BIRATNAGAR, JAN 20 - A painting competition of children held here on ‘peace’ had a unanimous message: the conflicting parties should lay down arms and shake hands. The paintings were exhibited here on Sunday in an exhibition organised by Shanti Sthapana Samuha.
Raj Kumar Rai, a class eight student of Sagarmatha Boarding School of Belbari, said, "The precondition for peace is brotherhood. My paintings try to convey just that message."
Rai bagged the first prize for his painting depicting the map of Nepal carrying the pictures of Buddha, a Nepali flag, and Maoists and Royal Nepalese Army shaking hands. The painting was titled ‘Development is impossible without permanent peace’.
Observers noted that the paintings clearly bring out the impact that conflict has had in children’s minds. "It is heart-rending to find how deeply the psyche of children has been affected by conflict," said Prajwal Man Shrestha, Secretary of the Samuha.
There were several succinct paintings variously portraying the pain of those who lost their dear ones, those who got deprived of education and the loss of physical infrastructure faced by the country, all due to the armed conflict. There were other paintings portraying the effects of conflict including hunger and disease.
The exhibition included paintings of 121 students from 35 schools in Morang district. "I pray for peace through my paintings," said Suvekshya Devan, student of Devkota Boarding School.Posted on: 2004-01-21 03:22

Post Your Comment

Please note that all the fields marked * are mandatory.

* Full Name

* Address

* Email Address

* Comment
[Some of the HTML tags you can use : <b>, <i>, <a>]

* Captcha

Get another CAPTCHA code