Bangalore:
If you think celebrating Dasara is by arranging clay dolls and forming a procession, it is time to rethink. Gen Y of Silicon World Institute re-created the festive season using building blocks in a robotic style.
'Robotic Gombe Utsav' combined tradition and modernity to display the Mysore Dasara. The Dasara Maravanegay (procession), elephant chariot, village scene, war field and jatre were all on display.
Shrivardhan Khoday, an 11-year-old student from Bishop Cotton Boys' School, who was part of the team, said celebrating Dasara the 'robotic way' was far better than doing it in the traditional style.
"This is so much more fun. It has so many more advantages. For instance, if the mud dolls come in touch with water, they will dissolve. However, with building blocks, they are nice to see and not much care is needed," said Khoday.
It is the unique way the festival is being celebrated that is striking a chord with the young crowd. "We have set it up in a futuristic way. But we have also remembered to keep the traditional touch," said Yashaswini Raj, a 14-year-old student.
"It is the new way and we have to move with the times," she added.
However, Shrihari R, a student of Bangalore Higher Secondary School, said he preferred the traditional style of celebration. "This is a mechanical process compared to the festivities which include real beings," he said.
"It is a way to enhance their knowledge about their culture. The medium chosen is their interest, which has been combined with fun and learning. It is a technology-based learning process," says Jayachandraa Aradhya, director of Silicon World.
Though many parents felt children moved away from their traditional and cultural roots through this method, Aradhya said it was important to cater and teach children in the way they wanted to learn.
A combination of culture, tradition, technology and fun, the young generation is working with the 2050 vision.
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