On a record roll with flags and portraits

As soon as she finishes the first attempt by painting the flags of 21 countries in under an hour, Saina plans to prepare for the second one.
Image used for representational purposes
Image used for representational purposes

THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: Twelve-year-old Saina Fatima is laser-focused as she paints one flag after another with precision. The seventh grader is practising for her India Book of Records debut while simultaneously planning ahead for her second record attempt.

“It all started when I went to a competition hosted by the Lions Club to draw the flags of different countries. I learned how to draw 50 flags. I figured I could use this knowledge and try to make a record,” says Saina.

Saina Fatima
Saina Fatima

As soon as she finishes the first attempt by painting the flags of 21 countries in under an hour, Saina plans to prepare for the second one.

Saina had recently impressed an audience with her talent at the Children’s Day celebration in her school, where she did a live painting of India’s first Prime Minister Jawaharlal Nehru. She painted using both hands on two separate canvases simultaneously.

When the two were aligned together at the end of the three-minute performance, a complete image of Nehru appeared. Saina plans to recreate the painting to achieve her second record. The student of Navajeevan Bethany Vidyalaya in Thiruvananthapuram is not new to the art world.

She has been painting since third grade by creating paintings of her favourite cartoon characters before moving on to drawing scenery and portraits. Her parents realised her talent when she drew a portrait of her art teacher.

“We never knew that Saina could draw people that well till we saw that drawing. She started concentrating more on portraits after that,” says Safina, Saina’s mother. Saina, however, avoids drawing film stars. She enjoys drawing strangers that catch her eye while travelling.

“Looking back at my artworks helps me remember the emotions I was going through a particular moment. I enjoy reliving those emotions and memories,” says the young artist.

Saina’s art teacher, Arun Vijay is all praise for her determination and hard work. “She is a very creative person. After coming up with the concept herself, she figured out how to draw the portrait of Nehru in less than a week,” he says.

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The New Indian Express
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