Two schoolboys from a Mursidabad village soared on the wings of science and imagination on Independence Day.

Sayyed Nazibul Ansar, 16, and Suhan Ahmed, 16, Class XI students at the Guidance Academy at village Talai in Raghunathganj, Jangipur, put together a drone in less than a fortnight for display at their campus science exhibition on August 14 and 15 to mark India’s 75 years of independence.

The feat was accomplished by using basic materials supplied by the well-known school. It gained traction on social media in Murshidabad this weekend and prompted school officials to laud the duo’s efforts and to commit to support for their future endeavours.

“We were working with very basic materials which the school graciously decided to supply us with,” said Ansar.

“When we heard a few weeks ago that there would be a science exhibition on Independence Day, we went to our computer science teacher and told him about our intention. He arranged for the necessary materials to create the drone through the school,” added Ansar.

The duo put up a display on August 14 on the school field, where fellow students and spectators from the town came to witness and record the feat of at-home engineering.

Headmaster Mohsin Mollah termed the display a success, saying: “It is impressive that two mofussil kids were able to do this without any outside expertise. We will definitely support their endeavours going forward, and will put them onto the next state-level exhibition we hear of.”

Ansar explained they planned to put a camera on the drone, as is found on most commercial ones, but weight issues came in the way.

“The next drone we make will hopefully have heavier fan blades to support a camera," he said.

The Guidance Academy is a co-educational school hosting classes from V to XII. Ansar and Ahmed are both boarders at the school.