| Abstract : | Astronomy popularization is gaining more importance in India and in spite of many constraints many Astronomy clubs in India are doing a great job in bringing common man to enjoy the subject which otherwise is remote and mysterious to many. It is due to these activities and news of achievements of ISRO / NASA many students thankfully with their parents’ consent are considering this as a career option.
It has to be emphasised here that merely popularizing the subject by arranging star gazing sessions will not produce renowned or professional astronomers, much more needs to be done at college level if not at an early school level.
In this regard it is also necessary to have more formal astronomy clubs in schools and colleges as this will give them a systematic exposure to allied subjects at an early stage especially in physics and mathematics.
To cite an example here I would like to emphasis the astronomy club in Fergusson college, Pune which has not only carried out popularization activities at various levels but, in this process, the students have upgraded themselves and some have received prestigious scholarships for BCGS, Rhodes scholarships, Erasmus Mundus and Goldman Sach.
These activities include weekly problem solving and discussion sessions, Junior senior interactions, organizing exhibitions, seminars, guest lectures, teaching in schools, enhancing mathematical, statistical and computational skills and of course carrying out very good projects. This has led to a very strong CV in the three years of their under-graduation years.
Due to all these activities and exposure more then 85+ students from the Astro Club have taken up Astronomy and Astrophysics as a career and are presently in renowned institutions in India and abroad.
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