National Integration Camp- 2011, Puducherry.
Filed Under :
Thursday, August 18, 2011
INAUGURAL FUNCTION
The team headed for Puducherry on 21st night via Coromondal Express. We reached Youth Hostel which was the decided venue for the camp in the wee hours of 23rd morning. After a sumptuous breakfast, all the volunteers filed in for general introduction. The session was presided over by Dr. E.M. Rajan who is the State Liason Officer of Puducherry. The volunteers and the Programme Officers of different states gave their introduction.Altogether 10 states participated in this camp which included Assam, Andhra Pradesh, Madhya Pradesh, Utter Pradesh, Puducherry, Odisha, Tamil Nadu, Gujarat, Karnataka and Kerala. 
We were introduced to the theme of the camp which was “ Role of Youth in Protecting Culture and Heritage of our Country” as well as the activities which the participants would be performing during the entire camp. This was followed by registration where each and every participant received a file which contained the routine, an ID card, a notepad etc. The inaugural function was held in the afternoon. The student volunteers formed the letters “NIC -11” in order to welcome the Chief Guest who was the Chief Commissioner of Puducherry. Lightening of holy lamp was followed by regional songs sang by different states in order to felicitate the Chief Guest. The inaugural function was followed by a short cultural programme, dinner and report submission.
YOGA SESSIONS
The rest of the days started off with the yoga session sharp at 6 a.m. headed by Mr. Murugesan. We got to learn many assans during these sessions which would be fruitful for us in the future.
OUTDOOR ACTIVITIES
Each day after the yoga session we were given a one hour break for freshening up and then used to have our lunch at 8 a.m. Everyday two hours rom 9- 11 am were allotted for outdoor activities which included coastal walk and cleaning of plastic waste, cleaning of public park, cleaning of hostel campus and tree plantation. On 26th May , a special lecture was held on Social Health and Management by Dr. J. Martin Selvaraj. The best activity was the “Coastal Walk” as it was a combination of both work and fun. We got to experience the scenic beauty of Gandhi Beach as well as made the surrounding beach area free of plastic wastes.
PANEL DISCUSSIONS
The time slot 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. was allotted for “Panel Discusssions” in which each day two volunteers from each state would speak on different topics for atleast two minutes. The topics included - Role of Youth in Protection of Culture and Heritage by Koninika Mukherjee and Nabajit Das, Advantages of democratic Government by Naveen Tripathi and Chandan kumar, Honour Killing by amit kumar and koninika mukherjee, Generation Gap by Sayoni Roy and Corruption by Navneet kaur. The sessions were presided over by different personalities which included Mr. Devabalan, Dr. P. Charles Christopher Raj, Dr. B. Ilango, Mr. Rajagopalan and Mrs. Sasikalamala and Mrs. Geetha and Malar Mangal.
LECTURES
After lunch, the time slot 2:30- 4:30 p.m. was reserved for lectures given by different persons on different persons on topics like Personality Development, Environmental Protection, Disaster Management and Communicable and Non –communicable diseases.
After a short break, different competitions were held everyday which included “ Painting contest on Global Warming ”participated by Sayoni Roy,Naveen Tripathi and Nabajit Das, “Essay Contest on Heritage”participated by Koninika Mukherjee and Navneet Kaur, and “ Rangoli Contest on Blood Donation ”participated by Soma Das and Navneet kaur, “ Debate on Terrorism participated by Nabajit das”. Volunteers from different states also participated and volunteers representing Odisha bagged three prizes.
1. Nabajit Das won the 1st prize for Debate .
2. Navneet Kaur won the third prize in Essay Competition.
3. Sayoni Roy won the second prize in Painting Competition
CULTURAL PROGRAMME
The evening time was allotted for cultural programme . each state had to present a short programme, be it dance, skit or song every evening. This was absolutely essential as we came to know the rich culture and heritage of all the states and got a chance to showcase the talent of Odisha. Dinner was served at eight in the evening , the day used to end with roll call and report submission.
.
VALIDATORY FUNCTION
Last day the validatory function was held where all the programme officers and volunteers were felicitated.
This camp not only gave us the opportunity to mix and interact with our fellow countrymen living in different parts of the nation but also taught us an important lesson in self discipline and team work. The NSS volunteers of KIIT university
have returned from this trip with pleasant memories and enriched knowledge.
Puducherry was also known for its beauty so how could we miss it! We did go for sight seeing in the 25th afternoon. We went to Aurobindo Ashram, Shree Vinayaka Mandir , Auroville and Aurobindo Beach. The best of them was “Auroville” which is a meditation center covering huge acres of land.