Teen prodigy spins awards

It8217;s been a remarkable month for 14-year-old Chiraag Juvekar. The Dadar schoolboy penned a science fiction tale that clinched first prize at ITC8217;s national writing contest earlier this month. Then came the Balashree award a Padmashri for kids that he received from President Abdul Kalam two weeks ago for his model of a rocket engine.

Juvekar8217;s a celebrity of sorts now 8212; he8217;s been interviewed on TV, felicitated at school and neighbours show his house to visitors with pride. Juvekar8217;s prize-winning entry, Two Minutes to Save the World, captures a world where a self-multiplying, electricity-sapping fibre has replaced the cotton plant and threatens to control the earth. It8217;s also about the conflict between two scientists who invented the fibre; one can foresee the consequences, while the other is driven by greed. 8216;8216;I didn8217;t know if my sci-fi tale was appropriate; the other finalists wrote stories about human values,8217;8217; says Juvekar.

ITC has snapped up the copyright and plans to publish Two Minutes8230; soon. Although his talent with the pen has won him accolades, the topper says writing is nothing more than a hobby. 8216;8216;I want to go to Ruparel to study Science, then I will give IIT exams. If I don8217;t get in, I will go to VJTI for aeronautical or electronic engineering,8217;8217; he says. 8216;8216;We8217;ve always known he8217;s good at Maths and Science but after this, I8217;ve told him he can go into any field so long as he tops,8217;8217; says his mother Rashmi.

He was also not overwhelmed with the Rashtrapati Bhawan visit. 8216;8216;Around 42 awards were given away in 34 minutes so I barely got to exchange a few words with the President,8217;8217; Juvekar says. So what is it that he likes most about writing? 8216;8216;If you don8217;t have the guts to say something, you can easily put it down on paper,8217;8217; he says.