Spoorthi's Brush with Creativity: A Painting Adventure

With the start of the new school year, Spoorthi's town welcomed a dynamic new District Education Officer (DEO) named Lalithamba. She was unlike any other official they had seen before. Passionate and forward-thinking, Lalithamba believed that education extended far beyond textbooks and classrooms. She envisioned a world where children could freely express themselves through art, sports, and cultural activities.

One of Lalithamba's first initiatives was to introduce more opportunities for creative expression in the town's schools. After conducting a thorough tour of the schools including the Spoorthi's school Little Blossoms school, she noticed a glaring gap - while the schools had adequate facilities for academics and sports, there was a noticeable absence of art and cultural activities.

Determined to change this, Lalithamba reached out to her friend Mr. Rao, who worked at Camlin, a renowned art supplies company. Over a cup of tea, she shared her idea of organizing a painting competition to promote creativity among the students. Mr. Rao, delighted by the proposal, recognized a wonderful opportunity to get the attention of parents, teacher and the student community towards the companies products. He wasted no time in securing sponsorship from the company to provide prizes for the competition.

Ms Lalithamba issued a circular to all the town school announcing the painting competition.

In the bustling halls of Little Blossoms School, excitement buzzed through the air as a notice was posted on the front of headmaster's office announcing the Camlin painting competition. For Spoorthi, a curious and adventurous soul, this was an opportunity too tempting to resist. It was as if a magical door had opened, inviting her to explore the fascinating world of art. The curiosity was too strong to ignore, so she decided to give painting a try.

With a spark of inspiration igniting within her, Spoorthi set out on a quest to explore the world of painting. At lunch time, Spoorthi wandered through the corridors of her school, her eyes wide with wonder as she took in the vibrant artwork adorning the walls. As she gazed upon the colorful masterpieces, Spoorthi felt a sense of awe wash over her. Could she too create something as beautiful and captivating as these paintings?

In the evening after the school bell rang, Spoorthi rushed home in excitement. She went straight to the kitchen in search of her mother very keen to announce her decision to participate in the painting competition. She even forgot to remove her shoes in a hurry. As screamed calls for her mother went on, she was immediately stopped by her mother - red faced in anger seeing Spoorthi enter the house with shoes. Spoorthi's mother scolded her and said that she will not listen to her until she removed the shoes, washed her hands, legs properly and come back. Chastened, Spoorthi hurriedly followed her mother's instructions to wash up before broaching the subject of the competition again.

Again she went back to kitchen this time with a bit of caution and with a pleading tone.. she asked her mother curiously if anyone in her house had done paintings, if they had any painting supplies from Appa's cupboard that she could borrow. Spoorthi's mother initially shrugged her shoulders in response, then she realized that in fact Spoorthi's aunt Vijaya was painting in her younger days. Spoorthi was elated, her aunt Vijaya was also at home for her baby's delivery and had time to spend with Spoorthi.

Thrilled by the prospect of learning from her aunt, Spoorthi dashed off to find her. Vijaya was resting in her room across the verandah. She forced Vijaya to get up and pleaded her to teach painting and announced her interest to participate in the painting competition which the DEO had announced.

Vijaya asked Spoorthi if she had painted before, and Spoorthi had never done anything close. Vijaya asked Spoorthi to bring a blank white sheet of paper and a pencil at first. As Spoorthi returned back with pencil and paper. Vijaya asked her to drawn something she liked with pencil on the drawing sheet. Spoorthi clearly struggled, as she tried to think - her mind wandered from anything and everything. She first thought of her pretty cat Krishna and if she can draw him. She ran out again, searched in all the corner of the house and found Krishna chasing a butterfly in the verandah. She grabbed her and brought him to the room where Vijaya was there. She put him on the floor and told Krishna not to move so that she can see him and draw him on the paper as if it was an easy job to copy a cat out.. Boy was that some task, every time Spoorthi looked down to draw a picture out Krishna hopped out from his place. She finally started concentrating to draw and draw a circle outlining the nice round face of Krishna. When she was done and looked up - Krishna was gone, he had escaped from the room the moment he observed Spoorthi's eyes were fixed on the drawing sheet. Spoorthi let out a cry and Vijaya laughed heartily out.

Vijaya told Spoorthi to try and remember something that Spoorthi could remember vividly with all the little details and if she could try to draw the same on the paper. Inspiration struck when she remembered the breathtaking sunset she witnessed during her trip to the village. She could still see the vivid colors dancing in the sky and the peacefulness of the little hut in front of it. "That's it!" Spoorthi thought. Spoorthi drew the hills, the valley and a sun setting behind the hills in a very cute little pencil sketch. She showed this to her aunt, Vijaya was amazed to see how clearly Spoorthi had drawn the drawing. It was clear to Vijaya that Spoorthi had it in her to be a good artist. Vijaya got ready and took Spoorthi to the store, bought a set of Camlin paints, brushes, drawing sheets and a canvas, and eager to help Spoorthi out.

They both came back home with the supplies and determined to try her hand at painting, Spoorthi sought out inspiration in the world around her. She started dabbling with the drawing sheets, she first did an outline with the pencil with help of her aunt. They she carefully started painting colors to the drawing. After many trials, she started to become better with each iteration of the drawing, she started drawing a little faster and also experimented with the different hues on the colors, Vijaya suggested Spoorthi to even overlap some colors so that they mixed on the drawing sheet and gave a blended feel to the painting.

It was already 9 PM before they both realized as Spoorthi's mother called them both for dinner. At the dinner table Spoorthi told her mother and father about the new painting competition and that she was all excited to participate in it. Spoorthi showed them the initial attempts that she had done in the evening along with aunt Vijaya. Her parents were very pleased and encouraged her to continue and told her how proud they are for her participation in the competition.

The excitement continued, Spoorthi returned home after school the next few days and practiced her painting. As she dipped her brush into the paints, Spoorthi felt a sense of freedom and joy wash over her. With each stroke of the brush, she brought the scene to life, infusing it with her own unique style and perspective.

The day before the submission of the painting, Vijaya reviewed the paintings on the drawing sheets of Spoorthi and confirmed she was ready for the actual painting and handed her the canvas they had bought.

Hours flew by in a blur as Spoorthi poured her heart and soul into her painting. And when she finally stepped back to admire her handiwork, she was filled with a sense of pride and accomplishment.

The colors danced across the canvas, capturing the magic of the moment in vivid detail. The sunset glowed with warmth, the hills stood tall and proud, and the little hut nestled in the garden exuded an aura of peace and tranquility. As Spoorthi stepped back to take in her masterpiece, she knew that she had discovered something truly special. Painting had ignited a spark within her, a passion for creativity and self-expression that she knew would stay with her for a lifetime.

With a smile on her face and a newfound confidence in her heart, Spoorthi submitted her painting to the Camlin painting competition, eager to share her newfound love for art with the world. Spoorthi excitedly participated in the competition and was delighted to see her painting displayed alongside others. Lalithamba the DEO, Mr Rao from the Camlin company had personally come down to see all the paintings exhibited. They were awestruck at the creativity the kids had showed. Several kinds of drawings, paintings were made by the kids. Everything from a simple stick figure sketch showing a family to elaborate paintings of lord Rama standing tall were done by the kids.

And as Spoorthi awaited the results, she knew that no matter what the outcome, she had already won the greatest prize of all - the joy of discovering a new hobby and the thrill of unleashing her creativity upon the world. To her surprise, Lalithamba after announcing the winners had a special mention for Spoorthi's unique perspective and creative use of colors. Mr Rao handed her a complete painting kit as a consolation prize. Her friends and family congratulated her, and she beamed with happiness.

Though she didn't win, Spoorthi walked away with a newfound treasure - the joy of self-expression. That day, amidst the flurry of competition and colorful creations, Spoorthi discovered a passion that would forever paint sunshine into her life. The world, once familiar, now shimmered with endless possibilities, waiting to be captured on her canvas. And so, with a heart brimming with newfound purpose, Spoorthi embraced painting as her own little haven, a space where she could weave her dreams into vibrant realities.