Far more than the school children who participated in the regional finals of the 21st edition of The Hindu Young World Painting Competition 2013 held on Sunday, their parents seem to have been waiting eagerly for this annual contest.
For, it is a prestigious platform for their kids to showcase their talents.
Voicing her feedback during the prize distribution ceremony held at Avinashilingam University here, Shalini Somesh, a child psychologist, was all praises for this event.
“I have been following this painting competition for quiet sometime now and the standards have been extremely good. The level of the children is improving every year,” she added.
S.P. Sankaran, a mechanical engineer, thanked The Hindu for holding this contest as it helps the children relax.
Chief guest for the prize distribution ceremony, K. Ramasamy, Vice-Chancellor of Tamil Nadu Agricultural University, urged parents to assess the nature and creativity of their children and allow them to blossom on their own.
“Other countries are looking to India which has more than 58 crore young people. In order to succeed, the youth should know a couple of regional languages along with English,” he said.
Giving away the prizes, Mr. Ramasamy told the students that every entry for the event was worth of a prize and the children must not be dejected and continue to make efforts.
The judges for the event, Thoorigai Chinnaraj, a child author and art master, and S. Kalaivani, art teacher from National Model Matriculation Higher Secondary School, said that they had a tough time short-listing the winning entries.
Appreciating the students’ efforts, they said that they had looked at the technical and creative aspects while determining the top winners.
In the senior category (Standards VIII to X), M. Keerthikasree, a Standard VIII girl from S.B.O.A. Matriculation Higher Secondary School here, bagged the first prize.
S. Swathi, a Standard X from Bharathi Vidya Bhavan at Thindal in Erode, came second.
The girl has been taking part and wining prizes in The Hindu Young World Painting Competitions for the past five years, her father said.
Rithicka K.K., Standard IX student from Venkatalakshmi Matriculation Higher Secondary School, came third.
In the junior category (Standards IV to VII), Megha Arun, a Standard VII student from J.S.S. International School in Udhagamandalam, stood first, A. Priya Dharsini, a Standard VII student from S.B.O.A. Matriculation Higher Secondary School, came second and M. Srihari, Standard VI girl from G.D. Matriculation Higher Secondary School, got the third prize.
While a total of 1,120 entries were received initially, 400 students, drawn equally from the two categories of juniors and seniors, made it to the final round.
Students from Dharmapuri, Salem, Erode, Palakkad, Namakkal, Krishnagiri and Tiruchengode took part in the event.
The MIOT International Hospital is the national sponsor for the contest , the associate sponsor is Relief Cough & Cold, the beverage partner Fruit Nik, regional sponsor Park Global School and the snack partner being Aroma Milk.
