“I had fun at the awards ceremony held in New Delhi. I made new friends there. We learnt to make pots using clay and had other interesting activities before the announcement of the results,” said an unassuming R. Abhinav, of his achievement and all the attention he has been receiving. The 12-year-old student of a Coimbatore school emerged winner at the national-level Doodle 4 Google competition in the category of students from Standard IV to V. The overall first prize was won by Varsha Gupta of New Delhi and her doodle is on Google's home page. Yet, Abhinav's feat is laudable as he was the only one from South India to win from any of the three categories of students who contested.
From among the 6,000 doodles selected for the quarter-final round, the faculty of Sir J.J. School of Arts, shortlisted 600 doodles for the semi-final round. According to the organisers, Google's doodler Dennis Hwang decided the final winner.
The topic given for the competition was ‘India's Gift to the World.' Abhinav's painting, with a dominating image of Buddha with his head taking the space of the alphabet ‘O', the chariot wheel at the Sun Temple of Konark forming the second ‘O' and images to represent algebra, yoga, spices, the Kohinoor diamond and other exotic features of India, won him the prize.
Abhinav, a Standard V student of Stanes Anglo Indian Higher Secondary School, was the only participant from the South to reach the top spot of the competition. He bagged a goodie bag, laptop and free internet connection for year.
Around 1.5 lakh students studying in Standards 1 to X from 45 schools across the country took part in the competition. Forty five students, shortlisted from the list, made it to the final round. “Friends at school, teachers and even seniors whom I had never talked to congratulated me”, Abhinav said with a smile.
“My grandfather and mother told me more about the country and its various features. Many things were new to me,” said Abhinav. “They helped me in visualising the picture.”
According to his mother Chithra Ramesh, the Buddha that he had drawn had the same features as the small miniature they had at home.
Abhinav has been learning drawing from Swarna Krishnan since he was in L.K.G. Abhinav does not like much to participate in drawing contests. Ask him why and he explains, “we have to finish our paintings in the short-time given. I don't like to draw like that.”
