The teenager stays in downtown Mumbai suburb and has chosen quit school after Class 9 and now works solely assembling computers from scraps. The class 9 dropout is driven by one vision, “I want to make affordable computers. The computer I have made is from leftovers from offices, banks and hospitals,” he told Mid-Day. “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,” he adds. With enough practice and a good DIY guide, anyone can ‘assemble’ a computer from new parts. But Parab has fashioned it from parts salvaged from e-waste, and cut the acrylic body himself. The teenager 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 Parab. Parab knows which scrap is important because his father was a scrap dealer once. Now his father specialises in sourcing old and unusable computers and other hardware from offices, hospitals and schools. This gives Parab readymade scrap for his pet hobby, building computers. His father did not like the fact that Parab decided to quit school. “He had no interest in studies and that pained me,” he says. But he was impressed with his son’s vision. Jayant had not yet given up on his education entirely, he is pursuing Std X from St Teresa High School through correspondence. Asked about his future dreams, “I am also learning about [ethical] hacking and security systems through a course on computers. I want to ultimately revolutionise the e-waste industry,” says Jayant.
