The Sakal Chitrakala Spradha, organised by the Sakal Media Group, added another feather to its illustrious cap. The 2018 edition of the annual drawing competition created a record for the ‘Limca Book of Records’ for being the ‘largest students’ drawing and painting competition at multiple locations’. The competition had alsocreated a record for the ‘India Book of Records’ and the ‘Asia Book of Records’.
The competition was organised in several locations in Maharashtra and Goa. It has been recorded in the ‘Limca Book of Records’ for its grand-scale, covering 2,000 locations, in 12 cities, with a participation of over 7.63 lakh school students participating in a single day. This is now a world record.
Speaking about the competition and its nature, Mrunal Pawar, the director of Sakal Media Group, said, “The artistic nature of a human is developed through practice, and ‘Sakal’ has worked round the clock for giving students such a platform in Maharashtra. Through the competition, we are trying to introduce artistic abilities in the upcoming generations of Maharashtra.”
“The structure of the competition was changed in such way that the imagination level of school and college-going students gets developed. The college competition was also made ‘paperless’ and brought online. Rather than having organised topics, participants were given topics focused on their thinking ability. In the college competition, oil colours were also used. As a result of these events, the amount of participation in the competition increased.”
SMG has been consistently organising the competition for the past 34 years. Millions of school students from have participated over the years and expressed themselves through art. The event also sees sizeable participation from students with special needs as well as Ashram (tribal) schools.
Importance of art
Abhijit Pawar, the Chairman of AP Globale and the Managing Director of Sakal Media Group, emphasised on the importance of art in the ‘character development of a young individual and society’.
“Historically, art’s role as a catalyst to societal transformation has been massive. Shaping the minds of children with a platform for expressing their thoughts through art plays a crucial role in the character development of the individual and society at large.
“The freedom to manipulate the routine by opening the mind to possibilities through imagination opens the gates to exploration and experimentation. Sakal Chitrakala Spardha, over the past three-and-half decades, has strived to do that,” Pawar wrote on social media before extending his congratulations for the creation of the world record.
“I congratulate all the teachers, parents and students, who participated in the drawing competition and for creating the world record. The recognition is only the reflection of the competition’s endeavours,” he added.
