Spastics Society of Karnataka wins Kalaangana championship

Over 200 awards were given away to differently abled children who showcased exceptional talents in music, yoga, art, dance and fancy dress competition as Kalaangana, the four-day mega cultural festival, drew to a close here on Friday.

Spastics Society of Karnataka, with 89 participants, won the overall championship while Bengaluru-based Deepika School was declared the runner-up.

The 16th edition of the annual event was attended by over 1,200 children between the ages four and 18 years from across the state this year.

Kalaangana was conceived to give a platform to the differently abled children to showcase their talent.

"What started very small has grown into a mega cultural event today. This year had 120 participants from outside Bengaluru and over 1,000 from the city," said V R Ramesh, head of IRC.

Kalaangana is held every November and is organised by Information and Resource Centre (IRC), a unit of Shree Sharada Peetam, Sringeri, in association with Rotary Bangalore, West.

IRC is also hosting Aadhyatma, a personality pageant for the differently abled community, next month in Bengaluru.

The gold medalists in this year's solo performances of music (vocal, instrumental), dance and art were also awarded 'Bala Kalanidhi' certificates by Mitra for Life, an NGO that mainstreams individuals with different abilities through music and art.

The children will get a chance to perform at Mitra's chamber concerts and talent show events.

The swelling number of participants is proof that there is talent waiting to be discovered, said Ramesh.

Participants included people with intellectual disabilities, specific learning disabilities, autism spectrum disorder, cerebral palsy and they competed at the sub-junior, junior, and senior levels.

The event also featured an art competition for parents and a teaching aid contest for special educators.