpana Chawla achieved greatness through sheer grit, determination and perseverance. He was proud to be called as a batchmate of Kalpana Chawla. He said that Kalpana Chawla Foundation will do many things to spread the message of Kalpana Chawla

 

 

SPEECH BY CHIEF GUEST SH BANARSI LAL CHAWLA

 

  Kalpana Chawla’s father Sh Banarsi Lal Chawla narrated many personal incidents about his daughter which showed her love for greenery and environment protection. He said Kalpana spent a large part of her earnings in helping other students in their educational careers. He recalled that once while he was with Kalpana in USA, Kalpana one day spent 12 dollars on repair of her shoes whereas a new pair could have been bought in 10 dollars. On being questioned by him on the wisdom of her decision she said that if she bought a new shoe she was hastening the killing of another animal, which could be easily postponed if she got the shoe repaired.

 

READING OF MESSAGE RECEIVED FROM DR ANGEL ABBUD-MADRID, LEAD SCIENTIST, MIST EXPERIMENT ABOARD SPACESHIP COLUMBIA

 

The following message was read out:

 

Dr. Angel Abbud-Madrid

Director, Center for Space Resources

Colorado School of Mines

Lead Scientist of Mist experiment aboard Columbia

 

    “The Columbia is lost …”  That moment was a painful end to a journey that started more than two years before at the first training session when I met Kalpana.  However, it was also the moment when I realized how lucky I was to have known such an inspiring and unusual human being.  That day, her words came to me like a flash as I remembered the first time I asked her what she was most excited about for this mission.  “To fly,” was her simple response.

 

    To fly was undoubtedly her lifelong goal.  But not just being lifted from the ground and propelled through the air like a bird, but overcoming all odds, the conventional, the seemingly impossible.

If she was able to fly against the many strong headwinds along her way, can I do the same?  This question is exactly what we should be asking ourselves when we leave this auditorium today.  Yes, we are here to pay tribute to Kalpana and remember her success and achievements, but most importantly, we are here today to find inspiration from her life and take her example to help us on our own journey, our own flight.

 

    Six years ago she was lifted to the skies by one of the most powerful rockets ever built, but her being on that spacecraft was a result of a self-determination more powerful than that mighty rocket.  And as her spaceplane disintegrated on that fateful February morning, Kalpana’s legacy began spreading even wider and far reaching than she ever imagined.  Isn’t it surprising that what unites all of us around the globe today is her optimistic realization of what’s possible?

 

    Kalpana, you are not lost.  Your dream is alive with us!

 

 

READING OUT OF MESSAGE RECEIVED FROM SH AJAY PURI (1976 PASSOUT), KUALA LAMPUR

 

Mr Puri’s message was read out, an extract from it is reproduced below:

 

“Lives of great women like Kalpana always remind us of infinite spirit, infinite capacity, infinite quest for learning, infinite curiosity, infinite courage to try the untried and ability to transform this world into a happier, better, harmonius place…Salutation to Kalpana, her parents and family, great PEC, the great city of Chandigarh and all of you present today”

 

 

FLORAL TRIBUTES TO KALPANA CHAWLA

 

Floral tributes were paid to Kalpana Chawla by many PEC alumni & others present. A partial list is reproduced below. Click on the hyperlink to get the photograph.

 

PECOBA AWARD OF YEAR TO PEC ALUMNUS SH MADAN LAL SINGLA

 

 

PECOBA Award of the Year was given to Sh Madan Lal Singla who graduated from PEC in aeronautical engineering in 1969. He was honoured for his outstanding contributions to aerospace engineering. Madan Lal Singla was the brain behind India’s Moon Impact Probe of Chandrayaan -1 Mission. He was working for Vikram Sarabhai Space Centre & had recently retired. Photo shows Madan Lal Singla (Right) receiving PECOBA AWARD from Sh Banarsi Lal Chawla, father of Kalpana Chawla. In Centre is PECOBA’s Gen Secy, Amarjit Singh Kohli

 

KALPANA CHAWLA EXCELLENCE AWARDS FOR WOMEN 2009

 

On this occasion “ Kalpana Chawla Excellence Awards for Women 2009” were bestowed by Sh Banarsi Lal Chawla, the father of Kalpana Chawla on ten Outstanding Women for their excellence  in various fields such as sports, art and culture.

 

SOME OTHER PHOTOS

 

Click on the hyperlink to get the photograph:

 

UNIQUE AUDIO-VISUAL MUSICAL PROGRAMME ON LIFE OF KALPANA CHAWLA

 

A unique audio-visual musical programme with live singing was presented on  the life of Kalpana Chawla entitled “ Kalpana Ki Udan, Naari Ka Samman”. A fifteen member team of Sakha Cultural Society , New Delhi had come specially from New Delhi. The programme was produced and directed by Pecoba’s Gen Secy Amarjit Singh Kohli who is also the founder chairman of “Sakha”. The visuals were designed by Santosh Sharma, script & compering by Seema Sharma, orchestration by Lovely Sharma & arrangements by Rakesh Kumar and TP Singh. Some photos of musical programme are given below. Click on the hyperlink to get the photograph: 

 

 

MEDIA COVERAGE OF THE EVENT

 

About 100 newspapers all over India & Internet Websites covered the Function. However, newspaper clippings of only about 40 newspapers & magazines could be collected. A few links are given as under:

 

 

PUNCTUALITY OF FUNCTION

 

The entire programme was conducted punctually to the minute. It started sharp at 11.00 am & finished at 1.32 pm.