Where Imagination Outshone the Screen: Thousands of Young Artists Paint Delhi in Colour at Shankar's 62nd On-the-Spot Painting Competition

VMPL
New Delhi [India], October 29: On Sunday morning, Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium became an open-air atelier. Thousands of children aged 5 to 17 took up brushes, crayons and watercolours for the 62nd Shankar's On-the-Spot Painting Competition, organised by Children's Book Trust (CBT). The subject was revealed only at the venue, with no rehearsal and no template. In keeping with the day's theme of digital detox, the only glow that mattered came from the colours on the page.
Children were seated in three age groups (5 to 8, 9 to 12 and 13 to 17). Each translated the surprise subject into a vision of their own: . As at every edition, only children were admitted to the competition area, while parents and teachers waited in a designated space outside.
"This morning, they answered the question we posed in our invitation. Give a child a brush and a blank sheet, and the screen is forgotten. Watching thousands of children lose themselves in colour for hours, entirely absorbed in something of their own making, was the most eloquent argument for a digital detox that we could have hoped for."
Mrs. Navin Menon, Editor, Publications, CBT
Free for every child, by design
Participation was entirely free of cost. CBT charges no registration fee and accepts no sponsorship for this talent hunt.
"Every great artist began as a child with an unguarded imagination. At Children's Book Trust we neither charge a registration fee nor take any sponsorship, because creativity should never carry a price tag. This competition is free for every child, and that is how we keep Shankar's dream alive: a country where every young talent gets a brush, a sheet and a chance to shine."
Mr. Rajeev Khera, Council Coordinator, CBT
The on-the-spot format was introduced in 1952 as a live extension of Shankar's International Children's Competition, founded by the celebrated cartoonist K. Shankar Pillai, who also established CBT in 1957. After a long hiatus, it returned in 2022 and drew over 3,000 children. It was held twice in each of 2023 and 2024, then paused in 2025 because of high air-pollution levels and government restrictions. It resumed in January 2026 with the 61st edition at this same stadium, when 152 children received medals (3 gold and 149 silver) and 320 received certificates of merit.
"Institutions endure when they stay devoted to the next generation. Children's Book Trust has done precisely that for decades, and the energy at the stadium today shows why this tradition matters more, not less, in a digital age."
Mr. Robinder Sachdev, Trustee, CBT
As in previous years, the best entries in each age group will receive the Shankar's Memorial Gold Medal, the Children's Book Trust Gold Medal and the Children's World Gold Medal, along with silver medals and certificates of merit. Prizewinners will be informed individually in February or soon thereafter. 
About Children's Book Trust (CBT)
Founded in 1957 by K. Shankar Pillai (Shankar), Children's Book Trust is a pioneering children's publisher in India. It runs painting and writing competitions, publishes the monthly magazine CW – Children's World, and keeps a children's library of over 40,000 books. Its Shankar's International Dolls Museum displays nearly 7,000 costume dolls from 85 countries. CBT's mission is to make childhood more colourful, creative and full of wonder. 
Website: www.childrensbooktrust.com 
Photographs and video of the event are available on request.
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