11th hour rush: Registration, Robots and Reassembly.

With the deadline for the registrations closing today, it was rather rush hour at Kidobotikz. The evening saw kids and parents make a beeline to the help desk to get their robots registered for Sunday’s world record event. The fact that it was a rainy evening and a weekday seemed to have no impact on parents who were just as enthused as their kids to be a part of the event. Now that the registrations are over, it is just a few nervous nights until the dawn of Sunday for both the organizers and the participants. All classrooms are festering with activity as kids with their  faculty lending a helping hand to get the robots disassembled and reassembled are practicing for Sunday’s event.  

Students at Kidobotikz are known for their unusual sense of belonging and love for their association with the area of robotics. My evening with one such fella just reiterated the fact. Meet Koushik, our star of the evening. I meet him in the usual set-up. He is getting his robot ready for the event much like what most of the students have been doing this week. Unlike most students that I interact with, Koushik wasn’t quite upbeat. He bore a rather weary look on his face. I ask him why and within no time, he’s cribbing. He says this is the third time he’s disassembled the bot in the evening because of some faulty wiring and is now piecing it back together. I ask him why and he says he erred in adding one of the screws and it caused some trouble with the robot. The more ask I about him, the more interesting he gets. Turns out our star is a bit of a rebel back home. Koushik who is a 10th grader has his board exams coming up this year and is in the midst of kerfuffle back home. His parents are not quite happy with him spending his time on robotics with his class 10 exams this year. They have asked him to take a year’s break from Kidobotikz to focus on his subjects. Much to his parents’ chagrin Koushik has stood his ground and is taking part in the event to be a part of history and to take back good memories. He is halfway through his “Intermediate” course and is now taking a break to resume his course next year and catch up with his buddies who are already cruising their way through the “Advanced” level.

“I aspire to do Mechanical engineering and become a scientist at ISRO” says Koushik as I bid him buhbye while he sinks back into his bot to get it ready in time before the end of the day.   

Happy Roboting !