Mysuru:  There is greenery all around, flowers blooming in the garden, house right in the middle of the hill, the rising sun and the red rays entering…

This is not the opening line of a story but the way art bloomed through the imaginative minds of the children. This was the scene at the Bannimantap Grounds, here where a painting competition on the topic ‘environment protection’ was organised by Rural Literacy and Health Programme (RLHP) for more than 300 slum children.

The drawings also showed how man is slowly destroying the environment by cutting down trees. The message here was that this selfish act will lead to breathing problems and it will also lead to skin diseases, cancer and other ailments. There were sketches by the children about the importance of planting trees. In the competition, the drawings of 12 children were selected as the best ones and first prizes awarded to them. Eight to ten children were selected for the second prize and the remaining were given consolation prizes.

Social worker Jerry Faiaz inaugurated the competition. RLHP chief Saraswathi, Nagendra, Prakriti Youth Network’s Vijay, Shalini, Vidyodaya Children Commission President Smitha and Secretary Veerabhadra were present on the occasion.