On May 1, not even Chennai’s summer sun could dim the enthusiasm palpable at Green Park Hotel in the city. The place was abuzz with the chatter of excited youngsters. And they had every right to be for, they were to participate in the national finals of The Hindu Young World Painting Competition .
Take your pick
Of the 25,000 entries from more than 1,000 schools and 22 cities, across the country 77 eager participants were shortlisted for the national finals. Held in two categories — juniors (Stds. IV-VI) and seniors (Stds. VII-IX), the topics were announced by Sudip Sengupta, assistant VP, Green Park Hotels, who also delivered the special address.
Topics included “If fairy tales were real”, “Space adventure”, “Support disabilities”, for juniors to “Practise conservation for the future generations”, “Himalayan trek”, and “If things had feelings”, for seniors.
Deft strokes, imaginative use of colours and clarity of thought fuelled the participants’ imagination as they feverishly drew and painted away in the allotted two hours.
Sangeetha Prakash, child psychologist and one of the judges observed that most of the seniors chose conservation as their favoured topic. “This shows their awareness on the issue,” she explained. “Their colouring and picture composition was extraordinary and their bold strokes made it evident that they were confident of how to execute their ideas.”
Rajalakshmi K, one of the judges, added that it had been a difficult task to single out winners as they were all good. “They were at ease with different mediums of painting, be it acrylic, sketches or water colours and crayons, which is commendable,” she said.
The chief guest T. H. Radhakrishan, Regional Sales Manager, Air India, giving away the prizes said the youngsters were meticulous in their execution of ideas.
Winners
In the junior category, S. Amalathitthan, VI, Bharath Vidya Mandir,T irunelveli won the first place followed by Anagha T.P, VI, Providence Girls Higher Secondary School, Kozhikode and M.Yuktha, VI, Vidhya Peetham School, Salem.
Among the seniors, Adrinil Das, VIII, D.A.V Public School Midnapore, won the first prize followed by Surya Jayakumar, IX, f Army Public School,Thiruvananthapuram who won the second prize and Rajul. K.V, IX, G.H.S.S Kokkallur, who won the third prize. Consolation prizes were awarded to seven students in both categories.
Sponsors
The title sponsor was Thyrocare , hospitality partner was Green Park Hotels, Chennai, and gift partners were Kokuyo Camlin and Full Marks Pvt. Ltd
