IIT Madras Grad Turns Her Home’s Navratri Decor Into a Robotics Lesson for Her Son

Golu is a festive Navaratri display of dolls arranged on tiered steps. The scenes often show stories and traditions from Indian culture. This family made its Golu interactive by adding simple robotic mechanisms. Visitors could press buttons, watch movement and see miniature scenes come alive. The project connected technology with festival tradition.

The display included a Meenakshi Amman chariot that followed a marked route. Krishna’s Sudarshan Chakra spun when someone pressed a button. The Samudra Manthan scene used a rack-and-pinion system to create straight-line movement. These examples show how small engineering ideas can add action without making the display overly complicated.

The engineer began designing the models one to two months before Navaratri. She worked on them alongside her job and family responsibilities. Her goal was to help her son discover robotics while appreciating Indian culture. Children enjoyed the working models, and she hopes the project encourages more women and children to explore STEM and create things.

The display brought three traditional scenes to life with movement. The Meenakshi Amman chariot travelled along a marked route. Krishna’s Sudarshan Chakra rotated when visitors pressed a button. Samudra Manthan, the churning of the ocean by gods and demons, used a mechanical system to create movement. Together, the scenes turned familiar cultural stories into active demonstrations.

The chariot used a line-following robot. Sensors read the marked path and helped steer its wheels along the route. The Sudarshan Chakra responded directly to a button press, creating an immediate interactive effect. Samudra Manthan used a rack-and-pinion mechanism, which changed a gear’s rotation into straight-line motion.

These moving scenes were designed to make the Golu more engaging for children. The engineer deliberately used basic engineering concepts instead of complicated technology. The working models show that traditional displays can become hands-on learning spaces. Visitors could see movement happen while connecting each mechanism to a cultural story.

The display describes three different robotics or movement setups. Each one makes a traditional scene behave differently. The chariot moves along a route, the Sudarshan Chakra spins on command, and Samudra Manthan produces straight-line motion. The article presents them as examples of simple engineering used creatively in a Golu.

The first setup is a line-following robot for the Meenakshi Amman chariot. The second is a button-activated system that spins Krishna’s Sudarshan Chakra. The third is a rack-and-pinion mechanism for the Samudra Manthan scene. The article does not give separate technical names for every component in the button-operated model, so the count refers to the three described moving displays.

This small number is part of the project’s message. Robotics does not need to be complicated to be engaging. Each setup uses a clear idea that children can observe. The engineer built the models while working and caring for her family, beginning one to two months before Navaratri.

The Meenakshi Amman chariot moves with a line-following robot. A marked path is placed on the display surface. Sensors read that path while the robot travels. Their readings help the system determine whether the chariot is correctly positioned. The robot then steers its wheels to remain aligned with the route.

The key idea is feedback. The sensors continuously check the path rather than letting the chariot move blindly. If the chariot begins to drift, the steering system can adjust the wheels. This allows the miniature vehicle to follow the route on its own. The article describes the method as simple robotics rather than a complicated system.

For visitors, the result is a chariot that appears to travel independently through the Golu. For children, it offers a visible example of sensors guiding movement. The engineer used this mechanism to combine a Meenakshi Amman scene with a practical robotics concept. It makes the display both culturally meaningful and mechanically engaging.

Visitors do more than look at this Golu. They can press buttons and activate working models. Krishna’s Sudarshan Chakra spins when its button is pressed. The Meenakshi Amman chariot moves along a marked track through its line-following robot. These responses make the display interactive rather than stationary.

The chakra offers a direct action-and-response experience. A visitor presses the button, and the chakra rotates. The chariot works differently. Its sensors read the marked path, and the robot steers the wheels to stay on course. Thus, one model responds to a visitor’s command, while another continues movement by following a route.

The movement helps children connect traditional stories with visible engineering. The article says children have loved the working models. The engineer wanted to show that robotics can be simple and creative. By activating the scenes, visitors see how basic mechanisms can bring cultural displays to life and turn a festival visit into an informal robotics lesson.

The engineer combined robotics with Golu to help her son discover robotics while appreciating Indian culture. She saw the family’s Navaratri display as a natural platform for joining technology and tradition. Her aim was also broader: to show children that engineering can be simple, creative and connected to familiar stories.

Her education strongly influenced the project. At IIT Madras, she was part of the Robocon team and robotics club. She helped organise the college tech fest and experimented with mechanisms at the Centre for Innovation. About 15 years after college, she applied that interest while working as an engineer in wind energy and managing family responsibilities.

Her mother encouraged connections between science and traditional ideas. Her mother-in-law introduced her to Golu and the stories behind its displays. Those influences helped shape the models. She began building them one to two months before Navaratri. Through the project, she hopes to inspire more women and children to explore STEM and make things.

Sensors detect information, such as whether a robot is aligned with a marked path. Motors provide movement by turning a shaft. Gears transfer rotation between parts and can change how quickly or strongly motion is delivered. A rack-and-pinion system uses a round gear and a toothed straight rack to turn rotation into straight-line movement. These are basic building blocks of robotics.

In the Golu, sensors read the chariot’s marked route. A control system uses those readings to steer the wheels, allowing the chariot to follow the track. A button can provide an instruction that starts the Sudarshan Chakra spinning. In Samudra Manthan, the rack-and-pinion mechanism changes a gear’s rotation into linear motion.

The article specifically names sensors, gears and rack-and-pinion movement; it does not describe the motors or control electronics in detail. In general, these parts work as a chain: an instruction or sensor reading guides a controller, a motor supplies motion, and mechanical parts direct that motion. This makes simple robotic action visible.