PALAKKAD: A 720-feet-long canvas of drawings and paintings by 186 tribal students of Attappadi block has made its way into the Talent Book of World Records as the “largest painting on canvas by tribal students”. The record was conferred after inspection at the venue -- EMS Town Hall, in Attappadi -- on Monday.
Ottapalam sub-collector D Dharmalasree, who is also the nodal officer of Attappadi, was the chief guest at the event, organised as part of Niti Aayog’s ‘Aspirational Blocks Programme’. The endeavour by the students began at 1.45 p.m. and concluded at 4 p.m., Dharmalasree said. The participants were left enthralled. “It was a wonderful experience. I enjoyed the atmosphere. I tried to capture the beauty of nature,” said M G Aiswarya, a sixth grader of Agali Ekalavya Model Residential School.
“We could express our creativity and it was fun painting with fellow students for more than two hours. My subject was nature and the environment,” said M Vinu, a sixth grader at the same school.
The event was coordinated by Attappadi block panchayat and organised by the Kudumbashree Tribal Development Programme, ITDP and the lead bank, said Joemon, Kudumbashree coordinator of the National Rural Livelihood Mission.
The programme was inaugurated by Maruthi Murugan, president of the Attappadi block panchayat. Block vice president K K Mathews presided over the event.
Murugan received the record certificate from adjudicator Sathar Adur, who complimented the talent of the students. The 186 students took two hours and 15 minutes to complete the 720-feet-long work.