Supermileage

Embyness
Oct 26, 2019
3 min read

Updated: Apr 10, 2020

Second Year, Third Semester

I was sitting in the campus library with a bunch of people around me. The senior walked in with a laptop in his hand and a list of the selected candidates in the other. I gleamed at him in confidence and he sat down as we exchanged pleasantries. There were 5 of us who were shortlisted and only one was to be selected. Everyone was called up and were asked questions. I was the last one to be called up.

"Hi, Manasva. Hope you're ready for your interview." he asked.

....

We all stood there in anticipation, as the race marshal escorted our vehicle inside the paddock area with the captain and the engine department head walking closely behind him. This was it, the final moment. 4 laps. 250 ml of fuel. One vehicle. Project Decimas.

They parked the vehicle and opened the engine hatch, took out the fuel and took it for measurement. We'd already seen it happen 4 times before and the results were not in our favour. SRM Chennai's vehicle had set a record of 121.8 KMPL the previous day and we were trailing by a meagre 0.7 KMPL.

Today, they couldn't break that record and so couldn't Team Eco Titans. This was Shell Eco Marathon India 2019 being held at Madras Motor Racing Track, Chennai. All eyes were set on the marshal as he poured out the fuel into the burette to take a reading of how much fuel our vehicle used in the complete run.

I glanced at my captain and he gleamed back in hopeful anticipation. The reading looked good. But was it enough to defeat our arch-rivals?

Third Year, Fifth Semester

I walked towards B Block Workshop (the place where the magic happens), with a list of the new recruits of season 2019. There they were, new faces, full of hope and passion. We all stood in a circle. The captain asked them to introduce themselves and they did. One by one, I made a mental picture of the progeny of our team. Our responsibility was to train them and teach them to take over from where we would leave and carry the name forward.

"You all know why you are here. You're the chosen ones. The ones who will carry this team forwards after us. A huge responsibility rests on your shoulders. The world is opening its eyes up to the need of low fuel consumption and alternate energy. You all should be proud that you'll be working on something that can be considered the future". Our captain said.

"Consider yourself as Batmen of VIT. When the whole college sleeps, it is us who work our asses off because we believe in building something that we can be proud of. This is your legacy as mechanical engineers. You have so much to learn and grasp, so ensure that you get the richest experience from this". I added.

There was a silence for a moment and I could see a burning desire in everyone's eyes, a desire to make a difference.

"See you inside. We'll be back in a while".

The paddock area was tense. No one spoke anything. Dead silence. SRM's Team Infieon was standing right beside us looking at the screen in anticipation. So did everyone from Team Eco Titans. I took one last look at our vehicle as the numbers started appearing on the screen. 1... 2.... the longest pause I've ever felt and then popped a 9. As soon as that number popped up on the screen, my heart stopped. I took another look at the vehicle and I jumped with both my hands held high. I screamed like a madman. The whole team lunged at each other hugging each other in joyful tears.

All those sleepless night had paid off. All those tense meetings and plans had worked. Every single member's goal of making a difference had been realised. As I stood there with my heart racing, I looked at Decimas, our vehicle and I could see myself, a younger me, full of anticipatory fear. Now this sounds too cheesy but yeah, I was happy, to see that guy, standing there because I never want to lose that guy. The guy who would give up anything to achieve his goal.

The media team swarmed us. They asked us how we felt and all we could say was, "You don't know how much everyone of us has sacrificed to see this day".

Third Year, Sixth Semester

"So guys, this is it. The team is yours now. Keep the momentum going. We're the National Champions. We need to keep it that way, right?"

Everyone roared with a "Yes."

"I hope you all take the team to greater heights. We all can say with conviction that the team is in good hands. All the best. Go Titans!"