Rimpa Das and Santwana Halder kneeled over the edge at the deep end of the swimming pool and were testing their ship model. They were trying to attain perfection in making it go round in circles as they awaited their turn.
At the other end of the large pool, a Senior Division cadet was seen releasing his model after holding it for sometime in the water, to ensure that it went in a straight line to the other side, where his team-mate waited with bated breath.
Nau Sainik camp
Those watching from the proceedings from the shore might think what’s great in making a motor-powered ship model go in a straight line. Only cadets participating in the national-level ship modelling competition, held as part of the ongoing All India Nau Sainik Camp on Tuesday, will understand the pain which takes to make the models work.
In all, 17 teams from all the 17 NCC Directorates in the country participated in the ship modelling competition. The Senior Division boys prepared working models of INS Trishul while the Senior Wing girls chose INS Kirpan.
The models were evaluated on the basis of their looks and plan, straight run, stability in water and how well they went round in a circle.
The cadets prepared their models in 72 hours.
Harshila Suri and Aishwarya Soni Senior Wing girls, representing the combined Madhya Pradesh and Chattisgarh Directorates were seen carrying out last-minute repairs to their model, which developed some problem after testing in the water.
“We spent about 14 hours a day during the last few days at the camp to make the model. It would have been much easier in a local competition but this is an all-India contest and it’s quite tough,” said Ms. Harshila.
“The camp was a great learning opportunity, in acquiring new ideas and making friends from across the country. Water logging as a result of cyclone at the camp site brought out the camaraderie among the participants. Though there were language barriers as many of the cadets from the south do not understand Hindi, it was a wonderful experience” she said.
The win in this contest adds points to the directorate’s overall standing.
