When there is gold in green
P. SUJATHA VARMA
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World Environment Day was marked with a painting competition.
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Photo: V. Raju
Paint to preserve: At the art competition
Throwing a cursory glance at the dark brown shade she lent to the bulky trunks of the felled trees on the drawing sheet, Pranathi gave a satisfactory smile and quickly began to colour the smoke billowing from the chimney of a factory. A Std. V student of the Nalanda Vidya Niketan in the city, the girl was among the 50-odd participants in the drawing and painting competition organised by the local branch of the Institution of Engineers (India) (IEI) in association with the
A.P Pollution Control Board, Vijayawada, to mark the World Environment Day on June 5. Sticking to the theme of the year “Melting ice: A hot topic!”, the children vividly captured the severe impact of global warming on fragile lands.
Message in colour
The message that came loud and clear from the competition was: if one wants children to use painting as a tool for self-expression and self-discovery, they should not be taught the technique, since technique overrides intuition. “Creative skills develop out of the intricate demands of their surroundings and not from aesthetic concepts. Whatever they paint, it carries the stamp of authenticity and the beauty of their innocence,” said K.R.K. Prasad, chairman of the IEI. Deviating from its usual practice of inviting experts to speak on the importance of environment conservation, the IEI, this year, made children catalysts to spread the message of a green world to create healthy surroundings.
“Go Green” screamed the paintings created by nimble fingers that deftly moved over the drawing sheets. The IEI intended to use these works as effective tools to generate awareness about the damaging impact of global warming and the urgent need to reverse the dangerous trend.
Navina Vaishnawi of the Nalanda Vidya Niketan advocated, through her depiction, a complete ban on the use of polythene bags, while Vikas of the Satya Public School in Krishnalanka laid bare his mind’s eye on the sheet by a profound portrayal of the rapid desertification process. His work was a remarkable piece, showing camel, the ship of the desert, finding its way to the Himalayas witnessing the ice-melting phenomenon. “The future belongs to the children. They must play a key role in prevention of environmental degradation,” said Mr. Prasad.
The participants were divided into groups of seniors and juniors. In the seniors’ category, K. Suma and V.G. Priyanka of the Nirmala High School bagged the first and second prizes, respectively, while A. Geetika of the Atkinson High School got the third prize. Among the juniors, A. Priyanka of the Subhodaya Public School got first prize, A. Hemant Kumar of the Nirmala High School the second best and T. Priyatam of the V.P. Siddhartha Public School the third.
All the children were given participation certificates, besides lots of chocolates and packets of chilled buttermilk.
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