Chennai, Jan. 8: A special cash award and a handwritten note of encouragement from the country’s President ? that’s the prize 12-year-old Masha Nazeem took home from the Indian Science Congress that ended in Hyderabad last evening.

The Class VIII student of St Joseph’s Convent, Nagercoil, was playing with car spare parts in October 2004 when she hit upon the idea of regulating the flow of waste in train toilets when the train was stationary. That way, the waste would not dirty the tracks.

Masha put together a thermocol model in five days and showed it at a district-level science exhibition in Tirunelveli. From then on, there has been no turning back. This year, it was displayed at the children’s segment at the science congress.

And last evening, came the pleasant surprise ? the “individual special prize” of Rs 1,000 at the certificate awarding ceremony.

Excited that his daughter’s invention had drawn the attention of many in the highest echelons of Indian science, father Nazeemuddin showed The Telegraph the certificate signed by President A.P.J. Abdul Kalam, with the handwritten note of appreciation.

Kalam, one of the signatories, in the certificate, had visited the children’s segment and spent about two hours there.

“The five-day exhibition alongside the ISC was a mega event with a number of scientists visiting the children’s section and seeing the exhibits,” an excited Nazeemuddin said, on his way back to Nagercoil from Hyderabad.

“When the scientists saw my exhibit of the high tech toilet, they asked me several questions and I answered them all,” said Masha.

In December, the Prime Minister’s Office also wrote to her. It said the Prime Minister was “glad to learn about your science project on a hi-tech train toilet. He appreciates your spirit of enquiry and innovation at such a young age.”