INTACH organizes certificate distribution ceremony for ’My Monument Search’ National Poster Competition for children

INTACH organizes certificate distribution ceremony for ’My Monument Search’ National Poster Competition for children

Mangalore Today News Network

Mangaluru, June 27, 2024: The Mangaluru Chapter of the Indian National Trust for Art and Cultural Heritage (INTACH) held a certificate distribution ceremony for its ‘My Monument Search’ poster competition for children on Saturday, June 22, 2024, at 10:30 AM at the Kodialguthu Centre for Art and Culture, G.G. Road, Ballalbagh, Mangaluru. Senior artist Ganesha Somayaji was the Chief Guest, and Subash Basu, the convener of the INTACH Mangaluru Chapter, moderated the programme.

’My Monument Search’ is a national poster competition organized by the Heritage Education and Communication Service (HECS) division of INTACH, New Delhi. Participants created posters depicting a heritage building in their region, accompanied by a caption and a brief essay on how to protect it. The contest aims to promote cultural exploration and education among children. 29 students from seven schools participated in the contest, which was held at the Mizaar Govinda Pai Memorial Hall, Canara High School, Urva, on Saturday, February 24, 2024. Their entries were sent for national evaluation, where both national and regional prizes are awarded.

Adit, a 7th standard student at Canara Higher Primary School in Urva, Mangaluru, has been chosen for the national award. He is the first student from Mangaluru to receive this honor. Adit is one of 15 students selected from among 5,628 participants representing 670 schools nationwide. He will receive a fully sponsored trip to Delhi, where he will tour heritage monuments with the HECS INTACH New Delhi team, along with the other national winners.

Adithi, a 7th Standard student at Vasudeva Kripa Vidya Mandira School, Bailoor, Udupi, and Avani C. Kamath, an 8th Standard student at St Aloysius Gonzaga School, Mangaluru, won the regional award. H. Poornendu Rao, an 8th Standard student at Canara High School (Main), Mangaluru, received the chapter level award. Students from Canara High School, Dongerkery and Nalanda English Medium High School, were awarded certificates of participation. Each school received a copy of the ‘Young INTACH’ Kannada magazine, a compilation of year-long newsletters in Kannada.

Chief Guest Ganesha Somayaji congratulated the students for their participation and appreciated the teachers for their support. “Today, in this information age, we have everything at our fingertips. Using technology, we can simply copy an image and replicate it for a competition. But competitions like these encourage students to visit the monuments and develop a first-hand understanding of the heritage,” he said.

Subash Basu, the convener of the INTACH Mangaluru Chapter, highlighted that the competition encouraged children to identify culturally significant places in their vicinity and create artwork with a caption and short description. “I am happy that a few students have identified structures that highlight the lesser-known local heritage of Mangalore. As a result of their efforts, this is the first time our Chapter has received a national award,” he noted.

Students and teachers also engaged with heritage sketches on display at the Kodial Guthu Centre as part of the ongoing art exhibition titled ‘Combing Kudla with Pens and Brushes.’