Pune: Iron mate, Class X student Yash Lokhande's winning entry in the DSK Design Olympiad, was born out of the desire to help his mother with her chores.
Iron Mate reduces time, and more importantly effort, needed to iron and hand clothes. It can also be converted into a bag and carried easily. For its great functionality, the Iron Mate won the first prize in the Class VIII-X category. "When I heard about this competition, I asked my mother what is that one household task that she finds tedious. She responded: ironing clothes. So I thought of doing something about it," said Lokhande. He talked to his teachers and together they came up with the idea of an iron table with clips.
The winner in the Class XI-XII category was Bhavika Malik, a Class XI student who designed a spiral drain hair catcher. "When washing our hair, we lose strands of hair which get the drains clogged. It is very tiresome to unclog the drains after a bath," said Malik while explaining how she got her idea. "The hair catcher is made of a stainless steel spiral with rubber twigs and at the end, there is a trap. There is also a hook at the top of the spiral," said Malik, who wants to study design.
In its 3rd edition, the contest saw 3,000 students from across India participating.
