Two hundred and fifty odd school students from Ernakulam and nearby districts expressed their thoughts and feelings on a variety of subjects through paintings at The Hindu-Young World painting competition held at Bharatiya Vidya Bhavan auditorium here on Saturday. They expressed their concern over lack of road safety and mounting traffic snarls, and expressed their desire to shop with family and visit a village.
Angela Susan John (Std IV) of Girideepam Bethany Central School, Kottayam and Edwin Raju (Std VII) of Sacred Heart Convent Senior Secondary School, Chengalam East, walked away with the first prize in junior and senior categories.
Speaking at the prize-distribution ceremony, District Collector M.G. Rajamanickam said the youth must learn to appreciate arts in a fast-moving world where almost everything was getting commercialised. “Scoring A+ in all subjects is just not enough. To be successful in life, one has to have passion for at least one art form. Painting increases one’s concentration since one must have crystal clear images in mind,” he said.
Other winnersThe following are the list of other winners (junior, senior): 2 prize – Sheetal Shobi (Std V) of Bhavan’s Vidya Mandir, Eroor and Faud Hussain (Std VIII) of Kendriya Vidyalaya No.1, Naval Base, Kochi; 3 prize – Akshara R. A (Std VI) of St. Mary’s AIGHS, Fort Kochi and Malavika Sunil (Std IX) of Rajagiri Public School, Kalamassery.
Judges’ comments“Children must be able to express their innate talents at a young age so that they have a fulfilling life,” said veteran artist Kaladharan, who was a judge of the contest. He said Kochi needed more art and cultural centres ‘alongside the metro rail’. On the quality of paintings, Mr. Kaladharan said it was a hard task identifying winners from among the 20 paintings selected for screening since most of them were of very good quality. “Each work was good in its own way. Those who did not win prizes must not be disheartened since future is equally bright for them,” said artist Upendranath, another judge. He said painting helped reduce criminality in the society: “The youth must not suppress emotions. Painting is a good way of expressing them.”
At the insistence of the two judges, the number of consolation prizes was increased from two to seven.
A good share of paintings was on traffic jams and hapless accident victims crying for help. Children shopping with parents and siblings was also depicted. The desire of children from cities and towns to visit lush green villages was another theme.
Consolation prizesThe consolation prizes (juniors) went to Akshai K. Ravi; Athul S. Raj; Amina Shanawaz; Neha Vishwanath; Ron C. Mathew; Vishnu Ramesh and Arathi B. Among seniors, consolation prizes were given to Irfan Ali K. K; Sreelakshmi Sanal; Athul Bilahari. V; Diya P. Binu; Anagha S. Devan; Asif Moideen and Anjalo Loy.
SponsorsMIOT International – a multi-specialty hospital, was the presenting sponsor of the event. The regional sponsors were Kottaram Agro Soulfull and Merriboy Icecreams. An official of Soulfull talked to the participants about the ill-effects of junk food and carbonated soft drinks.
