Kaleidoscope unleashes riot of colours at India Gate

At a time when the global environment honchos in Durban are racking their brains on how to save the world from pollution, 1,000 little hands took a different medium to express their views at the India Gate lawns on Thursday morning.

At a time when the global environment honchos in Durban are racking their brains on how to save the world from pollution, 1,000 little hands took a different medium to express their views at the India Gate lawns on Thursday morning.

HT Image

Armed with paints, brushes and canvases, these little soldiers from more than 250 schools from Delhi-NCR took part in ‘Kaleidoscope’, the annual painting competition hosted by HT-PACE, to depict how the world is gradually falling prey to modernisation, resulting in global warming.

Unlike last year, when Delhi was the common theme, random topics were chosen this time. Students of classes 4-6 (junior category) were required to attempt one of the themes - ‘Don’t throw it away, use it another way’ or ‘Show you care, don’t pollute the air’.

‘Today a reader, tomorrow a leader,’ and ‘Take a stand, lend a helping hand’, were the options for students of classes 7-9.

From a globe to just a pair of hands, the participants were at their creative best. Many paintings displayed the India Gate in one form or the other. “India Gate is the best venue for a painting competition. Hats-off to HT-PACE for doing a great job. For kids, it’s more like a picnic where they can enjoy,” said artist Nupur Kundu, one of the judges.

“Look at what kids can do with their hands, rather than the concept. Art makes us humble and kids, in their formative years, must be connected to it in some form,” said artist BK Sarna, another judge.

It was a sight to behold as students painted their ideas on the canvas, using a variety of techniques to bring out their best.

“It is great to be here again. The topics were a bit difficult, but challenging. It was fun,” said Mugdh Setia, a class 9 student of Bluebells International, who had won a consolation prize in the senior category last time.

“It was nice to see students coming up with their own interpretation on the topics,” said Annapoorna Sehgal, head-education, PACE.

To coincide with the event, entrepreneur Rishabh Khanna held a workshop for teachers and talked about work-life balance from a teacher’s perspective. “The topics made the students think. The workshop was also inspiring,” said Vandita Kharbanda, an art teacher at Sadhu Vaswani School.

Saumya Agarwal from DPS, Noida, bagged the first prize in the junior category, while Nidhish Dogra from Amity International School in Noida and Karan Madan from Blue Bells Model School, Gurgaon, bagged the second and third prizes, respectively. Aniket Mitra from Mount Abu Public School, Jhanvi Kaushik from CCA School and Rishita Mehta from Starex International won the consolation prizes. In the senior category, Aryamik Sen from Mother’s International School stood first. “I won because mine is a painting and not a poster,” he said.

Vaibhav Butola from Mount Abu Public School, Rohini, was adjudged second and Pooja Tripathi from DAV Public School, Rohini, third.

The prizes were sponsored by Navneet Publications.