Sankar Dinesh Kamath has always been on a winning streak. Since a kid, he has won numerous prizes in the National and State levels for drawing and painting. What more, he has his own postal stamp and post card to his credit.
Sankar won the first prize in the All India Stamp Designing Painting Competition conducted by the Postal Department in 2008. Ask him about the experience,and he says, “The prize was never a given, as there were contestants up to the plus two levels.” The theme of that year’s painting was ‘India of my Dreams’ and Sankar to show the communal harmony between people drew happy-go-lucky people from different communities. His stamps priced at `5 is available all over India. It was not for the first time that he won the Postal department’s Award. “For the 2007 stamp designing competition I came second for ‘Magic of Night’ painting which was selected for the Maxim Post Card,” says this class IX student.
Sankar has proved his mettle in the academics too. Recently to add in his credit, he has also won the NCERT’s National Talent Search Examination (NTSE).
“From 27,000 children who wrote the exam from Kerala only 28 students got cleared for the scholorships,” informs Dinesh Kamath, Sankar’s dad. Sankar has won over 300 awards in various painting competitions conducted by State Council for Child Welfare, Forest Department, Raja Ravi Varma Chithranjali Award, All India on the Spot Camel Colour Contest to name a few.
Besides painting, Sankar has other dreams as well. “Painting will always remain my passion but becoming a doctor is my career aspiration,” says Sankar confidently.
Sankar likes painting landscapes and animals the most. “I like acrylic and water colour the most and it is landscapes that I like to draw best,” says Sankar who also has a lot of interest in maths and science.
As for balancing time between studies and painting, he says, “After class VII, I couldn’t devote much time to painting as I was preparing for the NTSE, but I do paint during my vacations. When there is not too much to study I spend a minimum of two hours on painting.”
Sankar’s paintings are also on display at the Kilimanoor Palace, the birth place of Raja Ravi Varma. “For the competition, I drew a picture where children can be seen playing around an elephant. It won the state level prize,” he says. Sankar is also gearing up to conduct a painting exhibition soon. Ask him who his mentor is, and he says, “Whatever I draw, I ask my dad his suggestions and accordingly make the improvements.”