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Winning awards is a habit for this teenager

Last Updated 07 March 2019, 10:35 IST

Years ago, when she picked up a pencil for the first time as a child and started drawing on a small piece of paper, her father, Prasanta Kumar Satpathy, never thought that his daughter would go on to win several state and national awards.

Samikshya Satpathy, a 14-year-old student of a public school in Bhuba­ne­swar, has made her parents proud by winning several awards in painting and poster-making . 

Recently, she won Young Environmentalist of Year for 2014 in poster-making. The national-level competition on environmental issues was organised by the Ministry of Environment and Forests on the occasion of World Environment Day.      The award, which carries a medal, besides a cash prize of Rs 10,000, was presented to her by Union Minister for Environment and Forests Prakash Javadekar at a function in New Delhi. 

“We had never expected that her painting and poster-making skills would win her so many awards, particularly the Young Environmentalist of the Year award. We were overjoyed when we came to know that she had bagged the first prize in the prestigious national competition,” said Samikshya’s father, a professor at a government-run engineering college in Bhubaneswar. 

By winning the award she also made her state proud as she became the first student in Odisha to win the important prize. The theme of the award-winning painting was “clean and green city”. “The painting was my vision of a clean and green city. Through the painting I made an attempt to give a message how a city should remain clean and green and, of course, environment-friendly,” Samikshya said. 

Before drawing the poster she had surfed the internet and studied some books. After conceiving the idea, she discussed it with her parents and art teacher and sought their opinion. “It had taken nearly two hours to finish the painting,” she said.

Samikshya had developed a keen interest in painting from her childhood, thanks to her parents and elder sister, who is an engineering student. Painting is a hobby for the trio. “She has been painting since her nursery class days,” said mother Sasmita Acharya, a homemaker. 

Though the teenager has won several competitions in school and at state and national level, she came to limelight only this year after she bagged the Young Environmentalist award. 

The competition was certainly not easy as she had to cross several obstacles. First, she had to top in the school competition. She competed with 70 others and topped the state-level test. As she won the first prize, her poster was sent to New Delhi for the national-level selection. She finished on the top at the national level also. 

No wonder, like her parents, the smart girl was on cloud nine when she was informed that she had won the award. 

“It was a stunning moment for me. I was overjoyed when the organisers informed us the news,” Samikshya said. Last year, she finished third in another national-level painting competition on the theme of water conversation. She has created a record by winning Vanomahotsav drawing competition for three times in a row from 2011. The annual event is organised by the Department of Environment and Forests. 

Good at debate 

Besides painting, her other hobbies include dancing, debating and reading books. In fact, Samikshya’s oratorial skills have also earned her a few awards both in the school as well as state level. “So far, she has bagged 184 prizes in painting, debating and other competitions,” said her father. The girl attributed her success mainly to her parents. “Both my father and mother have been the biggest motivating factor for me. They always stood by me and encouraged me to work hard to achieve success,” she said. 

Her friends and schoolmates had also supported her. She thanked the DAV Public School, Chandrasekharpur, which felicitated her after every success.

Like lakhs of schoolchildren, Samikshya is also a big fan of former president A P J Abdul Kalam. But she does not want to be a scientist like him nor she is interested in taking up painting full time. She intends to be a successful doctor in future. “My basic aim is to serve people. And that is the reason why I want to be a doctor,” Samikshya, who is also a good student securing grade A in her class examinations, said.

She nevertheless insisted that she had no intention of stopping painting for good if she becomes a doctor. “Of course, I will continue with my painting and poster-making. They will go along with medical practice. I will take out time for both,” she replied when asked if she would stop drawing and painting after becoming a doctor.

She was fully supported by her mother Sasmita. “I too want her to be a doctor so that she can serve people and society better while continuing her painting activities,” she said. 

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(Published 15 November 2014, 18:53 IST)

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