Ekal Vidyalaya New England hosted IndiArt, its first-ever art contest and silent auction showcasing artwork by children and teens, in Burlington on Sunday, March 2nd featured artwork representing Ekal Vidyalaya’s theme of “Children In Rural India,” was judged in three categories: Sub-junior, ages 6-10, Junior, ages 11-13, and Senior, ages 14-17.

First-prize winners in each category received a $200 prize and second prize winners received $100, sponsored by the Asian Art Gallery in Chelmsford. Attendees and families of contestants circulated the gallery and participated in the silent auction throughout the day.

The winners of the IndiArt contest were:

Sub-Junior (6-10 years):
1st Place : Pooja Kumaravel
2nd Place : Rayna Parikh
Honorable Mention :
Diya Godavarti
Sanjana Srinivas

Junior (11-13 years):
1st Place : Sanjana Krishna
2nd Place : Neeraja Deshpande
Honorable Mention :
Isha Khanzode ( Deepali Phadke Khanzode)
Srinidhi Vishwanathan

Senior (14-17 years):
1st Place : Ilina Shah ( Pratibha Shah)
2nd Place : Shriya Srinivas
Honorable Mention :
Anusha Kulkarni
Shirin Bhare

Ekal New England President Amrit Soni applauded the efforts of IndiArt youth participants to make a difference in the lives of kids in India.

“By participating in this competition in such large numbers you have shown a healthy sense of compassion and a strong charitable spirit,” Mr. Soni told participants. “As you grow up you can certainly make a difference in the lives of others, who are less fortunate and without education.”

In its first year, IndiArt received over seventy entries and the auction was attended by 250-300 people.

Ekal Vidyalaya National Executive Director Ranjani Saigal gave insight into what a child’s life is like in the one-teacher schools. Ms. Saigal encouraged attendees to visit villages in India and experience first-hand the transformation Ekal has brought to children’s lives.

Over the last two decades, Ekal has sustained 54,000 schools educating 1.5 million children and counting.

Java Joshi, Founder of the Academy of Creative Arts Studio in Burlington, who co-organized IndiArt with Ekal volunteer and Mrs. India International Nashua Jharna Madan, spoke about the origins and the goals of the art contest.

“Children here hardly know about kids in India, their [lives], their challenges, and through IndiArt, we were able to bring that awareness in participating parents and kids,” Ms. Joshi said.

Ms. Madan, who was unable to attend the event, spoke to attendees via video. Hyperlink: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4I4z_G74MNQ&feature=youtu.be

“We wanted to initiate a project that would connect children here with children back home in India,” Ms. Madan said. “Art, being a universal language, helped us achieve that.”

For participating students, the contest was a new opportunity to learn about and help their peers in rural India.

"I participated…to support kids rural in rural India, to give them a chance to learn,” said Junior category honorable mention recipient Isha Khanzode. “My painting was about teaching one girl, [who in turn], teaches her whole family.”

“The theme of [Children in Rural India] helped us [raise awareness] about [the] mission of Ekal [and] the lives of children in rural India,” Ms. Joshi said. “Many kids were unaware, but they talked to their parents, Googled, [and] researched on this topic.”

For Senior category winner Ilina Shah, IndiArt was an opportunity to explore the light and the dark of life in rural India.

 â€œAs I researched, I saw not only pictures of struggle, strife, and hardship, but also images of laughter, smiles, and friendship,” she said. “I chose the image I did because it showed that no matter how dire or underprivileged the circumstances, every child should have access to the hope which education brings.”

Ekal Vidyalaya Chairman Puran Dang acknowledged that IndiArt is the first time that Ekal New England has hosted a program for kids. Youth involvement is the future of education, he said.

A facebook campaign launched by Ms. Madan aimed to raise awareness drew

IndiArt participants and attendees alike. Hyperlink: https://www.facebook.com/events/1414958628754927/

Santhana Krishnan, founder of the Asian Art Gallery, said he is proud to be part of Ekal’s project in connecting local children with art and rural India. Seshi Sompuram and Jay Patel of Shishubharati related their work with Ekal’s goal of youth empowerment and education to the masses.

The art contest was judged by Priti Lathia, Veena Teli, and Pratima Srinivasan.

“In my eyes, all of [the participants] are winners,” Ms. Joshi said. “With their work and contributions, they have already made a difference for children in rural India.”

Ekal Vidyalaya plans for IndiArt to be an annual event in New England, and hopes to initiate it nationally in the future.

“This was the first time an organization in the South Asian community did something like this,”

Ms. Joshi said. “Kids were excited. They were so happy to see their artwork on the wall.”

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