New one

Geared up

How many times have you been told that necessity is
the mother of invention? Vinod, a young mechanic from Kerala, was once caught in a flood, water entered his car and it refused to start. Thanks to his harrowing time that day, Vinod has designed and built a car that can also sail. He has made himself an amphibious Maruti 800 at a cost of Rs 8.5 lakh over a period of five years. The car has two engines and it has been designed in such a way that water does not penetrate. Vinod wants to drive the wonder car through the Arabian Sea from Vizhingam to Kanyakumari. He has a passion for cars and has bought 24 models of old cars over the last 11 years at scrap value, rebuilt and sold them. Vinod has studied till Class XII, and has completed a diploma in refrigeration technology. Talk about imagination at work.

spring book

Green corner

Spring is here finally. Here’s something you can do once your exams are over. Look up www.bbc.co.uk/nature/animals/wildbritain/springwatch. Every year children across the UK conduct a spring watch to record the progress of spring across their country. But you can have your own spring watch here. Get your friends together and collect information about frog spawn, a peacock butterfly, a seven-spot ladybird or a red-tailed bumble bee, which herald spring. If you need help in identifying them, print the spotter’s guide from the site and keep it with you. When you first see one of the species, note the date and compare your nature study with your friends. It’s fun, try it.