A fusion of tradition and technology signified the Onam celebration at the National Institute of Technology here on Friday. The highlight of the celebration was the traditional ‘Pookalam’ (flower carpet), made with flowers, paddy, betel nut, microwave miniaturised antennas, and microwave components. The ‘technical Pookalam,’ according to S. Raghavan, Professor of Electronics and Communication Engineering, was designed on computers by students and research scholars as an amalgam of microwave antenna chips and chosen flowers. It took 18 hours for 16 students and research scholars to complete the Pookalam, which was decorated with their mobile phones.
The occasion was used by students, all belonging to a microwave research group, to take a vow to put their mobile phones to minimum use.
They decided to propagate the harmful biological effects of using mobile phones through the internet. The celebration concluded with the ‘Onam feast.’
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