Little kolam artists full of ideas

(From left) Thanigeswarri, Lubendra and Koshni working on their top-prize kolam at the Junior Kolam Making contest at Straits Quay Retail Marina in Penang. — Photos: JEREMY TAN/The Star

HARNESSING the visual appeal of colourful grains of rice,young artists created kolam masterpieces that embodiedthe spirit of Deepavali.

The Junior Kolam Making Competition at Straits Quay Retail Marina in Penang gave them free rein in designing except for the requirement of an oil lamp motif.

Working in groups of three, some took the opportunity to peek at a giant 3m by 3m kolam displayed at the mall’s lobby entrance to gain inspiration.

Others were given ideas and instructions by parents, family members and friends who cheered them on from the sidelines.

The 20 teams, all with members aged seven to 12, let their imagination run wild and experimented with variouscolour combinations.

One of the teams admiring their finished kolam.

The atmosphere got more frantic as the clock ticked down to the final minutes of the two-hour timeframe given.

Judges soon made the rounds to score each piece based onrelevance to the theme, combination of colours, creativity and originality.

The trio of 12-year-olds S. Thanigeswarri, V. Lubendra and J. Koshni emerged victorious with a kolam that featured apeacock wrapped around an oil lamp.

(From left) Gracelyn, Jia Xi and Yu Qi working on the kolam that would eventually land them second placing.

While the two girls Thanigeswarri and Koshni intend to use their share of the RM600 cash prize for Deepavali preparations, Lubendra hoped to buy a mobile phone.

“We took two weeks to plan the design,” said Koshni.

Lubendra added: “I enjoy making beautiful kolams every year.”

Second place and a cash prize of RM450 went to the team of Chew Yu Qi, Natasha Goh Jia Xi and Gracelyn Loh while A. Haswiny, M. Heroshan and K. Ssreraam took third spot, earning a total of RM300.

Consolation prizes of RM120 each were also awarded to three other teams. All winners took home trophies.

(From left) Korean students Terra, Alice and Emily making every effort to learn more about the local culture.

South Korean pupils Terra Jeong, 12, Alice Min, 10 and Emily Chae, 10, also joined the kolam contest.

“The activity seemed interesting and gave us an opportunity to learn more about Malaysian culture,” said Emily.

Prizes were handed out by Tanjung Pinang Development Sdn Bhd chief operating officer Mark Schoonheim, E&O group strategy and communications assistant general manager Ann Tan and community relations manager A.Tharman as well as Malaysia Hindu Sangam Bukit Bendera Council youth leaderM. Sivaguru.

For more on the mall’s upcoming events, visit www.straitsquay.com or www.facebook.com/straitsquay.