Scenes from day-to-day life came to life amidst a riot of colours and some unfettered imagination, at the 20th edition of the Young World Painting Competition held at St. Joseph's College in the city on Sunday.
Over 400 finalists, chosen from over 2,600 entries received from 10 districts at the preliminary level, vied for honours .
Segregated into senior and junior groups, the participants were given topics on the spot and two hours to paint them. ‘An ice cream enjoyed with friends,' ‘playing in the rain,' ‘going to a science exhibition' ‘a museum at a botanical garden,' ‘spending time with family at a picnic' or ‘watching a cricket/tennis match on television with friends/family' - were the range of ideas that were given shape and colour to at the contest.
The prize winning paintings were those that had captured not just the essence of these seemingly simple topics, but also the fringe elements- like foliage seen from a window in the living room or the three dimensional depiction of the television screen or the free falling rain drops- which make the picture easily believable.
The entries (at both preliminary and finals) were judged by M.Ayyappa and M.Rajappa, eminent artists from Pudukottai.
Winners
In the senior level, the first, second and third places were bagged by A.S. Mugunth,Standard IX, Sri Vidya Mandir Higher Secondary School,Salem; S. Preethi, IX, Cluny Matriculation Higher Secondary School, Salem; and P. Swarthika, X, R.S.K. Higher Secondary School, Tiruchi respectively.
The seven consolation prizes were given to M.P. Ranjani, X, R.S.K. Higher Secondary School,Tiruchi; S. Prem Kumar VIII, Boiler Plant Boys Higher Secondary School,Tiruchi; R. Valli Kannu, X, Cluny Matriculation Higher Secondary School, Salem; N. Britto, IX, S.R.V. Matriculation Higher Secondary School, Tiruchi; R.H. Hermon Jisha, IX, Montfort School; A. Prasath VIII, Chinmaya Vidyalaya Matriculation Higher Secondary School, Srirangam; and A. Maadhav, IX, Mahatma Gandhi Centenary Vidyalaya,Tiruchi.
Among the junior level participants, the first place was won by B. Naveen Raj, VI, Kailash Maansarovar School, Salem.
The second and third places were won by K.Sharath Chandhiran, VI, Sri Vidya Bharathi Matriculation Higher Secondary School, Salem and S.V. Sowmiya VII, Chinmaya Vidyalaya, Nagapattinam.
The seven consolation prize winners among the junior contestants were D. Rohan Marshall, VII, R.S.K. Higher Secondary School, Tiruchi; Anjana Nandakumar, VII, R.S.K. Higher Secondary School, Tiruchi; H. Bhagya Shree, VI, St. Joseph's Matriculation Higher Secondary School, Salem; K. Nivetha, VII, Sri Vidya Bharathi Matriculation Higher Secondary School, Salem; K. Kingsley, VII, Holy Cross Matriculation School, Somarasampettai, Tiruchi; M. Mehul Kumar Singhvi, VI, Notre Dame of Holy Cross CBSE School, Salem; and S. Naveena, V, Sri Vidya Mandir Higher Secondary School,Salem.
Distributing the prizes, K. Ramakrishnan, Chairman, K. Ramakrishnan College of Engineering, Samayapuram, said competitions such as these would go a long way in boosting the confidence of students.
“The fact that 400 of you have qualified for the finals amongst the 2,644 entries that were sent for this contest is by itself a great achievement. Small victories like these are the stepping stones to bigger achievements in life,” he said.
Prize winning paintings from all over the country (the competition was held simultaneously across 15 regions in India) will be exhibited from November 29 at the Lalit Kala Akademi in Chennai. Prize winners from the different regions will be escorted to Chennai for a special ceremony where their paintings will be auctioned and the proceeds given to charity. Also, the best three paintings from all over the country will be engraved on all Amrutanjan Relief Cough & Cold products.
The title sponsor for the contest is MIOT Hospitals and the national sponsor is Amrutanjan Relief Cough & Cold. Sri Shakthi Institute of Engineering & Technology, Coimbatore, is a regional sponsor.
The snacks were sponsored by Sree Sweets and the water by ARC Aqua Puraa.
