What did you wish to grow up to be as a kid? A doctor? An engineer? A management executive, perhaps? Our beneficiary Pawan S, from Government Higher Primary School (GHPS), Hinkal, in Mysuru, studying in Std VI, is quite the rebel in his aspirations. Flouting conventional career choices to take the road less travelled, he wants to enter a creative profession and become an artist!

A darling of his grandmother, Pawan stayed with her in Karnataka’s Hassan district till Std IV. He now lives with his parents in Mysore and joined GHPS Hinkal in the 2016-2017 academic year. His father is a private taxi driver and mother, a housewife. He has a 14-year-old sister studying in Std VIII. She stays with her uncle in Hassan, who looks after her education, so that it lessens the financial strain on Pawan’s family.

Pawan’s teacher, Miss Manjula, beams as she tells us about his impressive drawing skills. “He is very good at drawing. We recently had an interschool drawing competition, for which he drew and painted a beautiful picture of the Taj Mahal. We have displayed it in class,” she says. We ask the young boy what he likes drawing best – landscapes? portraits? “I like drawing images of gods and goddesses. Ganesha is my favourite!” says the young boy. He adds that he wants to do an art course at Chamarajendra Academy of Visual Arts (CAVA) in preparation for his career as an artist.

In school, Pawan’s favourite subjects are Mathematics and Kannada. “I like Math because I like solving sums. Kannada is a favourite because it is my mother tongue and we should all be proud of our mother tongues,” he explains. He adds that he is fond of Akshaya Patra’s meals served in school, saying, “It is tasty and my parents are very happy that I get nutritious and hygienic food every day at school. I love having Sambar and Rice and Pulao.”

We wish Pawan the very best and hope he becomes an artist of much renown, creating moving artworks that leave a mark on the minds and hearts of all the people who see them!