Chennai-ites win KMTR ‘T-shirt’ design contest

August 01, 2014 01:59 pm | Updated 01:59 pm IST - TIRUNELVELI

Two persons from Chennai have won the first prizes in the Kalakkad – Mundanthurai Tiger Reserve (KMTR) silver jubilee T-shirt design contest held recently for the professionals and the students.

In view of the celebration of 25 years of the Kalakkad - Mundanthurai Tiger Reserve (1988 - 2013) along with 50 years of Mundanthurai Tiger Sanctuary (1962 - 2012), a series of programmes is on the anvil. The first of the event was a ‘T-shirt designing contest’ declared open in the second week of July wherein students and professionals from various parts of the country participated. This is the first time that such a contest has been organised here.

The theme was ‘Biodiversity and its conservation vis-à-vis KMTR and completion of KMTR’s glorious 25years (and/or completion of 50 years of Mundanthurai tiger sanctuary). Designs were judged based on their creativity, quality, overall impact and originality of message pertaining to biodiversity/its conservation.

“There was an overwhelming response to the contest with about 90 students and around 40 professionals participating. Some participants gave even 6 entries even though only 3 entries were permitted per contestant, making the decision of the judges very tough,” said Ms. Mita Banerjee, Chief Conservator of Forests and Field Director, KMTR. There were participants from Tamil Nadu, Kerala, Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka and Maharashtra. The maximum response was from Tamil Nadu. Besides Ms. Mita, four more persons judged the contest. The judges examined each entry of the participants on July 29, the International Tiger Day, to arrive at the winning entries in the two categories.

“Theme of good number of designs centred around tigers. Yet, the imagination and artistic perceptions of participants varied and covered a whole gamut of biodiversity including plants, bamboos, trees, flowers, bees, butterflies, frogs, snakes, dolphins, monkeys, elephants and even human beings,” said Ms. Mita.

The first prize winners were Chitra Chandrashekhar from Chennai among professionals and R. Prasanna, also from Chennai, in the category for students.

The 2nd and 3rd prize winners were S. Jagdish from Chennai and M.N. Ramkumar from Rajaplayam respectively in the ‘professionals’ category’ and S. Akshaya from Rajapalayam and R. Ananya from Chennai bagged the second and third prizes respectively in the ‘students’ category.’

The designs used by the KMTR for printing T-shirts will feature the names of the designers on its sales tag as per the contest rules.

Ms. Chitra Chandrasekhar’s T-shirt imagery is that of a lively dancing tiger, inspired by ‘puli vesham,’ a traditional folk dance form of Tamil Nadu, which is a tribute to the tiger depicting the celebratory occasion of the KMTR’s silver jubilee. The tiger’s twisted body and upward gaze are focused on its tail that forms the number ‘25’ adding playfulness and liveliness to the overall design.

The tiger’s dance is representative of the subtle balance that predators such as tigers maintain in the forest ecosystem. Tigers are crucial in preserving the web of life, including the lives of humans. Humans are merely a string in the entire web. The T-shirt’s design is a reminder of the key role tigers play in maintaining the delicate balance as if holding on to the web of life ensuring biodiversity, while rejoicing at their past 25 years of protective care at the KMTR, Ms. Mita explained.

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