As the scorching heat reduced with sea breeze on Tuesday evening, children, accompanied by elders, trickled into the soothing garden of the office of the Consulate General of France in Puducherry. Leaving their slippers and shoes at a corner, they occupied the carpet spread over the grass.
For 11-year-old Abinasri from Crescent Higher Secondary School, it was an opportunity to enter a building she would not have dreamt of. “My school principal brought us here for colouring. I have chosen green to colour the trees,” she said, her nimble hands deftly colouring the picture.
Each of the 75 children who arrived here from different schools were given a 40-page ‘Colour Pondy’s Beauty’ book with 17 images. Consul General of France in Puducherry and Chennai Catherine Suard decided to welcome the children to the Consulate General to experience the heritage of Puducherry through colouring and distributed the book and a colour pencil box to each and every child.
‘Special place’
“Puducherry is a very special place for heritage. I appreciate all that is done for heritage in Puducherry. Heritage is not only about buildings, it is also in education, taste, aesthetics, way of living and it is fun,” she said.
She added that she wanted to give an opportunity for the children to enjoy heritage by colouring the book.
The 40-page book has 17 images of heritage sites and buildings, including Arikamedu, Aayi Mandapam, Sri Gokilambal Thirukameshwara Temple, and many more. Sunaina Mandeen of People for Pondicherry Heritage (PPH) explained that each image of a heritage site or building had a description. “The idea behind launching this book is to engage children by making them colour the images of Puducherry’s heritage. This creates a bond with the heritage sites,” she said.
