CHENNAI: The tightly packed Nehru Indoor Stadium was filled with festive cheer as the chief minister distributed prizes to the winners of the arts and culture competitions held for government school students earlier this month. Among the winners of over 200 competitions, A Sharmila got to showcase a miniature version of the crocodile that bagged her the first prize in a sand art competition in the Class 9 to 12 category.
For Sharmila, daughter of daily wage labourers from Keeramangalam, a sleepy village in the Pudukkottai district, and several other students, the recently held Kalai Thiruvizha, a state-level cultural festival for government school students in Tamil Nadu, was a life-changing experience.
While for many it was a stage to get the much-needed appreciation, for others it was an opportunity to uncover their hidden talents. The Class 12 student of Government Girls Higher Secondary School in Keeramangalam, Sharmila, is one such girl, who discovered her amazing skills in sand art through Kalai Thiruvizha.
Sharmila was extremely fond of painting and drawing from childhood. However, winning prizes for sand art was never a part of her dream. “I should thank my mother for this achievement. When I informed her about the festival, she suggested I try sand art in the competition. It was the right decision,” says Sharmila, who attempted sand art for the first time.
Though she exhibited excellent skills in creating shapes with sand, her poor financial situation presented attending competitions as an onerous task. For her parents, who have to provide for the needs of their differently-abled son and daughter Sharmila with their meagre income, at the same time was hard. That’s when her endearing teachers became her strength. With the help of her teachers and some relatives, Sharmila started attending competitions at school and block levels.
“To my surprise, I started winning prizes in school and block level, which made me take sand art seriously. However, I was not in a position to learn the art professionally from a master. So, using the internet, I started polishing my skills. YouTube was a great aid in my journey, especially videos of Sudharsan Pattnaik, the famous sand artist from Odisha,” Sharmila recalls with a smile.
During the state-level competition held in Kancheepuram, Sharmila struggled a lot to get enough sand. This, however, did not deter her from creating a crocodile at the end, which grabbed the first prize. Later, she showcased a miniature version of the sand crocodile in the exhibition organised at the prize distribution venue. “If I were given space and sand, I would have created a bigger art at the ceremony,” she added.
Teachers who helped Sharmila with her competitions and travel said that the government should support talented students by sponsoring them and arranging mentorship programmes. Apart from drawings and sand art, Sharmila is also very good at studies and is determined to study better and get a job soon, so that she can help her family. “Though I am not sure about making sand art a full-time profession, I will continue to explore more levels of it in future,” she adds before signing off.
‘Watched Sudharsan Pattnaik’s videos’
Sharmila has been extremely fond of painting and drawing since childhood. Winning for sand art, however, was never a part of her dream. Though she exhibited excellent skills in creating shapes with sand, her poor financial situation made it difficult for her to learn the art or attend competitions.
She said, “YouTube was a great aid, especially videos of Sudharsan Pattnaik, the famous sand artist from Odisha."