Toys from waste

Teacher and Padma Mr. Awardi Arvind Gupta who makes toys from waste to teach science to disadvantaged children. Photo Credit: Special Arrangement

Arvind Gupta bends a sheet of paper to the right and then to the left, and comes with a design that shows the romas, diagonals and mathematical rules hidden within it.

For Padma Shri Awardee and teacher, Tetra Pack, Toothpaste Tube, Matchbox, and every other item we label, are treasures that can ignite the spark of curiosity and scientific nature in young minds. For more than four decades, he has been converting everyday waste to magical toys for children. This is their way of making science interesting and accessible for every child and outside India, they say.

After graduating from IIT Kanpur, Gupta started working in Telco, where he found a dull work in a massive production line. He took a break and went to work in Hoshangabad science teaching program and later worked with architect Laurie Baker.

Traveling across India, writing books, 24 till now, and posting tutorial videos on YouTube, they say, their calling to ensure that books and toys are easily accessible anywhere for children and tutors.

Teacher and Padma Mr. Awardi Arvind Gupta who makes toys from waste to teach science to disadvantaged children. Photo Credit: Special Arrangement

Says Gupta, “Poor background children do not have access to expensive ingredients such as glass materials, burements, pipettes; it thought of me about toys for them,” Gupta says, who recently was in Ashok University for the Loda Genius program, an initiative that brings together children between 14 and 17 years to guide the children between 14 and 17 years.

More than 12 crore children have seen videos of Gupta available in Tamil, Punjabi, Telugu, Hindi and English. This has helped create an inclusive place for children, parents and tutors.

Gupta believes that toys are broken children. “A good toy design is one that is separated and rearranged in its original form,” they say. He remembers his childhood when his mother allowed him to happen and he started collecting cigarette packets, bottle cap and matchbox for experiments.

Strength and environmental protection are two major factors that inspire him to make toys from waste. Instead of using high-end materials to teach children, he uses plastic bottles to demonstrate hundreds of experiments and creates a sense of environmental sensitivity in them.

One cancer avoided, Gupta spends time to spread knowledge across the country and travel across the country to translate his books and experiments, autobiography of scientists, children’s literature into Hindi and Marathi. The recipient of 22 awards, Gupta, says that when a child learns something new, the glow in his eyes gives him the most satisfaction.