“Winning is not important; what matters most is the efforts to participate in competitions,” Ms. Lakshmi Priya, Assistant Commissioner of Police, Hasthampatti Range, Salem said and added that during their formative years, students should protect themselves from negative influences and maintain a disciplined lifestyle.
Ms. Priya was addressing the students after distributing prizes at the Thirukkural Vizha, organised by Shriram Ilakkiya Kazhagam at Bala Bharathi Matric School, Salem. The event was a part of Thirukkural competitions that Shriram Group has been organising in Tamil Nadu and Puducherry since 1988 to promote Thirukkural values and Tamil literature, among the students.
523 students from Salem, Namakkal, Dharmapuri, Hosur, and Karur participated in Thirukkural speech, essay writing, and drawing competitions across various categories. Among them, 208 students took part in the drawing competition, while 204 and 111 students each participated in the speech and essay writing competitions.
The function featured the participation of Mr. N. Suresh, President of Bharathi Vidhyalaya Trust; Ms. V. Sulokshana, Principal of Bala Bharathi Matric Higher Secondary School; Mr. P. Balamurgan, Senior Regional Manager at Shriram Chits; Mr. N. Kannan and Mr. M. Sathish Kumar, Branch Manager and Development Officer, respectively, of Shriram Chits Salem; and Mr. Raman, an orator.
The first prize winners of speech competition are:
Junior Category: M. Rishikanth, St. Peter's International Public School, Kundarapalli
Senior Category: Yashika Sakthivel, AGN School, Konganapuram
College Category: P. Rajasri, Govt. College of Engineering, Salem
The first prize winners of drawing competition are:
Junior Category: Geethanya Ravivarma, AGN School, Konganapuram
Senior Category: K.S. Mukesh, Senthil Public School, Salem
College Category: J. Priyadarshini, Govt Arts College for Women, Salem
The first prize winners of essay writing competition are:
Junior Category: K. Mithuna Srinidhi, Govt. Girls Hr. Sec. School, Namakkal
Senior Category: M. Srivarshan, Sri Vidhya Bharati Matric Hr. Sec. School, Salem