Armed with paint brushes, crayons, poster colours and creative ideas, 180 students from 90 schools across Bangalore participated in a painting competition organised by Deccan Herald In Education (DHiE) at Bal Bhavan in Cubbon Park here on Thursday.

 The contest was for the junior category (class 3 to 6). The results will be announced next week. 

The parents and teachers who accompanied the children were spellbound to see the budding artists at work. The topics encouraged them to give flight to their imagination. Students had to choose from the following themes: ‘My Birthday Party,’ ‘Animals and Birds in a Forest’ and ‘Sports’. Ashwin of Class# VI, Swargarani School, chose ‘Animals and Birds in a Forest’. His painting depicted the increasing apathy of humans towards the forests. “While people are cutting down trees and killing animals, someone must come to the rescue of the greenery left. My painting displays the green world being carried away on two palms, leaving behind the destruction,” he said.

Some of the contestants chose to depict football, cricket and the colourful Kerala boat race. Yunika of Class VI, DPS South, brought to life a variety of animals and birds.“It is a good exposure for the kids as art helps in their overall development. Children learn a lot through art and express themselves through it. Like every other subject, art is important too,” said Minu Nair, art teacher, DPS North. This annual event of the DHiE taps into the artistic talents of schoolchildren and encourages them to take their creativity to another level.

Manisha Krishnappa, a student of Class VI, JSS Public School, recreated the Mysore zoo, which she has visited many times. Chandana R of Class IV of Sree Vidya Niketan School painted her elder sister’s 14th birthday celebrations. One of the parents present at the competition said, “I always encourage my kids to paint and attend art classes, because I think art does not have a purpose all the time. It can just be about enjoying being a kid, creating and getting messy.”

Shraddha G Reddy of Class VI, CMR NPS, felt that the topics were a ‘little difficult’, but hoped that many more such events are organised. She aspires to become an artist. After the competition, students were seen marvelling at the art works of other contestants.