School: Lakshmipat Singhania Public School
    Rayagada, Odisha, India

25 students, ages 13-18 worked together to complete this CyberFair project on March 15, 2021. They have participated in CyberFair in the following year(s): 2018,2019,2020

Classes and Teachers: Pradipta Kishore Panigrahy, N. Padmanabha Swamy, Rashmita Dash Classes 8-12

E-Mail contact:

Our School's Web Site: http://www.lspublicschooljk.com

1. Description of Our Community

Blessed with the enticing gifts of nature like hills, lush jungles, rivers, streams, Rayagada district is a tourist’s paradise in every sense of the word. A heaven with meadows, forests, water falls and terraced valleys, thickly inhabitated by colourful tribals including many Primitive Tribal Groups. The scenic beauty and heritage on the land is an unexplored paradise. The systematic relationship between men and nature is a feast to the eyes of an outsider. The people of the district show unity in diversity of races, languages and culture. An avatar of Goddess Durga, Majhighariani is accepted as the prime, most important deity in this region. The Goddess looks fiery and covered with red vermilion. The devotees are given a vermilion paste on leaves. The Goddess uses a horse as her mount and is said to patrol around the town warding off all types of evil from her devotees. Local residents are said to hear the hoof sounds of the horse. Hanging Bridge at Chekaguda is Odisha's second hanging bridge near Rayagada in Orissa, India over the Nagavali River.The hill also houses the bauxite mines which feed Hindalco’s Utkal Alumina Refinery project. Bauxite mines with reserves lasting for over 25 years … with one of the best quality bauxite with tightly integrated logistics between Mines and Refinery, the operating cost per tonne of Alumina is expected to be among the lowest in the world. Residing in such a paradise is something to be consistent as a blessing.

2. Summary of Our Project

With the earnest honor and pleasure, we the students of LAKSHMIPAT SINGHANIA PUBLIC SCHOOL have come up with this Cyberfair project with the objective of providing an insight into a paradise on earth 'Rayagada'. Clad peaks of heavenly mountains, panoramic view of rivers and greenery of the forests is something everyone crave to see. Rayagada is not only steeped in abundant natural beauty but also a resourceful medium for the current industrial era. Cradled between lushy forests and ghats this paradise is an experience that is at once sublime and aesthetically invigorating. With enthralling views of rivers, temples, and grasslands it portray an amazing view of nature. Well known for its scenic beauty it has various waterfalls that are magnificent and the peace of the place is incomparable. Beauty of these rivers will leave you wanting for more. In order to offer the best experience to visiting tourists, Rural Works Division is presently constructing a roadside gallery at Baisingh Ghat. Once completed, tourists can enjoy the nature sitting here in its lap. From here, they can feast their eyes on a panoramic view of the entire town. Evidently it is a paradise unexplored.

3. Our Computer and Internet Access

A. Percentage of students using the Internet at home:more than 50%

B. Number of workstations with Internet access in the classroom:2-3

C. Connection speed used in the classroom:dedicated connection

D. Number of years our classroom has been connected to the Internet:4-6

E. Additional comments concerning your computer and/or Internet access (Optional):

A good internet connection provided by the school helped us to collaborate with various community members while working on this project. With the help of a computer, we were able to collect various relevant information which helped us to accomplish our project on time.

4. Problems We Had To Overcome

For working on this project we had to pit our sheer dedication to present the overall beauty of Rayagada. Having a great significance of its own it was a very challenging task to portray all its features as there are innumerable. Also it was difficult as we completed our project during the covid period and for which we had to take major precautions. This made communication a little difficult. Annual exams were alarming. Overcoming all these we completed our project. Collecting the pictures of the scenic beauties was also difficult as we had to follow all the covid norms. It would never have been possible to complete the project without the guidance of our teachers. Online meetings were to be conducted due to the pandemic. But 'hardwork' was the only reason for our success.

5. Our Project Sound Bite

Earth has many heavenly places left to be explored. Rayagada being one of them represents the true beauty of nature. It is the origin of the tribals which shows its acute importance in the culture of our country. With out project we represent the significance of Rayagada and unfold the beauty before you. Our project is the medium to covey you the scenic beauty and industrial importance of Rayagada which is unknown to a large portion of crowd. It's Food, festival, culture, dance and other elements are the signs that in this era of modernization we have not forgotten our roots and this proves that people of Rayagada have not forgot their origin and preserve the culture of their forefathers. Even the smell of it's fertile soil can summerize the beauty of this this before you.

6. How did your activities and research for this CyberFair Project support standards, required coursework and curriculum standards?

The assistance provided by our experienced and committed teachers and faculties was invaluable in helping our project get everything done in a very timely manner. We would like to extend our sincerest gratitude to our Principal and the management committee who motivated and provided us this golden opportunity to carry forward this project. Our parents stayed as the pillars of strength with us whenever we required their help, opinions, and support. We are grateful to our friends who motivated us throughout this enlightening journey. We consulted many local inhabitants regarding this. We had both auditory and visual interaction with them. Many of them had provided us valuable information concerning our endeavours. We gathered a lot of information about the beauty, culture, importance and history of Rayagada with time. We got to know aboutthe significance it carries with its existence. The tribal people served to be an abode of knowledge and information and guided us throughout this project.

1) What information tools & technologies did you used to complete your CyberFair project?

We have used our personal gadgets for the project as we were bound to follow the covid guidelines by the government. Online meetings were conducted to discuss over the project. Digital video cameras were used to capture the visual data required for our project. Internet was the main source for collecting additional information. Social media was the point where members could share their views. Everyone could contribute their their part in the project due to technology. Books were also the source for  the content. Talking to the local residents and tibal people also helped a lot in completing the project. Various apps were also helpful for Photoshop, vediography and editing etc. Creativity of thestudents and guidance of our teachers was the essential requirement for our success.

2) In what ways did you act as "ambassadors" and spokespersons for your CyberFair project both on-line and in person.

Members of the Cyberfair team provided the interested students of primary classes some basic knowledge about the history and the culture of Rayagada. The students were very excited throughout the interaction session and were curious to know more. Further, we approached the local people and collected more information about the history of this place. We also talked with dome tribal people to collect information about their culture. We further consulted various members of the tribal museum for acute information. Our journey of being the ambassadors for this project in this international platform, enriched us to propagate this passion and dedication for our rich culture throughout the times to come. We hope that this research will let the world unfold the charm of this paradise.

3) What has been the impact of your project on your community?

Our project played an important role in making people aware of the paradise Rayagada which is not yet fully explored. Peaceful and heavenly paradises as such are far better than the busy cities.  People on getting awarded about the beauty of such a place could  substitute  the tourist places in their bucket list and let the place get its popularity it deserve.  Such places are the cultural memory of our vivid country ‘INDIA’ and thus need to be recognised. It is a matter of any serious importance to preserve beauty of scene or interest of association might have been to talk an unknown tongue; but this is not true at the present day. The time has past when life in our great manufacturing and trading centres was deemed to consist merely in the amplification of factories and stores, in the utilization of an unlimited supply of cheap labour, and in the building up of large individual fortunes.

4) How did your project involve other members of your community as helpers and volunteers?

The assistance provided by our experienced and committed teachers and faculties was invaluable in helping our project get everything done in a very timely manner. We would like to extend our sincerest gratitude to our Principal and the management committee who motivated and provided us this golden opportunity to carry forward this project. Our parents stayed as the pillars of strength with us whenever we required their help, opinions, and support. We are grateful to our friends who motivated us throughout this enlightening journey. We consulted many local inhabitants regarding this. We had both auditory and visual interaction with them. Many of them had provided us valuable information concerning our endeavours. We gathered a lot of information about the beauty, culture, importance and history of Rayagada with time. We got to know aboutthe significance it carries with its existence. The tribal people served to be an abode of knowledge and information and guided us throughout this project.

5) Discoveries, Lessons and Surprises (Optional)

Discoveries were a crucial part of our project. Exploration of this place made us do various discoveries. We also learnt numerous things througout the project. While searching for the content we got enormous knowledge. We learnt about the importance of culture, nature and learnt how to preserve them. We learnt about the origin of the tribe and their contribution in our culture. Last but not the least we learnt that 'Alone we can do so little, together we can do so much.' and hence understood the importance of teamwork.