Amity University Kolkata Ushers in New Academic Year with Global Vision and Innovation

Report by

Dr. Shatabdi Som

Assistant Professor

Amity School of Communication, Kolkata

Amity University

Honourable Chancellor Dr. Atul Chauhan addressing at the orientation programme

Kolkata, August 18, 2025: Amity University Kolkata hosted the Orientation Programme on Monday, 18th August 2025, at the Biswa Bangla Convention Centre, ushering in a new academic year with the induction of over 2,500 students. The event, held from 2:00 PM to 5:00 PM marking the formal commencement of the students’ higher education journey.

The programme opened with the ritual of Vedic Hawan and ceremonial lamp lighting, symbolising enlightenment and the quest for knowledge, followed by Saraswati Vandana, invoking the goddess of knowledge and wisdom. The ceremony was graced by distinguished dignitaries from the Amity Education Group, including Honourable Chancellor, Dr. Atul Chauhan, Prof. (Dr.) Ashok Kumar Srivastava (Vice-Chancellor, Amity University, Kolkata), and Honourable U. Ramachandran (Senior Vice-President, Amity Education Group) Dr. Preeti Sahni (Assistant Vice-President, Marketing, Outreach & Admission, Amity Education Group).

Dignitaries at the Lamp lighting ceremony 

L-R: Dr. Ankur Ganguly, Dean Academics, Honourable Vice-Chancellor, Prof. (Dr.) Ashok Kumar Srivastava, Honourable Senior Vice-President, U. Ramachandran, Dr. Preeti Sahani, Assistant Vice-President, Marketing, Outreach & Admission, 

Dr. Amrita Saha, Off. Registrar 

Addressing the gathering Honourable Chancellor Dr. Atul Chauhan welcomed the students and highlighted the university’s emphasis on research-driven learning, interdisciplinary collaboration, and holistic development of students. Honourable Vice-Chancellor, Prof. (Dr.) Ashok Kumar Srivastava, underscored the need for focus and diligence, he emphasised the importance of being hardworking and diligent in academics; he also urged students to embrace innovation, cultivate resilience, and contribute meaningfully to society. Honourable Senior Vice-President, Sir U. Ramachandran emphasised the importance of adaptability, global vision, ethical use of artificial intelligence (AI) and empathetic leadership in shaping the leaders of tomorrow. Respected Dr. Preeti Sahani, Assistant Vice-President, Marketing, Outreach & Admission, formally welcomed the students setting a tone of assurance for their academic endeavours in Amity University. 

Reflecting Amity’s global ethos, the orientation also celebrated inclusivity and cultural diversity, with students representing multiple states of India and several countries. The university reaffirmed its commitment to providing an environment where individuals from diverse backgrounds can learn, collaborate, and thrive, fostering mutual respect and cross-cultural understanding. The event introduced the incoming batch to the diverse academic, cultural, and entrepreneurial opportunities that Amity offers.

Students of 2025 batch attending the programme

The orientation concluded on a note of inspiration and optimism, as the Class of 2025 embarked on a transformative educational journey at one of India’s leading universities.

Media Coverage:

https://www.telegraphindia.com/edugraph/campus/amity-university-kolkata-ushers-in-class-of-2025-with-values-vision-and-global-pathways-photogallery/cid/2118673

https://breakingnewszone.com/amity-university-kolkata-ushers-in-new-academic-year-with-global-vision-and-innovationkolkata

Platter of Heritage: Transgenerational Tales of Gastronomy

Food and Cultural Bond

 Dr. Shatabdi Som

Assistant Professor

Amity School of Communication, Kolkata

Weaving tapestry of memories, cultural identities and geographical abundance, ‘food’ has always been the universal bond between tradition, nutrition and storytelling. Every household has secret Sunday recipes, lunchbox stories, festive and community meals nourishing generations with its gastronomic delights.  Stories were woven during each harvest and passed on to generations in the form of intriguing narratives. “We sun dry the mustard plants, grind and blend with a traditional rice soup during the winter”, recounts a group of rural women of Purulia, inheriting the recipe from their ancestors. The culinary conversions transcending generations preserve the family meal practices ensuring nutrition strengthening family and societal bonds.

 

  Rural women narrating food stories   

                        Sun dried mustard greens                         

 

An enthusiastic Instagram food blogger recounts how her grandparents managed to feed the uncountable migrants during the 1971 partition even during the acute shortage of food.  It is through her Instagram page she narrates these stories and  even after decades those recipes were rediscovered and has effortlessly managed to be a part of the transgenerational platter surviving the test of time. More than sustenance, food and communication have achieved a stature of empowered narratives of abundance & love, scarcity & hardship, migration & resilience influencing food preferences and cultural identity. A group of craftsmen travel from Chhatna (Bankura, West Bengal) to the outskirts of Purulia to make data palm jaggery. Living in makeshift setups made of bamboo and palm leaves, they engage themselves  in a tedious process from collecting the syrup to finally making the jaggery, narrating the stories of how they learnt the skill from their fathers.

 

Jaggery (nolen gur) artisans at work in Purulia

 

Metaphorically, food remains an eternal touchpoint in the cinematic narratives of Ghatak, Rossellini and Chaplin. Ghatak’s protagonist in ‘Meghe Dhaka Tara’, Neeta, skips meals representing the turmoils of the partition narratives; food serves as connection between the communities during theatre rehearsals symbolising food as a metaphor for memory, identity, gender, and displacement. When the impoverished localites stone the bakery in Rossellini’s ‘Rome-Open City’ tells stories of hunger, and oppression under a fascist regime. A poignant depiction of starvation in the tragicomic moment of the shoe-eating scene in Chaplin’s ‘Gold Rush’ epitomises the desperation for food.

Documenting food in media texts captures the essence of cultural identity, family and societal history. The social media driven communication archives and embraces the story of culinary traditions honouring the past and enriching the present and future, resonating the flavours of heritage through storytelling. Narrating stories of food goes beyond culinary instructions; capturing the essence of history and traditions.

 Pic Courtesy: Dr. Shatabdi Som