On the 5th of October 2007, a seminar on ‘Emerging Issues to Empower Women’ was held at the Kalamandir auditorium with Prof. Nirmala Banerjee, an eminent economist and activist as the chief guest. It saw speakers like Prof. Ratnabali Chatterjee, the ex-professor of Islamic history and ex-director of women studies, Calcutta University who spoke about women’s conditions and the oppressive role of society. Ms. Krishna Banerjee, ex-director CCRC, spoke about ‘Women’s Health with special reference to the PNDT Act’. Prof. Bula Bhadra, Head, Department of Sociology, Calcutta University spoke on ‘Women and Technology’. She emphasized the role of the society in utilizing the women work power in the name of technological developments and thereby harnessing them instead of emancipating them. The final speaker of the session was Ms. Rukmini Sen, Lecturer, NUJS who spoke on sexual harassment at work place and also discussed the Harassment Bill with respect to the Vishakha Guidelines.
A panel discussion on ‘Emerging Issues to Empower Women’ was held on 6th of October 2007 at the college auditorium. The discussion saw eminent speakers like Ms.. Bharati Mutsuddi who spoke on ‘Women in Politics’ while Ms. Swati Bhattacharya, Assistant Editor of Ananda Bazar Patrika was very focused with her views on ‘Women in Media’. ‘Women in Cinema’ was brilliantly lectured by Ms. Soma A. Chatterjee, visiting lecturer in Globsyn College of Management and St Xaviers College. Professor Ishita Mukherjee, Director of Women Studies, Calcutta University spoke on ‘Women in Education’. Dr. Mallika Sengupta the famous Bengali author and head of sociology, Kasiswari College discussed ‘Women in Literature’. Finally the eminent theater personality, Ms. Bijoy Lakshmi Burman spoke on ‘Women in Theatre’. The entire session was finally summed up by the moderator for the discussion, Ms. Ruchira Goswami, activist and lecturer, NUJS. The panel discussion ended with a screening of of ‘Kairee’, a film produced by the Ministry of Women and Child Welfare.

A workshop on Cancer Awareness was held on the 7th of March, 2008 at the J D Birla Institute auditorium for the final year and M.Sc students from the Departments of Home Science and Commerce. The first lecture on ‘Female Cancers’ was delivered by Prof. A.P. Majumdar, Dean Department of Oncology, AMRI, Kolkata, who clarified that female cancer not only includes breast, ovaries, uterus and cervix but also any other kind of cancer like those in the stomach, colon, lung, liver, pancreas, etc. Professor Majumdar specifically stressed the need for early detection and said that cancer was curable; however, for all kinds of cancer, treatment and surveillance is of utmost importance.
Dr. Arundhati Chakraborty, Consultant Oncologist, Apollo Gleneagles, Kolkata deliberated on ‘Breast Cancer Awareness and Precaution’ using a slide show. She highlighted that Cancer can be detected early and there are various modalities of treatment and the survival rate is high. She stressed that smoking, consumption of alcohol, overweight, exposure to occupational hazards for those working in the dye and asbestos factories, intake of fatty foods, late marriage and genetic reasons are the major cause of cancer. Symptoms may range from lumps in the breast, pain, nipple discharge, swelling or skin tethering in the breast. Like Professor Majumdar, she too stressed on a diet rich in fresh fruits and vegetables.
Cancer, she said does not kill the patient overnight like heart attack. It is a disease, which is progressive. Dr. Chakroborty concluded by saying that cancer is not just an organ-based disease, but has social, cultural and spiritual ramifications. One should come early and get cured early.
In the interactive session there was an overwhelming response and the doctors answered all the questions very clearly.
After the lectures, a short workshop was conducted by a cancer support group, Hitaishini, who help the cancer patients by counseling them about coping with the after surgery complications and providing them with different aids. Hitaishini has been founded by women, who themselves are breast cancer survivors. Stressing on the emotional and psychological impact of this disease the team discussed the various trauma that a patient goes through during the illness.
All girls of the college were given handouts with instructions on self-examination of breasts to identify symptoms if any. The handouts were sponsored by the NSS group of our college.

A workshop on ‘Pranic Healing’ was organized on 26th February 2008 at the Auditorium of the main campus for the 1st Year students of the Department of Commerce. The lecture was delivered by Mrs. Durga Banka, who is a member of the Yog Vidya Pranic Healing Foundation of West Bengal and has a 10-year experience in this art. In her lecture she spoke on how to enhance the positive forces within ourselves and eliminate the negative forces. In this context, she mentioned the different ‘chakras’ in our body, each controlling certain specific emotions and energy sources. She also explained how through mental exercises it is possible to divert energy from a lower ‘chakra’ to a higher one. The students paid rapt attention to her and keenly followed the different exercises that were demonstrated to them.