Inquisitiveness is at the root of innovation. Arul Srivastav, a Class VI student of a city school, has illustrated this, through a rare experiment he has conducted with the roots of Chrysopogon Zizanioides, called vetiveru in Tamil.
Two years ago, with the assistance of his parents, Arul Srivastav, now a Class VI student of Vanavani Matriculation Higher Secondary School located on the IIT Campus on Sardar Vallababhai Patel Road, Adyar, designed an anti-pollution mask with vetiveru .
“Vetiveru root is ubiquitous at our home. When boiling water, we add it to the water. I add it to my hair oil. Arul wanted to find out if he could ‘add’ it to a customised anti-pollution mask,” says Arul’s mother, Vijaya.
So, Arul’s parents — M. Vijaya and Abhishek Srivastav — encouraged him to make a mask from vetiveru roots. When Arul reached a stage where he had to make a filter, his parents took him to screen weavers found near Aavin Park at Adyar signal.
Arul and his parents also learnt to how to weave vetiveru roots. Vijaya helped Arul weave the roots into a triangular filter, measuring 10cm x 8cm. This was then wrapped within a soft net. His parents then took him to an automobile pollution testing centre at a petrol bunk in Thiruvanmiyur to check the efficacy of his filter.
“A simple test was carried out at the centre. Vehicular emissions from a car and a bike were first noted. With the vetiveru filter fitted to the exhaust pipes of the vehicles, emissions tests were again conducted. The readings were noted down. And, the report proved the efficacy of the vetiveru filter,” says Vijaya. Arul sent the findings of the project, which Vijaya put together for him, to the Dr. A.P.J. Abdul Kalam IGNITE Awards, instituted by the National Innovation Foundation – India. The Foundation, located at Ahmedabad, is an autonomous body under the Department of Science and Technology. The aim of the award is develop scientific temper and innovation among children.
Soon, to Arul’s pleasant surprise, Foundation sent a letter, stating that his innovation had secured the “accepted” status, which means the applicant has substantiated his innovation and that the innovation is qualified for documentation.
“Similar tests should be conducted for smoke emanated from industrial chimneys. If hazardous emissions were found to be filtered by using vetiveru filter, then appropriate measures should be taken to contain air pollution,” suggests Arul.
Arul and his parents live at Kandhasamy Nagar in Palavakkam.
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