THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: For those overwhelmed by the gloom of having to confine themselves to their homes, a few enterprising individuals and local bodies have taken it upon themselves to provide a little entertainment. In a bid to keep people happy and engaged in these turbulent times, painting, drawing and writing competitions are being held under the aegis of various organisations in many localities across the state.
In Mangalapuram panchayat of Thiruvananthapuram, which saw severe restrictions in the wake of a Covid-19 death in Pothencode nearby, a painting competition under the topic ‘Social Scenario in the Wake of Covid-19’ will be held on April 14.
Only students aged between 15 and 18 can participate, and the winners will be awarded cash prizes.
“We thought it would boost the morale of students and parents. They can send the entries to a WhatsApp number we have provided,” said Madhusoodanan Pillai, panchayat president. He added that the contest was only for students in the panchayat.
Meanwhile, in Andoorkonam nearby, the Youth Congress is organising a constituency-level painting competition for children under the age of 10, again with a cash prize.Not to be left behind, Chemmaruthy panchayat has come up with a TikTok competition with the support of the Kerala Youth Welfare Board.
They even have a rather unique prize for the winners—a full-year internet recharge for the person who comes first, and a three-month recharge for the one who comes second. The videos should be shot inside their houses and should convey a social message.
The Kerala Polytechnic Union has also been conducting online competitions through Instagram for all polytechnic colleges in the state.In the meantime, the website gotuition.com has also come up with something innovative. Students can now share puzzles, riddles and brainteasers and tag gotuition.com on Facebook or Instagram, which will in turn bring the content to many more kids.
Last week, SFI’s Cochin University of Science and Technology (CUSAT) unit had organised an online youth festival called ‘Quarantine’, which saw participation of over 750 students from 160 colleges across the country.Under ‘Quarantine’, all individual competitions that are usually part of a youth festival were held online.