36 students excitedly gathered at Amidyala in Uravakonda on 29^th December 2020 to participate in the RDT Arts Festival. Different competitions like picture painting, rangoli, clay modelling, hand writing, paper cutting and nature collage were held at this festival.

RDT has upheld this ritual of organising an art festival as a culture meet on 14th November every year at the main office, wherein children who won the competitions at the regional level would compete together. But, like we have readjusted all aspects of our life, due to the COVID-19 pandemic, so did the RDT Art Festival.

So that children do not miss out on their much awaited event of the year, these festivals were held in 27 areas, following safety precautions, from the 21st to 30th December, 2020 and saw the participation over 1,100 children.

“After the lockdown, with schools being closed we thought we will not be able to organize the event but the team at RDT Education sector as well as the regional staff have worked hard to put this together. It is such a delight to see the children thrilled to particpate here”, says Susheelamma, the area team leader at Uravakonda.

The buzz and excitement around the room before the activities began was very evident. “I was eagerly looking forward to the event but due to the lockdown, I was told that has been cancelled. Now I am excited and can’t wait to do my art and win the prize” says Ram Charan, a 10-year old student beamingly.

At RDT, arts and cultural activities as a medium to encourage creativity in children and so they can realise and hone their talents and skills. Here are some of the pictures from the event:

Text: Tahiya Tarannum

Pictures: Rama Mohan