With enough practice and a good DIY guide, anyone can ‘assemble’ a computer from new parts. But Jayant Parab has fashioned it from parts salvaged from e-waste, and cut the acrylic body himself. He got the know how of repairing computers from his elder brother, who repairs computers.
The 16-year-old, Jayant Parab from Mumbai is comfortable in the solitude of his Ghatkopar house, consumed by his 9-inch computer that he has made from scrap.
“I want to make affordable computers. The computer I have made is from leftovers from offices, banks and hospitals,” he says, pointing to his invention. “The screen is similar to one seen in operation theatres. It’s not a real computer. I used bits and pieces from here and there, and acrylic for the body, which I cut myself. What you see is the first step towards achieving my dream,” says Jayant.
Jayant had set out on actualising this dream much earlier. As a child, he accompanied his father, then a small-time scrap dealer, in collecting ‘waste’. “He picked up things he thought he could use at home. In Std V, he repaired a laptop that an office had disposed of. That was the time I sort of knew that he would end up in the field of computers,” Ravindra Parab, his father.
Today, Ravindra collects scrap — old and unusable computers, other hardwares from offices, hospitals and schools. “This is how e-waste is generated. Some I sell, some I give for recycling and others I hand over to my son,” says Ravindra, looking fondly at Jayant.
The youngster says the e-waste he gets is usually “as bad as it could get”. “But I try to modify it, by adding new parts and wires. So, it becomes as good as new. If nothing, such computers can be used by families and students who can’t afford to buy a regular one,” claims Jayant.
“He had no interest in studies and that pained me,” says his father. But he was impressed with his son’s vision.
I want to ultimately revolutionise the e-waste industry,” says Jayant. The kid hasn’t given up on education entirely, pursuing Std X via correspondence, while dabbling in ethical hacking and security systems.
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