Kala Pratibhotsava held – The Hindu

Kala Pratibhotsava, a cultural festival to nurture the innate talents of government school children, was held in the city on December 10.

An initiative of the Department of Kannada and Culture, the festival was first launched 20 years ago but had been discontinued for various reasons about nine years ago. However, department officials launched it again to provide a platform for children to showcase their talent.

V.N. Mallikarjun Swamy, joint director of the Kannada and Culture department, said children need encouragement both at home and school during their formative years. He said constructive suggestions and positive feedback will help shape their confidence while negative remarks will act as discouragement and impede their growth.

Mr. Swamy underscored the need for parents to adopt positive attitudes towards their children’s learning abilities and help them treat setbacks as challenges. ‘’When positive qualities in children are recognised and encouraged, their ability to perform improves,’’ he added.

Quoting poet laureate Kuvempu, Mr. Swamy said every child is born with the potential to grow and develop perfectly in any field, anywhere in the world, and hence must be allowed the space for it.

D. Uday Kumar, deputy director of the School Education department, urged teachers to engage with children through dialogue and inspire interest in learning. Programmes such as Pratibha Karanji, Makkala Mela, sports activities, and so on which are conducted by the department are platforms for identifying and nurturing talent across arts, sports, literature, and folk traditions, he added.

M.D. Sudarshan, assistant director of the Kannada and Culture department, was among those present.