Video: 100 Hours of Astronomy: Award Acceptance / Award Ceremony

I am sorry that I am uploading the videos this late. It's been more than one month since the 100 Hours of Astronomy award ceremony took place at the XXVIIth General Assembly of the International Astronomical Union in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. I've told you almost everything about the award before. So let's not be repetitive.

The following video is the one I had originally made to be shown at the ceremony.


(You can watch it in a better quality by clicking on "HQ", if you have a fast connection.)

The video below shows the part of the award ceremony when my video was presented.

(Award Seven is not a rank. It's just a category of the award.)


The second video is a part of the 1-hour-long video of the entire ceremony. You can watch the full video with presentations from winners in other categories here. I have lost count of the number of times I watched the entire video and never has this video failed to send a shiver down my spine. Every time I watch the video, I realise how little I have done. Everything the winners in other categories have done is spectacular to say the least. My work, however passionate, is almost negligible compared to theirs. I am very glad that I got the opportunity to showcase my work alongside theirs. And I've told you before how it feels to have your video shown at the IAU General Assembly.

This award has motivated me strongly. I advance toward my aim with greater enthusiasm. I want to perform the task my grandfather has left me, though I can hardly dream doing half of what he did.

In my video I said, 'Considering that my resources were limited, I think my event was successful.' I had little resources to make the video as well. But I don't think the video is excellent, and I don't want to blame the lack of resources this time. It was simply my fault. I made the video on Windows Movie Maker which can give loads of much if you are working on a slow computer. Yet, I can't forgive the choppiness in some parts, most notably in the "About Me" part. Considering the time I took to make this video, it could have been much better.

I was anxious about how my presentation would be received. I was very relieved when Ms Jennie McCormick of the 100HA Global Task Group told me that it was "great".

I have watched that part of the ceremony over a hundred times. Ms Donna Smith, coordinator of Sidewalk Astronomy, presented my award in a very sweet and affectionate manner.

I was also worried about what people would think about my appearance as I am often told that I am very "funny and comical". My joy knew no bounds when Mr Mike Simmons (Co-chair, 100HA) said, 'Well, this is a 15-year-old young man in Calcutta, India, one of the largest cities in the world. How many lives do you think he will affect over the next 60 years or so? It's also interesting to be upstaged by a better screen presence of a 15-year-old, but I can live with that.'

So please use the comment space below to express your opinion on the videos. I am eagerly waiting.

(I haven't organised any astronomy event since June largely because of my studies. I intend to organise a couple of events in the coming weeks. If you are interested, email me from the Blogger profile page.)