more-in On a day when everyone prefers to laze around, especially after a hectic week, there were a few who ventured to explore their creative side. On Sunday morning, more than 100 children, along with their parents, descended at the primary block of Amalorpavam Higher Secondary School to participate in the The Hindu Young World Painting Competition. After completing all the formalities, they sat down with a large sheet of white paper. Divided into two categories — students of Class IV to VI, who fell under the junior category, and Class VII to IX, the seniors – each participant was given three different themes to choose from. At least 105 students in the junior category and 89 in the senior category participated in the competition. “My daughter has been learning art for the past five years. We got to know about this competition from the newspaper and I decided to bring her. My daughter’s art teacher also encouraged her to participate in the competition,” Tamizhselvi, a parent, said. While the juniors were given the options to portray either ‘World Peace,’ ‘Man's Best Friend’ or ‘My Favourite Holiday Destination,’ the seniors could select from the themes, including ‘Fishermen/women at the wharf,’ ‘Role reversal: Animals and humans’ and ‘Digital India.’ Some of the participants had brought crayons and others settled for water colours and acrylic. Dabbling in colours, the children did not move from their place for more than an hour till they completed their work. Joining the schoolchildren in Puducherry were a few students from distant places who drove down with their parents to participate in the contest. “I am studying in Class VIII in Edison G Agoram Memorial School. I came with my mother from Chidambaram. My classmate accompanied us with her grandmother. We were eager to participate in the painting competition. I chose the theme ‘Role reversal’ to paint what would happen when animals and humans switch their roles,” she said. K.Thenammai, who bagged the first prize in the juniors category, said that this was the second time she was participating in the Young World painting competition. “I won a prize last year too. I selected the theme ‘World Peace’ as I found it easier to convey the subject through my artwork,” she said. Distributing prizes, Minister for Transport M.O.H.F. Shahjahan called upon the parents to encourage their children to draw and paint. “Every person will not possess the talent and those who can should be encouraged. Parents should help their children hone their skills. Today, animation is a big subject and a subject that opens up job opportunities with artistic talents. The talented children can find jobs as animation specialists in gaming and movies. There is a huge demand. I congratulate The Hindu for organising this competition to bring out the creativity in each student,” he said. Enjoying every moment at the painting competition, the schoolchildren spent their holiday colouring and making new friends. The main sponsor wasThyrocare; Arrow Publications Private Limited was the knowledge partner. The regional partners included Sri Manakula Vinayakar Engineering College and Indbazaar. Everest Garments was the prize sponsor while Hotel Karai and Malar Residency were hospitality partners. The food partner was Hotel Tamizh Park and snack partner, Grand Bakery.

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