Vellore :

The chances of your hearing about Kavanur near Timiri is as remote as the village is. Located in the eastern part of the district, the village is likely to enter Limca Book of World Records, courtesy the artistic skill of 70-odd students of a private school.

On Saturday, the children made a 72 feet by 60 feet portrait of Mother Teresa, using small black pebbles. The weight of the pebbles was around three tonnes, a record of its own kind, worthy of finding place in the Limca Book of Records.

The initiative was taken by the drawing teacher Navakumar (29), who is a self-styled record breaker himself. In 2006, he entered the record book by drawing a picture of Tamil saint Thiruvalluvar using enamel paint on 133 feet by 60 feet canvas.

In 2008, he attempted another portrait on a 280 feet by two feet canvas to draw the world flags. The attempt gave him another entry in the record books in 2009. In 2010, he drew a picture of Gandhi on water on a three feet container using kolam, which gave him another entry into Limca records.

Navakumar, a part time arts teacher at a government school in Seemapudur village, also goes to the Indira Nursery and Primary School in Kavanur every week to teach drawing to kids free of cost. He also runs an art studio in Vellore, where he teaches children and elders various forms of drawing. According to Navakumar the previous record was held by students in the age group of eight to 10 for drawing a portrait with the dimension of 30 feet by 40 feet using colour powders. This attempt by the Kavanur school students in the same age group would break this record comfortably, he said.

“When I told the school correspondent R Settu about the possibility of training the school children for a Limca record, he put me on the job,” recalled Navakumar. He began training the kids on the pebble portrait three months ago. Last week, he organized practical sessions on the school grounds.

“We decided to go for the portrait of aged persons, as the facial wrinkles could be better captured. Though difficult, it makes a lot of difference in artistry,” said Navakumar when asked why he chose Mother Teresa.

“By drawing her portrait, children would learn about her and imbibe her qualities,” he added.

On Saturday, the district educational officer D Manoharan was the chief guest when the children toiled for nearly an hour before putting on display the portrait under the guidance of Navakumar. The whole event was documented, videographed in the presence of government officials  and would be sent to Limca Books.

source: http://www.newindianexpress.com / The New Indian Express / Home> States> Tamil Nadu / by V. Narayana Murthi / March 03rd, 2015