Youngsters fight an evil through colours

THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: Brandishing a half-munched biscuit in one hand, Ekalavyan generously splashed a blue sky on the small canvas which soon covered three-quarters of it. Amid the blue expanse were tiny houses and even a tiny child playing with a balloon. Ekalavyan appeared pretty much engrossed in his artistic pursuits as his mother explained that he would be joining Class I when the schools reopened this week.The youngster was among the around 60 schoolchildren who turned up for a painting contest organised on the Museum compound by the National Rural Health Mission (NRHM) and Future India Development Council (FIDC) on Sunday to mark the World No Tobacco Day, which would be observed on Tuesday.Brushes sped across canvases as wonderful pictures bloomed on the canvas. The small, serious faces were fully concentrated in the drawing, much like those of mature painters. There were separate competitions for the KG, LPS, UPS and High School students. High School students were given ‘The Evils of Tobacco’ as theme, but others were allowed to draw as they wished. High School students chose smokers and diseased body parts as their themes while the smaller children attempted landscapes and houses.Abhiram, a high school student at Bharathiya Vidya Bhavan, tried to incorporate a number of ideas in his work - a ‘No Tobacco’ sign, a diseased lung and a cigarette smoke-shrouded globe. “This is a wonderful theme and I am trying to squeeze in three more ideas,” he said.The younger participants, who were given a free hand, focused on beautiful themes. “We are allowed to draw whatever we want and this is my favourite,” said Sandra, a Class IV student, painting a beautiful landscape.  The prizes will be given away on the Museum compound on Tuesday, on the World No Tobacco Day, said Premjith, senior consultant, NRHM. Kumari G Prema, Director-in-charge of Health Services, inaugurated the competition and  Dr P K Jameela, additional director, Health Services and cartoonists P V Krishnan and Gopinder were present on the occasion.