CHENNAI: As the city gears up for Navratri and we see the appearance of shops selling kolu dolls, here is a school that celebrates the festival in a different way – with nutrition charts and vegetable carving. Velammal Matriculation School at Mogappair began its Maha Kolu with ‘Edible Glamour’, an exhibition of vegetable carving done by the students.
The exhibition saw a variety of around 150 models – birds, animals and gods carved out of cucumber, cabbage and pumpkin. The models were made by students from the fine arts club of the school after a three-day training workshop held on the campus. Along with models like Lord Ganesha playing the veena and the tabla, there was a display of different kinds of food with their nutritional value, and murals to show how a healthy diet helped the body.
“We always try to make our Navratri different as the children see the doll displays at home and in other places. One year we had a human kolu where the children dressed up in different costumes, another year the children put up a display with clay dolls that they had made,” says the principal, Y Hemalatha.
The function was inaugurated by A S Arunachalam, General Manager South Zone, Food Corporation of India. Arunachalam appreciated the students’ efforts and encouraged them to follow a junk-food free diet for better health.