The cultural and art heritage of Thiruvananthapuram is well-known among Malayalis. Though not to that extent, the capital city is a crucible of scientific study thanks to its geographical uniqueness.
This identity of the city remains less conspicuous until recently. However, the capital is home to several research institutions of national (and even international repute) where cutting-edge technology and research are being handled.
“Except as a home to the Vikram Sarabhai Space Centre, people did not know the city hosts several institutions that focus on scientific research, such as the Rajiv Gandhi Centre for Biotechnology, the National Institute of Speech and Hearing and more. People even now view Sree Chitra Tirunal Institute for Medical Sciences & Technology as a hospital rather than a medical research one,” says Dr Adarsh N, assistant professor at Government College, Attingal. He is also the vice-president of Breakthrough Science Society’s (BSS) Thiruvananthapuram chapter.
However, post-Covid, things have changed. The organisations that kept themselves cocooned to their own niche work are now opening their doors and connecting with the masses.
Prime among them are Union government institutions marking their calendars with outreach events. “Other than our normal outreach plans to school students, we organise occasions such as National Science Day and Space Week,” says Dr Vinayak Kamble, assistant professor at IISER.
The institute recently launched a public talk series along with the Indian National Young Academy of Science (INYAS) where they explained the working of X-rays to a group of students, stakeholders from the medical industry, as well as the public at Priyadarshini Planetarium.
“We are planning several more lectures where scientific topics are explained to the masses in an interesting and common language,” says Vinayak. He recalls the ‘Janjatiya Gaurav Diwas’ in November when two government high school students from Vithura attended a lecture series. The students were also treated to star gazing along with interactions with ISRO professionals.
“These moves are commendable, but far more interesting is the healthy competition emerging in the city between science groups that are organising communication programmes targeting city dwellers. The Kerala Sasthra Sahithya Parishad, BSS, and the Kerala Science Academy, as well as, several smaller groups are emerging nowadays and are using social media to reach out to more in a faster way,” says Achuthsankar S Nair, a former professor at the University of Kerala. He now helms a group called ‘Sastravedi’, which organises programmes to lucidify science and create interest among school students.
“School students find science and maths difficult because they are not taught properly,” says Vijaya P, a biology teacher, on a break from teaching. Teachers should also be given lab-based training so they would be able to demonstrate what they are teaching and interact with students in an open environment, she says.
Many of the science groups and institutions, hence, claim they have a communication structure which includes training for teachers. “We also have plans to publish books on science written by students. This will generate an interest in them to seek out more and to know more,” says Achuthsankar. Sastravedi also has plans to use social media where youngsters will be encouraged to speak.
“The government initiatives towards scientific knowledge dissemination have also helped. Imagine something as huge as the Global Science Festival Kerala organised with eminent personalities coming to address students and the public. And the facilities such as the Kanakakunnu and Nishagandhi have given a new dimension to science exhibitions with a huge impact,” says Adarsh.
The Breakthrough Science Society’s mega event ‘All India Science Congress’ on February 8,9, and 10, and the Energy Management Centre’s ‘International Energy Festival of Kerala’ (IEFK) are expected to be crowd-pullers, with a mix of seminars in the schedule along with expos and science demos being showcased by research institutions in the city.
The IEFK’s expo, being planned as part of the venture’s second edition on February 7,8, and 9, will have energy-efficient tips conveyed to the public through gadgets and procedures. It will also have energy-efficient cooking tips and recipes.
As part of popularising the science conference, the BSS went to the public with roadside and even beach-side sky-watching sessions. The conference, to be attended by nearly 1,000 delegates from across the country, will have a mega star-gazing session.
However, science communities existed for a long time along with public curiosity, says Vaisakhan Thampi, professor at MG College, Thiruvananthapuram. His posts on science-based topics on social media have made him a familiar face for the public.
“Such communities flourished after the pandemic when people came to understand the positive sides of social media, and its proper use. After the lockdowns eased, naturally everything translated to offline as well. So, with the use of social media to popularise events, science programmes that are being held in the city have now become known to all,” adds Vaisakhan, who is also part of Aastro, which organises regular skywatching sessions.
Many would say, such initiatives are concentrated more in the capital than elsewhere because of its proximity to research institutions. However, it could also be because of Thruvananthapuram’s rich interest in science which was evident right from 1837 when the first observatory was set up here. A paper on ‘Astronomical Contributions of Trivandrum Observatory’ published in the ‘Open Access Journal of Astronomy’ claims there are records of two comets and their trajectories observed in 1843, 1844 and then 1941. When the facility went through an overhaul in 2017 and 2023, it tracked comet C/2023(ZTF) and recently, comet C/2023A3 (Tsuchinshan-ATLAS).
“Not only this, there were many other efforts to popularise science and learning, especially by people like Diwan Madhav Rao, who is said to have brought an engine and explained its functioning to the public,” says Achuthsankar.
But there was a period of lull in science communication. Many city people weren’t even aware that the place was home to the only institution specifically dedicated to space science and technology in Kerala, probably in Asia. It is the Indian Institute of Space Science and Technology, set up in 2007.
“This changed during Covid. Institutions such as ISRO had already begun popularising their space programmes by then. IIST had a specific mandate to organise sessions in schools on space science. However, research institutions such as CSIR-NIIST were still confined to their niche space. After the pandemic, their ‘One Week One Lab’ programme took off, inviting common people to witness their research activities. Now most such institutions have days where they open doors to enthusiasts who want to know about their work. The government colleges in the city are also trying to follow suit,” explains Adarsh.
With these programmes getting into the full-steam mode, scientific interest and acumen will surely see the skies, experts feel.