Karthik from Andankoil, a hamlet near Karur, woke up at 3 a.m. on a cold Sunday morning. Armed only with a couple of paintbrushes and a box of watercolours, he boarded the train to Tiruchi with a band of his schoolmates. Despite the wee hours and the incessant rain, the children had enthusiasm writ large on their faces, when they entered Jubilee Hall at St. Joseph's College — the venue of the Young World Painting competition 2010.
Karthik and his friends were among the 300 students and more who braved inclement weather to make it to the finals of the Young World on-the-spot painting competition. The finalists chosen from 1,456 applicants in 90 schools covering 10 districts touched paintbrushes to palette to create images that mirrored their creativity.
Most students including the nine prize winners in the senior category chose to depict “a village scene” from topics including “Travelling in a train”, “Working on a school project with friends”, and “A visit to museum”. Topics for the junior category were “Your favourite bird or animal”, “Watching television with family”, and “Fancy dress competition in school”, though “Playing a game with friend/s” was the clear favourite.
N. Ramachandran, Vice-Chancellor, Periyar Maniammai University, distributed the prizes. Noting that information in “simple and communicable terms” was the need of the hour, the Vice-Chancellor praised the reach of Young World painting competition to schools in towns and villages, thereby providing young talent an opportunity to showcase their creativity. M. Ayyappa and M. Rajappa, artist brothers from Pudukottai, were the judges.
Though students from Tiruchi claimed the lion's share of prizes, those from Salem put up a stiff competition, followed by Karur and Thanjavur students who also figured in the prize list.
In the senior category, J. Pravin, S.B.I.O.A Higher Secondary School, Tiruchi ; T. Susmitha, St. Joseph's Matric H.S.School, Salem, and M.P. Ranjani, R.S.K. Higher Secondary School, Tiruchi, clinched the top prizes, while A. Prasath, Chinmaya Vidyalaya Matric School, Tiruchi; H. Bhagyashree, St. Joseph's Matric Higher Secondary School, Salem, and K. Sarath Chandhiran, Sri Vidya Bharathi Matric H.S. School, Salem, walked away with the top honours in the junior category.
The following students won consolation prizes: Junior category (IV- VII) – P. Jayanaveenaa, Chettinad Vidya Mandir, Karur; Sandeep Selvakumar, Blossom Public School, Thanjavur; Harini Sundaram, Chettinad Vidya Mandir, Karur; K.A. Violet Oviya , R.S.K Higher Secondary School, Tiruchi; V. Dharshini, Sri Vidya Bharathi Matric H.S. School, Salem; S. Pream Kumar, Boiler Plant Higher Secondary School, Tiruchi and K. Javitha, Star Matriculation School, Karur.
Senior category (VIII- X) – L.S. Sindhu Barathi, Rani Meyammai Matric Higher Secondary School, Puliyur; R. Elakkiya, Sri Vidya Bharathi Matric H.S. School, Salem; G. Narayana Aaditya, Kamala Niketan Montessori School, Tiruchi; M. Keshavaraj, S.R.V. Matric Higher Secondary School, Tiruchi; S. Parameshwari, Guru Gnana Sambandar Matric School, Mayiladutharai; S. Priyadharshini, St. Joseph's Higher Secondary School, Salem; Anchel Gera, Kendriya Vidyalaya, Thanjavur.
MIOT Hospitals was the title sponsor and Deepam Associates, the local sponsor. Snacks were sponsored by Sree Sweets and water by ARC Aqua Puraa.
