Zaviyar was a curious boy. He was always intrigued by how things worked around him. He began to ask questions on his own and when he couldn’t find answers, he would turn to his parents.

His parents always tried to satisfy his curious mind with thoughtful answers. He was extremely intelligent and sharp, unlike other children his age who found amusement only in gadgets and were stuck in mindless scrolling on their phones. Thankfully, Zaviyar was never given a phone or even a TV by his parents.

His life revolved around school, studies, sports and board games, and sometimes artwork and wood carving. No doubt his healthy activities fostered his mental growth and skills. He also had a great interest in repairing things like small electrical gadgets, wooden blocks, or broken items he found around him.

It was his father who pushed Zaviyar to challenge his limits. A brilliant scientist, Mr Naeem had invented several things and wanted his son to follow in his footsteps. To nurture Zaviyar’s focus and creativity, Mr Naeem kept him away from mobile phones and television, the very distractions he believed could take away one’s curiosity, imagination and ability to think deeply.

One day, Mr Naeem said to his son, “Zaviyar, we have always kept you away from phones and TV so that you can explore and understand the world through your own experiences. The virtual world is fake, and many mental health problems have arisen because of that little world inside the phone. Your mother and I had no phone in our childhood, and look how peaceful and happy those days were.

“But now, people get quick bursts of dopamine from their phones — a chemical that makes them feel happy and excited for a short while — but it fades the moment they face the real world. This leaves them irritable and unhappy, always seeking joy in the false world created by technology. But now, I want to give you a little surprise — something I’ve been working on for many years,” he said with a smile.

Then he returned, carrying something hidden under a sheet. He slowly uncovered it, revealing a robot.

“This is the result of my hard work. I’m giving it to you for two days. I want to see how it responds to your commands and how well it learns from its surroundings. Don’t worry, it’s been fully tested and approved. Use it at your convenience.”

Zaviyar was dumbstruck and asked, “What can this robot do, dad?”

Mr Naeem paused for a while and then replied, “A lot. You will see for yourself once you turn it on. It can prepare meals for you, clean the house and even talk to you like humans do.”

“This technology seems to be very interesting,” thought Zaviyar.

He went straight to his robot and turned it on. The robot came to life and started talking to him. Zaviyar asked it to clean his room, and it did so in one go. The boy was amazed to see that.

Then Zaviyar asked his mother to stop cooking as he wanted her to witness something extraordinary. She watched as her son ordered the robot to cook and was astonished to see it perform like a professional chef. She was shocked at the advancement of technology.

After the robot cooked the meal, Zaviyar asked it to complete his homework. The robot finished it in just a few minutes. Zaviyar was happy, yet a little uncomfortable, though he couldn’t explain why.

Later at night, Zaviyar switched off the robot and went to bed. He was thinking about the robot as he drifted off to sleep. That night he dreamt that robots were everywhere — in every household, store and institution. Humans preferred staying indoors, becoming so lazy that they were almost bedridden! Some even made the robots feed them.

When he woke up the next morning, he felt disturbed by what he had dreamt. He rushed out of his room and saw his dad sitting at the dining table, having breakfast.

Running to him, Zaviyar blurted out, “I don’t need a robot, dad! I don’t want to live a life where everything is done for me. I’m healthy and I enjoy doing things myself. I don’t want to end up bedridden, doing nothing — that would make my life miserable. So please don’t make any more such robots.”

His father was silent for a moment, then gently hugged Zaviyar because he, too, understood the gravity of the invention. For the first time, he saw it not just as a breakthrough in technology, but as a reminder that human strength, will and purpose should never be replaced.

Published in Dawn, Young World, August 23th, 2025