The INTACH (Indian National Trust for Art and Cultural Heritage) Bhubaneswar Chapter took students of the BBC School for the Deaf and Dumb to the ancient Udayagiri caves on Saturday in connection with the World Heritage Week, which was extended for the convenience of these disabled students so that they don’t miss their classes.
As many as 30 students participated in an on-the-spot painting competition and five of them made clay sculptures on this historic monument.
“This is part of our focus this year on young children. We are forming heritage clubs in schools and also intend to help such differently-abled children to realise their potentials in art and heritage. The INTACH also hopes that corporate bodies will turn their lens towards such objectives in the interest of creating awareness and conserving the glorious heritage of Odisha as part of their corporate social responsibility,” said chapter convenor H Balakrishnan.
Schoolteacher Barunei, who interpreted the significance and history of the caves as explained by Anil Dhir, said this was for the first time that students of her school were given an opportunity to participate in an event of this nature. She would always like to involve herself in any such activity in future, she said.